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LDC Typing Test - Free Practice for Lower Division Clerk Posts

The LDC (Lower Division Clerk) typing test is a qualifying skill stage in clerical recruitment across central government departments, state government PSCs, several public-sector banks, courts, and many statutory bodies in India. The exact format and threshold vary by the recruiting body. SSC CHSL LDC, the highest-volume version, requires 35 WPM English or 30 WPM Hindi over a 10-minute window. Various state PSCs use thresholds in the 25-30 WPM range, sometimes in the state's official language alongside or instead of English. This page is a free practice surface for LDC typing prep, covering both English and Hindi formats with passages drawn from the kind of administrative prose that LDC-level work actually involves.

Requirements

English
30-35 WPM (varies by recruiting body)
Hindi
25-30 WPM (varies by recruiting body)
Duration
10 min
Start practice test →

At a glance

English speed
Commonly 35 words per minute, set by the recruiting department
Hindi speed
Commonly 30 words per minute where Hindi is offered
Duration
Commonly 10 minutes; set by the recruiting department
Nature
Usually qualifying, though some departments award marks
Medium
English or Hindi, depending on the department and the post
Corrections
Set by the recruiting department

Figures checked August 2026. Exam formats are revised between cycles, so confirm against your own notification.

Where the LDC typing test is used

Central government: SSC CHSL is by far the highest-volume LDC recruitment in India, conducted annually by the Staff Selection Commission. Beyond SSC, staff selection commissions for various ministries, Railway Recruitment Board for clerical posts, and central PSUs across telecom, energy, mining, and steel all conduct LDC recruitments with typing components. State government: Each state has its own Public Service Commission (UPSSSC for UP, BPSC for Bihar, RPSC for Rajasthan, MPPSC for MP, HPSC for Himachal, and so on) and conducts its own LDC recruitments with typing tests. Public-sector banks: IBPS Clerk allocations and individual bank recruitments include some form of clerical typing screening at the joining stage. Courts and statutory bodies: Various High Courts, the Supreme Court, statutory boards, councils, and commissions hire LDCs through dedicated notifications, each with its own format. The typing test format is broadly similar (10-minute window, 25-35 WPM threshold) but exact thresholds, fonts, and accuracy requirements vary.

How LDC typing differs from DEO data-entry tests

LDC typing focuses on prose transcription - typing a given passage in connected sentences with normal punctuation, capitalisation, and natural variation in word lengths. Data Entry Operator (DEO) tests, such as SSC's DEST for the DEO posts in CHSL, focus on number-heavy structured input where the candidate types tabular data, account numbers, statistical figures, scheduling tables, and similar content under tight time pressure. The required skills overlap but aren't identical. LDC favours rhythmic prose typing with sustained focus over the 10-minute window. DEST favours rapid alternation between letters and digits with absolute numerical accuracy. If your target post is purely LDC, prose-heavy practice is the right path. If you're hedging between LDC and DEO posts (some SSC CHSL aspirants apply for both), include some number-heavy custom-mode practice in your routine so that you're not surprised on exam day if you draw the DEST instead of the typing test.

How to use Typetera for LDC typing preparation

Hit 'Start practice test' below for a 10-minute English typing test in the SSC CHSL LDC format - 35 WPM target, prose passages with full punctuation, numbers, and capitalisation. The corpus matches the formal administrative register that LDC-level work produces. For Hindi typing practice, use /hi/exams/ldc-typing-test or /hi/exams/ssc-chsl-typing-test (the most-tested LDC variant) for format-matched practice. For state-specific practice with passages that match your target state's style, paste past-year LDC passages from your state's PSC into Custom mode at the appropriate locale. Aim for 40 WPM at 95%+ accuracy in practice - this gives a comfortable buffer above the highest LDC thresholds you're likely to encounter (35 WPM for SSC CHSL English) and protects against exam-day performance dip.

Common LDC candidate mistakes

Practising on random word lists instead of prose passages. LDC tests use prose almost exclusively, and word-list practice does not transfer well to passage typing. Practising only at peak speed without endurance. A 10-minute test exposes endurance weaknesses that 1-minute tests hide completely; most candidates lose 10-15% of their 1-minute speed when extended to 10 minutes, and the loss is steeper without endurance training. Ignoring punctuation and numbers when those are included in the test variant. Many candidates train on punctuation-off mode for cleaner WPM figures and then stumble on apostrophes, commas, semicolons, and embedded digits during the actual exam. Practising on the wrong layout - Krutidev when your state has moved to Mangal, or vice versa. Verify the official notification before any prep cycle. Showing up to the exam centre without having confirmed which keyboard layout the centre's terminals will use. Some centres use phonetic Hindi while others use InScript; the finger paths differ entirely.

