IBPS SO Cut-Off: How It Works for Each Post
IBPS shows the cut-off with your own result. Each post and category has its own.
The IBPS SO cut-off is set separately for each post and each category, and IBPS shows it to you with your own result rather than in a public list. Its FAQ says cut-off marks for your category are provided along with the online examination result, which you open with your registration details.
This page explains how the cut-off works at each stage for IT Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari under CRP SPL-XVI, the 2026 notification. It shows no figures: on 19 October 2026 the IBPS SO pages carried no cut-off PDF for SPL-XIV, XV or XVI.
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Where each post's Prelims cut-off applies (SPL-XVI)
Four tests, each with its own minimum. The third test depends on your post.
| Post | Prelims tests, each with a cut-off |
|---|---|
| IT Officer | English, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, Professional Knowledge |
| Agricultural Field Officer | English, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, Professional Knowledge |
| HR/Personnel Officer | English, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, Professional Knowledge |
| Marketing Officer | English, Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, Professional Knowledge |
| Law Officer | English, Reasoning, General Awareness (banking), Professional Knowledge |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari | English, Reasoning, General Awareness (banking), Professional Knowledge |
How the cut-off works at each stage
- 1
Prelims: clear all four tests
You must reach the minimum in each of the four tests. Professional Knowledge carries 50 of the 125 marks in SPL-XVI. IBPS then shortlists enough candidates in each category for Mains.
- 2
Mains: qualify, then rank on Professional Knowledge
Every Mains test except Professional Knowledge is qualifying only. You need a minimum in each test, and your Professional Knowledge score decides your rank for the interview call.
- 3
Interview: at least 40%
The interview is out of 100. The minimum is 40%, or 35% for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates.
- 4
Final merit: Mains and interview in an 80:20 ratio
Your final score combines Mains and interview in an 80:20 ratio. Provisional allotment to banks follows from that merit and the vacancies.
Terms you will see
- Sectional cut-off
- The minimum in one test. In SO Prelims every test has one, so a blank section ends your attempt.
- Qualifying test
- A test you must pass whose marks do not count towards your rank. In SPL-XVI Mains, every test except Professional Knowledge is qualifying.
- Normalised score
- Where the exam runs in several sessions, IBPS adjusts scores by the equi-percentile method so that sessions of different difficulty compare fairly. Cut-offs apply to these adjusted scores.
- Post-wise cut-off
- Each post has its own vacancies and candidates, so an IT Officer cut-off says nothing about the Law Officer one.
Data interpretation and arithmetic in the exam style. No signup.
Why older cut-offs do not carry over
The SPL-XVI pattern is new. Under SPL-XV, Prelims had three tests and Mains was a single Professional Knowledge paper. SPL-XVI adds Professional Knowledge to Prelims and adds English, Reasoning, a third test and a descriptive paper to Mains. Any cut-off from an earlier cycle was set on a different paper with different marks, so it cannot be compared with this one.
Vacancies also change the cut-off each year. A post with few vacancies in a cycle is harder to clear even if the paper is easier.
How the exam tests this
- check_circleThe trap in Prelims is treating English or Reasoning as minor. Each is worth 25 marks, but each has its own cut-off, and failing one ends the attempt.
- check_circleIn Mains, Professional Knowledge alone decides your rank, at 100 of the 200 objective marks. The other tests only need to be cleared.
- check_circleA wrong answer costs one quarter of the question's marks in both Prelims and Mains. In a 25-question test, a few wild guesses can drop you under the minimum.
- check_circleIBPS does not share Mains scores until the interview process ends, so you will not know your Mains margin when you walk into the interview.
FAQs
Where can I check the IBPS SO cut-off?expand_more
With your own result on ibps.in. IBPS's FAQ says the cut-off for your category is provided along with the online examination result. It is not issued as a public PDF.
Is the IBPS SO cut-off different for each post?expand_more
Yes. Each post has its own vacancies and its own Professional Knowledge paper, so IT, AFO, Law, HR, Marketing and Rajbhasha cut-offs differ.
Is there a sectional cut-off in IBPS SO?expand_more
Yes. Under SPL-XVI you must clear the minimum in each of the four Prelims tests and in each Mains test.
How is the IBPS SO final merit calculated?expand_more
Mains and interview are combined in an 80:20 ratio. The interview is out of 100, with a minimum of 40% (35% for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD).
Next steps
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Prelims plus your stream's Professional Knowledge paper.