The IBPS PO Prelims 2026 examination is being conducted on August 22 and 23, 2026. The official cut-off will be released by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) along with the result. Candidates can use the expected cut-off to estimate their chances of qualifying for the Mains examination. The IBPS PO 2026 recruitment is being conducted under CRP PO/MT-XVI, and the official IBPS calendar schedules the Mains examination for October 4, 2026.
Since the official 2026 cut-off has not yet been announced, the category-wise figures given below are expected ranges, prepared by considering previous-year trends, examination difficulty, vacancies, and candidate performance. These marks should not be treated as the final IBPS PO cut-off.
The IBPS PO Prelims examination is conducted for 100 marks and consists of English Language, Reasoning Ability and Quantitative Aptitude. The cut-off is released separately for different categories. Recent analyses place the General/UR expected cut-off around the upper-40s to low-50s, although a higher score is advisable as a safety margin.
| Category | Expected Cut Off 2026 |
|---|---|
| General/UR | 50–55 marks |
| EWS | 49–54 marks |
| OBC-NCL | 49–54 marks |
| SC | 45–50 marks |
| ST | 40–46 marks |
| HI | 20–25 marks |
| OC | 32–38 marks |
| VI | 21–27 marks |
| ID | 21–27 marks |
Note: These are estimated ranges, not official cut-off marks. The actual cut-off can move upward or downward depending on the difficulty level, normalization, vacancies and overall candidate performance.
Candidates should not target merely the expected cut-off. A score several marks above the anticipated cut-off provides a better safety margin because the final cut-off can vary after normalization.
| Category | Expected Cut Off | Suggested Safe Score |
| General/UR | 50–55 | 60+ |
| EWS | 49–54 | 59+ |
| OBC-NCL | 49–54 | 59+ |
| SC | 45–50 | 55+ |
| ST | 40–46 | 51+ |
| PwBD categories | Varies | Category-specific target |
A score of 60–65 marks or more can therefore be considered a strong target for candidates aiming to remain comfortably above the expected General-category range. Historical projections also suggest that maintaining a 60+ target gives candidates a useful buffer over recent cut-off levels.
Previous-year cut-off data is useful for understanding the competition. For the 2025 cycle, the reported overall preliminary cut-offs included 49.21 for General/EWS/OBC, 45.96 for SC and 40.96 for ST.
| Category | IBPS PO Prelims 2025 Cut Off |
| General/UR | 49.21 |
| EWS | 49.21 |
| OBC-NCL | 49.21 |
| SC | 45.96 |
| ST | 40.96 |
| HI | 20.61 |
| VI | 21.65 |
| OC | 33.57 |
| ID | 21.83 |
For comparison, the 2024 General, EWS and OBC cut-off was reported at 48.50, while the SC and ST cut-offs were lower.
The cut-off does not remain constant every year. It depends substantially on the difficulty of the question paper and the number of candidates competing for available vacancies.
| Year | General/UR Prelims Cut Off | SC | ST |
| 2024 | 48.50 | 45.00* | 39.50* |
| 2025 | 49.21 | 45.96 | 40.96 |
| 2026 Expected | 50–55 | 45–50 | 40–46 |
*Previous-year figures can differ across published datasets because of category/PwBD reporting and the particular recruitment cycle. Candidates should use the official IBPS scorecard/cut-off PDF as the final authority.
IBPS also applies sectional qualifying requirements in the Preliminary examination. Therefore, candidates should not focus only on the overall score. They need to perform adequately in English, Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude.
A reasonable expected benchmark for the General/EWS category can be considered as follows:
| Section | Maximum Marks | Expected Sectional Range |
| English Language | 30 | 8–12 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 8–12 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 6–10 |
These are indicative ranges rather than official 2026 sectional cut-offs. In previous cycles, sectional thresholds have varied significantly. For example, reported 2025 benchmarks included 9.75 in Reasoning, 13.25 in English and 6.25 in Quantitative Aptitude for General/EWS candidates.
Several factors determine the final IBPS PO cut-off. Therefore, the expected marks should be treated as an estimate rather than a fixed qualifying score.
If the question paper is difficult, the overall cut-off is generally expected to decrease. Conversely, an easier paper can result in higher cut-offs because more candidates are able to score well.
The number of vacancies is another important factor. A larger number of vacancies can put downward pressure on the cut-off, while fewer vacancies can increase competition for each available position. IBPS has also issued an updated-vacancy notice for CRP PO/MT-XVI, so candidates should consider the latest vacancy position while assessing the competition.
The IBPS PO examination attracts a large number of banking aspirants. If the number of candidates performing strongly increases, the qualifying cut-off can also rise.
Since the Preliminary examination is conducted in multiple shifts, normalization is used to account for differences in difficulty between shifts. Consequently, a candidate’s raw score and normalized score may differ.
The overall performance of candidates also affects the final cut-off. If candidates collectively perform better than in the previous year, the cut-off may increase.
Candidates who clear the Preliminary examination will appear for the Mains examination. The official IBPS calendar has scheduled the IBPS PO Mains 2026 for October 4, 2026.
The Mains examination is considerably more competitive, and its cut-off is calculated separately. Based on recent trends, an indicative expected range could be:
| Category | Expected Mains Cut Off 2026* |
| General/UR | 65–70 |
| EWS | 63–68 |
| OBC-NCL | 63–68 |
| SC | 54–59 |
| ST | 47–53 |
*These are indicative estimates and should not be confused with the official 2026 Mains cut-off.
For reference, the 2024 reported Mains cut-off was 66.50 for General, 66 for OBC, 54.25 for SC, 47.50 for ST and 64.75 for EWS, out of 225 marks.
Candidates will be able to check the official cut-off through the IBPS website after the result and scorecard are released.
Steps to check the IBPS PO Cut Off:
The official IBPS website currently lists CRP PO/MT-XVI and related preliminary-exam documents, while the Preliminary examination is scheduled for August 22–23, 2026.
Candidates should avoid preparing around the minimum expected cut-off. The better strategy is to maintain a reasonable margin above it.
For General-category candidates, 60–65+ marks is a practical target for Prelims. Candidates from reserved categories should similarly aim considerably above their expected category cut-off rather than relying on the minimum qualifying marks.
For example, if the eventual General cut-off is around 52 marks, a candidate scoring 62 has a much stronger buffer than someone scoring 53–54. This becomes particularly important when shift difficulty and normalization affect the final score.
The expected General/UR Prelims cut-off is approximately 50–55 marks out of 100. The official cut-off may vary depending on the difficulty level and normalization.
The expected SC-category cut-off may remain around 45–50 marks in Prelims, although the actual score will be announced by IBPS.
The expected ST cut-off is approximately 40–46 marks. Candidates should aim higher than the expected minimum to maintain a safety margin.
Yes. A score of 60 marks or above would generally provide a useful buffer against an expected cut-off in the 50–55 range, although no score can guarantee qualification until the official cut-off is released.
The official Prelims cut-off is expected to be released along with or around the Prelims result. IBPS has not yet published the official 2026 cut-off. The result and cut-off date should be confirmed through the official IBPS website.
Yes. Candidates need to satisfy the applicable sectional and overall qualifying requirements. Therefore, scoring well overall is not enough if a candidate fails to meet a required sectional threshold.
Yes. The Preliminary examination consists of 100 marks, and the overall cut-off is calculated on that scale. The examination has three sections: English Language, Reasoning Ability and Quantitative Aptitude.
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