How to Prepare for the IBBI Limited Insolvency Exam
Five in six attempts fail. Most of them know the law. They lose marks on the case studies and the guessing.
Between July 2025 and June 2026, 113 of 717 attempts at the IBBI Limited Insolvency Examination passed, about one in six. Most people sitting it are experienced chartered accountants, company secretaries, cost accountants, lawyers and managers. They do not fail for lack of ability.
They fail because of how the paper is built. 70 of the 100 marks come from case studies that test the Code and regulations applied to long sets of facts, every wrong answer costs marks, and 60% leaves little room. A good plan is built around those three facts.
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A Study Plan That Follows the Marks
Ordered by what the marks reward, not by the order of the syllabus.
- 1
1. CIRP and liquidation first
Two case studies (40 marks) are on corporate insolvency resolution and liquidation. Learn the Code's Part II with the CIRP and Liquidation Regulations side by side: who does what, by when, with whose approval.
- 2
2. Build your timeline and threshold sheets
Write down every day-count (public announcement, claims, CoC constitution, process deadlines) and every voting threshold. Case-study questions turn on exactly these numbers.
- 3
3. Pre-pack and individual insolvency
Two shorter case studies (8 marks each). Fewer candidates study them well, so they are good marks for the effort.
- 4
4. Ethics and the IP code of conduct
A 6-mark case study on business and professional ethics. Read the Code of Conduct in the IP Regulations closely: what an IP may and may not accept, disclose or do.
- 5
5. Business and general laws
11 one-mark questions plus an 8-mark case study, spread over a long list of Acts. Study the Companies Act chapters and Contract Act sections IBBI names, then the rest at summary level.
- 6
6. The 72 judgments
Five direct marks, but their principles appear across the case studies. One line per case on what it decided is enough.
- 7
7. Finance and general awareness
Four marks between them. Cover them last and lightly.
Study the Law as It Stood on 4 February 2025
IBBI ignores every amendment made after that date. If your notes or a coaching source include a later change, learn the earlier rule for the exam.
Train for the Case Studies
A case study gives you a page of facts (a company, its creditors, dates, amounts, a series of events) and then asks four to ten questions on it. The law is rarely hard. The difficulty is holding all the facts in your head while you apply it, ten questions in a row, against the clock.
Practise with full narratives. Read the questions before the facts so you know what to look for, mark every date and amount as you read, and answer in order, because later questions often build on earlier ones.
A plan built on a guess about your weak area is a guess.
Handling Negative Marking
Each wrong answer costs 25% of the question's marks. An unanswered question costs nothing.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You know the answer | Answer it |
| You can rule out one or two options | Answer: on a four-option question the odds favour you |
| You cannot rule out anything | Your call: a pure guess is roughly break-even, so skip if you are already safely above 60 |
| You were sure but have a nagging doubt | Re-read the facts: confident wrong answers are where the penalty really bites |
The Last Two Weeks
- 1
Take a full timed mock
65 questions, 2 hours, negative marking applied. Note where the time goes.
- 2
Fix the weakest area, then mock again
Re-read the regulations behind every wrong answer, not just the answer key.
- 3
Sit IBBI's model paper
Use it as your final dress rehearsal, under exam conditions.
- 4
Book only when you are scoring above 60 with margin
The fee is ₹5,900 per attempt and a fail means waiting 21 days.
IBBI Preparation: Common Questions
How long does it take to prepare for the IBBI exam?expand_more
IBBI publishes no guidance, and it depends heavily on how much insolvency work you already do. The useful test is your score on full timed mocks with negative marking: book once you are consistently above 60.
Which topics should I study first?expand_more
CIRP and liquidation: two case studies on them carry 40 of the 100 marks, and the Code and regulations behind them feed most of the other case studies too.
Why is the pass rate so low?expand_more
Mainly the paper's design: 70 marks of applied case studies, negative marking and a 60% pass mark. IBBI's figures show 113 passes from 717 attempts in July 2025 to June 2026.
Should I attempt every question?expand_more
Not necessarily. IBBI asks candidates to answer all questions, but an unanswered question only scores zero, while a wrong one loses marks. Answer whenever you can eliminate at least one option.
Next steps
- Syllabusarrow_forward
- Study Materialarrow_forward
- Exam Patternarrow_forward
- IBBI LIE Mock Testarrow_forward
Check the plan is working with a full timed mock.