IBPS SO 2026 Notification Soon, Exam Date (Out), Online Form, Eligibility, Complete Details
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- IBPS SO 2026
The IBPS SO examination is conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) to recruit eligible candidates for Specialist Officer (SO) posts in the participating Public Sector Banks. The IBPS SO 2026 Notification will be released in June 2026 at www.ibps.in.
The selection process for the IBPS SO exam comprises the prelims, mains, and Interview. Candidates can refer to the article for details information regarding the recruitment drive. The posts under the Specialist Officer posts are mentioned below:
- Agriculture Field Officer
- Marketing Officer (Scale I)
- HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)
- IT Officer (Scale I)
- Law Officer (Scale I)
- Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)
IBPS SO 2026 Exam- Overview
| IBPS SO Recruitment 2026- Overview | |
| Organisation | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) |
| Cadre | Specialist Officer (SO) |
| Posts | Agriculture Field Officer (AFO), HR/Personnel, IT Officer, Law Officer, Marketing, Rajbhasha |
| Exam Level | National |
| Vacancy | To be Notified |
| Participating Banks | 11 |
| Mode of Application | Online |
| Registration Dates | To be Announced |
| IBPS SO Recruitment Process | Prelims, Main Exams, Interview |
| Education Qualification | Graduates or relevant degree |
| Age Limit | 20 years to 28 years |
| Application Fee | SC/ST/PWD- Rs.175 General and Others- Rs. 850 |
| IBPS Official Website | www.ibps.in |
Important Dates
The online registration scheduled for IBPS SO 2026 will be released by IBPS along with the IBPS SO Notification 2026. As the notification will be released, the important dates for the IBPS SO Exam 2026 will also be updated here.
| Activity | Dates |
| IBPS SO Notification 2026 | June 2026 |
| Online Registration Starts | June 2026 |
| Last Date to Apply Online | July 2026 |
| Last Date to Pay Fee | -- |
| Prelims Exam Date | 29th August 2026 |
| Mains Exam Date | 1st November 2026 |
IBPS SO 2026 Exam Date Out
The officials have released the annual IBPS Exam Calendar 2026 along with the prelims and mains exam dates for IBPS SO Recruitment 2026. The prelims exam will be held on 29th August 2026 and the mains on 1st November 2026.
IBPS SO 2026 Notification Soon
The detailed IBPS SO 2026 Notification PDF will be released by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) in June 2026 at its official website, i.e., www.ibps.in. The banking aspirants who wish to apply for IBPS SO Vacancy must go through the official notification before applying.
Vacancy Details
The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) will announce the vacancies for the recruitment of Specialist Officer posts along with the notification. Under the SO posts, candidates will be recruited for Agriculture Field Officer, Marketing Officer (Scale I), HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I), IT Officer (Scale I), Law Officer (Scale I), and Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) posts/. Check Category-wise and post-wise IBPS SO Vacancy released last year from the table below.
| IBPS SO Vacancy (Last Year) | ||||||
| Posts | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR | Vacancies |
| Agriculture Field Officer (AFO) | 46 | 23 | 82 | 13 | 128 | 310 |
| HR/Personnel | 01 | 00 | 02 | 01 | 06 | 10 |
| IT Officer | 30 | 14 | 53 | 20 | 86 | 203 |
| Law Officer | 07 | 03 | 14 | 05 | 27 | 56 |
| Marketing | 52 | 26 | 94 | 35 | 143 | 350 |
| Rajbhasha | 10 | 03 | 19 | 07 | 39 | 78 |
| Total | 146 | 69 | 264 | 81 | 429 | 1007 |
Participating Banks
A total of 11 banks will be participating in the 2026 IBPS SO recruitment process, which are as follows:
- Bank of Baroda
- Bank of India
- Bank of Maharashtra
- Canara Bank
- Central Bank of India
- Indian Bank
- Indian Overseas Bank
- Punjab National Bank
- Punjab & Sind Bank
- UCO Bank
- Union Bank of India
Eligibility Criteria
The IBPS SO eligibility criteria are different for recruiting candidates to different positions for which the candidates are selected through IBPS SO 2026 Exam. There are three parameters (citizenship, age limit, and educational qualification) that a candidate needs to fulfil to be eligible for IBPS SO Recruitment 2026.
Citizenship Criteria
A candidate should be
• A resident of India
• A subject of Nepal
• Tibetan refugees who came to India before 1st January 1962 and have planned to settle in India permanently
• A subject of Indian Origin migrated from Burma, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya,
United Republic of Tanzania, Namibia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Vietnam
Educational Qualification
IBPS SO recruits candidates for various posts like that of I.T. Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, Marketing Officer etc.
