When is the 2026 G.C.E. O/L examination in Sri Lanka?

The Department of Examinations has scheduled the 2026 G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination for Tuesday, 8 December 2026 to Thursday, 17 December 2026. That is the announced window on the Department's exam calendar. The subject-wise time table, which fixes each paper to a day and a session, is published separately and closer to the sitting.

Has the subject-wise O/L time table for December 2026 been released?

Not as of 2026-09-21. Only the 8 Dec 2026 – 17 Dec 2026 window has been announced. This page deliberately shows no per-subject dates for that sitting rather than copying dates from the February sitting, because the Department reorders subjects between sittings. The rows appear here the day the official PDF is published.

On what dates were the 2026 G.C.E. A/L papers held?

The 2026 Advanced Level examination ran from Monday, 10 August 2026 to Saturday, 5 September 2026. Physics Paper I was on 14 August, Chemistry Paper I on 19 August, Biology Paper I on 10 August, the Common General Test on 22 August and both General English papers on 24 August. The full table is on this page.

What time does each paper start?

Most morning papers start at 08:30 and most afternoon papers at 13:00, but the end time varies with the paper — 08:30–10:30 for a two-hour paper, 08:30–11:40 for a three-hour-ten-minute one. Some afternoon papers start at 13:15 or 14:00. The schedule shows the exact start and end of every paper you select.

Can I offer both Business & Accounting Studies and Geography at the O/L?

No. In the O/L Feb 2026 sitting, subject 60 (Business & Accounting Studies) and subject 61 (Geography) are both examined on 26 Feb 2026, 08:30–11:40. They sit in the same basket, so a candidate offers one or the other. Tick both above and the tool raises the clash warning.

When was the 2026 Grade 5 Scholarship examination held?

On Sunday, 9 August 2026, at 2,723 centres island-wide. Paper II ran 09:30–10:45 and Paper I ran 11:15–12:15, inside the announced 09:30–12:15 window. Results for that sitting have been released; this page keeps the dates as a record and for candidates checking past years.

How many clear days are there between O/L Mathematics and Science?

In the O/L Feb 2026 sitting, Mathematics Paper I and II were on 23 February and Science Paper II and I on 25 February — one clear day (24 February) between them, and that day carried the technology basket. Select your own subjects above and the tool lists every clear day in your span.

Does the .ics download work with Google Calendar?

Yes. The file is RFC 5545 with an Asia/Colombo VTIMEZONE block, so each paper lands at its real local time in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook. Every event carries a one-hour reminder. The file is generated in your browser — nothing about your subject choices is sent to a server.

Where do I get my admission card or amend my particulars?

Both are handled on the Department of Examinations' own portals — onlineexams.gov.lk for candidate services and applications.doenets.lk for applications and amendments. This page does not hold candidate data of any kind and cannot look up an index number.

How is this page kept up to date?

Every date and time here is transcribed from a Department of Examinations PDF and re-checked against it; the module records 2026-09-21 as the last reconciliation. When the Department publishes an amended table — the 2026 A/L table on this page is itself an amended one — the change is applied and the verification date moves.

Sri Lanka · Education

Sri Lanka Exam Time Table 2026 — O/L, A/L & Grade 5 Scholarship

The Department of Examinations' own dates for Sri Lanka's national school examinations, subject by subject. Tick the subjects you are offering to get your paper-by-paper schedule, a countdown to your next paper, your clear revision days, a clash check and a calendar file. Free, no signup.

By Induwara Ashinsana— Executive Director, Ryzera TechnologiesUpdated Sep 21, 2026

Build your exam time tableO/L Dec 2026

Dept. of Examinations · verified 2026-09-21

Examination

2026 G.C.E. O/L — December 2026Window announced only

The Department has announced the 8–17 December 2026 window for this sitting. The subject-wise time table has not been released, so no per-subject dates are shown here.

Days to first day

—

Reading the clock…

First day

8 Dec 2026

Tuesday

Last day

17 Dec 2026

10-day window

The subject-wise time table for this sitting has not been released.

