IBPS SO 2025 Latest Updates

IBPS Specialist Officers (SO) Exam is a renowned examination conducted annually for aspiring candidates wishing to serve as specialists in specific banking positions like IT, Agriculture, Marketing, etc. The entire process involves three phases of evaluation: Prelims, Mains and Interviews. It is a great option to excel your careers in banking industry with expert specialization. We have compiled informative article spreading complete information about the recruitment drive and other related details of the exam. Please do read to clarify your doubts and confusions:

IBPS Exam Calendar 2025 - Important Dates & Highlights

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) released 2025 exam calendar, which gives preliminary dates of various bank exams, such as IBPS PO, Clerk, Specialist Officer (SO) and IBPS RRB. This early indication assists candidates in scheduling their preparation for the upcoming year.

Important Details:

Category	Details
Organization	Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS)
Exams	IBPS SO
Post Names	Specialist Officer
Selection Process	Prelims, Mains, Interview
Calendar Release	15th January 2025
Official Website	www.ibps.in
No. of Participating Banks	11

 

Vacancies under Specialist Officer Posts are given below:

• IT Officer (Scale I)
• Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I)
• Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)
• Law Officer (Scale I)
• HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)
• Marketing Officer (Scale I)

 

IBPS SO 2025 Exam Dates

PSBs – CRP SPL-XV Exam Dates for 2025

For FY 2025-26, IBPS SO Exam Dates for CRP SPL-XV has been already released with Bank Exam Calendar 2025. Preliminary exam will be held on 22nd and 23rd November 2025.

• IBPS SO 2025 Exam Dates

Sr. No.	Activity	IBPS SO Dates
1	Online Examination – Preliminary	22nd, 23rd November 2025
2	Online Examination – Main	4th January 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

IBPS SO Exam Overview:

Selection for SO exam conducted by IBPS follows a structured three-phase procedure:

• Online Preliminary Exam
• Online Mains Exam
• Interview Process

Candidates have to clear both Preliminary and Mains exams successfully in order to proceed to the Interview round. Those candidates shortlisted after the interview will be issued an appointment letter. 

IBPS SO Exam Pattern

IBPS SO Exam will follow a revised pattern, such as having distinct sectional time limits for every section in the preliminary exam. Preliminary exam is considered as a qualifying phase and candidates must meet the cut-off to move to Mains exam.

IBPS SO Prelims Exam Pattern

For different posts, there are different exam patterns, with sectional cut-offs. One has to clear all sections to make it to the Mains exam.

For the post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer:

S No.	Name of Tests	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Medium of Exam	Duration
1	English Language	50	25	English	40 minutes
2	Reasoning	50	50	English and Hindi	40 minutes
3	Quantitative Aptitude	50	50	English and Hindi	40 minutes
Total		150	125		120 minutes

 

For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari:

S No.	Name of Tests	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Medium of Exam	Duration
1	English Language	50	25	English	40 minutes
2	Reasoning	50	50	English and Hindi	40 minutes
3	General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry	50	50	English and Hindi	40 minutes
Total		150	125		120 minutes

 

IBPS SO Main Exam Pattern

Here is the exam structure for mains exam for IBPS SO:

For the Post of Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer:

Name of the Test	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Medium of Exam	Duration
Professional Knowledge	60	60	English & Hindi	45 minutes

For the Post of Rajbhasha Adhikari:

Name of the Test	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Medium of Exam	Duration
Professional Knowledge (Objective)	45	60	English & Hindi	30 minutes
Professional Knowledge (Descriptive)	2	-	English & Hindi	30 minutes

Exam Language

All tests for IBPS SO posts are conducted bilingually, meaning they will be available in both English and Hindi.

Penalty for Incorrect Answers (Applicable to Both Prelims and Mains)

There will be a penalty of 0.25 marks for every wrong response in the Objective Tests. No penalty will be charged for questions that are left blank.

Cutoff Score (Online Main Examination)

Applicants need to score minimum required score at Online Main Examination for being shortlisted for the interview. Cutoffs shall be made based on vacancies available and IBPS's decision relating to shortlisting as well as final merit shall be final.

