What the RBI Assistant cut-off means
RBI Assistant has two kinds of cut-off. You must qualify in each test separately (the sectional cut-off), and your total must reach the cut-off for your recruiting office and category. You apply to one office, so you compete only for that office’s vacancies. The prelims shortlists about 10 times the vacancies for the mains, and the mains shortlists about 2 times the vacancies for the qualifying LPT.
Prelims cut-off 2026, office-wise and category-wise
These are the cut-off marks RBI applied on the total out of 100 in the online preliminary exam held on 11, 13 and 30 April 2026. Find your recruiting office and read across to your category. Scroll sideways on a phone to see every column.
| Office | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | GEN | PwBD-A | PwBD-B | PwBD-C | PwBD-D&E | EXS-1 | EXS-2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | – | 81.25 | 91.25 | 89.75 | 94.25 | 65.25 | 41.75 | 72.50 | 16.75 | – | 75.50 |
| Bengaluru | – | 85.25 | 90.00 | 88.00 | 92.50 | 79.50 | – | 80.75 | 13.25 | 8.75* | 73.50 |
| Bhopal | 91.75 | 87.00 | – | 93.00 | 94.75 | 85.75 | 50.50 | 85.00 | 52.75 | 55.25 | 82.00 |
| Bhubaneswar | 89.25 | 83.25 | 94.75 | 93.75 | 95.75 | 74.25 | 39.50 | 78.25 | 26.00 | – | 86.50 |
| Chandigarh | 92.00 | – | 93.50 | 94.50 | 96.75 | 82.00 | 51.75 | – | 65.50 | – | 85.25 |
| Chennai | 89.25 | 82.50 | 94.00 | 83.00 | 94.75 | 78.75 | 39.50 | – | – | 23.00 | 70.25 |
| Guwahati | 90.50 | 86.00 | 91.00 | 87.50 | 93.50 | 58.50 | 29.75 | 57.00 | 12.50 | 6.75* | 69.25 |
| Hyderabad | 93.00 | – | 95.00 | 93.50 | 96.25 | – | 58.00 | 84.25 | – | – | 84.50 |
| Jaipur | 90.75 | 89.00 | 94.75 | 93.75 | 96.00 | – | 45.00 | – | – | – | 87.50 |
| Jammu | – | 86.50 | 90.75 | 89.00 | 95.00 | – | – | – | – | – | 80.25 |
| Kanpur & Lucknow | 89.50 | – | 94.00 | 93.75 | 96.00 | – | 58.50 | 85.25 | 53.00 | 60.00 | 85.00 |
| Kolkata | 93.00 | 88.75 | – | 92.00 | 95.25 | – | 56.25 | 79.25 | 52.50 | 44.50 | 79.75 |
| Mumbai | 86.25 | 85.00 | 90.00 | 86.50 | 90.25 | 82.00 | 38.25 | 77.00 | 35.75 | 11.25* | 68.00 |
| Nagpur | 89.50 | 85.25 | 93.75 | 86.50 | 92.25 | – | 24.75 | – | – | – | 62.25 |
| New Delhi | 90.50 | – | 93.75 | 93.75 | 95.25 | – | – | 85.25 | 66.00 | 62.00 | 86.75 |
| Patna | 87.00 | – | 94.75 | 95.00 | 96.00 | – | 60.50 | 86.25 | – | – | 87.25 |
| Thiruvananthapuram | – | – | 96.00 | – | 96.25 | – | 40.75 | – | 13.75 | – | – |
Source: RBI’s prelims cut-off table of 27 August 2026. “–” means there was no vacancy in that category at that office. “*” means every qualified candidate was already on the merit list, so the list couldn’t be extended. For GEN candidates, the cut-off ranged from 90.25 (Mumbai) to 96.75 (Chandigarh).
| Category | English (30) | Numerical Ability (35) | Reasoning (35) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EWS / General | 12.00 | 14.00 | 14.00 |
| SC / ST / OBC / PwBD-A / PwBD-C / EXS-2 | 10.50 | 12.25 | 12.25 |
| PwBD-B | 3.00 | 3.50 | 3.50 |
| PwBD-D&E / EXS-1 | 1.50 | 1.75 | 1.75 |
These are the category-wise sectional cut-offs from the same table. You had to clear all three sections and your office’s total cut-off to reach the mains. RBI also published individual prelims marksheets on 27 August 2026.
Vacancies behind the cut-off, by category
Cut-offs are drawn against the vacancies in each category at each office. These are the 650 vacancies from the “Total” row of the advertisement’s vacancy table.
Source: para 1 of the Panel Year 2025 advertisement dated 16.02.2026. The ST figure includes 1 backlog post. PwBD (A 9, B 27, C 13, D 21) and ex-servicemen (EXS-1 21, EXS-2 58) vacancies are horizontal, so they sit inside these numbers. Offices range from 6 posts (Thiruvananthapuram) to 249 (Mumbai), and RBI may increase or decrease the vacancies.
Mains cut-off: not published yet
RBI declared the mains result on 24 September 2026 as a list of roll numbers shortlisted for the LPT. Its result notice says the individual marksheets and the category-wise, region-wise cut-offs for the mains will be displayed shortly. As of 12 October 2026 they haven’t been published, so the table below shows only the rules.
What decides the cut-off
RBI doesn’t fix the marks in advance. According to the advertisement, these things shape where the line falls:
Office- and category-wise vacancies
You apply to one of 17 recruiting offices and compete only for its vacancies. That’s why the 2026 GEN prelims cut-off ran from 90.25 at Mumbai (249 posts) to 96.75 at Chandigarh (20 posts).
The 10× and 2× shortlists
About 10 times the vacancies go from the prelims to the mains, and about 2 times from the mains to the LPT. Where each list ends depends on the vacancies and on how candidates score.
Negative marking
A quarter of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer, in both the prelims and the mains. Questions you leave blank cost nothing.
Sections & normalisation
You must qualify in each test separately. Where a test runs in more than one session, scores are equated and then normalised using the equipercentile method.
How the final merit list works
Candidates high in merit on the mains aggregate — about 2 times the vacancies — are called for the Language Proficiency Test in the official or local language of the state (for example Marathi or Konkani for Mumbai, Tamil for Chennai, Hindi for New Delhi). Final selection is made in order of merit in the online exam, subject to qualifying in the LPT, being declared medically fit and verification of your documents. There is no interview.
The LPT is mandatory, with no exemption, and is held at the Regional Office. A candidate found not proficient in the language is disqualified. RBI hasn’t announced LPT dates; the office you applied to intimates its LPT centre and dates. Shortlisted candidates also had to send their documents to the Regional Director, HRMD of that office within ten days of the 24 September 2026 result.
See the full selection processCrack RBI Assistant with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ practice sets & timed mocks — built around the RBI Assistant pattern.
Clear every section, then push your total
RBI Assistant has sectional cut-offs, so one weak section can knock you out even with a high total. And the office cut-offs in 2026 sat above 90 out of 100 for GEN at every office. JobSafal helps you spot the weak section early and fix it before exam day.
Section-wise mock analysis
See your English, Numerical Ability and Reasoning scores separately after every mock, so you know where marks are slipping.
Daily plan
Daily targets that spend more time on the section closest to its cut-off.
Accuracy over guessing
Practise deciding when to skip, since every wrong answer costs a quarter of a mark.
Timed mocks
Separately timed sections, just like the real exam, so you build the right pace for each test.