The Department of Examinations has published only the 8 Dec 2026 – 17 Dec 2026 window. Nothing here guesses which paper falls on which day: this page adds per-subject rows the day the Department publishes the PDF, and nothing sooner.

Source: Department of Examinations — Exam Calendar. Times are Asia/Colombo (UTC+05:30) exactly as the Department prints them. Last reconciled against the official documents on 2026-09-21. Admission cards and particulars amendments are handled on the Department's own portals, not here.

How it works

Nothing on this page is estimated. Each sitting is a transcription of one Department of Examinations document, stored as days, sessions and papers exactly as the Department prints them — a date, a session (morning or afternoon), a start and end time in the Department's own 24-hour notation, and the official subject code beside every paper.

Your schedule is a set intersection, nothing more. For the subject codes you tick, the tool returns every published session whose paper list contains one of them, sorted by date and then start time. It never infers a paper you did not ask for and never fills a gap.

Paper length is the end time minus the start time in local wall-clock minutes. Sri Lanka has kept a fixed UTC+05:30 offset with no daylight saving since 15 April 2006, so wall-clock subtraction is exact for every date here. Each length is then re-derived a second way — as the difference between the two instants interpreted at UTC+05:30 — and the two must agree to the minute or the tool says so instead of showing a number.

Free days are counted over the closed interval from your first paper to your last. Any date in that interval on which you have no paper is a clear day, and the longest clear gap is the largest run of such days between two consecutive exam days. The count is checked against a second formula: a span of N inclusive days holding E exam days has exactly N − E clear days. For the Biological Science example below, the scan finds seven clear days and the arithmetic gives 15 − 8 = 7.

The clash warningfires when two different subject codes you selected appear in the same date-and-session slot. This is a property of the published table rather than a rule invented here: the Department builds subject baskets so that the alternatives within one basket share a slot. The O/L structure makes this concrete — the religion papers all sit on the first morning, the aesthetic basket shares 21 February, the technology basket shares 24 February and the fifteen-subject basket that contains Business & Accounting Studies, Geography, Civic Education and the second languages shares 26 February. The warning reports only true session collisions; the Department's own subject rules may restrict a combination further even where the timetable would allow it.

The countdown measures from the current Asia/Colombo instant to the start instant of your next unsat paper. It renders only after the page loads in your browser, so a cached copy never shows a stale number. When a sitting has been announced but its subject-wise table has not been published, the tool counts whole calendar days to the announced first day and shows the window instead of rows — the December 2026 O/L sitting is in exactly that state today.

Worked examples

A/L 2026 — Biological Science stream

Subjects 09 Biology, 01 Physics, 02 Chemistry, 12 Common General Test, 13 General English

Mon 10 Aug PM 1300-1500 Biology I 120 min
Tue 11 Aug PM 1300-1610 Biology II 190 min
Fri 14 Aug AM 0830-1030 Physics I 120 min
Mon 17 Aug AM 0830-1140 Physics II 190 min
Wed 19 Aug AM 0830-1030 Chemistry I 120 min
Fri 21 Aug AM 0830-1140 Chemistry II 190 min
Sat 22 Aug AM 0830-1030 Common General Test 120 min
Mon 24 Aug AM 0830-1140 General English II 190 min
Mon 24 Aug PM 1300-1400 General English I 60 min
→ 9 papers, 1,300 minutes, on 8 exam days
→ Span 10 → 24 Aug inclusive = 15 days
→ Clear days: 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 23 Aug = 7
→ Cross-check: 15 − 8 = 7 ✓ Longest clear gap = 2 days

O/L February 2026 — nine subjects

Subjects 11 Buddhism, 21 Sinhala, 31 English, 32 Mathematics, 33 History, 34 Science, 43 Art, 60 Business & Accounting Studies, 80 ICT

