OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026: 238 Posts, Registration Till 29 Nov – Apply Online by 5 Dec 2026

The Odisha Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC) has released Advertisement No. IIE-103/2026-3282/OSSSC dated 5 November 2026 for the OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026. Through this recruitment, 238 Ophthalmic Officer posts will be filled in 29 district establishments under the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Odisha. These are District Cadre Group-C posts. Online registration and re-registration started on 5 November 2026 and close on 29 November 2026, and the last date to submit the online application is 5 December 2026. Selection is through a single written test of 100 marks, followed by document verification and district allotment. There is no interview. Two points decide whether an application survives at all: the two-year COA or COSA course must be from a Government or Government-recognised institution of Odisha, and a valid registration with the Ophthalmic Officers’ Council in Odisha must be held on the day the application is submitted. All details below are from the official detailed advertisement. Candidates can also browse more Odisha and all-India openings in our Latest Jobs section.

OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026 – Overview

OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026 – Important Dates

Two deadlines, not one. Registration closes a full week before the application closes. A candidate who registers on 30 November cannot apply at all, because the registration window shut on 29 November. Registration by itself is also not an application – the recruitment-specific application form must be filled and submitted separately by 5 December 2026, after which the system shuts down on its own. Incomplete applications are rejected outright, so leaving the form half-filled on the last evening is the easiest way to lose this chance.

OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Vacancy 2026 – District-Wise and Category-Wise Details

The 238 posts are spread unevenly across Odisha. Mayurbhanj alone accounts for 18 posts, while Deogarh and Nuapada have only 2 each, which matters because this is a district cadre recruitment – you are selected for one district and transferred only within that district. The full break-up from Annexure-I of the official advertisement (the count may increase or decrease):

Category-wise total posts. Out of the 238 posts, Unreserved (UR) candidates have 123 posts, Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates have 67, Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) candidates have 26, and Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates have 22. Inside those numbers, 73 posts are earmarked for women – 39 in UR, 23 in ST, 6 in SC and 5 in SEBC. The women posts are part of the 238, not extra posts on top of it. The ST share is unusually large in this recruitment because several tribal districts carry heavy vacancies, while the SC total of 22 is spread thin – in districts such as Bhadrak, Cuttack and Khordha there is no SC post at all. Special-category seats are also inside the 238: 1 post for Ex-Servicemen in Mayurbhanj, 5 posts for Persons with Disabilities with hearing impairment (Ganjam, Kandhamala, Keonjhar and Sundargarh, plus one women post in Mayurbhanj), and 5 posts for Persons with Disabilities with orthopaedic impairment (Bargarh, Balasore, Bolangir, Kalahandi and Koraput). No post is reserved for sportspersons in this advertisement.

District preference. You must give your district preferences in the online form. A preference is only a choice, not a claim – final allotment follows your merit, your category, the vacancies in each district and the preferences of candidates above you. The Commission may later give a chance to re-exercise district preferences or to mark a district as not interested. If you skip a re-exercise window when one is notified, the preferences already submitted are treated as final.

OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Eligibility Criteria 2026

Age limit. A candidate must have attained 21 years and must not be above 42 years as on 5 November 2026, the date of the detailed advertisement. In plain terms, a general candidate must have been born on or before 5 November 2005 to meet the minimum age. Only the date of birth recorded in the High School Certificate, or an equivalent certificate from a recognised Board, Council or University, is accepted. Relaxation in the upper age limit is 5 years for SC, ST, SEBC and women candidates, taking their limit to 47 years, and 10 years for Persons with Disabilities, taking their limit to 52 years. A PwD candidate who also belongs to SC, ST or SEBC gets the 10-year disability relaxation over and above the normal relaxation. Ex-Servicemen get relaxation equal to the total period of defence service rendered. A candidate who fits more than one category gets only one relaxation, whichever helps more. One special rule deserves attention: contractual Ophthalmic Assistants working under the Odisha State Health and Family Welfare Society or under Government schemes get an upper age limit of 45 years, provided they upload their appointment letters and service records. Defence personnel who still have more than six months left before retirement or discharge, counted on the last date of application, are not eligible.

Academic qualification. The candidate must have passed +2 Science or its equivalent. That is only the first half of the condition, and on its own it makes nobody eligible.