IBPS SO Prelims Cutoff - 2024

Prelims cut-off marks for IBPS SO Prelims Exam (2024):

Posts	SC	ST	OBC	EWS	UR	HI	OC	VI	ID
I.T. Officer	36	32.63	36	16.75	36	15	26.25	16	13.75
Agricultural Field Officer	51	46	51	51	51	29.38	49.88	41.33	15.88
Rajbhasha Adhikari	16.25	8.50	16.25	16.25	16.25	NA	33.75	25.75	NA
Law Officer	25.50	17.63	28.50	28.13	33.13	12.25	28.75	12.50	17.38
HR/Personnel Officer	43.25	43	43.25	40.88	43.25	NA	20.13	25.13	NA
Marketing Officer	17.25	15.13	17.25	16.75	17.25	13.38	12.38	16.13	NA

Sectional Cut-Off Marks for IBPS SO Prelims 2024

For IT Officer (Scale-I)

Name of Test	Maximum Marks	SC/ST/OBC/PWBD	EWS/General
English Language	25	4.50	7.25
Reasoning	50	1.00	3.50
General Awareness/Quantitative Aptitude	50	1.25	5.00

For Agricultural Field Officer (Scale-I)

Name of Test	Maximum Marks	SC/ST/OBC/PWBD	EWS/General
English Language	25	5.00	7.75
Reasoning	50	1.00	4.25
General Awareness/Quantitative Aptitude	50	3.00	6.25

For Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale-I)

Name of Test	Maximum Marks	SC/ST/OBC/PWBD	EWS/General
English Language	25	4.50	7.25
Reasoning	50	1.00	3.50
General Awareness/Quantitative Aptitude	50	1.25	3.25

For Law Officer (Scale-I)

Name of Test	Maximum Marks	SC/ST/OBC/PWBD	EWS/General
English Language	25	4.50	7.25
Reasoning	50	1.00	3.50
General Awareness/Quantitative Aptitude	50	1.25	3.25

For HR/Personnel Officer (Scale-I)

Name of Test	Maximum Marks	SC/ST/OBC/PWBD	EWS/General
English Language	25	5.75	8.50
Reasoning	50	1.75	5.25
General Awareness/Quantitative Aptitude	50	3.00	6.75

For Marketing Officer (Scale-I)

Name of Test	Maximum Marks	SC/ST/OBC/PWBD	EWS/General
English Language	25	4.50	7.25
Reasoning	50	1.00	3.50
General Awareness/Quantitative Aptitude	50	1.25	5.00

 

IBPS SO Mains Cutoff - 2025

Posts	SC	ST	OBC	EWS	UR	HI	OC	VI	ID
IT Officer (Scale I)	13.00	10.25	15.50	14.75	16.50	8.00	9.75	8.00	7.75
Agriculture Field Officer (Scale I)	12.50	12.50	17.00	17.00	17.00	12.50	17.50	13.25	13.25
Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)	14.75	13.50	14.75	14.75	14.75	NA	18.25	20.00	NA
Law Officer (Scale I)	37.50	34.75	42.00	44.00	44.00	32.00	30.50	32.50	48.00
HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)	27.25	21.25	26.75	26.50	27.25	NA	19.25	22.25	NA
Marketing Officer (Scale I)	14.50	14.50	14.50	18.50	18.50	19.00	14.75	30.50	NA

 

Interview Process for IBPS SO 

• Interview Call: Shortlisted candidates will be invited for Interview with details in the call letter.
• Interview Marks: Scored out of 100. Minimum qualifying marks: 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD).
• Weightage: 80:20 ratio between Online Main Exam and Interview.
• Selection: Must qualify both phases and be among top rankers for final allocation.
• Documents Required: Interview Call Letter, Application Printout, Date of Birth proof, Photo ID, Educational qualifications, Caste Certificate (if applicable).
• Non-Submission: Failure to submit documents will lead to disqualification.

 

Age Limit for IBPS SO exam

Applicant should be between 20 to 30 years of age to apply for the IBPS SO exam. Relaxation in age is allowed for reserved category candidates as under:

Category	Age Relaxation
SC/ST	5 years
OBC	3 years
PWD	10 years
Ex-Servicemen/Commissioned Officers	5 years
Jammu & Kashmir Domicile (01.01.1980 - 31.12.1989)	5 years
Affected by 1984 riots	5 years

 

Eligibility Criteria for IBPS SO exam

To be eligible for IBPS SO exam, candidates must meet the following criteria: citizenship, age limit and educational qualifications.

