The IBPS SO Expected Cut Off 2026 gives candidates an estimated qualifying score for the IBPS SO Prelims Exam conducted on 29 August 2026. Based on the difficulty level, previous-year cutoff trends and expected competition, the IBPS SO Prelims Expected Cut Off 2026 for the General category may range from 16–20 to 54–62 marks depending on the Specialist Officer post.
The expected cutoff is different for IT Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Law Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer because IBPS releases separate post-wise and category-wise qualifying marks.
The official IBPS SO Cut Off 2026 will be released by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection at ibps.in along with or around the scorecard. Until then, candidates can use the expected ranges given below to assess their chances of qualifying for the IBPS SO Mains Exam.
Important: The cutoff ranges given below are expected marks and should not be considered official IBPS cutoff scores.
IBPS SO Expected Cut Off 2026
The IBPS SO Prelims Expected Cut Off 2026 is estimated after considering the 29 August examination difficulty, previous-year trends, vacancies, candidate performance and competition for each post.
The overall 2026 Prelims paper was reported to be moderate, with approximately 71–81 good attempts in Shift 1 and 72–80 in Shift 2. However, good attempts should not be confused with cutoff marks because accuracy, sectional qualifying requirements and the marks assigned to Professional Knowledge also affect the final score.
IBPS SO Prelims Expected Cut Off 2026
| Post | UR | SC | ST | OBC | EWS |
| IT Officer (Scale I) | 53–59 | 52–58 | 44–50 | 52–58 | 50–56 |
| Agricultural Field Officer | 49–54 | 48–53 | 43–48 | 49–54 | 49–54 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari | 16–20 | 15–19 | 10–14 | 15–19 | 15–19 |
| Law Officer (Scale I) | 40–47 | 37–44 | 30–37 | 39–45 | 40–46 |
| HR/Personnel Officer | 54–62 | 52–60 | 50–59 | 53–61 | 52–60 |
| Marketing Officer | 22–30 | 19–25 | 15–21 | 18–24 | 22–29 |
These expected ranges broadly reflect recent cutoff trends and current estimates available after the examination.
What is the Expected IBPS SO Cut Off 2026 for General Category?
For the General/UR category, the expected IBPS SO Prelims cutoff is approximately 53–59 for IT Officer, 49–54 for Agricultural Field Officer, 16–20 for Rajbhasha Adhikari, 40–47 for Law Officer, 54–62 for HR/Personnel Officer and 22–30 for Marketing Officer.
The wide difference between posts is normal. IBPS SO cutoff marks depend heavily on the number of candidates applying for each specialization, vacancies and candidate performance in the respective examination.
IBPS SO Cut Off 2026
The IBPS SO Cut Off 2026 is the minimum qualifying score candidates must secure to progress to the next stage of the recruitment process.
IBPS releases cutoff marks separately according to:
- Specialist Officer post
- Candidate category
- Examination stage
- Individual sections, wherever applicable
- Overall qualifying requirements
Candidates who meet the required IBPS SO Prelims Cut Off 2026 will be shortlisted for the Main Examination.
Under the revised CRP SPL-XVI pattern, Professional Knowledge has also been introduced into the Preliminary Examination. The Prelims paper consists of 100 questions carrying 125 marks, with four separately timed sections of 20 minutes each.
Check the IBPS SO Exam Pattern 2026
IBPS SO Previous Year Cut Off Trends
Previous-year cutoff marks are useful for identifying how much the qualifying score can fluctuate from one recruitment cycle to another.
For example, the General-category IT Officer cutoff increased from 36 in 2024 to 58.25 in 2025, while the HR/Personnel Officer cutoff increased from 43.25 to 62.63 during the same period. This shows why candidates should treat previous-year cutoff marks as a benchmark rather than a fixed qualifying target.
