COMMON RECRUITMENT PROCESS FOR RECRUITMENT OF PROBATIONARY OFFICERS/ MANAGEMENT TRAINEES

IBPS PO 2026

The Institute of banking personnel selection (IBPS) is an autonomous body set up for conducting assessment & selection of personnel for all public sector banks. IBPS has recently released its official notification for IBPS bank PO exam 2026 for vacancies of the session 2026. Every year lakhs of candidates appear for various banking exams and IBPS PO is one of those exams.

The online examination (Preliminary and Main) for the upcoming Common Recruitment Process (CRP) for Recruitment and Selection of Personnel for Probationary Officer/ Management Trainee (PO/MT) posts in the Participating Public Sector Banks will be conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) as per the tentative schedule provided below: 

Important Dates

IBPS PO 2026 Notification Official PDF

IBPS PO 2026 Notification Video

IBPS PO Exam Pattern 2026

1. The Structure or Pattern of the IBPS PO 2026 exam is explained below

IBPS PO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026

a. Preliminary Examination (Objective Test)

Candidates have to qualify in each of the three tests by securing minimum cut-off marks to be decided by IBPS. Adequate number of candidates in each category as decided by IBPS depending upon requirements will be shortlisted for Online Main Examination.

b. Main Examination (Objective and Descriptive)

Note: * May be broadly based on Economic and Social issues, emerging trends in Banking and Technology, Current events, Ethics etc.

Descriptive Paper may be evaluated by an automated scoring mechanism for identifying features related to writing proficiency. This scoring mechanism is duly validated and evaluates proficiency of test takers

c. Personality Test:

Candidates who qualify in the Main examination will be called for a Personality Test (self-report). Personality Profile of the candidates will be placed before the Interview panel. The Personality Test will be non-qualifying in nature. However, appearing in the Personality Test will be mandatory for being eligible for appearing for the Interview process. Personality test may be conducted through proctored mode or at identified examination centres, as decided by IBPS.

NOTE:

Please note that candidates will not be permitted to appear for the Online Preliminary as well as Online Main Examination without the following documents:
(1) Valid Call Letter for the respective date and session of Examination. Those candidates who are called for Main Exam will also be required to bring authenticated/stamped call letter of
Preliminary Exam (along with authenticated/ stamped copy of the ID proof) 

(2) Photo-identity proof (as specified) in original bearing the same name as it appears on the call letter/ application form.
(3) Candidates reporting late i.e. after the reporting time specified on the call letter for Examination will not be permitted to take the examination. The reporting time mentioned on the call letter is prior to the Start time of the test.
(4) Though the duration of the Online Preliminary examination is 1 hour, candidates may be required to be at the venue for about 2 hours or more including the time required for completion of various formalities such as verification and collection of various requisite
documents, logging in, giving of instructions etc.
(5) For the Online Main examination the duration of the examination is 3 hours 10 minutes, candidates may be required to be at the venue for about 4 hours or more including the time required for completion of various formalities such as verification and collection of various requisite documents, logging in, giving of instructions etc.

PENALTY FOR WRONG ANSWERS (Applicable to both – Online Preliminary and Online Main Examination)

There will be penalty for wrong answers marked in the Objective Tests. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate one fourth or 0.25 of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty to arrive at corrected score. If a question is left blank, i.e. no answer is marked by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question.

CUT-OFF SCORE (Online Main Examination)

Each candidate will be required to obtain a minimum score in each test of Online Main examination and also a minimum total score to be considered to be shortlisted for personality test and interview. Depending on the number of vacancies available, cut-offs will be decided and candidates will be shortlisted for personality test and interview. Prior to the completion of the interview process, scores obtained in the Online Main examination will not be shared with the candidates shortlisted for personality test and interview. Decision of IBPS in shortlisting and calling number of candidates for personality test and common interviews/ provisional allotment shall be final.

MARKS OBTAINED IN THE ONLINE MAIN EXAMINATION ONLY WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR SHORTLISTING FOR PERSONALITY TEST & INTERVIEW AND ALSO FOR FINAL MERIT LISTING

INTERVIEW

Candidates who have been shortlisted in the Online Main examination and appear for Personality Test for CRP- PO/MT-XVI will subsequently be called for an Interview to be conducted by the Participating Banks and coordinated by the Nodal Bank in each State/ UT/ Region with the help of IBPS. 

