Free CBSE Previous Year Question Papers With Solutions (2022–2026): Where and How to Use Them

Previous year papers are the single best predictor of what CBSE will ask. You can get every recent paper free. The real question is how you use them.

Where to get them

• cbse.gov.in publishes the question papers, and the marking schemes are released separately.
• BoardPrep collects the 2022–2026 Class 10 and 12 papers by subject with their marking schemes as free PDFs: Class 10 · Class 12. It also splits them into single questions you can practise one at a time.
• Year-wise lists: 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022. The 2022 papers were Term 2, covering half the syllabus.

Are marking schemes "solutions"?

Mostly. A CBSE marking scheme gives the expected answer as value points, plus the marks for each step. It's not always a full worked solution, but it shows you exactly what the examiner rewards, and that's what you need.

A 4-step method for each paper

1. Practise chapter-wise first. Once a chapter is done, solve its questions from the last 5 years.
2. Then do full papers under a timer. 3 hours, no phone, in one sitting.
3. Mark yourself strictly against the marking scheme. Give yourself a mark only when your answer has the value point.
4. Keep an error log. Note every mistake and the reason: concept gap, calculation slip, missing key term or ran out of time.

How many?

Aim for the last 5 years per subject. With 2 sets per year that's about 10 papers per subject, plus the latest sample paper.