Exam pattern at a glance
IBPS SO 2026 (CRP SPL-XVI) is an online exam in two phases, followed by a common interview. Prelims only screens. Mains Professional Knowledge and the interview build the final merit list. Your post decides which version of each paper you sit.
Prelims exam pattern
Four objective tests, each with its own 20-minute timer, for 100 questions and 125 marks in 80 minutes. You must clear IBPS’s minimum cut-off in each of the four tests. IBPS then shortlists an adequate number of candidates in each category for mains.
IT Officer · Agricultural Field Officer · HR/Personnel Officer · Marketing Officer
| Test | Questions | Marks | Time | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 25 | 25 | 20 min | English |
| Reasoning | 25 | 25 | 20 min | English & Hindi |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 25 | 20 min | English & Hindi |
| Professional Knowledge | 25 | 50 | 20 min | English & Hindi |
| Total | 100 | 125 | 80 min | −¼ of marks per wrong answer |
Law Officer · Rajbhasha Adhikari
| Test | Questions | Marks | Time | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 25 | 25 | 20 min | English |
| Reasoning | 25 | 25 | 20 min | English & Hindi |
| General Awareness with special reference to Banking Industry | 25 | 25 | 20 min | English & Hindi |
| Professional Knowledge | 25 | 50 | 20 min | English & Hindi |
| Total | 100 | 125 | 80 min | −¼ of marks per wrong answer |
Mains exam pattern
Mains has four objective tests and a descriptive paper, for 225 marks in 155 minutes. Every test except Professional Knowledge is qualifying. You need IBPS’s minimum score in each test and a high enough Professional Knowledge score to be shortlisted for interview. IBPS sets these cut-offs based on the vacancies available.
| Part | Taken by | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective tests (4) | All mains candidates | 150 | 200 | 2 h 5 m |
| Descriptive Paper (English) | IT, AFO, HR, Marketing, Law | 2 | 25 | 30 min |
| Professional Knowledge (Descriptive Paper) | Rajbhasha Adhikari | 2 | 25 | 30 min |
| Interview | Shortlisted after mains | — | 100 | — |
IT Officer · Agricultural Field Officer · HR/Personnel Officer · Marketing Officer
| Test | Questions | Marks | Time | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 25 min | English |
| Reasoning | 40 | 40 | 35 min | English & Hindi |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 30 | 25 min | English & Hindi |
| Professional Knowledge (Objective) | 50 | 100 | 40 min | English & Hindi |
| Descriptive Paper (English) | 2 | 25 | 30 min | English |
| Total | 152 | 225 | 155 min | Objective: 150 Q · 200 marks · 125 min |
Law Officer · Rajbhasha Adhikari
The objective tests are the same for both posts. Only the descriptive paper differs.
| Test | Questions | Marks | Time | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 25 min | English |
| Reasoning | 40 | 40 | 35 min | English & Hindi |
| General Awareness with special reference to Banking Industry | 30 | 30 | 20 min | English & Hindi |
| Professional Knowledge (Objective) | 50 | 100 | 45 min | English & Hindi |
| Law Officer: Descriptive Paper (English) | 2 | 25 | 30 min | English |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari: Professional Knowledge (Descriptive Paper) | 2 | 25 | 30 min | English & Hindi |
| Total (each post) | 152 | 225 | 155 min | Objective: 150 Q · 200 marks · 125 min |
Each test is timed separately. Mains runs 155 minutes, and IBPS says to plan for about 4 hours or more at the venue for verification and other formalities. For prelims, plan for about 3 hours.
Descriptive paper & interview
Mains ends with a 30-minute written paper, and clearing mains leads to the common interview before the final merit list.
Descriptive Paper (English)
Taken by IT, AFO, HR/Personnel, Marketing and Law Officer candidates. IBPS gives the number of questions, the marks, the time and the medium, but no topics. It also doesn’t say whether this paper counts towards merit.
Professional Knowledge (Descriptive) · Rajbhasha
Rajbhasha Adhikari candidates take a Professional Knowledge descriptive paper in place of the English one, offered in English and Hindi.
Common Interview
Held by the participating banks and coordinated by the nodal banks in each State / UT / Region, with IBPS’s help. Mains scores aren’t shared with shortlisted candidates until interviews are over.
What changed from last year
The 2026 notification (CRP SPL-XVI) brings in a new structure. If you used 2025 material, here’s how the two compare.
| Stage | 2025 cycle (CRP SPL-XV) | 2026 (CRP SPL-XVI) |
|---|---|---|
| Prelims tests | 3 tests of 50 questions: English (25 marks), Reasoning (50), and Quant or GA – Banking (50) | 4 tests of 25 questions: English (25 marks), Reasoning (25), Quant or GA – Banking (25), Professional Knowledge (50) |
| Prelims size & time | 150 questions · 125 marks · 2 hours | 100 questions · 125 marks · 80 minutes |
| Mains | Professional Knowledge only: 60 questions, 60 marks, 45 minutes (Rajbhasha: 45 objective questions plus 2 descriptive) | English, Reasoning, Quant or GA – Banking (all qualifying), Professional Knowledge (50 Q, 100 marks), plus a descriptive paper |
| Mains time | 45 min (Rajbhasha: 30 + 30 min) | 155 min for every post |
The interview (100 marks), the 80:20 Mains-to-interview weightage and the ¼-mark penalty are the same in both notifications.
Negative marking, stage by stage
IBPS uses one rule for every objective test: a wrong answer costs one-fourth (0.25) of the marks assigned to that question. Professional Knowledge questions carry 2 marks each, so a wrong answer there costs 0.5. Leave a question blank and there’s no penalty.
| Exam stage | Penalty per wrong answer |
|---|---|
| Prelims (all four tests) | ¼ of the question’s marks |
| Mains objective tests (all four) | ¼ of the question’s marks |
| Mains descriptive paper | Not an objective test — the penalty rule covers objective tests |
| Unattempted questions | No penalty |
Prelims marks are used only to shortlist for mains. Only Main exam marks count for the interview shortlist and the final merit list, where Mains and interview are weighted 80:20. Scores from different sessions, if held, are normalised using the equi-percentile method, to two decimal places.
Prep for IBPS SO with your own daily plan
Daily targets for Reasoning, English, Quant & banking awareness — the general tests in the IBPS SO exam.
Get the qualifying tests under control
Under the new pattern, the general tests are qualifying at both stages. Fall short in any one of them and your Professional Knowledge score doesn’t matter. JobSafal doesn’t have IBPS SO mock tests or PYQ sets yet, and it doesn’t cover post-specific Professional Knowledge. Your IBPS SO plan does give you daily targets for the general tests: Reasoning, English, Quant and banking awareness.
Daily targets
General-test topics sequenced into short sessions, so you always know what to study next.
Reasoning & English
Taken by all six posts, in prelims and again in mains.
Quant or banking awareness
Whichever your post takes: Quant for IT, AFO, HR and Marketing, banking awareness for Law and Rajbhasha.
English & Hindi
Study in the language you’re most comfortable with.