Citizenship Criteria

• Indian resident
• Nepalese citizen
• Tibetan refugees who came to India before 1st January 1962 and plan to settle in India
• Indian-origin persons from Burma, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, and Vietnam

IBPS SO Educational Qualifications

Post	Educational Qualification
IT Officer (Scale I)	Engineering degree in Computer Science/IT/Computer Applications or related fields, or Post Graduate Degree in Computer Science/IT, or DOEACC 'B' level exam qualification.
Agricultural Field Officer	4-year degree in Agriculture, Horticulture, Veterinary Science, Dairy Science, Agricultural Engineering, or related fields.
Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I)	Post Graduate in Hindi with English at graduation or Post Graduate in Sanskrit with English and Hindi at graduation.
Law Officer (Scale I)	Bachelor’s degree in Law and enrolled as an advocate with Bar Council.
HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I)	Graduate and Post Graduate/Diploma in Personnel Management, Industrial Relations, HR, or related fields.
Marketing Officer (Scale I)	Graduate with MMS (Marketing), MBA (Marketing), or PGDBA/PGDBM with specialization in Marketing.

 

Credit History

Applicants should have a good credit record at the time of joining, according to bank's policy. If the CIBIL status is not updated, they must update it or provide NOCs for negative accounts. Failing this can lead to withdrawal of the offer. Candidates who don't have a bank account need not submit the CIBIL status and there is no need to have a good CIBIL score for applying.

IBPS SO Application Fee

• SC/ST/PWD: Rs. 175 (Intimation Charges only)
• General and Others: Rs. 850 (Application Fee including intimation charges)

Online Application Procedure

1. Go to the official IBPS portal (www.ibps.in) and click on the link for "CRP-Specialist Officers”.

2. Click on "New Registration" to fill in your basic information. Provisional registration number and password will be created.

3. Upload all the necessary documents: Photograph, Signature, Thumb Impression, Handwritten Declaration, and certificates as applicable.

4. Double-check your application before sending as modifications cannot be done after sending. Blind candidates should have their details confirmed prior to submission.

Call Letters

Candidates must download their call letter for exams and interviews from the official IBPS website using their Registration Number and Password/Date of Birth. No hard copies will be sent by post.

Scribe Guidelines for Disability Persons

• Candidates appearing with a scribe have to organize at their own expenses.
• Candidates are required to provide a medical certificate to confirm the need to use a scribe.
• Credentials of scribe must be a grade lesser than the candidate.
• There must be an undertaking from both the candidate and scribe for eligibility.
• Candidates are allowed compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour of the exam.
• Scribe will not be able to take the same exam as a candidate.
• Rules violations (e.g., scribe answering the questions) will disqualify candidate and scribe.
• Candidate has to notify the need for a scribe during online registration.
• Candidates not registered for compensatory time will not be granted such concessions.
• Violations will result in permanent or temporary debarment from future CRP exams.
• Debarred candidates/scribes can be transferred to other recruiting agencies.
• IBPS reserves the right to Aadhaar verify candidates/scribes during the process.

Guidelines for Specific Disabilities

• Visually Impaired (VI): Magnified font is available and 20 minutes compensatory time is given.
• Locomotor Disability & Cerebral Palsy: 20 minutes compensatory time for each hour if the writing limb is impaired.
• Intellectual Disability (ID): 20 minutes compensatory time per hour, irrespective of scribe use.
• Candidates with disability less than 40%: Entitled to 20 minutes compensatory time for every hour, pro-rata if the examination is less than one hour.

These guidelines are liable to change according to updates as per Government of India regulations.

Identity Verification

1. Documents to be Provided: Valid photo ID bearing the same name as on the call letter should be provided by candidates (e.g., PAN card, Passport, Driving License, Voter ID, Aadhaar card). Photocopies of the ID and call letter are required for verification. Ration cards and learner's licenses are not acceptable. Candidates who have changed their name should bring the supporting documents (e.g., Gazette notification, marriage certificate or affidavit). Signature in capital letters is not acceptable.

2. Biometric Verification: Applicants are required to adhere to biometric information (fingerprint and photo) capture. Any changes in appearance or refusal to participate may lead to disqualification. Dry, clean fingers are necessary for biometric capture.

3. Other Documents: Candidates are required to bring a recent passport size photograph (identical to the photograph on the call letter) with them to the exam and interview. Call letter will be stamped/verified at the test center.

General Instructions

• Candidates should carry their original and photocopy of the valid photo ID and call letter for Preliminary and Main exams.
• A scribe cannot be a candidate for the same examination. They can serve only one candidate.
• No amendment in exam dates, venue or details shall be accepted.
• Discrepancies in documentation or during the process can lead to disqualification of candidates.