• Interviews will be conducted at select centres. The centre, address of the venue, time & date of Interview will be informed to the shortlisted candidates in the call letter.
• Candidates are required to download their interview call letters from official IBPS website www.ibps.in. Please note that any request regarding change in date, centre etc. of interview will not be entertained. However, IBPS reserves the right to change the date/ venue/ time/ centre etc. of interview or hold supplementary process for particular date / session / venue / centre / set of candidates at its discretion, under unforeseen circumstances, if any.
• The total marks allotted for Interview are 100. The minimum qualifying marks in interview will not be less than 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PWBD candidates).
• The relative weightage (ratio) of Online Main Exam and interview will be 80:20 respectively.
• The combined final score of candidates shall be arrived at on the basis of scores obtained by the candidates in the Online Main Examination of CRP- PO/MT-XVI and Interview.
• Interview score of the candidates failing to secure minimum qualifying marks or otherwise barred from the interview or further process shall not be disclosed.
• A candidate should qualify both in the Online Main Exam and interview and be sufficiently high in the merit to be shortlisted for subsequent provisional allotment process, details of which will be made available subsequently on official IBPS website www.ibps.in.
• While appearing for the Interview, the candidate should produce valid prescribed documents given below.
• In the absence of valid documents candidature of the candidates shall be cancelled. IBPS/ Nodal Bank/ Participating Bank take no responsibility to receive/ collect any certificate/remittance/ document sent separately.

📝 How to Apply Online for IBPS PO 2026?

📅 Registration Dates: 1 July 2026 

🌐 Apply Online

✅ Pre-Requisites Before Applying Online

🪜 Step-by-Step Process to Fill IBPS PO 2026 Application Form

Step 1: Online Registration

Step 2: Upload Photograph and Signature

Step 3: Fill Detailed Application Form

Step 4: Preview and Validate Application

Step 5: Upload Thumb Impression & Handwritten Declaration

Step 6: Pay the Application Fee

💳 Fee Structure:

Mode of Payment
Candidates should make the payment of requisite fees/ intimation charges through the ONLINE mode only:
Candidates must carefully fill in the details in the Online Application very carefully and click on the "FINAL SUBMIT" button at the end of the Online Application format. Once the application is filled in completely, candidate should submit the data.

The application form is integrated with the payment gateway and the payment process can be completed by following the instructions.
The payment can be made by using Debit Cards (RuPay/Visa/MasterCard/Maestro), Credit Cards, Internet Banking, IMPS, Cash Cards/Mobile Wallets by providing information as asked on the screen.

After Final Submit, an additional page of the application form is displayed wherein candidates may follow the instructions and fill in the requisite details.

If the online transaction has not been successfully completed, then candidates are advised to login again with their provisional registration number and password and pay the Application Fees/ Intimation Charges online.

On successful completion of the transaction, an e-receipt will be generated.

Candidates are required to take a printout of the e-receipt and online application form containing fee payment details. Please note that if the same cannot be generated then online transaction may not have been successful.

IBPS PO Application Fees 2026

For General/OBC/EWs category candidates: Rs.850
For SC/ST/PWB category candidates: Rs.175

IBPS PO Syllabus (Preliminary Exam)

The prelims exam constitutes single online exam having 100 marks which is further divided into 3 sections having following subjects:

English Language
Quantitative Aptitude
Reasoning Ability

The subject wise breakdown of the IBPS PO Prelims syllabus is mentioned below:

IBPS PO Mains Syllabus 2026

The syllabus for IBPS PO Mains is a little bit like the Prelims one, but the standard of questions is quite complex. A descriptive paper is included in this stage of the examination.
The detailed Probationary Officer Mains exam syllabus is mentioned below:

 IBPS PO Previous year cut off

 IBPS PO Cut Off 2025

 IBPS PO Prelims Cut Off 2025 – Category-Wise

IBPS PO Prelims Cut Off 2025 – Section-Wise

IBPS PO Mains Cut Off 2025

 IBPS PO Mains Cut Off 2025 – Category-Wise

IBPS PO FINAL CUT OFF 2025 OUT

IBPS PO Prelims Cut Off 2024 – Category-Wise

The IBPS PO 2024 preliminary examination cut-off scores have been released by category. Refer to the table below for the official category-wise cut-off marks:

IBPS PO Prelims Cut Off 2024 – Section-Wise

The table below highlights the sectional cut-off marks for each subject in the IBPS PO Prelims 2024 exam:

IBPS PO Mains Cut Off 2024

📊 IBPS PO Prelims Cut Off 2023 – Category-Wise

For reference, the category-wise cut-off scores for the IBPS PO 2023 Prelims are given below:

🧮 IBPS PO Prelims Cut Off 2023 – Section-Wise (General Category)

Below are the subject-wise minimum marks required by General category candidates in Prelims 2023:

📝 IBPS PO Mains Cut Off 2023 – Category-Wise

The cut-off scores out of 225 marks for the IBPS PO Mains 2023 are provided below:

📘 IBPS PO Mains 2023 – Section-Wise Cut Off

Here’s how the cut-offs break down section-wise in the Mains exam:

Vacancies 2026

This year IBPS has declared 6715 vacancies for IBPS PO 2026 Exam in their official notification whose details are tabulated below.

NR= Not Reported May include backlog vacancies for some banks

Vacancies 2025

This year IBPS has declared 5208 vacancies for IBPS PO 2025 Exam in their official notification whose details are tabulated below.

NR= Not Reported 
May include backlog vacancies for some banks 

IBPS PO Salary 2026

Key Responsibilities:

Customer Service:

Handling customer queries, resolving complaints, and building strong customer relationships. 

 Branch Operations:

Supervising branch activities, daily transactions, and ensuring smooth functioning. 

 Loan Processing:

Evaluating loan applications, processing loan documents, and ensuring compliance with banking regulations. 

 Business Development:

Attracting new customers, promoting bank products and services, and expanding the bank's business. 

 Financial Management:

Handling billing, accounting, revenue collection, and other financial aspects of the branch. 

 Supervision:

Supervising clerical staff, ensuring accuracy in daily transactions, and maintaining proper documentation. 

IBPS PO 2026 Eligibility Criteria – Overview

IBPS PO 2026 – Nationality Criteria

A candidate must be either - 
(i) a Citizen of India or  
(ii) a subject of Nepal or   
(iii) a subject of Bhutan or  
(iv) a Tibetan Refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India  or  
(v) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India, provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) & (v) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the 
Government of India.

IBPS PO 2026 – Age Limit & Relaxation (AS ON 01.07.2026) 

 Age Relaxation (as per government norms):

Educational Qualification (As on 21.07.2026)

A Degree (Graduation) in any discipline from a University recognised by the Govt. Of India or any equivalent qualification recognized as such by the Central Government.

The candidate must possess valid Mark-sheet / Degree Certificate that he/ she is a graduate on the day he / she registers and indicate the percentage of marks obtained in Graduation while registering online. 

Note:  
 (1) All the educational qualifications mentioned should be from a University/ Institution/ Board recognised by Govt. Of India/ approved by Govt. Regulatory Bodies and the final result should have been declared on or before 21.07.2026. 

(2) Proper document from Board / University for having declared the result on or before 21.07.2026 has to be submitted at the time of interview. The date of passing the eligibility examination will be the date appearing on the mark-sheet or provisional certificate issued by University / Institute. In case the result of a particular examination is posted on the website of the University / Institute and web based certificate is issued then proper document/certificate in original issued and signed by the appropriate authority of the University / Institute indicating the date of passing properly mentioned thereon will be reckoned for verification and further process.

(3)  Candidate should indicate the percentage obtained in Graduation calculated to the nearest two decimals in the online application. Where CGPA / OGPA is awarded, the same should be converted into percentage and indicated in online application. If called for interview, the candidate will have to produce a certificate issued by the appropriate authority inter alia stating that the norms of the University regarding conversion of grade into percentage and the percentage of marks scored by the candidate in terms of norms. 

(4)  Calculation of Percentage: The percentage marks shall be arrived at by dividing the total marks obtained by the candidate in all the subjects in all semester(s)/year(s) by aggregate maximum marks (in all the subjects irrespective of honours / optional / additional optional subject, if any) multiplied by 100.  This will be applicable for those Universities also where Class / Grade is decided on basis of Honours marks only. The fraction of percentage so arrived will be ignored i.e. 59.99% will be treated as less than 60% and 54.99% will be treated as less than 55%. 

In case Grade point system (CGPA/ OGPA) is adopted, the candidates are required to convert their CGPA/ OGPA into percentage as per criteria adopted by the University/ Institute. The candidates must produce documentary proof of the criteria for conversion into percentage adopted by the University/ Institute at the time of Interview/ Document Verification.

Following are the list of exam centres with state code for IBPS PO prelims and mains examination.