Recommended 6-week preparation routine

Weeks 1-2 (foundation): Daily 30 minutes split as 5 minutes baseline measurement (one 5-minute test) plus 25 minutes focused practice on weak keys identified from the per-key breakdown. Hold accuracy at 95%+ - don't push speed yet. Use Sentences mode with all toggles enabled (punctuation, numbers, capitalisation) for realistic conditions. Weeks 3-4 (speed build): Increase to 45 minutes daily. Maintain accuracy at 95%+ but start consciously pushing speed. Add one full 10-minute exam-mode run every other day. For Hindi candidates, include 5-10 minutes of dedicated conjunct drills (क्ष, त्र, ज्ञ, श्र) using Custom mode. Weeks 5-6 (exam taper): Switch to daily 10-minute exam-mode runs on this page or on the specific /exams/[your-target] page. Stop pushing for personal bests; instead, practise consistently at 5 WPM above threshold with accuracy above 95%. Most candidates following this routine consistently clear their target threshold under exam pressure by week 6.

Tips that actually help

  • LDC is a post, not a single exam

    Lower Division Clerk vacancies are recruited by many different bodies - SSC, state boards, courts, universities, individual departments - each with its own notification. The typing requirement follows the recruiter, not the job title.

  • Prepare to 35 WPM and you cover almost everything

    The commonest English requirement for LDC posts is 35 words per minute. Preparing to that level clears most departments' thresholds, and preparing below it leaves you re-preparing when you find your recruiter sits at the top of the range.

  • Distinguish LDC typing from DEO data entry

    A Data Entry Operator test measures key depressions on dense figure-heavy material and is a different exercise from a clerical typing test on continuous prose. If you are preparing for both, practise both - the DEO material is much harder on the number row.

  • Office prose is the right practice material

    The work is letters, notings, circulars and file entries. Practising on that register builds the reading fluency the test rewards, in a way that general typing practice does not.

  • Accuracy is what actually fails candidates

    At 35 WPM the speed is achievable for most people within a month. The candidates who do not clear are almost always the ones whose accuracy fell apart when they pushed the pace.

  • Ten minutes unbroken, regularly

    The failure happens in the second half. If your practice consists of one-minute tests, you have not tested the thing the exam tests.

What costs candidates marks

  • Practising in one-minute bursts

    A 10-minute window is a stamina test, not a sprint. Speed measured over 60 seconds flatters everyone; the number that matters is the one you can still hold at minute eight, when your shoulders are up and your accuracy is sliding. Practise the full duration at least twice a week.

  • Correcting every single typo

    Backspacing costs you the keystroke, the correction, and the moment where you lose your place in the passage. Past a certain error rate corrections cost more than they save. Learn which of your mistakes are worth fixing and which are cheaper to leave.

  • Typing faster than you can read

    Almost everyone's accuracy falls off a cliff a few words per minute above their comfortable pace. Find that ceiling in practice and sit just under it in the exam. Being 3 WPM over the threshold with 96% accuracy beats being 12 over with 88%.

  • Ignoring punctuation and capitalisation

    Official passages are full of commas, full stops, capitalised department names and bracketed clauses. Every one of them is a character you are marked on. Practising lowercase prose with no punctuation trains a skill the exam does not test.

  • Never practising on an unfamiliar passage

    Re-typing the same paragraph until it is muscle memory measures recall, not typing. Your practice passage should be one you have not seen, every time, or the number it gives you is fiction.

A four-week plan

  1. Week 1

    Baseline honestly, at full length

    Three ten-minute runs on unseen passages. Record accuracy as carefully as speed; it is the number that decides this exam.

  2. Week 2

    Weak keys, then straight back to prose

    Work from your own missed-key list rather than a generic drill, then return to full passages so the correction survives real text.

  3. Week 3

    35 becomes comfortable, not maximal

    Push to 38 to 40 WPM in practice so that 35 in the hall feels unhurried. Accuracy above 95% throughout.

  4. Week 4

    Rehearse, do not train

    Full-length exam-mode runs on unfamiliar text, no restarts, at the time of day your slot falls. Nothing new on the day.

Questions candidates ask

What is the typing speed for LDC?
Commonly 35 words per minute in English and 30 in Hindi, though LDC posts are recruited by many different bodies and each sets its own requirement. Preparing to 35 WPM in English covers most departments.
Is the LDC typing test qualifying?
Usually it establishes eligibility rather than contributing to your rank, but some departments do award marks for it. Your notification is what decides, and it changes whether you should aim to clear comfortably or to maximise.
What is the difference between LDC and DEO typing tests?
An LDC typing test is continuous prose assessed in words per minute. A Data Entry Operator test measures key depressions per hour on denser, more figure-heavy material. The DEO test is significantly harder on the number row and needs its own practice.
How long is the LDC typing test?
Commonly 10 minutes, set by the recruiting department. Practise the full duration - the difficulty is concentrated in the last few minutes.
Can I take the LDC typing test in Hindi?
Many departments offer both English and Hindi, but not all, and Hindi will normally be conducted in a Unicode font on the InScript layout. Your notification specifies what is available for your post.
How many words is 35 WPM over ten minutes?
Around 350 words of correctly typed text, which is roughly a page and a half of ordinary prose. Seeing it as a page and a half makes the target feel more concrete than the abstract number does.
How long does it take to reach 35 WPM?
From a starting point of around 25 WPM with reasonable accuracy, four to six weeks of daily practice is a realistic expectation. From a two-finger hunt-and-peck start, plan on three months, because the first job is learning touch typing rather than raising speed.

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Same locked 10-minute format, different exam corpus.