IBPS Clerk Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Both online examinations are objective, and every section is separately timed: you cannot carry unused minutes from one section into the next.

Preliminary Examination

The Preliminary examination is a shortlisting stage. A candidate must clear a cut-off in each of the three tests, and marks scored here do not count towards the final merit list.

Main Examination

Reasoning carries 60 marks for 40 questions, 1.5 marks each, the heaviest weighting in the paper. General / Financial Awareness gives you 20 minutes for 40 questions, 30 seconds each, so it is pure recall.

Negative marking: one fourth (0.25) of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer, in both the Preliminary and the Main examination. A question left blank carries no penalty.

English Language and General English are set in English. The remaining tests are available in English and Hindi.

Normalisation. The Preliminary is held across several sessions. Corrected scores from different sessions are normalised using the equi-percentile method, calculated to two decimal places, so a harder session does not count against you.

At the centre. Expect about two hours at the venue for the one-hour Preliminary and about three for the 125-minute Main, because verification comes first. Arrive by the reporting time on the call letter, which is earlier than the start time; latecomers are not let in. Keep your authenticated Preliminary call letter: you bring it to the Main with a stamped copy of your ID proof.

IBPS does not publish a topic-level syllabus. These are the topics the papers have consistently drawn on.

English Language / General English

Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Para Jumbles, Sentence Improvement, Error Spotting, Fill in the Blanks, Sentence Connectors, Word Usage and Vocabulary, Idioms and Phrases, Synonyms and Antonyms, Active and Passive Voice, Direct and Indirect Speech.

Numerical Ability / Quantitative Aptitude

Simplification and Approximation, Number Series, Quadratic Equations, Data Interpretation (tabular, bar, line, pie and caselet), Data Sufficiency, Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Average, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Time and Work, Pipes and Cisterns, Time Speed and Distance, Boats and Streams, Trains, Mixture and Alligation, Partnership, Mensuration, Permutation and Combination, Probability, Age Problems.

Reasoning Ability

Puzzles and Seating Arrangement (linear, circular and floor-based), Syllogism, Inequality, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Order and Ranking, Coding-Decoding, Alphanumeric Series, Data Sufficiency, Input-Output, Statement and Assumptions, Statement and Conclusions, Statement and Course of Action, Logical Reasoning.

General / Financial Awareness (Main only)

Banking Awareness: the Reserve Bank of India and its functions, monetary policy and policy rates, types of banks and accounts, NPAs and priority sector lending, negotiable instruments, payment systems, financial inclusion schemes, banking abbreviations, regulatory bodies. Current Affairs: national and international events, appointments, awards, summits, sports, obituaries, books and authors, with the six months before the examination mattering most. Static Awareness: Indian economy, budget and Economic Survey, international financial institutions, headquarters and taglines of banks, currencies and capitals.

Nationality

A candidate must be a citizen of India; or a subject of Nepal or Bhutan; or a Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1 January 1962 intending to settle permanently; or a person of Indian origin who has migrated from certain specified countries intending to settle permanently. Candidates in any category other than the first need a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India.

Age

20 to 28 years as on 1 August 2026: that is, born no earlier than 2 August 1998 and no later than 1 August 2006, both dates inclusive.

Educational qualification

A degree in any discipline from a university recognised by the Government of India, or an equivalent qualification recognised as such by the Central Government. The result must have been declared on or before 21 August 2026, and the candidate must hold a valid mark-sheet or degree certificate on the day of registering.

Local language

A candidate applying for a particular state or union territory must be proficient in reading, writing, speaking and understanding the specified local language of that state, and must choose one such language when applying. It is tested in the LLPT (see Selection Process).

Computer literacy

Operating and working knowledge of computer systems is mandatory.

Three stages, in this order.

1. Preliminary Examination (online, objective). Qualifying only. A candidate must clear a cut-off in each of the three tests; marks do not carry into the merit list. Candidates are shortlisted for the Main examination in numbers IBPS decides, category by category.
2. Main Examination (online, objective). This is the exam that decides the result. A candidate must reach a minimum score in each test and a minimum total score. Cut-offs are set state-wise, against the vacancies available in that state or union territory.
3. Local Language Proficiency Test (LLPT). Held after the Main examination and provisional allotment, but before joining. A candidate who can produce a 10th standard mark-sheet or certificate showing they studied the opted local language is exempt. Failing the test means the candidate is not offered appointment.

There is no interview in the clerical recruitment. Provisional allotment to a participating bank follows the Main examination result and the vacancies reported by each bank for the state applied for.

The notified scale of pay for a Customer Service Associate begins at a basic pay of ₹24,050:

24050 – 1340/3 – 28070 – 1650/3 – 33020 – 2000/4 – 41020 – 2340/7 – 57400 – 4400/1 – 61800 – 2680/1 – 64480

Read that as: ₹24,050 rising by ₹1,340 a year for three years to ₹28,070, then by ₹1,650 a year for three years, and so on to a maximum basic of ₹64,480.

Allowances follow the rules of the allotted bank: dearness allowance, house rent allowance, a special allowance and a medical allowance among them. House rent allowance depends on the city and dearness allowance is revised quarterly, so in-hand pay varies by bank and posting. The notification gives the basic scale only.

Apply online at ibps.in. There is no offline route.

Fees and intimation charges

Bank transaction charges for the online payment are borne by the candidate.

Before you start

Have ready a scanned photograph, signature, left thumb impression and a handwritten declaration, each within the size and format limits set out in the notification. Choose the state or union territory carefully: you may apply for one only, and the choice fixes both your examination centre and the vacancies you compete for. Choose the local language for the proficiency test at the same time.