Tue 17 Feb AM 0830-1140 Buddhism I & II
Wed 18 Feb AM 0830-1140 Sinhala I & II / PM 1300-1500 Sinhala III
Thu 19 Feb AM 0830-1140 History II / PM 1300-1400 History I
Fri 20 Feb AM 0830-0930 English I / AM 0945-1145 English II
Sat 21 Feb AM 0830-0930 Art I / AM 0945-1145 Art III
Sat 21 Feb PM 1315-1515 Art II
Mon 23 Feb AM 0830-1030 Mathematics I / PM 1300-1610 Mathematics II
Tue 24 Feb AM 0830-1140 ICT I & II
Wed 25 Feb AM 0830-1140 Science II / PM 1300-1400 Science I
Thu 26 Feb AM 0830-1140 Business & Accounting Studies I & II
→ 16 paper rows on 9 exam days, span 17 → 26 Feb = 10 days
→ Only clear day: Sunday 22 Feb. Cross-check: 10 − 9 = 1 ✓

Edge case — a sitting with no subject-wise table

2026 G.C.E. O/L, viewed on 21 September 2026

Announced window: 8 – 17 December 2026 (Exam Calendar)
Subject-wise PDF: not published by the Department
Days to the first day:
9 (rest of September) + 31 (October) + 30 (November) + 8 (December)
= 78 calendar days
→ The tool shows the window and the 78-day countdown
→ It shows no per-subject rows, because none exist to show

Full official time tables

Every subject in each published sitting, grouped by day and session, transcribed from the Department's English-language table. The number before each subject is its official Department subject code — the same code printed on the Sinhala and Tamil versions, so a candidate in any medium can match a row exactly.

