Bihar APO syllabus and exam pattern for Prelims and Mains

How selection works, from screening to merit list

1. Preliminary test: two objective papers, set in Hindi and English. It is a screening round, so it filters the field, and nothing scored here carries into your final total.
2. Main examination: eight descriptive papers written on paper. You need pass marks in the two language papers, yet they carry no weight in rank; the general studies and law papers do.
3. Interview: 100 marks, testing legal reasoning, clarity and suitability for a prosecutor's work.

Rank is fixed by adding Mains and interview scores. That one fact should shape your preparation: the Prelims is a gate, but the written law answers you produce in Mains are what place you on the merit list.

Bihar APO syllabus at a glance: the exam pattern table

Reports on the Hindi and English papers say you need a minimum of 30 marks in each. Most reports also describe a deduction of one fourth for each incorrect Prelims answer, though one source gives one third, so go by the marking rule in the advertisement itself before you settle your guessing strategy.

Bihar APO pre syllabus: General Studies and Law

Paper 1: General Studies

• News from India and the wider world
• General science at an everyday level
• Indian history across all periods, art and heritage, with Bihar's past
• Indian polity and the working of government
• Physical and economic geography of Bihar and the country

Paper 2: Law

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita: general exceptions, abetment, offences against the body, property and the State
• Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita: courts, arrest, bail, investigation, charge and trial
• Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam: relevancy, admissions, confessions, burden of proof, witnesses
• Code of Civil Procedure, 1908: jurisdiction, res judicata, pleadings, decrees and execution
• Basics of the Constitution of India

Because the law paper carries 150 marks against 100 for general studies, it decides who clears the screening. Bare act reading pays here: the questions often test section numbers, definitions and the exact wording of exceptions.

Mains papers, one by one

• General Studies: current affairs, Indian polity and economy, Bihar's land, rivers and resources alongside national geography, the state's economic changes since independence, and general science.
• Hindi and English: essay, precis, comprehension, grammar and short writing, with some legal vocabulary.
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita: criminal liability, attempt and conspiracy, offences against women and children, theft, robbery, dacoity, cheating, breach of trust, defamation and intimidation.
• Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam: facts and relevancy, dying declarations, expert opinion, electronic records, presumptions, estoppel, examination and cross examination, hostile witnesses.
• Criminal and civil procedure: summons and warrants, search and seizure, police report, cognizance, types of trial, plea bargaining, appeal and revision; on the civil side, plaint, written statement, ex parte decrees, injunctions and review.
• Constitutional law: fundamental rights, directive principles, writs, Union and State relations, emergency powers, amendments and the basic structure doctrine.
• Other laws: the Arms Act, 1959, Explosive Substances Act, 1908, NDPS Act, 1985, the offences chapter of the IT Act, Bihar prohibition and excise law, the Bihar Police Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the SC and ST atrocities law and POCSO.

What is new in the Bihar APO new syllabus

Earlier rounds asked for the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act. The latest advertisement swapped them for the new penal code (BNS), the new procedure code (BNSS) and the new evidence law (BSA), and it lists Constitutional Law and Other Laws as Mains papers of their own. If you are using notes from older attempts, map every old section to its new number; many provisions carry over with fresh numbering and a few new offences were added.

The Bihar prohibition and excise statutes are a local feature that candidates from other states often underrate. Prosecutors in the state deal with these cases daily, so expect questions on them in the Other Laws paper.

Why law papers decide your rank

Total the merit papers and it becomes clear that law dominates: five law papers worth 150 each against a single 100 mark general studies paper. Good Mains answers state the provision, explain its ingredients, cite a leading judgment where you know one and finish with a short application to facts. Practise writing within three hours, because eight long papers test stamina as much as memory.

A five month plan for the APO papers

1. Month 1: bare acts of the three new codes, with a conversion chart from the old section numbers.
2. Month 2: CPC and the Constitution, plus a daily general studies hour focused on Bihar.
3. Month 3: objective practice for Prelims: a full 100 question law set against the clock on alternate days.
4. Month 4: Other Laws in full and answer writing for each Mains law paper.
5. Month 5: full length Mains practice, Hindi and English essays, and revision of leading cases.

Use the bare acts and NCERT books for general studies, and tick topics off against the Commission's own syllabus list. Comparing patterns can help if you also apply elsewhere: see the UP APO syllabus, the Rajasthan APO syllabus and the MP ADPO syllabus.

Eligibility in brief

You need a degree in law from a recognised university. For the latest round, age was counted on 1 August of the advertisement year: the minimum is 21, and the maximum is 37 for unreserved men, 40 for unreserved women and BC or EBC applicants, and 42 for SC and ST applicants of either gender. Further relaxation applies to some groups, such as disabled applicants and former armed forces personnel.

For the state's other recruitment, read the BPSC syllabus for the combined civil services exam or browse the civil services hub.