Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS)
IBPS Clerk 2026 (CRP Clerks-XVI)
Important Dates
Eligibility
Any graduate from a recognized university. Age: 20 to 28 years. Relaxation: 5 years for SC/ST, 3 years for OBC (NCL), 10 years for PwBD. Proficiency in the official language of the state/UT applied for is required.
Syllabus
Prelims: English Language, Numerical Ability, Reasoning Ability. Mains: General/Financial Awareness, General English, Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude, Quantitative Aptitude.
Official Links
IBPS Clerk 2026 — Complete Guide
The IBPS Clerk exam is one of the most popular entry-level banking exams in India, and for good reason. It opens the door to a permanent government bank job in 11 public sector banks — and unlike IBPS PO, there is no interview. Your Mains marks are everything. Clear the Mains, meet the cutoff, and you get the job.
This is the 16th cycle — called CRP Clerks-XVI. The Prelims exam dates are already confirmed on the IBPS annual calendar: October 10–11, 2026. Mains is on December 27, 2026. The official notification with vacancy details is expected in July–August 2026.
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Notification Release | July – August 2026 (Expected) |
| Application Opens | July 15, 2026 (Expected) |
| Last Date to Apply | August 5, 2026 (Expected) |
| Prelims Exam | October 10–11, 2026 (Confirmed) |
| Mains Exam | December 27, 2026 (Confirmed) |
| Provisional Allotment | February – March 2027 |
Prelims and Mains dates are confirmed on the IBPS official annual exam calendar. Application dates are expected based on the previous year's pattern. Check ibps.in for the official notification.
Which Banks Recruit Through IBPS Clerk?
The same 11 banks that participate in IBPS PO also recruit clerks through this exam: Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank, and Union Bank of India.
Eligibility
Education: Any graduate degree from a recognized university or equivalent. No minimum percentage is specified — a simple pass is enough. Students who have completed their graduation can apply even if convocation has not happened, as long as their results are out.
Age: 20 to 28 years. This is stricter than IBPS PO (which goes up to 30). Relaxation of 5 years for SC/ST, 3 years for OBC (NCL), and 10 years for PwBD candidates.
Language: You must have studied the official language of the state or UT you're applying to, either as a subject in Class 10 or Class 12, or in graduation. This is an important condition many candidates overlook.
Selection Process — 2 Stages Only
IBPS Clerk is simpler than IBPS PO. There is no Group Exercise or Interview. You clear Prelims, then Mains, and that's it.
Stage 1 — Prelims (Qualifying)
A 1-hour online test with 100 questions. You only need to clear the cutoff here — the marks don't count in the final merit.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 min |
Negative marking: -0.25 for each wrong answer.
Stage 2 — Mains (Final Merit)
The Mains score is what decides your rank for allotment. It has four sections in 160 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General/Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 35 min |
| General English | 40 | 40 | 35 min |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 min |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 45 min |
| Total | 190 | 200 | 160 min |
Negative marking applies here too: -0.25 per wrong answer.
No interview after Mains — your scaled Mains score directly determines your allotment.
Salary
A bank clerk's starting in-hand salary is around ₹26,000 to ₹29,000 per month depending on the posting location (metro, urban, rural). The basic pay starts at ₹11,765 per month. Graduate candidates get two advance increments, which puts the effective starting basic at around ₹13,075. With DA, HRA, and special allowances added on top, the gross goes up significantly. With DA, HRA, special allowance, and other perks, the gross goes up significantly.
Clerks also get home loan concessions, medical benefits, and performance-based promotions (you can become an officer in 2–3 years through internal exams).
What to Study
Quantitative Aptitude / Numerical Ability: Number series, simplification, approximation, quadratic equations, percentage, profit and loss, time and work, speed and distance, data interpretation.
Reasoning Ability: Seating arrangement, puzzles, syllogisms, inequality, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, alphanumeric series.
English Language: Reading comprehension, cloze test, para jumbles, fill in the blanks, sentence correction, vocabulary.
General/Financial Awareness (Mains): Current affairs of last 6 months, RBI announcements, banking terms (REPO rate, CRR, SLR, NPA, PMJDY, etc.), government financial schemes, Union Budget highlights.
Computer Aptitude (Mains): MS Office basics, internet and networking terms, computer abbreviations, input/output devices, software and hardware basics.
Application Fee
Approximately ₹850 for General/EWS/OBC candidates. SC/ST/PwBD candidates pay ₹175 (registration fee only). Payment accepted via net banking, debit/credit card, or UPI.
Official Website
ibps.in — Exam dates (Prelims October 10–11 and Mains December 27, 2026) are already published on the IBPS annual calendar. Watch for the detailed notification in July–August 2026.