2026 G.C.E. A/L — August–September 2026

10 Aug 2026 – 5 Sep 2026

10 Aug 2026Monday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 10Combined MathematicsPaper I
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 41BuddhismPaper I
- 42HinduismPaper I
- 43ChristianityPaper I
- 44IslamPaper I
- 45Buddhist CivilizationPaper I
- 46Hindu CivilizationPaper I
- 47Islamic CivilizationPaper I
- 49Christian CivilizationPaper I
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 09BiologyPaper I
- 21EconomicsPaper I
11 Aug 2026Tuesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 41BuddhismPaper II
- 42HinduismPaper II
- 43ChristianityPaper II
- 44IslamPaper II
- 45Buddhist CivilizationPaper II
- 46Hindu CivilizationPaper II
- 47Islamic CivilizationPaper II
- 49Christian CivilizationPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 09BiologyPaper II
- 21EconomicsPaper II
12 Aug 2026Wednesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 10Combined MathematicsPaper II
- 51ArtPaper I
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 52Dancing (Indigenous)Paper I
- 53Dancing (Bharatha)Paper I
- 54Oriental MusicPaper I
- 55Carnatic MusicPaper I
- 56Western MusicPaper I
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 24Logic & Scientific MethodPaper I
- 65Engineering TechnologyPaper I
- 66Bio Systems TechnologyPaper I
13 Aug 2026Thursday
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 32Business StudiesPaper I
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 52Dancing (Indigenous)Paper II
- 53Dancing (Bharatha)Paper II
- 54Oriental MusicPaper II
- 55Carnatic MusicPaper II
- 56Western MusicPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 08Agricultural SciencePaper I
- 82GermanPaper I
14 Aug 2026Friday
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 01PhysicsPaper I
- 74PaliPaper I
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 51ArtPaper II
Afternoon14:00 – 17:10
- 24Logic & Scientific MethodPaper II
- 65Engineering TechnologyPaper II
- 66Bio Systems TechnologyPaper II
15 Aug 2026Saturday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 71SinhalaPaper I
- 72TamilPaper I
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 08Agricultural SciencePaper II
- 82GermanPaper II
17 Aug 2026Monday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 01PhysicsPaper II
- 51ArtPaper III
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 32Business StudiesPaper II
- 74PaliPaper II
18 Aug 2026Tuesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 71SinhalaPaper II
- 72TamilPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 14Civil TechnologyPaper I
- 15Mechanical TechnologyPaper I
- 16Electrical, Electronic and Information TechnologyPaper I
- 17Food TechnologyPaper I
- 18Agro TechnologyPaper I
- 19Bio Resource TechnologyPaper I
- 31Business StatisticsPaper I
- 75SanskritPaper I
19 Aug 2026Wednesday
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 02ChemistryPaper I
- 67Science for TechnologyPaper I
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 57Drama & Theatre (Sinhala)Paper I
- 58Drama & Theatre (Tamil)Paper I
- 59Drama & Theatre (English)Paper I
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 23Political SciencePaper I
20 Aug 2026Thursday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 31Business StatisticsPaper II
- 57Drama & Theatre (Sinhala)Paper II
- 58Drama & Theatre (Tamil)Paper II
- 59Drama & Theatre (English)Paper II
- 75SanskritPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 14Civil TechnologyPaper II
- 15Mechanical TechnologyPaper II
- 16Electrical, Electronic and Information TechnologyPaper II
- 17Food TechnologyPaper II
- 18Agro TechnologyPaper II
- 19Bio Resource TechnologyPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 81FrenchPaper I
21 Aug 2026Friday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 02ChemistryPaper II
- 67Science for TechnologyPaper II
- 81FrenchPaper II
Afternoon14:00 – 17:10
- 23Political SciencePaper II
22 Aug 2026Saturday
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 12Common General Test
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 73EnglishPaper I
24 Aug 2026Monday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 13General EnglishPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 14:00
- 13General EnglishPaper I
25 Aug 2026Tuesday
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 28Home EconomicsPaper I
- 33AccountingPaper I
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 73EnglishPaper II
28 Aug 2026Friday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 25AHistory of IndiaPaper II
- 25BHistory of EuropePaper II
- 25CHistory of Modern WorldPaper II
Afternoon14:00 – 16:00
- 78ArabicPaper I
- 79MalayPaper I
- 86ChinesePaper I
29 Aug 2026Saturday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 28Home EconomicsPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 20Information & Communication TechnologyPaper I
31 Aug 2026Monday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 33AccountingPaper II
- 78ArabicPaper II
- 86ChinesePaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 25History of Sri LankaPaper I
- 79MalayPaper II
1 Sep 2026Tuesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 20Information & Communication TechnologyPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 84HindiPaper I
- 88KoreanPaper I
2 Sep 2026Wednesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 07MathematicsPaper I
- 11Higher MathematicsPaper I
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 48Greek and Roman CivilizationPaper I
- 83RussianPaper I
- 87JapanesePaper I
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 22GeographyPaper I
3 Sep 2026Thursday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 07MathematicsPaper II
- 83RussianPaper II
- 87JapanesePaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 22GeographyPaper II
4 Sep 2026Friday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 84HindiPaper II
- 88KoreanPaper II
Afternoon14:00 – 16:00
- 29Communication & Media StudiesPaper I
5 Sep 2026Saturday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 11Higher MathematicsPaper II
- 48Greek and Roman CivilizationPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 29Communication & Media StudiesPaper II

Transcribed from the Department's amended time table issued 25 June 2026 (ref 6/3/AL/2026). Code 25 candidates sit History of Sri Lanka Paper I on 31 August and their chosen Paper II (25A India, 25B Europe, 25C Modern World) on 28 August.