IBPS opens a two-day edit window after registration closes, announced on the CRP CSA-XVI notice page.

Eleven public sector banks participate in CRP CSA-XVI:

A candidate does not choose a bank. Provisional allotment assigns one, based on merit, category, the preferences given during registration and the vacancies each bank has reported for the chosen state or union territory.

You apply for vacancies in one state or union territory only and sit the exam at a centre there. If response or logistics demand it, IBPS may give you a centre outside that state; you still compete for your chosen state's vacancies.

Requests to change centre are not entertained. The tentative Preliminary and Main centre lists are annexed to the notification, and the Main list is much shorter.

Vacancies, merit lists and bank allotment all run state by state, so the state you pick is the competition you enter, and you pick it once.

From the CRP CSA-XVI notification of 1 August 2026 and the corrigendum of 21 August 2026. IBPS calls the schedule tentative and gives only months for the exams.

Exact exam days circulate widely before IBPS announces them. Go by the CRP CSA-XVI notice page and your call letter.

Download call letters from ibps.in with the registration number and password set at application. Each stage has its own call letter, released about a fortnight before it. Nothing comes by post.

SC, ST, minority community and ex-servicemen candidates can opt for free Pre-Examination Training on the application form, and only there. It has its own call letter, ahead of the Preliminary.

Carry with you

• The printed call letter.
• An original photo ID of the type the call letter names, plus a photocopy. Expired ID is refused.
• The photograph used in the application, and the handwritten declaration if the call letter asks for it.

Biometrics are taken at the venue and again at later stages. A mismatch at any point ends your candidature.

Scores are normalised across sessions by the equi-percentile method, to two decimal places, and the normalised score is what counts. Raw "attempts" reported from one shift say little about another.

You must clear a sectional minimum in each test and an aggregate minimum. A good total does not save a failed section.

Provisional allotment is made from the Main score alone, by state and category, against the vacancies the banks report. After that comes the LLPT: fail it and you are not offered appointment. Results and scorecards are posted on ibps.in.

Cut-offs are set after each exam, against that cycle's vacancies and paper, so nothing is known in advance. IBPS posts them with the scores after the Preliminary and the Main on ibps.in.

They are fixed per state and per category, and the gap between states in one cycle is often bigger than the gap between years. A figure that does not name both is not one you can use.

1. Practise against the clock, section by section. Sectional timing means a strong section cannot rescue a weak one. Twenty minutes for 35 Numerical Ability questions in the Preliminary is roughly 34 seconds each.
2. Clear every sectional cut-off, not just the total. Candidates fail the Preliminary on one weak section far more often than on aggregate. Spend your weakest hours on your weakest section.
3. Treat Reasoning as the highest-value paper in the Main. At 60 marks for 40 questions it pays more per question than anything else. Puzzles and seating arrangement carry most of those marks.
4. Read General / Financial Awareness for recall. Twenty minutes for 40 questions leaves no time to reason. Follow banking and economic current affairs daily for the six months before the exam rather than revising them in the last fortnight.
5. Guess only when you can eliminate. With 0.25 deducted for a wrong answer, a blind guess between four options loses marks on average. A guess between two does not.

For the Preliminary, practise in 20-minute blocks as well as full mocks, since each section closes on its own clock, and take the official practice test IBPS posts on ibps.in before the exam. General Awareness is not in the Preliminary at all.

If you did not study the state's language up to class 10, start on the proficiency test early. It comes after everything else and can still end your attempt.

No previous year papers are available. IBPS does not publish them, so every "IBPS Clerk previous year paper" in circulation is a reconstruction from candidates' memory, with unofficial answer keys.

IBPS does put up an official online practice test on ibps.in shortly before the Preliminary (scheduled for October 2026 this cycle), on the same platform as the real exam.

Official website: www.ibps.in

CRP CSA-XVI notice page: Clerical Cadre XVI

Detailed notification (PDF, 1 August 2026): CRP CSA-XVI notification

Corrigendum extending registration (PDF, 21 August 2026): Extension notice

Grievance redressal: cgrs.ibps.in

Is IBPS Clerk the same exam as CRP CSA?

Yes. IBPS renamed the clerical cadre post to Customer Service Associate, so the recruitment that was CRP Clerks is now CRP CSA. The current cycle is CRP CSA-XVI.

Is there an interview?

No. Clerical recruitment is decided by the online Main examination, followed by a Local Language Proficiency Test.

Do Preliminary marks count towards the final result?

No. The Preliminary examination only shortlists candidates for the Main. The merit list is built from Main examination scores alone.

Can I apply for more than one state?

No. Clerical recruitment is state-wise and you may apply for vacancies in one state or union territory only. That choice also fixes which state's cut-off you compete against.

What happens if I fail the Local Language Proficiency Test?

You are not offered appointment, even after clearing the Main examination. Candidates who can produce a 10th standard mark-sheet or certificate showing they studied the opted language are exempt from the test.

How much is deducted for a wrong answer?

One fourth (0.25) of the marks assigned to that question, in both the Preliminary and the Main examination. Unanswered questions carry no penalty.

Is General Awareness asked in the Preliminary?

No. The Preliminary has three sections only: English Language, Numerical Ability and Reasoning Ability. General / Financial Awareness appears in the Main examination.

Is the Preliminary paper the same in every session?

No. Scores from different sessions are normalised by the equi-percentile method.

How many attempts am I allowed?

IBPS sets no limit on the number of attempts. The only constraint is the upper age limit, with the relaxations listed under Eligibility.

Which bank will I be allotted?

You cannot choose. Provisional allotment assigns a participating bank on merit and category, using the preferences you gave when registering and the vacancies each bank reported for your state.