IBPS SO IT Officer Previous Year Cut Off
| Year | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR |
| 2025 | 58.25 | 48.63 | 58.25 | 55.00 | 58.25 |
| 2024 | 36.00 | 32.63 | 36.00 | 16.75 | 36.00 |
| 2023 | 52.75 | 42.25 | 54.38 | 49.75 | 54.38 |
| 2022 | 61.88 | 55.88 | 65.00 | 65.00 | 65.00 |
The IT Officer cutoff has fluctuated considerably over the previous four recruitment cycles, making paper difficulty and candidate performance particularly important factors in 2026.
IBPS SO Agricultural Field Officer Previous Year Cut Off
| Year | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR |
| 2025 | 50.13 | 45.63 | 50.13 | 50.13 | 50.13 |
| 2024 | 51.00 | 46.00 | 51.00 | 51.00 | 51.00 |
| 2023 | 36.88 | 34.13 | 36.88 | 36.88 | 36.88 |
| 2022 | 17.75 | 17.75 | 17.75 | 17.75 | 17.75 |
The AFO cutoff remained almost unchanged between 2024 and 2025, with the UR cutoff at approximately 50–51 marks.
IBPS SO Rajbhasha Adhikari Previous Year Cut Off
| Year | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR |
| 2025 | 16.63 | 11.00 | 16.63 | 16.63 | 16.63 |
| 2024 | 16.25 | 8.50 | 16.25 | 16.25 | 16.25 |
| 2023 | 12.63 | 8.88 | 12.63 | 12.63 | 12.63 |
| 2022 | 22.50 | 11.13 | 22.50 | 22.38 | 22.50 |
Rajbhasha Adhikari has generally recorded a comparatively lower overall cutoff than several other IBPS SO posts.
IBPS SO Law Officer Previous Year Cut Off
| Year | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR |
| 2025 | 42.63 | 34.75 | 43.25 | 44.63 | 46.88 |
| 2024 | 25.50 | 17.63 | 28.50 | 28.13 | 33.13 |
| 2023 | 31.63 | 35.63 | 32.50 | 31.88 | 35.63 |
| 2022 | 46.38 | 51.00 | 47.50 | 48.50 | 51.00 |
The General-category Law Officer cutoff increased substantially from 33.13 in 2024 to 46.88 in 2025, illustrating how significantly the qualifying score can change between recruitment cycles.
IBPS SO HR/Personnel Officer Previous Year Cut Off
| Year | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR |
| 2025 | 62.63 | 62.63 | 62.63 | 62.63 | 62.63 |
| 2024 | 43.25 | 43.00 | 43.25 | 40.88 | 43.25 |
| 2023 | 39.38 | 39.38 | 39.38 | 39.38 | 39.38 |
| 2022 | 40.50 | 37.50 | 40.50 | 40.50 | 40.50 |
HR/Personnel Officer recorded one of the highest cutoffs among Specialist Officer posts in 2025.
IBPS SO Marketing Officer Previous Year Cut Off
| Year | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR |
| 2025 | 21.75 | 17.25 | 18.13 | 27.63 | 27.63 |
| 2024 | 17.25 | 15.13 | 17.25 | 16.75 | 17.25 |
| 2023 | 10.13 | 9.88 | 9.38 | 19.75 | 20.13 |
| 2022 | 38.63 | 38.63 | 38.63 | 33.13 | 38.63 |
The Marketing Officer cutoff has also shown considerable variation, ranging from 17.25 to 38.63 for the UR category across the previous four cycles.
Is IBPS SO Expected Cut Off the Same as Good Attempts?
No. IBPS SO expected cutoff and good attempts are different.
Good attempts indicate the approximate number of questions candidates may have attempted with reasonable accuracy in a particular shift. The cutoff is the minimum score officially determined by IBPS for qualification.
For the 29 August 2026 Prelims examination, PracticeMock’s shift analysis reported overall good attempts of approximately 71–81 for Shift 1 and 72–80 for Shift 2, with the overall paper assessed as moderate. These numbers should therefore be used only for performance comparison and not as expected cutoff marks.
What Factors Determine the IBPS SO Cut Off 2026?
IBPS does not announce the cutoff before evaluating candidate performance. The IBPS SO Cut Off 2026 can change based on several factors.
1. Difficulty Level of the Exam
A comparatively difficult examination can lead to lower cutoff marks, whereas an easier paper may result in higher qualifying scores.
