IB ACIO Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

The interview is 40% of the marks, which is unusually high for a Group 'C' post.

Tier-I: five equal parts

One mark a question, minus a quarter for a wrong answer. A blank costs nothing. A question left flagged as "Mark for Review" isn't evaluated at all, so use the flag to navigate, not to record an answer. You get 36 seconds a question.

Tier-II: 50 marks in one hour, all written

You need at least 33%, i.e. 17 of 50, to be considered for the interview, however well you did in Tier-I.

The advertisement names each part but gives no detailed syllabus. The topics below are the usual ground for each part, not an official list.

Tier-I

Current Affairs: national and international events, government schemes, appointments, institutions, reports and indices, defence and security, economic and international news. A year of steady reading can't be crammed into a month.

General Studies: history, geography, polity and the Constitution, economy, general science, environment, art and culture. Give internal security, intelligence and defence extra attention.

Numerical aptitude: percentages, ratio and proportion, averages, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, time, speed and distance, time and work, data interpretation, plus some elementary algebra, geometry and mensuration. Roughly class ten level.

Reasoning: series, analogy, classification, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, seating and ordering, syllogisms, statement and conclusion, non-verbal figures.

English: grammar and usage, error spotting, sentence improvement, synonyms, antonyms, idioms, cloze passages, reading comprehension.

Tier-II

An essay, an English comprehension and two long answers on Current Affairs, Economics and socio-political issues. It tests whether you can build an argument in your own words, on paper, fast.

Tier-III

A 100-mark interview. Expect questions on your own application, current affairs, why you want this work, and judgement rather than recall.

Nationality

Indian nationals.

Qualification

A degree from a recognised university, held by the closing date. Computer knowledge is desirable, not essential.

A pending result isn't enough. If your degree result isn't declared by the closing date you're not eligible, and no allowance is made for a late university. This is the commonest avoidable rejection.

Age

18 to 27 years on the closing date (10 August 2025 last cycle). Upper limit relaxations:

The relaxation to 40 is for central government civilian employees only, not PSU or autonomous body staff.

Disability

The post isn't identified as suitable for any category of benchmark disability, and the advertisement says such candidates need not apply.

Posting

All India transfer liability. Only apply if you'll serve anywhere in India.

Tier-I minimums, printed in advance

The advertisement prints the minimum Tier-I marks out of 100: 35 for unreserved and EWS, 34 for OBC, 33 for SC and ST (see Cut-off for the table). These are floors and can go higher.

Shortlisting

1. Tier-II: ten times the vacancies, on normalised Tier-I marks, from those above the minimum.
2. Tier-III: five times the vacancies, on combined Tier-I and Tier-II, from those with at least 17 of 50 in Tier-II. The Tier-I minimum can make this field smaller.
3. Final merit: all three tiers combined.

Ties

Tier-III marks, then Tier-II, then normalised Tier-I, then the older candidate, then alphabetical by first name. The interview is the first tie-breaker as well as the biggest block of marks.

After the merit list

Character and antecedent verification, then a medical exam. For an intelligence agency the verification is thorough and slow.

A waiting list is kept for replacements, under DoPT instructions of 13 June 2000. The appointment is temporary at first; confirmation follows the rules in force at the time.

On the entry basic of ₹44,900 the security allowance is about ₹8,980 a month, before DA, HRA and transport allowance, and it grows with basic pay. That's why ACIO pay compares well with Group 'B' posts elsewhere.

Level 7 is the same level SSC recruits Inspectors and Assistant Section Officers at through CGL. The holiday duty rule exists because holiday duty is common.

Apply online only, on the MHA website or the National Career Service portal. No hard copy. The closing date is never extended.

Fee

Everyone pays the ₹550. An ex-serviceman already in a regular central Group 'C' civil post through ESM reservation pays the ₹100 too. Nothing is refunded.

Pay through SBI EPAY LITE (card, net banking, UPI) or an SBI challan at a branch. The challan is valid four days and had its own deadline, two days after the online close, last cycle.

Two steps, no going back

Step one registers your details and gives you an Application Sequence Number by SMS and email. Step two covers category, qualifications, photo, signature and payment. Once submitted, you can't edit or withdraw it. You can't recover the Sequence Number without the registered mobile and email.

Have ready

• An email and mobile you'll keep for a year. Whitelist nic.in and gov.in.
• A colour photo, 100 to 200 KB, JPG, under 12 weeks old. Use the same one at every stage.
• A signature scan, 80 to 150 KB. Sign the same way later.
• Class X, XII and degree certificates and a government photo ID.

Your category can't be changed later. OBC must be the central list, non-creamy-layer, on the exact proforma annexed to the advertisement. Government, PSU and autonomous body employees must tell their employer and bring an NOC to the interview. The official advertisement and FAQ cover the rest.

One employer: the Intelligence Bureau, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. No participating institutes, no department allocation, no preference form. Everyone joins in the same rank.

Postings are anywhere in India, with no home-state option at any stage.

The Bureau recruits ACIO-II/Technical and Security Assistant separately, on their own advertisements, so check which post a notice is for.

For Tier-I you pick five cities from a single national list in the advertisement, about 145 cities in 2025. You can be placed at any of the five, and the Bureau may move you to another city on administrative grounds. Tier-I may run in several shifts, which is why marks are normalised.

Tier-II and the interview may be held in fewer cities, and the date, time and venue are emailed to those who qualify. Budget for travel you can't plan in advance.

