At a glance
IBPS SO IT Officer 2026 — overview
IBPS conducts the Specialist Officer recruitment (CRP SPL-XVI) to fill IT Officer (Scale I) posts across participating public sector banks.
Post & body
IT Officer (Scale I) under IBPS CRP SPL-XVI with All-India posting across participating banks.
Two-tier online exam
Preliminary → Main → Interview. Professional Knowledge is now tested in the Prelims too.
What decides your rank
Only the Main Professional Knowledge score builds merit; Prelims is a qualifying gate.
Application fee
₹175 for SC/ST/PwBD and ₹850 for all other candidates.
Age band
20 to 30 years as on 01.07.2026, with category relaxations.
Negative marking
0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer in objective tests.
Timeline
Important dates 2026
Mark the registration deadline first — the application and fee window is short. Everything after Prelims is tentative until IBPS confirms it on ibps.in.
| Activity | Schedule |
|---|---|
| Notification released | 01 Jul 2026 |
| Online registration + fee payment | 01 – 21 Jul 2026 |
| Application edit window | 2 days after close |
| Prelims call letters | Aug 2026 |
| Online Preliminary exam | Aug 2026 (tent. 29 Aug) |
| Prelims result | Sep / Oct 2026 |
| Main call letter | Oct 2026 |
| Online Main exam | Nov 2026 (tent. 01 Nov) |
| Interview | Nov / Dec 2026 |
| Provisional allotment | Jan 2027 |
Your degree result and eligibility are judged as on 21 July 2026 — the same day registration closes. If your final result is declared after that date, you are not eligible this cycle.
Openings
Vacancies — 301 (indicative)
301 IT Officer (Scale I) posts are notified across participating banks, and the count can rise as more banks report their vacancies.
| Bank | SC | ST | OBC | EWS | UR | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of India | 16 | 8 | 29 | 11 | 46 | 110 |
| Punjab National Bank | 15 | 8 | 27 | 10 | 40 | 100 |
| Central Bank of India | 8 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 21 | 50 |
| Indian Overseas Bank | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 25 |
| Punjab & Sind Bank | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| Total (reported) | 46 | 23 | 82 | 28 | 122 | 301 |
Reservation note: PwBD posts are horizontal: HI (hearing), OC (orthopedic/locomotor), VI (visual) and ID (intellectual disability). A reserve list of about 20% of vacancies per category may also be maintained.
Who can apply
Eligibility criteria
Three gates — nationality, age, and a degree that matches the notification list exactly. There is no equivalent qualification allowance here.
Indian citizen; or subject of Nepal/Bhutan; or eligible Tibetan refugee / person of Indian origin with a Govt. certificate.
Age: 20 to 30 years as on 01.07.2026 (born 02 Jul 1996 to 01 Jul 2006, both inclusive).
Degree result must be declared on or before 21 July 2026.
Educational qualification (any one)
- 4-year B.E./B.Tech in Computer Science, Computer Applications, IT, Electronics, Electronics & Telecommunication, Electronics & Communication, or Electronics & Instrumentation.
- Post-Graduate degree in any of the same disciplines.
- DOEACC 'B' level.
| Category | Relaxation |
|---|---|
| SC / ST | +5 years |
| OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) | +3 years |
| Persons with Benchmark Disabilities | +10 years |
| Ex-Servicemen | +5 years |
Apply
Application fee & how to apply
Registration is fully online at ibps.in. You may apply for only one Specialist Officer post — a second application gets you rejected, so choose IT Officer and set your bank preference order carefully.
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| SC / ST / PwBD | ₹175 |
| General / OBC / EWS | ₹850 |
| Edit-window correction (if used) | ₹200 |
Steps to register
Go to ibps.in → CRP Specialist Officers → new registration.
Fill personal, qualification and category details; upload photo, signature, left thumb impression and handwritten declaration.
Set your bank preference order — it is final and cannot be changed later.
