CBSE Class 12 PYQ: Previous Year Question Papers 2016–2026

This page lists CBSE Class 12 previous year question papers for 11 years, 2016 to 2026, with 100 official PDFs (question papers and answer keys). CBSE Class 12 (CBSE Class 12 Board Examination) is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and covers subject-wise board papers such as Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and English Core. Pick a year below for the paper, answer key and a timed practice plan; confirm dates and pattern on cbse.gov.in.

Explore: Question papers by year · Papers by subject · Syllabus & pattern · Pattern changes · FAQ

Year-wise question papers

Prefer to practise one chapter at a time? CBSE Class 12 chapter-wise PYQs lists all 1287 questions from 50 official CBSE Class 12 papers by chapter.

Papers by subject

Every year from 2016 to 2026 (except 2021, when there was no exam) has a separate page for Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and English Core. Each subject page has CBSE’s question paper and marking scheme, the paper code, marks and number of questions, and a comparison with other years.

For 2016 to 2020, open the year card above and pick the subject there. Commerce and humanities subjects (Accountancy, Business Studies, Economics, History, Political Science and others) don’t have their own pages here yet. You can download those papers from the CBSE archive linked at the bottom of this page.

About the CBSE Class 12 board exam

The Class 12 board exam is the school-leaving exam for students in CBSE schools. More than 15 lakh students sit it each year across the science, commerce and humanities streams. Your marks matter for college admission in several ways: some universities and courses set a minimum Class 12 percentage, JEE and NEET counselling have board eligibility conditions, and the board syllabus is the base for CUET domain papers.

Most theory papers are 3 hours long. Subjects with practicals, such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology, have a 70-mark theory paper and 30 marks for practical work. Maths and English Core have an 80-mark paper and 20 marks of internal assessment. Every question comes from the NCERT syllabus that CBSE prescribes for that year.

Past papers matter here because CBSE marks by a published scheme. The marking scheme for each paper shows where marks go inside a derivation, which value points a Biology answer needs, and how a Maths solution is split into step marks. Students who study a few of these schemes start writing answers that pick up marks they used to lose. The full syllabus and practical details are on the CBSE Class 12 syllabus and pattern page.

How the paper has changed since 2016

The Class 12 paper has changed format several times in ten years, mostly in how marks are spread across questions. Know which format you are sitting before you time yourself.

The direction has been steady since 2020. Papers now have more questions, each worth fewer marks, with a block of one-mark multiple-choice and assertion-reason questions at the start and case studies near the end. Long derivations and 5-mark answers are still there, but fewer of them.

NCERT also rationalised its books after the pandemic, and CBSE removed those topics from the board syllabus. A handful of questions in the 2016 to 2020 papers are from chapters or sections you no longer need to study. If a question looks unfamiliar, check the current syllabus before you spend time on it.

CBSE’s two-exams-a-year scheme from 2026 applies to Class 10. Class 12 still has one main exam in February and March, with supplementary exams in July for students who need them.

What the papers show, subject by subject

Physics

Physics papers reward two things: clean derivations and quick numericals. Electrostatics, current electricity, magnetic effects of current, electromagnetic induction and AC, ray and wave optics, and modern physics (dual nature, atoms, nuclei, semiconductors) together make up most of the paper. The derivations repeat often, so when you meet one in a past paper, practise writing it start to finish in under five minutes.

When you mark your attempt, check the marking scheme for the diagram and the final expression. Students often lose a mark for a missing circuit or ray diagram, or for not stating the result clearly at the end.

Chemistry

Split your mistakes into physical, organic and inorganic, because the fix differs. Physical chemistry numericals come from solutions, electrochemistry and chemical kinetics. Organic questions ask for conversions, named reactions and mechanisms from haloalkanes onward, and the same reactions keep appearing. Inorganic questions lean on the d- and f-block elements and coordination compounds, and they are mostly about memory.

Write chemical equations in full in your practice. The marking scheme often gives a mark for a balanced equation or the right reaction condition, and leaving out a condition is an easy way to drop marks.

Mathematics

Maths papers are predictable in a good way. Calculus is the largest block: continuity and differentiability, applications of derivatives, integrals and their applications, and differential equations. Vectors and three-dimensional geometry, matrices and determinants, linear programming and probability make up most of the rest.

Most marks are lost in the working. The marking scheme splits long answers into steps, so a correct method with an arithmetic slip still earns most of the marks, while a correct answer with steps missing does not. Keep a list of the integration methods and probability questions you got wrong and redo them a week later.

Biology

Biology questions sit very close to NCERT wording. Reproduction (in flowering plants and in humans), genetics and the molecular basis of inheritance, biotechnology, human health and disease, and ecology come up every year. Diagrams are part of many answers: the embryo sac, the human sperm and ovum, a plasmid, the lac operon.

When you review, compare your answer with the value points in the marking scheme. A good Biology answer has the exact term CBSE expects, and students often lose marks for describing a process in their own words without naming it.

English Core

English Core has reading, writing and literature sections. Reading has unseen passages, including a case-based factual one. Writing tasks include notices, invitations and replies, letters and articles or reports. Literature questions come from Flamingo and Vistas, as short extract-based answers and longer answers on characters and themes.

