Selection Process
IBPS Clerk Selection Process 2026
Institute of Banking Personnel Selection: Customer Service Associate (Clerk)
How selection works
Prelims is a qualifying shortlisting stage. Only Main Examination marks are used for final merit listing, followed by the local-language requirement and provisional allotment.
Stage-by-stage process
Online Preliminary Examination
Candidates take three separately timed objective sections. IBPS decides the qualifying cut-offs, and Prelims marks do not count toward final merit.
Online Main Examination
Candidates shortlisted from Prelims take the Main Examination. The Main score is the scored examination used for the final merit listing.
Local Language Proficiency Test
Candidates must satisfy the local-language proficiency requirement for the State or Union Territory to which they applied, according to the notification.
Provisional allotment
IBPS makes provisional allotment to a Participating Bank on merit-cum-preference, subject to the Government's reservation policy and the other eligibility conditions in the notification.
Main Examination pattern
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General / Financial Awareness | 40 | 50 | 20 minutes |
| General English | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 40 | 60 | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 40 | 50 | 35 minutes |
| Total | 160 | 200 | 125 minutes |
These section totals are from the verified CRP CSA-XVI notification extraction.
Official source
Source: Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, CRP CSA-XVI notification for vacancies of 2027-28. The notification governs cut-offs, local-language requirements and provisional allotment. View the official IBPS CRP CSA-XVI notification.
Frequently asked questions
What is the IBPS Clerk selection process?
It runs to 4 stages, in this order: Online Preliminary Examination, Online Main Examination, Local Language Proficiency Test and Provisional allotment. Each is described on this page with what it involves and what clearing it requires. You reach a stage only by clearing the one before it, so the whole process is a funnel rather than a checklist you work through in parallel.
Do marks from every IBPS Clerk stage count towards the final merit?
Not necessarily, and it is worth checking rather than assuming. Multi-stage recruitments usually mix two kinds of stage: qualifying ones, which you must clear but whose marks are discarded afterwards, and merit-bearing ones, whose marks carry into the final ranking. Clearing a qualifying stage comfortably earns nothing beyond clearing it, so effort spent pushing that score higher is effort not spent on the stage that decides your rank. The stage descriptions on this page say which is which, and the notification is the authority on it.
Which IBPS Clerk stage should I prepare for first?
Online Preliminary Examination, because nobody sees stage two without it. It is also the stage with the most competition in it: every applicant sits it, and it exists to cut that field down. Preparing for a later stage before clearing the first is the commonest way candidates waste a cycle. There are 19 free tests for IBPS Clerk here to work on it with.
Can the IBPS Clerk selection process change between cycles?
Yes, and it does. Stages get added, merged or dropped, a qualifying paper becomes merit-bearing, or a skill test moves from one stage to another, and the change is announced in the notification for that cycle rather than separately. The sequence on this page is read from the official IBPS CRP CSA-XVI notification, cited and linked at the foot of the page, so check it against the current notification before assuming the process you prepared for last year is the one you will sit.