Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on May 13 announced the results for the Class 12 Board Examinations 2026, recording an overall pass percentage of 85.20 percent across the country.

According to CBSE, a total of 18,57,517 students had registered for the examination this year. The overall pass percentage saw a decline of 3.9 percent compared to the previous year.

Girls once again outperformed boys in the examination results. Female students recorded a pass percentage of 88.86 percent, while boys secured 82.13 percent. Transgender students achieved a perfect 100 percent pass rate, according to the board.

While CBSE continued its policy of not releasing a traditional merit list to discourage unhealthy academic competition, the board stated that 94,028 students, accounting for 5.32 percent of total candidates, scored 90 percent and above. Additionally, 17,113 students, or 0.97 percent, secured 95 percent and above marks.

Among regions, Trivandrum emerged as the best-performing zone with a pass percentage of 95.62 percent, followed by Chennai at 93.84 percent and Bengaluru at 93.19 percent. In Delhi, the Delhi West region recorded a pass percentage of 92.34 percent, while Delhi East registered 91.73 percent.

Among educational institutions, Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) recorded the highest performances with pass percentages of 98.55 percent and 98.47 percent respectively.

In a significant move towards digital modernisation, CBSE implemented full-scale On-Screen Marking (OSM) for the evaluation of over 98 lakh answer scripts this year. The digital evaluation system was introduced to minimise errors in totalling and mark posting while ensuring greater transparency and accuracy in the assessment process.

Students can access their results through the official CBSE website, DigiLocker and the UMANG application. The board also clarified that digital documents available through DigiLocker will remain legally valid for higher education admissions and official purposes.

Meanwhile, CBSE announced that supplementary examinations for students seeking improvement or placed under the compartment category will be conducted from July 15, 2026. The application process for the supplementary examinations will begin on June 2, 2026.