IBPS SO Syllabus 2026, Detailed Exam Pattern and Syllabus

The Institute of Banking & Personnel Selection (IBPS) is responsible for conducting the IBPS SO Exam to recruit eligible candidates for Specialist Officer (SO) vacancies. To ace the IBPS SO 2026 Exam, it is necessary to be acquainted with the Exam Pattern and detailed Syllabus. This will help candidates in judicious preparation for the upcoming IBPS SO Exam. The syllabus for IBPS Specialist Officer Posts has been discussed in detail in this article for all banking aspirants who have been working hard to grab the post of Specialist Cadre Officer posts in Public Sector Banks.

IBPS SO Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026

The IBPS SO 2026 notification will be released in June 2026. The applicants who will be applying will have to appear in the Preliminary Exam & Mains Exam of IBPS SO Recruitment 2026 to get shortlisted for the final & last stage Interview Round. To prepare well for the selection, the candidates must not miss any topic as mentioned in the IBPS SO Syllabus 2026. Let’s have a look at the IBPS SO 2026 Exam Pattern and Syllabus one by one.

IBPS SO Recruitment Notification 2026- Click to Check

IBPS SO 2026 Selection Process

The selection of candidates for IBPS Specialist Officer posts is based on candidates' performance in the Prelims exam, Mains exam, and Interview. The written exam will be held in online mode, and candidates who clear all stages of the selection process will be recruited for Specialist Officers posts in Participating Banks of the Institute of Banking & Personnel Selection, IBPS.  

• Preliminary Examination
• Main Examination
• Interview

IBPS SO Exam Pattern 2026

IBPS SO 2026 Exam will be conducted in the following three phases: Preliminary Exam, Mains Exam and Interview Process. It is mandatory for every applicant to clear all levels of examination to get selected to the post of Specialist Officer in multiple Public Sector Banks participating in IBPS SO 2026.

Important Points

• IBPS SO exam will be conducted in three phases: Preliminary, Mains and Interview Process.

• IBPS has introduced separate sectional timing for each section in the prelims exam. The IBPS SO preliminary examination has a total duration of 120 minutes and 40 minutes for each section.

• A candidate must appear for the Prelims first and the selected students after the Preliminary Exam will be eligible to give the Mains Exam.

• Score of the Preliminary Exam will not be taken into consideration for final allotment. The final selection will be based on the Mains Exam and Interview Process.

• The Mains Examination will contain questions only from the Professional Knowledge Subjects.

IBPS SO Preliminary Exam Pattern 2026

• The IBPS SO Prelims exam will be conducted in online mode.
• The exam consists of a total of 150 multiple-choice questions for a total of 120 marks.
• The time duration of the exam is 02 hours/ 120 minutes.

For the post of Law Officer & Rajbhasha Adhikari

For other Specialist Officers (Agriculture Field Officer, Marketing Officer (Scale I), HR/Personnel Officer, IT Officer Scale I

IBPS SO Mains Exam Pattern

For the Posts of Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer

For the Post of Rajbhasha Adhikari

IBPS SO Syllabus 2026

To ace IBPS SO 2026 exam, it is really necessary to know the detailed IBPS SO Syllabus. Candidates must master the general sections of reasoning, quants and English as well as the Professional Knowledge Subjects to fare well in the upcoming IBPS SO Exam. Let’s have a look at the syllabus of IBPS SO Exam:

IBPS SO Preliminary Exam Syllabus 2026

IBPS SO Preliminary Exam is the primary selection round of the IBPS SO Exam. Candidates who clear the preliminary exam are eligible to appear for the mains exam. The Preliminary Exam of IBPS SO comprises three major sections: Reasoning, English Language and Quantitative Aptitude / General Awareness with Special Reference to the Banking Industry (For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari).

Reasoning

1. Seating Arrangements
2. Puzzles
3. Inequalities
4. Syllogism
5. Input-Output
6. Data Sufficiency
7. Blood Relations
8. Order and Ranking
9. Alphanumeric Series
10. Distance and Direction
11. Verbal Reasoning

English Language

1. Cloze Test
2. Reading Comprehension
3. Spotting Errors
4. Sentence Improvement
5. Sentence Correction
6. Para Jumbles
7. Fill in the Blanks Para/Sentence Completion

Quantitative Aptitude

1. Number Series
2. Data Interpretation
3. Simplification/ Approximation
4. Quadratic Equation
5. Data Sufficiency
6. Mensuration
7. Average
8. Profit and Loss Ratio
9. Proportion Work,
10. Time and Energy
11. Time and Distance
12. Probability
13. Relations
14. Simple and Compound Interest
15. Permutation and Combination

General Awareness

1. Current Affairs
2. Banking Awareness
3. GK Updates
4. Currencies
5. Important Places
6. Books and Authors
7. Awards
8. Headquarters
9. Prime Minister Schemes
10. Important Days

IBPS SO Mains Exam Syllabus 2026

IBPS SO Previous Year Cut-Off- Click to Check

IBPS SO 2026 Interview Process

Candidates who qualify for the Mains Exam will be finally called for the Interview Process by IBPS. Candidates need to fare well in the Interview Process as the final selection of a candidate is based on how he/she fares in this final round of the IBPS SO Recruitment Process.