Carry an original photo ID (voter card, driving licence, Aadhaar, PAN or a university or college ID) and copies of your uploaded photo. Without them you won't be allowed in.

As at 8 September 2026 no ACIO-II/Exe 2026 advertisement has been issued. MHA carries nothing beyond the 2025 cycle, which ended on 3 June 2026. Watch MHA's What's New page and the National Career Service portal. Last cycle was advertised in July.

The 2025 cycle

Three weeks to apply, ten and a half months to the final result. Age, qualification and category are all reckoned on the closing date.

2025 vacancies (provisional)

There's no admit card download page. Call letters for all three tiers are emailed to your registered address only.

Keep that email and your mobile live for the whole cycle (nearly eleven months in 2025), whitelist nic.in and gov.in, and check spam. The Bureau isn't responsible for bounced mail. Schedule changes and results also go up on MHA's What's New page.

At the centre, sign as you did when applying; a mismatched signature can bar you. Breaking the instructions on the call letter cancels your candidature.

Results go up on mha.gov.in, usually as a short notice linking to the exam portal with a list of roll numbers in ascending roll-number order, not merit order. Tier-I marks are normalised across shifts. In 2025, each stage's result came about two months after it (dates under Important Dates); the 2025 final result was on 3 June 2026.

No answer key, response sheet, scorecard or re-evaluation is published. Selection still depends on verification and a medical, and candidature can be cancelled at any stage if a condition isn't met.

Tier-I minimums, printed in the advertisement

Ex-servicemen face their own category's figure. These are floors: the advertisement says they may go higher, and with Tier-II shortlisting at ten times the vacancies the real line is often well above 35.

Tier-II needs 17 of 50 (33%), and that one doesn't move.

No final cut-off is published. The Bureau releases only lists of selected roll numbers on mha.gov.in, so any category-wise final cut-off table online is a reconstruction.

1. Plan for 250 marks, not 100. Objective practice alone covers 40% of the recruitment.
2. Write against the clock from early on. Tier-II is four pieces in sixty minutes: a 20-mark essay, a 10-mark comprehension and two 10-mark answers. Write one full paper a week and have an honest reader mark it.
3. Treat 17 of 50 as the minimum, not the target. Clearing it only puts you in the pool; the interview list uses combined marks.
4. Know the negative marking. Four wrong answers cancel one right one. Never leave an answer flagged for review.
5. Give the five Tier-I parts equal time. Twenty marks each, no sectional cut-off.
6. Read internal security properly. It feeds General Studies, the Tier-II answers and the interview.
7. Use primary documents for current affairs: the MHA annual report and the Economic Survey serve all three tiers.
8. Prepare the interview as a stage. It's 100 marks and the first tie-breaker. Know your own application and why you want the work.
9. Circulating "previous year papers" are memory-based. Use them for the shape and pace of Tier-I and don't trust their keys. Do the official mock once if one is linked before Tier-I.
10. Sort out the mechanics early. Photo under 12 weeks old at 100 to 200 KB, signature at 80 to 150 KB, degree result declared by the closing date, and an email you'll still read in eleven months.

The Bureau doesn't release question papers or answer keys for ACIO, so there are no official previous year papers.

The detailed advertisement sets out every tier and its marks, and in some cycles a mock test link appears on MHA's What's New page shortly before Tier-I, which was in September in 2025.

Ministry of Home Affairs: mha.gov.in

MHA recruitment notices: vacancies and notifications, and What's New

2025 detailed advertisement: ACIO-II/Exe 2025 (PDF)

2025 official FAQ: FAQ (PDF)

2025 final result: Final result (PDF)

National Career Service: National Career Service portal

IB recruitment is notified through MHA; there's no separate public IB recruitment portal.

Who conducts IB ACIO?

The Intelligence Bureau, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Not UPSC, not SSC. You apply on mha.gov.in or the National Career Service portal.

What is the selection process?

Objective Tier-I (100), descriptive Tier-II (50), interview (100). Then verification and a medical.

Is there negative marking?

Yes, a quarter mark per wrong answer in Tier-I. Questions left on "Mark for Review" aren't evaluated.

Is there a minimum mark in Tier-I?

Yes, printed in advance: 35 for UR and EWS, 34 for OBC, 33 for SC and ST. The real cut-off can be higher.

Does Tier-II count towards merit?

Yes, and you need 17 of 50 to reach the interview.

What is the age limit?

18 to 27 on the closing date, with 5 years' relaxation for SC and ST and 3 for OBC. Other relaxations are in the eligibility table.

Can I apply while awaiting my degree result?

No. The result must be declared by the closing date.

Can persons with disabilities apply?

No. The post isn't identified as suitable for any benchmark disability.

What is the fee?

₹650 for UR, EWS and OBC men. Everyone else pays ₹550; the exemption covers only the ₹100 exam fee.

What is the salary?

Pay Level 7, ₹44,900 to ₹1,42,400, plus a 20% Special Security Allowance.

Where do I download the admit card?

You don't. Admit cards for all three tiers are emailed to your registered address.

Can I edit my application after submitting?

No. There's no correction window, and your category can't be changed later.

Is a posting near home possible?

Not by choice. There's All India transfer liability and no preference form.

Is a notification open now?

No. As at 8 September 2026 there's no 2026 advertisement. The 2025 cycle (3,717 posts) ended on 3 June 2026.