Professional qualification. The candidate must have completed the two-year Certified Ophthalmic Assistant Training Course (COA) or the Certified Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant Course (COSA) from a Government institution or a Government-recognised institution of the State of Odisha. The words “of the State” are the trap in this clause – a similar course done in another state does not, on the face of the advertisement, satisfy it. The written test itself is built on the COA and COSA syllabus, and the course certificate is checked at document verification.

Council registration. The candidate must have registered his or her name in the Ophthalmic Officers’ Council in the State of Odisha and must hold a valid Registration Certificate on the date of submitting the online application. The certificate has to be uploaded in the application. This is the condition most likely to catch candidates out, because every other eligibility condition is counted as on 5 November 2026, while the registration must be valid on the actual day you submit. If your registration is still pending, chase the Council now – an application submitted without a valid registration does not become valid later.

Odia language. The candidate must be able to read, write and speak Odia, and must meet any one of four conditions: (1) passed the Middle School Examination with Odia as a language subject; (2) passed Matriculation or its equivalent with Odia as the medium of examination in non-language subjects; (3) passed Odia as a language subject in the final examination of Class VII from a school or institution recognised by the Government of Odisha or the Central Government; or (4) passed a test in Odia at M.E. School standard conducted by the School and Mass Education Department. Speaking Odia at home is not a substitute for one of these four proofs.

Who can apply. The candidate must be a citizen of India and of good character. A married candidate must not have more than one living spouse, unless the Government has granted an exemption. A candidate debarred by OSSSC from its examinations is not eligible during the debarment period. No work experience is asked for, so freshers who meet the qualification, age, Odia and Council registration conditions can apply. The advertisement carries no separate Odisha domicile clause, but the Odisha institution condition, the Odisha Council registration and the Odia language proof together mean a candidate trained outside Odisha should confirm eligibility with OSSSC before paying the fee. Reservation in this recruitment follows Odisha Government rules.

PwD and Ex-Servicemen conditions. A PwD candidate needs a permanent disability certificate of not less than 40 percent disability in the category and sub-category for which the post is reserved, and must upload the scanned original UDID card or disability certificate, not a photocopy. Candidates with temporary disability must not apply under the PwD quota – such applications are rejected outright. Benchmark disability claims are verified by Medical Assessment Boards, and PwD candidates get compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour in the written test. An Ex-Serviceman candidate needs the ID card or discharge certificate and an undertaking that re-employment under the Government of Odisha has not already been taken against the Ex-Servicemen quota.

OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Application Fee 2026

How the fee is paid. The fee is paid online during the application through Net Banking, Credit Card, Debit Card or UPI on the OSSSC payment gateway. After payment, print the Confirmation Page. If the Confirmation Page is not generated, the transaction is treated as cancelled, the amount comes back within 48 hours, and the fee has to be paid again – an application without a generated confirmation is not a paid application.

Fee refund rule. The Rs 500 is refunded to candidates who actually appear in the written test. A candidate who applies, pays, and then does not sit the test gets nothing back, for any reason. The refund goes to the same bank account or payment method used for the application, so pay from your own account and enter your own bank account number in the form. Read the refund rule before assuming an ineligible application costs nothing: a candidate who never reaches the test hall loses the fee.

How to Apply for OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026

1. Open www.osssc.gov.in and first read the instructions given under “How do I register / re-register / apply” on the home page, along with the detailed advertisement for Advertisement No. IIE-103/2026-3282/OSSSC.
2. If you are a new user, click “Apply Online” and complete fresh registration. If you already hold a User ID from any earlier OSSSC recruitment, log in and choose “Re-registration” from the Applicant Menu. Registration or re-registration must be finished by 29 November 2026.
3. Log in again with your User ID and password and open the online application form for Ophthalmic Officer. Registration alone does not count as applying.
4. Fill in personal, educational and professional details exactly as they appear in your certificates, including your COA or COSA course details and your Ophthalmic Officers’ Council registration number.
5. Enter your category and reservation details carefully, give your district preferences for posting, and choose up to three districts, in order of priority, as your preferred test centres. The Commission can still allot a centre outside your choices.
6. Upload a recent passport-size colour photograph in jpg, jpeg or png format between 20 KB and 100 KB, your scanned signature in jpg, jpeg or png format between 20 KB and 50 KB, and your Council registration certificate and other required documents. An unclear photograph or signature can get the registration and application rejected. Use your own personal email ID and mobile number, keep them unchanged till the process ends, and enter your own bank account number for the fee refund.
7. Pay the Rs 500 examination fee online if your category is not exempted, and print the Confirmation Page. If the page is not generated, treat the payment as failed and pay again.
8. Review the whole form, submit it well before 5 December 2026, and save a copy of the submitted application and the Confirmation Page. The system shuts down automatically after the last date, and admission letters are later downloaded online with the same User ID and password – nothing is sent by post.