Pay the fee, submit, and save the confirmation for your records.
Structure
Exam pattern — Prelims & Main
Both stages are online with sectional time limits and 0.25 negative marking. The 2026 revision adds Professional Knowledge to the Prelims and a Descriptive English paper to the Main.
Preliminary exam — qualifying gate
| Test | Medium | Qs | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | English | 25 | 25 | 20 min |
| Reasoning | Eng & Hindi | 25 | 25 | 20 min |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Eng & Hindi | 25 | 25 | 20 min |
| Professional Knowledge | Eng & Hindi | 25 | 50 | 20 min |
Prelims is a screening gate only — the marks do not count toward final merit — but you must clear the cut-off in all four tests to move to the Main.
Main exam — Part I: Objective
| Test | Medium | Qs | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | English | 30 | 30 | 25 min |
| Reasoning | Eng & Hindi | 40 | 40 | 35 min |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Eng & Hindi | 30 | 30 | 25 min |
| Professional Knowledge (Obj.) | Eng & Hindi | 50 | 100 | 40 min |
Main exam — Part II: Descriptive
| Test | Medium | Qs | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descriptive Paper (English) | English | 2 | 25 | 30 min |
Grand total for the Main: 225 marks in 155 minutes.
Exam trap — get this right
For IT Officer, the Main third section is Quantitative Aptitude, not General Awareness. Professional Knowledge in the Main is 40 minutes, and the Descriptive English paper is included.
How your rank is actually built
Clear all 4 sectional cut-offs. Marks not counted.
Only Professional Knowledge builds merit; other sections qualify.
Qualify at 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD).
Scores are normalised across shifts using the equi-percentile method (up to two decimals). Bottom line: deep Professional Knowledge is where the rank is won.
What to study
Syllabus
Professional Knowledge (Information Technology) is the deepest and only merit-deciding part — treat it as the core. English, Reasoning and Quant follow the standard banking-exam set.
PK
Professional Knowledge — IT (core priority)
- Computer fundamentals & digital electronics: number systems, logic gates, Boolean algebra, K-maps, combinational & sequential circuits, computer organization & architecture.
- Programming & OOP: C, C++, Java, Python; classes, inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation, abstraction.
- Data structures & algorithms: arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs, hashing, heaps; sorting, searching, Big-O, greedy, divide & conquer, dynamic programming.
- Operating systems: processes, threads, scheduling, deadlocks, memory management, paging, virtual memory, file systems, OS security.
- DBMS: ER model, keys, normalization, transactions, ACID, concurrency, indexing; SQL; data warehousing & mining.
- Computer networks & communication: OSI & TCP/IP, LAN/WAN, topologies, switching, routing, protocols, common ports, internet & web technologies.
- Software engineering: SDLC models, software testing, compiler design basics.
- Security: cyber & information security; cryptography, hashing, digital signatures, PKI.
- Emerging technology: cloud computing, AI, machine learning basics, and recent developments in IT.
- IT governance & compliance: IT governance, IT Act 2000 & amendments, disaster recovery / BCP basics.
EN
English Language
- Reading comprehension, cloze test, para jumbles, error spotting, sentence improvement, fillers, vocabulary, word usage.
- Descriptive paper: essay / letter / précis-type — 2 questions, 25 marks, 30 minutes.
RE
Reasoning
- Puzzles & seating arrangement, syllogism, blood relations, direction sense, coding-decoding, inequality, order & ranking, input-output, data sufficiency, logical reasoning.
QA
Quantitative Aptitude
- Data interpretation, number series, simplification/approximation, quadratic equations; arithmetic — percentage, ratio, average, profit & loss, SI/CI, time-speed-distance, time & work; permutation-combination & probability.
Pay & perks
Salary overview
The starting basic pay is ₹48,480, with allowances and bank-specific benefits added on top.