2025 (2026) G.C.E. O/L — February 2026

17 Feb 2026 – 26 Feb 2026

17 Feb 2026Tuesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 11BuddhismPaper I & II
- 12SaivaneryPaper I & II
- 14CatholicismPaper I & II
- 15ChristianityPaper I & II
- 16IslamPaper I & II
18 Feb 2026Wednesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 21Sinhala Language & LiteraturePaper I & II
- 22Tamil Language & LiteraturePaper I & II
Afternoon13:00 – 15:00
- 21Sinhala Language & LiteraturePaper III
- 22Tamil Language & LiteraturePaper III
19 Feb 2026Thursday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 33HistoryPaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 14:00
- 33HistoryPaper I
20 Feb 2026Friday
Morning08:30 – 09:30
- 31English LanguagePaper I
Morning09:45 – 11:45
- 31English LanguagePaper II
21 Feb 2026Saturday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 40Music (Oriental)Paper I & II
- 41Music (Western)Paper I & II
- 42Carnatic MusicPaper I & II
- 44Dancing (Indigenous)Paper I & II
- 45Bharatha DancingPaper I & II
Morning08:30 – 09:30
- 43ArtPaper I
Morning09:45 – 11:45
- 43ArtPaper III
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 46Appreciation of English Literary TextsPaper I & II
- 47Appreciation of Sinhala Literary TextsPaper I & II
- 48Appreciation of Tamil Literary TextsPaper I & II
- 49Appreciation of Arabic Literary TextsPaper I & II
- 50Drama & Theatre (Sinhala)Paper I & II
- 51Drama & Theatre (Tamil)Paper I & II
- 52Drama & Theatre (English)Paper I & II
Afternoon13:15 – 15:15
- 43ArtPaper II
23 Feb 2026Monday
Morning08:30 – 10:30
- 32MathematicsPaper I
Afternoon13:00 – 16:10
- 32MathematicsPaper II
24 Feb 2026Tuesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 80Information & Communication TechnologyPaper I & II
- 81Agriculture & Food TechnologyPaper I & II
- 82Aquatic Bioresources TechnologyPaper I & II
- 84Arts & CraftsPaper I & II
- 85Home EconomicsPaper I & II
- 86Health & Physical EducationPaper I & II
- 87Communication & Media StudiesPaper I & II
- 88Design & Construction TechnologyPaper I & II
- 89Design & Mechanical TechnologyPaper I & II
- 90Design, Electrical & Electronic TechnologyPaper I & II
- 92Electronic Writing & Shorthand (Sinhala)Paper I & II
- 93Electronic Writing & Shorthand (Tamil)Paper I & II
- 94Electronic Writing & Shorthand (English)Paper I & II
25 Feb 2026Wednesday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 34SciencePaper II
Afternoon13:00 – 14:00
- 34SciencePaper I
26 Feb 2026Thursday
Morning08:30 – 11:40
- 60Business & Accounting StudiesPaper I & II
- 61GeographyPaper I & II
- 62Civic EducationPaper I & II
- 63Entrepreneurship StudiesPaper I & II
- 64Second Language — SinhalaPaper I & II
- 65Second Language — TamilPaper I & II
- 66PaliPaper I & II
- 67SanskritPaper I & II
- 68FrenchPaper I & II
- 69GermanPaper I & II
- 70HindiPaper I & II
- 71JapanesePaper I & II
- 72ArabicPaper I & II
- 73KoreanPaper I & II
- 74ChinesePaper I & II
- 75RussianPaper I & II

The sitting held 17–26 February 2026 for the 2025 O/L cohort. Subject names follow the Department's English table; the official codes are shown so Sinhala- and Tamil-medium candidates can match rows exactly.

2026 Grade 5 Scholarship — 9 August 2026

9 Aug 2026 – 9 Aug 2026

9 Aug 2026Sunday
Morning09:30 – 10:45
- G5Grade 5 Scholarship ExaminationPaper II
Morning11:15 – 12:15
- G5Grade 5 Scholarship ExaminationPaper I

A single sitting held at 2,723 centres island-wide. Paper II runs 0930–1045 and Paper I runs 1115–1215, inside the announced 0930–1215 window. There is no subject choice.

2026 G.C.E. O/L — December 2026 — subject-wise table not yet released

The Department has announced Tuesday, 8 December 2026 to Thursday, 17 December 2026 for this sitting and nothing further. No per-subject dates are shown here, and none are guessed from the February sitting: the Department reorders subjects between sittings, so a guess would be worse than an honest blank. The rows go up the day the PDF is published.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

Every date, session and time on this page was transcribed from the documents above and re-checked against them on 2026-09-21. The 2026 A/L table is the Department's amendedtable issued 25 June 2026; if the Department issues a further amendment, this page follows it. Found a row that disagrees with your admission card? Email me — the Department's PDF wins, and the fix ships the same day.

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Comments & feedback

Spotted a bug or want an improvement? Tell us — our team reviews every comment, and good ideas get built. Comments are public and anonymous.

A date here that disagrees with your admission card, or a subject code missing?

Email me at [email protected] — most fixes ship within 24 hours.