One application only. Submitting more than one application form leads to cancellation of the result and is treated as unfair means. Wrong, suppressed or manipulated information can cancel a candidature at any stage, even after an appointment order is issued, and the Commission’s decision on eligibility, rejection and merit lists is final.

OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Exam Pattern 2026

There is one paper for all candidates, in objective MCQ format, to be held in OMR mode or Computer Based Recruitment Examination (CBRE) mode. Which mode applies will be notified later.

Tie-breaking rule. If two or more candidates score equal marks in the written test, the tie is broken first by the higher percentage of marks in the COA or COSA course, then by older age, then by higher marks in the +2 examination where the date of birth is also the same, and finally at the Commission’s discretion.

Exam centres and admit card. The test date and centre are intimated through a notice on the OSSSC website and the admission letter. The admission letter is downloaded online with the User ID and password; OSSSC does not post printed letters. If the test is held in CBRE mode on different dates or in different shifts, raw scores are converted to normalised scores through the Commission’s normalisation formula. Objections can be raised against the answer key, and the revised key after expert review is final. There is no re-evaluation or re-checking of scores, and there is no re-test for a candidate who misses the scheduled test. Note that 85 of the 100 marks sit in the COA and COSA subjects and practical skills, so preparation time should follow that weight, not the small arithmetic and English tail.

OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Selection Process 2026

Stage 1 – Written test. Admission to the written test is provisional and rests on the information and declaration in the online application; original documents are not checked at this stage. The merit position comes from this single 100-mark test, subject to the minimum qualifying marks of 30 percent for ST, SC, PwD, Ex-Servicemen and Sportsperson candidates and 35 percent for others. There is no interview and no separate skill test in this recruitment.

Stage 2 – Provisional merit list and screening. OSSSC prepares a provisional merit list from the written test marks. Candidates who reach the minimum qualifying marks are screened for document verification in numbers not less than 1.25 times the number of vacancies, category-wise and special-category-wise. Crossing the qualifying mark alone does not call a candidate to verification – the screening cut-off inside each category decides that.

Stage 3 – Document verification. Verification is done before the District Level Board, and originals are checked by the Chief District Medical and Public Health Officers concerned. Carry the Council registration certificate; the HSC pass certificate, the +2 Science pass certificate and the COA or COSA course certificate; the Odia language certificate; caste certificate or UDID card and disability certificate where reservation is claimed; discharge certificate or ID card and the undertaking for Ex-Servicemen; and appointment letters with experience documents for contractual Ophthalmic Assistants. A candidate who misses the scheduled verification is rejected, and any mismatch between the online application and the originals can end the candidature.

Stage 4 – District allotment and select list. Allotment runs on merit-cum-choice – your rank, category, district vacancies and preferences together. The Commission may run the allotment online or through physical counselling. The provisional select list is prepared separately for each district and category and stays provisional until the appointing authority accepts it.

OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Salary 2026

Selected candidates are placed in Pay Matrix Level-7, Cell-01 (Rs 25,500 to Rs 81,100) under the Odisha Revised Scales of Pay Rules, 2017. The starting basic pay is Rs 25,500 per month, plus DA, HRA and other allowances under Odisha Government rules. The advertisement fixes only the pay scale – it publishes no exact “in-hand” figure, so in-hand amounts on unofficial websites are estimates that shift with current DA and HRA rates and with the posting district. Treat Rs 25,500 as the one salary number that is official, and treat every in-hand figure elsewhere as a rough estimate. The post sits at the entry level of the Odisha Ophthalmic Service cadre, and the recruitment is run under the Odisha Ophthalmic Service (Methods of Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2025, along with the OSSSC (District Cadre) Rules, 2012.

