Physical standards and the PST: how height, chest and running tests are measured

What is measured, and on what day

Height and chest are measured at the physical standard test, at a designated centre, by a prescribed authority, using a standard measuring device. The figures are bare minimums. There is no allowance for footwear, no allowance for posture that improves overnight, and in most armed forces-style measurement the candidate is measured in a prescribed position with shoes removed where the notice says so. A candidate who clears the figure by one centimetre is not a borderline case at the measuring stage, because the measurement is taken once and recorded.

The common minimums

Note the pattern rather than the numbers. A reserved-category male gets a lower height minimum than a general male, the female minimum is a separate and lower figure, and the chest requirement is two figures rather than one: 80 cm unexpanded and 85 cm expanded. Some notices require only the expanded figure, others both, so read which of the two your own notice actually asks for before you conclude you have a shortfall.

Relaxation in measurement

Two forms of relief exist, and they are granted on entirely different bases.

Relaxation by reservation category

This is a lower figure for OBC, SC and ST candidates, printed in the table. It is not granted later on request; it applies from the start if you claimed the category in the correct way, which is why the certificate question in the age relaxation guide matters here as well.

Hill region and special-area relaxation

Candidates from specified hill regions are granted reduced height requirements, and armed forces recruitment in particular provides for a certificate issued by a competent authority in the prescribed proforma, stating that the candidate is a permanent resident of that area. The SSC Constable notice carries this as an annexure to the main circular, and the requirement is specific: the proforma, the issuing authority, and a certificate obtained by personal appearance before the physical standard test. A domicile certificate from a village panchayat or a state domicile does not meet it.

The same machinery is used for persons with a benchmark disability, though disability is dealt with through the horizontal reservation and the certificate rather than through a lower measuring figure. A certificate of 40% or more is required for these posts, and the certificate has to be issued by the competent medical authority named in the notice, not by a general practitioner.

The running and performance stage

After the measurement stage, candidates in most physical-capability recruitment undergo a performance test. For SSC Constable (GD) this is the physical efficiency test, and it consists of a distance run and a long jump for male candidates, with a long jump and a beam for female candidates. The notices specify the standard in time and distance, and these figures are revised more often than the height and chest figures, so use the values printed in your own circular. For RPF Constable the performance test is a 1600 metre run together with a long jump and a high jump, where the jumps allow two attempts each and the run is allowed one, which makes the run the item worth training for specifically.

What has not changed in years of these notices is the shape of the process. There is usually a second chance for candidates who fail, taken at a later stage or after a short interval, and marks are often awarded for the performance. Two practical consequences follow. First, a candidate who fails the run on the first attempt is not usually disqualified outright, so treat it as a stage to be repeated rather than a verdict. Second, since the second attempt is often much later in the recruitment, a candidate must still satisfy the upper age limit on the original reckoning date, and cannot argue that time has passed against them.

What to do before the centre date

1. Measure yourself against the figure for your category and gender, not the general one, and record it with the date.
2. If you are relying on hill-region relief, obtain the proforma certificate from the issuing authority early. These take time and involve an appearance before an officer.
3. Arrange to obtain a disability or OBC certificate in the prescribed form, with the non-creamy layer declaration where it applies.
4. Read the annexures to the notice rather than the main body alone. Measurement relief and proformas are nearly always in an annexure.
5. For the performance stage, start training before you receive the call letter. The stage is often scheduled weeks after the notice and does not wait for your convenience.

The Physical Standards tool lists the published minimums for the exams it covers, separates measurement from performance, and flags the figures that a notice has left for clarification so you do not plan around a number that was never published. Pair it with the Eligibility Checker for the age side of the same recruitment.

Measuring yourself honestly before the centre date

A home measurement is not an official measurement, but it is good enough to tell you whether you are two centimetres short or comfortably clear, and that difference decides whether the physical stage is a formality or a problem you have to solve.

• Height should be measured against a wall, bare feet, heels and back together, looking straight ahead, with a rigid book or a tape measure held flat on the head. Hair volume counts, which is why a measurement taken in the morning and one taken in the evening can differ.
• Do not subtract anything for the device. Measuring devices used at centres have a scale allowance built in, and a candidate who measures 169 cm at home with a tape measure is not necessarily short of 170 cm at the centre.
• Chest is measured as the maximum circumference at the fullest point of expansion, with the tape level and brought round under the armpits. It cannot be trained into existence in the weeks before the test, and it is the figure that catches out people who assumed only height mattered.
• Record the date alongside each measurement. A number without a date is worth nothing at the point where you need it, and it tells you nothing about which direction you are moving.