IBPS PO Prelims Cutoff 2026: Last 5 Years, 48.50-54.25

A correction first. An earlier version of this page showed a General cutoff band of 60 to 65 and projected 62 to 65 for 2026. Those figures did not match the cutoffs reported from IBPS scorecards in any recent year, and they have been removed. The highest General cutoff of the last five cycles is 54.25.

This page now does three things: it tracks where the 2026 result stands, it sets out the last five Prelims cutoffs with their sourcing, and it explains how IBPS decides the cutoff, using the official CRP PO/MT-XVI notification.

Where the IBPS PO Prelims 2026 Result Stands

IBPS does not publish the cutoff as a press note. It appears with your scores when the score link opens on ibps.in. The result status link went up on 23 September 2026 and, as of 28 September, no score link has; a 2026 cutoff figure printed anywhere before that link opens does not come from IBPS.

The Main exam sits only weeks after the Prelims result window, so waiting for the cutoff before starting Main preparation costs more than it saves. The Main paper also changed this year: see the pattern comparison on the IBPS calendar 2026-27 page and the IBPS PO Mains cutoff page.

IBPS PO Prelims Cutoff: Last Five Cycles

Data note: IBPS shows cutoffs only inside the candidate score login, and we found no public IBPS document that lists them. The figures below are candidate-reported: they are the cutoffs coaching and preparation sites recorded from candidates' scorecards. We print a figure only where at least two independent sources agree. Sources checked on 21 September 2026: SATHEE (IIT Kanpur), BankersAdda, PracticeMock, CareerPower and Oliveboard. Several of these sites print identical tables, so the check that counts is that Oliveboard, which keeps its own table, shows the same figure in every cell of the category table below.

Overall Cutoff, Out of 100

What the table shows. The General cutoff has stayed between 48.50 and 54.25 for five cycles, and EWS and OBC have matched General every year. The SC cutoff has sat between 0.50 and 6 marks below General, and ST between 7.50 and 12.50 marks below. The 2025 figures carry two decimals because scores are normalised across shifts; the notification says scores are taken up to two decimal points.

Sectional Minimums, General Category

The reported minimums for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD candidates in 2025 were 9.75 in English, 4.25 in Quantitative Aptitude and 5.50 in Reasoning. Sectional minimums are low next to the overall cutoff, so the usual way to fail Prelims is the total, not a single test. The exception is English, where the 2025 minimum of 13.25 was the highest of the five years.

How to Read Your Own Score Against This Trend

This is not a projection. It is what five years of reported cutoffs support for a General, EWS or OBC candidate:

• Above 54.25: higher than every General cutoff of the last five cycles.
• Between 48.50 and 54.25: the zone where every recent cutoff has fallen. Prepare for the Main as if you have cleared, and keep your expectations open.
• Below 48.50: no General cutoff of the last five cycles has been this low.

Remember that your own estimate is a raw score. IBPS normalises scores across shifts using the equi-percentile method, so the score on your scorecard can differ from your answer-key estimate.

Two things differ in 2026. Vacancies are higher: 7,565 in the list updated on 27 August 2026 (6,715 in the notification), against 5,208 in the 2025 notification. IBPS shortlists for the Main "depending upon requirements", so more posts mean more candidates called, which pulls a cutoff down when everything else is equal. Paper difficulty and the number of candidates pull the other way, and nobody outside IBPS knows those until scores are out. That is why this page does not publish an expected cutoff.

How IBPS Decides the Prelims Cutoff

These rules come from the CRP PO/MT-XVI notification.

• Three separate hurdles, then the total. Candidates have to qualify in each of the three tests by securing minimum cutoff marks decided by IBPS.
• Shortlisting follows vacancies. An adequate number of candidates in each category, as decided by IBPS depending upon requirements, is shortlisted for the Main.
• Penalty. For each wrong answer, one fourth of the marks assigned to that question is deducted. A blank answer carries no penalty.
• Normalisation. Corrected scores from different sessions are normalised using the equi-percentile method, and scores are taken up to two decimal points.
• Prelims is qualifying. Only the marks of the Main exam count for shortlisting for the Personality Test and interview and for final merit. The Main and the interview are combined in an 80:20 ratio.

IBPS PO Prelims 2026 Exam Pattern

Each test has its own 20-minute timer, so time saved in one test cannot be carried to another.

The marks split is the detail most old material gets wrong. In the cycles up to 2024, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning carried 35 marks each. Since the 2025 notification, Reasoning carries 40 marks and Quantitative Aptitude 30, with the same 35 questions in each. On average a Reasoning question is now worth about 1.14 marks and a Quantitative Aptitude question about 0.86, so a Reasoning question is worth roughly a third more than a Quant question. The penalty scales the same way, because it is a quarter of the marks assigned to the question.

For full-length practice on this pattern, use the IBPS PO papers 2026 page.

Section-wise Scoring Approach

Reasoning Ability (40 marks)

This is the heaviest test, so it deserves the calmest 20 minutes. Take the short, independent questions first (inequalities, syllogisms, blood relations, direction sense), then puzzles and seating arrangements. Put a hard time limit on any single puzzle: one stuck puzzle can cost more marks here than anywhere else in the paper.

Quantitative Aptitude (30 marks)

Simplification, number series and data interpretation reward speed, so they come first. Arithmetic word problems take longer per mark. For series practice, the number series questions page builds the pattern recognition this test needs.

English Language (30 marks)

The reported English minimum rose to 13.25 in 2025, which makes English the test where a sectional miss is most likely. Reading comprehension is the most predictable part of the paper, so do not skip it to save time.

Across all three tests, accuracy beats attempts. Four wrong answers cancel one right answer, and they also cost the time they took.

For a full schedule across all three tests, see the IBPS PO preparation guide 2026.

IBPS PO Prelims vs Mains Cutoff

Because Prelims marks do not travel forward, the only job of the Prelims score is to clear the line. A margin above the recent range protects you from normalisation moving your score by a mark or two.

Practice Questions, IBPS PO Prelims Style

These questions mirror the difficulty and format of IBPS PO Prelims. Work through them under timed conditions.