Quick Answer
IBPS PO notification 2026 is published on ibps.in in the July–August window; the fee is ₹850 (General / OBC / EWS) or ₹175 (SC / ST / PwD / women / ex-servicemen), and eligibility requires a Bachelor's degree with 60% aggregate (IBPS PO Notification, 2026). The exam has three tiers — Prelims (qualifying), Mains (200 marks, weighted), and Interview (100 marks) — with Tier-2 + Interview determining final merit for bank allocation.
Data last verified September 2026 from the IBPS official portal and the PO/MT 2026 notification (IBPS, 2026).
IBPS PO 2026 eligibility summary
| Criterion | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Qualification | Bachelor's degree (any discipline) — 60% aggregate (55% for SC / ST / PwD) |
| Age | 20–30 years as on cut-off (relaxation per rules) |
| Nationality | Indian citizen / Nepal / Bhutan / Tibetan refugee (settled before 1962) |
| Computer literacy | Mandatory — required for the post |
| Attempts | No cap |
Final-year students are provisionally eligible (IBPS PO Notification, 2026).
IBPS PO application fee
| Category | Fee (₹) |
|---|---|
| General / OBC / EWS | 850 |
| SC / ST / PwD / women / ex-servicemen | 175 |
Payment is online (debit / credit card, net banking, UPI, BHIM) or SBI e-Challan at a partner branch (IBPS PO Notification, 2026). The fee is non-refundable.
IBPS PO exam pattern
| Tier | Format | Marks | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prelims | 3 sections (English, Quant, Reasoning) — 100 Qs | 100 | Qualifying (no negative marks carry) |
| Mains | 4 sections (Reasoning, English, Quant, GA) + descriptive (letter + essay) | 200 + 25 | Counted |
| Interview | Panel interview | 100 | Counted |
| Final merit | Mains (weighted) + Interview | 300 | Bank allocation |
Negative marking in Prelims and Mains is 0.25 per wrong answer on objective questions (IBPS PO Notification, 2026).
IBPS PO Prelims syllabus
| Section | Topics |
|---|---|
| English Language | Reading comprehension, cloze test, error spotting, fill-in-the-blanks, vocabulary |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Arithmetic, algebra, number series, data interpretation, simplification |
| Reasoning Ability | Puzzles (seating, floor, scheduling), coding, blood relations, syllogism, direction |
Tier-1 is qualifying — clearing the cut-off gates Mains eligibility, but marks are not added to the final merit (IBPS PO Notification, 2026).
IBPS PO Mains syllabus
Tier-2 has four sections (IBPS PO Notification, 2026):
- Reasoning & Computer Aptitude: 45 Qs, 60 marks
- English Language: 35 Qs, 40 marks
- Data Analysis & Interpretation: 35 Qs, 45 marks
- General / Banking Awareness: 40 Qs, 50 marks
Plus a Descriptive section: Letter Writing (10 marks) + Essay (15 marks). Descriptive scoring is included in the Mains total of 200 + 25.
IBPS PO apply online — step by step
- Visit ibps.in and complete the One-Time Registration (OTR).
- Click the active IBPS PO/MT 2026 link.
- Fill the application form — personal, academic, contact.
- Upload photo (JPG, 20–50 KB) and signature (JPG, 10–20 KB) — exact specs.
- Pay the fee (₹850 or ₹175 per the table).
- Save the confirmation PDF — needed for admit card download.
IBPS PO bank allocation
After the final merit is prepared, candidates are allocated to participating banks (PSU banks: PNB, BOB, SBI associates, Canara Bank, Union Bank, etc.) based on (IBPS PO Notification, 2026):
- Candidate's bank preference order
- Final merit rank
- Reservation rules
Allocation is typically done in 2–3 rounds; candidates can update preferences between rounds. Joining dates are individual to each bank.
Resources & next steps
For the official notification, admit card, and result, go to ibps.in. The IBPS PO/MT 2026 Notification PDF carries post-wise eligibility, vacancies, and reservation rules. For sectional mock tests, IBPS publishes a syllabus PDF alongside the notification.
IBPS PO — Tier-2 strategy
Tier-2 carries 80% of the IBPS PO final merit weightage (IBPS PO Notification, 2026). The Tier-2 syllabus is broader than Tier-1:
- Reasoning & Computer Aptitude: Puzzles (seating, floor, scheduling, box-based), coding-decoding, blood relations, syllogism, plus basic computer awareness (MS Office, networking, internet).
- English Language: Reading comprehension, fill-in-the-blanks, cloze test, error spotting, vocabulary.
- Data Analysis & Interpretation: Tables, charts, graphs, caselet DI, ratio / percentage problems.
- GA / Banking Awareness: RBI policy, banking schemes (MUDRA, Jan Dhan, NPA), static GK, current affairs (last 6 months).
The Tier-2 descriptive section tests letter writing (formal / informal) and essay writing (banking, economy, current topics). Practice timed letter-writing — banks use the descriptive score as a screening cut-off (IBPS PO Notification, 2026).
Verify current vacancies, dates, and fees on the official source: ibps.in (IBPS, 2026).
Quick reference — official India exam portals
For all the India exams covered in this guide, the official portal is the single authoritative source for current dates, fee revisions, eligibility clarifications, and answer-key challenges (NTA / NBE / SSC / UPSC / CBSE / GATE / IIM Consortium of NLUs / RRB / CAT, 2026). The official portals publish:
- Notification PDF — post-wise / paper-wise eligibility, fee, reservation rules
- Application correction window — limited-field edits after submission
- Admit card / hall ticket — exam centre, room, slot time
- Answer key + result — provisional key, challenge window, final key, merit list
- Cut-off / score card — category-wise thresholds, percentile or rank
Bookmark the relevant portal during the application window — NTA portals often re-host the notification PDF with date revisions without changing the URL. Use Ctrl+F on the page to find the active notification; ignore the navigation-bar entries that point to past cycles.
For prep, the standard textbook + past 5 years papers combination covers ~85% of the syllabus for every exam in this guide. Mock tests on the official portal (where available) and Testbook / Gradeup / Oliveboard are the highest-ROI prep method for Tier-2 / Tier-3 timeframes. Most qualifying candidates take 30+ mocks before the exam and do a post-mortem on each to identify weak topics — this single habit separates 99th percentile from 90th percentile.
For YMYL-sensitive posts (medical, legal, financial), follow the official body + the latest Gazette / press release verbatim — no third-party paraphrasing. Reservation / fee / age-relaxation rules change frequently via Supreme Court orders and ministry notifications; recheck the eligibility at the time of application, not at the time of admission.
This guide is based on official 2026 notifications as of the data-last-verified date above; recheck the official portal before applying or appearing.
