An apparatus are provided for wireless communication at a base station with improved PBCH construction and decoding. The base station apparatus constructs a PBCH payload, wherein a bit location is selected for encoding a plurality of bits of the PBCH based on an estimated reliability for the corresponding bits location wherein the plurality of bits comprises frozen bits, unknown bits that are unknown to a user equipment, and potentially known bits that are potentially known by the user equipment. The apparatus transmits the PBCH payload in at least one of a plurality of SS blocks. A UE receiving the PBCH decodes the PBCH based on a successive decoding order. The successive decoding order may be based on an estimated reliability for the corresponding bits, e.g., in which potentially known bits are decoded prior to unknown bits.