Starting basic pay
₹48,480
₹48,480 - 2000/7 - 62,480 - 2340/2 - 67,160 - 2680/7 - ₹85,920
On top of basic pay, an IT Officer gets DA, HRA and other allowances as per each bank's rules.
Final merit
Selection process
Three stages, one rank. Prelims screens, the Main's Professional Knowledge builds your merit, and the interview is the final 20%.
Clear Prelims
Meet the cut-off in each of the four sections to be shortlisted for the Main.
Clear the Main
Meet each sectional cut-off and score high on Professional Knowledge, which alone decides your merit rank.
Interview
100 marks; qualify at 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD).
Final merit
Main : Interview weighted 80:20; allotment is merit-cum-preference and final.
Merit path
Stage 1 · gate
Prelims
Clear all 4 sectional cut-offs. Marks not counted.
Stage 2 · decides rank
Main — PK score
Only Professional Knowledge builds merit; other sections qualify.
Stage 3 · 100 marks
Interview
Qualify at 40% (35% for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD).
Final merit is built with Main : Interview weighted at 80:20.
The Victory Key way
A strategy built around what scores
Because only Professional Knowledge builds rank, generic bank-exam prep leaves marks on the table. The track here is engineered for the 2026 pattern.
PK-first depth
Full notes and MCQ banks across DBMS, Networks, OS, DSA, OOP, COA and security.
New-pattern mocks
Sectional and full-length tests mirroring the 2026 structure — PK in Prelims and the 225-mark Main.
PYQ-mapped revision
Previous-year questions converted, tagged and drilled so you practise what actually repeats.
Descriptive & interview prep
Essay/letter practice and mock interviews so the final 20% doesn't cost you the rank.
Start your IT Officer 2026 prep with The Victory Key
Join thousands of aspirants preparing the smart way — deep Professional Knowledge, new-pattern mocks, and free classes on YouTube.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Is Professional Knowledge in the IBPS SO IT Officer 2026 Prelims?+
Yes. Under the revised 2026 pattern, Professional Knowledge is tested in the Prelims — 25 questions for 50 marks in 20 minutes — in addition to English, Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude.
What decides the final merit for IBPS SO IT Officer?+
Only the Main exam's Professional Knowledge score builds your merit rank — every other Main section is qualifying, and Prelims marks are not counted. The final list combines the Main and Interview in an 80:20 ratio.
Is the third Main section Quantitative Aptitude or General Awareness for IT Officer?+
For IT Officer it is Quantitative Aptitude (30 questions, 30 marks, 25 minutes). General Awareness is the third section only for the Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari posts.
What is the age limit for IBPS SO IT Officer 2026?+
20 to 30 years as on 01.07.2026 — born between 02 July 1996 and 01 July 2006. Relaxations: +5 years SC/ST and Ex-Servicemen, +3 OBC-NCL, +10 PwBD.
What is the IBPS SO IT Officer salary?+
The starting basic pay is ₹48,480 on a scale rising to ₹85,920, plus DA, HRA and other allowances as per each bank's rules, so in-hand is higher than basic.
How many IBPS SO IT Officer vacancies are there in 2026?+
301 IT Officer (Scale I) vacancies are notified so far (indicative), and the number may rise as Indian Bank, UCO Bank and Union Bank of India have not reported yet.
Is there negative marking in IBPS SO IT Officer 2026?+
Yes — 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer in both the Prelims and Main objective tests. There is no penalty for un-attempted questions.
Does the IBPS SO IT Officer Main exam have a descriptive paper?+
Yes. The Main includes a Descriptive Paper in English — 2 questions for 25 marks in 30 minutes — bringing the Main grand total to 225 marks in 155 minutes.
What is the IBPS SO IT Officer 2026 application fee and last date?+
The fee is ₹175 for SC/ST/PwBD and ₹850 for all others (incl. GST). Online registration is open from 1 July to 21 July 2026 on ibps.in.
Take the next step
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