Important Links

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How many vacancies are there in OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026?

There are 238 District Cadre Group-C vacancies for Ophthalmic Officer in 29 district establishments under the Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Odisha. Mayurbhanj has the most with 18 posts, followed by Sundargarh with 16 and Ganjam with 15. The advertisement states that the number of posts may increase or decrease.

What is the last date to apply for OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026?

Online registration and re-registration close on 29 November 2026, and the last date to submit the online application is 5 December 2026. Both steps are compulsory and separate – a candidate who only registers by 29 November but does not submit the application by 5 December 2026 has not applied.

What is the age limit for OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026?

The age limit is 21 to 42 years as on 5 November 2026, the date of the detailed advertisement. Relaxation is 5 years for SC, ST, SEBC and women candidates and 10 years for Persons with Disabilities. Contractual Ophthalmic Assistants get an upper age limit of 45 years, subject to the conditions in the advertisement.

What is the qualification for OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer 2026?

A candidate must have passed +2 Science or its equivalent and completed the two-year Certified Ophthalmic Assistant Training Course (COA) or Certified Ophthalmic Surgical Assistant Course (COSA) from a Government or Government-recognised institution of Odisha. A valid registration with the Ophthalmic Officers’ Council in Odisha and the Odia language qualification are also compulsory.

Can Diploma in Optometry or B.Sc. Optometry candidates apply for OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer 2026?

The advertisement does not list Diploma in Optometry or B.Sc. Optometry as qualifying courses. Eligibility is tied to +2 Science, the two-year COA or COSA course from a Government or Government-recognised institution of Odisha, and valid Council registration. A candidate who also holds the COA or COSA certificate meets the clause; a candidate holding only an optometry diploma or degree should confirm eligibility with OSSSC before paying the fee.

Is registration with the Ophthalmic Officers’ Council in Odisha compulsory for OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer 2026?

Yes. The candidate must be registered in the Ophthalmic Officers’ Council in the State of Odisha and must hold a valid Registration Certificate on the date of submitting the online application. The certificate must be uploaded in the application form. An application submitted without a valid registration is not made valid later.

What is the application fee for OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026?

The examination fee is Rs 500 for all candidates except SC, ST and PwD candidates, who are exempted. The fee is paid online by Net Banking, Credit Card, Debit Card or UPI. The Rs 500 is refunded only to candidates who actually appear in the written test; a candidate who does not sit the test gets no refund.

What is the exam pattern of OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026?

The written test is one paper of 100 MCQ questions carrying 100 marks in 2 hours, held in OMR or CBRE mode. It has 60 questions from the COA and COSA course syllabus, 25 questions on practical skills, 10 questions on Arithmetic and 5 questions on English, both at High School Certificate standard. Negative marking is 0.25 mark for each wrong answer.

What is the salary of an OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer in Odisha?

An Ophthalmic Officer is placed in Pay Matrix Level-7, Cell-01, with a pay scale of Rs 25,500 to Rs 81,100 under the Odisha Revised Scales of Pay Rules, 2017. The starting basic pay is Rs 25,500 per month, plus DA, HRA and other allowances as per Odisha Government rules. The advertisement publishes no exact in-hand figure.

Can candidates from other states apply for OSSSC Ophthalmic Officer Recruitment 2026?

The advertisement requires Indian citizenship and carries no separate domicile clause, but the COA or COSA course must be from a Government or Government-recognised institution of Odisha, registration with the Ophthalmic Officers’ Council in Odisha is compulsory, and the Odia language qualification must be met. A candidate trained outside Odisha should confirm eligibility with OSSSC before applying.

For more government jobs and daily updates, browse the Latest Jobs section of New Sarkari Results, and always verify the final details in the official Advertisement No. IIE-103/2026-3282/OSSSC on www.osssc.gov.in before applying.

Written by Ravi Singh

Ravi Singh is the Editor (Government Jobs) at New Sarkari Results, an independent information portal for Sarkari Result, Sarkari Naukri, admit card, answer key, syllabus and admission updates. He has 10+ years of experience covering Government Jobs, Railway Jobs, SSC, Banking, Teaching, Police, Defence and state recruitment boards. Every update on this site is verified directly from the official notification PDF issued by the commission or board — never from third-party aggregators.