IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) Exam Pattern 2026
The full IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) exam pattern for 2026 — 3 stages, with the sections, question count, marks, duration and negative marking for each, as set by Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS). Then take a free IBPS SO (Specialist Officer) mock in the real pattern below.
Preliminary Examination (screening only; not applicable for Law/Rajbhasha)
- Mode
- Online (Computer Based Test) at IBPS-designated centres
- Sections
- For IT/Agri/HR/Marketing streams: English Language · Reasoning · Quantitative Aptitude. For Law/Rajbhasha streams: English Language · Reasoning · General Awareness with special reference to Banking Industry (replaces Quant)
- Questions
- 150 multiple-choice questions (50 + 50 + 50)
- Marks
- 125 marks (English 25 · Reasoning 50 · Quant or GA 50)
- Duration
- 120 minutes total with SECTIONAL TIMING of 40 minutes per section
- Negative marking
- 0.25 mark deducted per wrong answer; no penalty for unattempted questions
Prelims is a screening test ONLY — marks do NOT carry forward to Mains merit. Sectional and overall cutoffs must both be cleared. Roughly 5-10x the stream-wise vacancies are shortlisted for Mains. The Prelims structure differs for Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari streams — the Quant section is replaced by a Banking-focused General Awareness section for these two streams.
Main Examination
- Mode
- Online (Computer Based Test)
- Sections
- Single section: Professional Knowledge (stream-specific — IT / Agri / HR / Marketing / Law / Rajbhasha)
- Questions
- 60 multiple-choice questions (For Law and Rajbhasha streams: 60 questions in objective format, with descriptive component for Rajbhasha)
- Marks
- 60 marks (Law/Rajbhasha stream Mains: 60 marks objective + 60 marks descriptive for Rajbhasha)
- Duration
- 45 minutes for the Professional Knowledge objective paper. Rajbhasha descriptive paper: 30 additional minutes
- Negative marking
- 0.25 mark deducted per wrong answer; no penalty for unattempted questions
Mains for IBPS SO is concentrated entirely on Professional Knowledge of the chosen stream. This is materially different from IBPS PO Mains which is a broad-syllabus paper. The Professional Knowledge paper depth approximates the technical-graduate-level domain syllabus of the stream's degree (B.Tech CS for IT Officer, B.Sc. Agri for AFO, LL.B. for Law Officer, etc.). For Rajbhasha Adhikari, the descriptive paper tests translation skills and Hindi essay writing.
Personal Interview
- Mode
- Offline, in-person at the participating bank's regional centre
- Sections
- Domain expertise · Banking industry awareness · Personal background and biodata · Why specialist banking / why this stream · Situational/HR questions
- Questions
- Open-ended panel interview by a board of 4-5 members
- Marks
- 100 marks (qualifying minimum: 40% General / 35% reserved)
- Duration
- Typically 15-25 minutes per candidate
- Negative marking
- Not applicable
Final merit list is computed on an 80:20 weightage — Mains (Professional Knowledge) 80% + Interview 20%. Interview is conducted by the participating banks, coordinated by the Nodal Bank for the cycle. Provisional allotment to a specific PSB is based on rank, candidate preference order and stream-wise category-wise vacancy.
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