2. Number of IBPS SO Vacancies
The number of vacancies available for each Specialist Officer post can influence competition and consequently the cutoff.
3. Number of Candidates Appearing
Greater competition for a limited number of posts can increase the qualifying threshold.
4. Candidate Performance
If a large proportion of candidates score well, the cutoff can move upward.
5. Specialist Officer Post
Separate cutoffs are determined for IT Officer, AFO, Law Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer.
6. Candidate Category
Cutoffs differ for UR, EWS, OBC, SC, ST and applicable PwBD categories.
7. Normalization
If required under the examination procedure, IBPS may use score normalization while determining candidates’ final scores.
What Happens After Clearing the IBPS SO Prelims Cut Off?
Candidates who clear the required Prelims qualifying marks are shortlisted for the IBPS SO Mains Examination.
The IBPS SO selection process consists of:
Preliminary Examination → Main Examination → Interview
The IBPS SO Mains Exam 2026 is scheduled for 1 November 2026. Under the revised examination pattern, Professional Knowledge is particularly important because its marks are used for merit listing at the Mains stage. The final selection uses the prescribed 80:20 weightage between Mains and Interview.
Candidates expecting to clear the Preliminary Examination should therefore begin Mains preparation instead of waiting for the official Prelims result.
Check the Complete IBPS SO Syllabus 2026
Check IBPS SO Exam Analysis 2026
IBPS SO Expected Cut Off 2026: Quick Summary
| Particular | Details |
| Exam | IBPS Specialist Officer 2026 |
| Recruitment Cycle | CRP SPL-XVI |
| Prelims Exam Date | 29 August 2026 |
| Prelims Maximum Marks | 125 |
| Expected Cut Off | Post-wise and category-wise |
| Highest Expected UR Range | HR/Personnel Officer: 54–62 |
| IT Officer Expected UR Cut Off | 53–59 |
| AFO Expected UR Cut Off | 49–54 |
| Law Officer Expected UR Cut Off | 40–47 |
| Marketing Officer Expected UR Cut Off | 22–30 |
| Rajbhasha Expected UR Cut Off | 16–20 |
| Official Cut Off | To be released |
| Official Website | ibps.in |
IBPS SO Expected Cut Off 2026 FAQs
What is the IBPS SO Expected Cut Off 2026?
The IBPS SO Expected Cut Off 2026 is the estimated minimum qualifying score for the Preliminary Examination. The cutoff differs according to post and category.
What is the expected IBPS SO IT Officer cutoff 2026?
The IBPS SO IT Officer expected cutoff for the General category is around 53–59 marks. The expected range is 52–58 for OBC, 50–56 for EWS, 52–58 for SC and 44–50 for ST.
What is the expected IBPS SO AFO cutoff 2026?
The IBPS SO Agricultural Field Officer expected cutoff for UR candidates is approximately 49–54 marks.
What is the IBPS SO Law Officer expected cutoff 2026?
The expected IBPS SO Law Officer cutoff for the General category is approximately 40–47 marks.
What is the expected IBPS SO Marketing Officer cutoff 2026?
The expected IBPS SO Marketing Officer cutoff for General-category candidates is approximately 22–30 marks.
When will the IBPS SO Cut Off 2026 be released?
IBPS will release the official IBPS SO Prelims Cut Off 2026 on its website after the examination and evaluation process. Candidates should rely on ibps.in for the official cutoff.
Is the IBPS SO Cut Off released post-wise?
Yes. IBPS SO cutoff marks are released separately for IT Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Law Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer.
Is there a sectional cutoff in IBPS SO 2026?
Candidates are required to meet the minimum qualifying requirements prescribed by IBPS for the relevant tests in addition to the overall shortlisting criteria. The exact qualifying marks are determined by IBPS.
What should candidates do after the IBPS SO Prelims Exam?
Candidates whose scores are near or above the expected cutoff should immediately begin preparation for the IBPS SO Mains Exam scheduled for 1 November 2026, rather than waiting for the official Prelims result.
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