| S No. | Name of the Post | Educational Qualification |
| 1. | I.T. Officer (Scale I) | 1)Four years engineering/Technology degree in Computer Science/IT/Computer Application/Electronics and Communication Engineering/Electronics and Telecommunication/ Electronics and Instrumentation OR 2) Post Graduate Degree in Computer Science/IT/Computer Application/Electronics and Communication Engineering/Electronics and Telecommunication/ Electronics and Instrumentation OR Graduates having passed DOEACC ‘B’ level exam |
| 2. | Agricultural Field Officer (Scale-I) | 4 years graduation degree in agriculture/ Horticulture/ Animal Husbandry/ Veterinary Science/ dairy Science/ Agricultural engineering/ Fishery Science/ Pisciculture/ Agri Marketing and cooperation/ Co-Operation and Banking/ Agro-Forestry |
| 3. | Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) | Post Graduate in Hindi with English as a subject at the graduation or degree level OR Post Graduate Degree in Sanskrit with English and Hindi as a subject at graduation level |
| 4. | Law Office (Scale I) | A bachelor’s degree in Law and enrolled as an advocate with Bar Council |
| 5. | HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) | Graduate and Full Time Post Graduate Degree or Full time Diploma in Personnel Management/ Industrial Relation/ HR/ HRD/ Social Work/ Labour Law |
| 6. | Marketing Officer (Scale I) | Graduate and Full-Time MMS (Marketing)/ MBA (Marketing)/Full time PGDBA/ PGDBM with specialization in Marketing |
Age Limit
A candidate must be at least 20 years old to be eligible for the IBPS SO exam. The maximum age limit is 30 years. The Government of India gives candidates belonging to reserved categories age relaxation. The category-wise age relaxation given to candidates for the post of IBPS SO is discussed below:
| Category | Age Relaxation |
| Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) | 5 years |
| Other Backward Class (OBC) | 3 years |
| Person with Disability (PWD) | 10 years |
| Ex-Servicemen | 5 years |
| Person ordinarily domiciled in the Jammu and Kashmir province during the period 1.01.1980 and 31.12.1989 | 5 years |
| Person affected by the 1984 riots | 5 years |
Q. Can final-year students apply for IBPS SO 2026?
Ans. No. Candidates must have completed their required educational qualification before the application deadline to be eligible.Q. Is the Prelims exam counted in the final merit list?
Ans. No. The Prelims is only a qualifying stage. The final merit list is based on combined scores from the Mains exam and Interview.
Online Application
The online application process for the IBPS SO 2026 exam will start after the release of the Notification at the official website www.ibps.in. Candidates who are interested and eligible can apply for IBPS SO vacancies from the official website of the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
Application Fee
A candidate is required to pay Rs. 850/- (General and OBC) as his/her application fee for the IBPS SO 2026 exam. The same amount is narrowed down to Rs. 175/- for candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD category.
| Category | Application Fee |
| SC/ST/PWD | Rs.175/- (Intimation Charges only) |
| General and Others | Rs. 850/- (App. Fee including intimation charges) |
Selection Process
The IBPS SO Recruitment process to select Specialist officers through IBPS SO 2026 is done in three phases:
- Online Preliminary Exam
- Online Mains Exam
- Interview Process
A candidate must qualify for both the preliminary exam and the main exam to proceed to the interview round. The candidates selected after the interview round are given the appointment letter.
Exam Pattern & Syllabus
The preliminary exam will be a qualifying phase for the mains, and candidates will have to meet the cut-offs of prelims to be eligible to appear for the Mains exam.
IBPS SO 2026 Prelims Exam Pattern
There are two patterns for the IBPS SO prelims examination for different posts. There is a sectional cut-off, and candidates have to clear all the sections in order to clear the preliminary exam of IBPS SO 2026.
For the posts of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer:
| Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
| English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 40 minutes |
| Reasoning | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 | 120 minutes |
For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari:
| Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
| English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 40 minutes |
| Reasoning | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 | 120 minutes |
Check IBPS SO 2026 Mains Exam Pattern
Exam Syllabus
The IBPS SO 2026 Syllabus is designed separately for Rajsabha Adhikari and Other Specialist Officers. The IBPS Specialist Officer syllabus is designed separately for the Preliminary Exam and Mains Exam. It is necessary for all the candidates applying for the IBPS SO 2026 Exam to once go through the syllabus to prepare judiciously for this exam.
Apart from the three major sections of English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning,a candidate is required to be fluent in his/her area of expertise or the Specialization Subjects.
Let’s have a look at the detailed syllabus of the IBPS SO 2026 exam:
| Reasoning Ability | English Language | Quantitative Aptitude | General Awareness |
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Apart from these subjects, candidates are required to have Professional Knowledge in his/her area of expertise as well. The detailed syllabus is discussed below:
| Posts | Syllabus |
| IT Officer (Scale-I) |
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| Agricultural Field Officer (Scale-I) |
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| Marketing Officer (Scale-I) |
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| Law Officer (Scale-I) |
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| HR/Personnel Officer (Scale-I) |
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IBPS SO Previous Year Question Papers - Click to Check
Last Year's Cut-Off Marks
The IBPS SO Cut Off 2026 will be released after each phase of the examination has been conducted. The cut-off for the IBPS SO preliminary exam will be released first followed by the cut-off for the main exam. Candidates can evaluate their selection chances by matching their score with the cut-off marks released by IBPS for IBPS SO Exam.
Let’s have a look at previous years’ Prelims cut-off for the IBPS SO Exam:
| IBPS SO Prelims Cut off 2025 | |||||||||
| Posts | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR | HI | OC | VI | ID |
| I.T. OFFICER | 58.25 | 48.63 | 58.25 | 55 | 58.25 | 21.63 | 46.38 | 42.63 | 36.13 |
| AGRICULTURAL FIELD OFFICER | 50.13 | 45.63 | 50.13 | 50.13 | 50.13 | 25.88 | 37.75 | 39.63 | 23.88 |
| HR/PERSONNEL | 62.63 | 62.63 | 62.63 | 62.63 | 62.63 | 31.38 | 19.75 | 25.13 | NA |
| MARKETING OFFICER | 21.75 | 17.25 | 18.13 | 27.63 | 27.63 | 21.75 | 20.50 | 23.38 | 35.18 |
| RAJBHASHA ADHIKARI | 16.63 | 11 | 16.63 | 16.63 | 16.63 | 25.75 | 18.88 | 42.25 | 13.75 |
| LAW OFFICER | 42.63 | 34.75 | 43.25 | 44.63 | 46.88 | 20.25 | 25 | 23.13 | 23 |