Most students lose marks on format and length. Use the marking scheme to check every writing task for the layout points CBSE gives marks for, and count your words a few times so you learn what 120 to 150 words looks like on the page.

Notes on recent years

2026 is the newest full set on this hub, with Set 1 papers and marking schemes for all five subjects. It keeps the 2025 layout: 33 questions in the science papers, 38 in Maths and 13 in English Core. Keep 2026 for your last month.

2025 has the same layout as 2026. Science papers have 33 questions and Maths has 38. Competency-based questions make up about half the paper.

2024 shares the 2025 layout in the science subjects and is the best paper for your first full timed attempt.

2023 brought back the single full-syllabus exam after two disrupted years. The Physics paper had 35 questions across five sections, with two case-based questions at the end. If case studies slow you down, practise with this paper.

2022 papers are the Term 2 papers. They cover only part of the syllabus and last 2 hours, so treat them as chapter practice. The separate Term 1 MCQ papers were a different kind of exam.

2021 had no board exam. CBSE calculated marks from a student’s Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12 school results.

2016 to 2020 are the older formats. Up to 2019, Maths and English papers were out of 100. The science papers from these years have fewer questions and more long answers, which makes them good practice for derivations and long Biology answers. In 2018 the Economics paper was leaked and CBSE held a re-exam for it.

Using old papers at different stages of preparation

During Class 12

Study chapter by chapter. After each chapter, find its questions in the last five or six papers and write the answers in full. This tells you early which derivations, reactions and diagrams CBSE likes, and your notes become shorter and more useful. If you are also preparing for JEE or NEET, board questions are a quick way to check that you can write what you know, which entrance practice doesn’t test.

After the pre-boards (December to January)

Once the syllabus is done, sit one full paper per subject each week, in 3 hours. Start with 2019 and 2020 and work towards 2023. Mark each paper with the official marking scheme, and note every place you lost marks. Most of your study in these weeks should come from that list.

In the last month

Sit 2024 and 2025 in every subject, and the current CBSE sample paper. Board exams in different subjects often have gaps of several days between them, so plan which papers you will sit in each gap. Revise from your mistake list and the NCERT chapters it points to, and keep your practical file and viva preparation up to date, since those marks count too.

Mistakes students make with past papers

The most common mistake is not using the marking scheme. Checking only whether your final answer is right tells you very little about a board paper. The marking scheme shows you the steps, terms and diagrams that earned marks, and it is free on CBSE’s site.

The second is only reading the papers. Long answers need writing speed, and you only build that by writing full answers against a clock.

Students preparing for an entrance exam often skip board practice until February. That works for some, but many find that they can solve a Physics problem and still lose marks for a poorly written answer. A few full board papers in January fix most of this.

Finally, don’t mix up your stream’s papers with others, and check old papers against the current syllabus. Time spent on a deleted topic is time you don’t get back.

FAQ

Where can I get CBSE Class 12 previous year question papers?

CBSE publishes question papers and marking schemes in its question paper archive on cbse.gov.in. Each year page on this hub links to those official files and has separate pages for Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Biology and English Core.

How many years of Class 12 papers should I solve?

For each subject, solve 2023, 2024 and 2025 as full timed papers, along with the current sample paper. Then use 2016 to 2020 and the 2022 Term 2 papers for chapter practice, especially for derivations and long answers.

What is the CBSE Class 12 exam pattern now?

Most theory papers are 3 hours. Physics, Chemistry and Biology have 70-mark theory papers and 30 marks for practicals. Maths and English Core are 80 marks plus 20 internal. Papers start with one-mark objective questions and end with case-based and long answers. Check the current sample paper for the exact layout.

Is there a CBSE Class 12 question paper for 2021?

No. The 2021 board exams were cancelled because of COVID-19. CBSE worked out results from Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12 school marks. Use the 2020 and 2022 papers instead.

Does the two board exams scheme apply to Class 12?

No. The two-exams-a-year scheme that started in 2026 is for Class 10. Class 12 still has one main exam in February and March, with supplementary exams for students who need them. Check CBSE’s latest circular for any change.

Are older papers with 100-mark Maths still useful?

Yes. The chapters and question types are the same, and the older papers have more long answers. Skip any question from a topic removed from the current syllabus, and do not time yourself against them as if they were today’s paper.

Should I solve board papers if I am preparing for JEE or NEET?

Yes, at least a few in each subject before the board exam. Entrance practice trains you to find answers, while board papers check that you can write them out in the way CBSE marks. Derivations, diagrams and named reactions are where entrance students lose board marks.

Where can I find papers for Accountancy, Economics or other subjects?

This hub has subject pages for Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Biology and English Core. For commerce and humanities subjects, download the papers and marking schemes from CBSE’s question paper archive on cbse.gov.in.

Where to get the official papers

CBSE publishes previous year question papers and marking schemes in its question paper archive on cbse.gov.in, and sample papers on its academic website. We host the official files on each subject page and link to the source. For syllabus, dates and exam rules, CBSE’s latest circulars are the final word.