IB ACIO Cut Off: Tier 1 Marks, Shortlisting and Trends

How the IB ACIO cut off is applied tier by tier

1. Tier 1 floor. You must cross the category minimum in the 100 mark objective paper. Miss it and no shortlist position can rescue you.
2. Tier 1 shortlist. Among those above the floor, candidates are called to Tier 2 in merit order up to a number tied to each category's share of posts. The lowest score that still gets a Tier 2 call is the ib acio tier 1 cut off for that group.
3. Tier 2 floor. The 50 mark descriptive paper has its own minimum, 33 percent, and candidates are then called to the interview in merit order.
4. Final list. Tier 1, Tier 2 and the 100 mark interview are added. Selection follows this combined score within each category and the vacancies available.

Because Tier 1 counts again in the final total, every extra mark in the objective paper helps twice: once to get shortlisted and once in the final ranking.

Qualifying marks in the latest notice

Some older reports show the EWS floor as 35 rather than 34. Small differences like this can appear between notices, so rely on the qualifying marks clause printed in your own recruitment's notice.

IB ACIO previous year cut off and recent cycles

The two most recent recruitments differed sharply in size, and that is the clearest guide to how the shortlisting line moves.

The Tier 1 result notices published on the MHA site list the roll numbers shortlisted for Tier 2. We could not find a category wise table of Tier 1 cut off marks in an official notice for either cycle, and the figures circulated afterwards are estimates built from candidate reported scores, which disagree with each other by several marks. For that reason this page does not print a number as the past cut off.

What can be said safely: with almost four times as many posts, the 2025 shortlist reached further down the merit list, so the effective line for each category was likely lower relative to the paper's difficulty than in a small recruitment year.

Why a high Tier 1 score still matters after shortlisting

The final list adds up to 250 marks: 100 from Tier 1, 50 from Tier 2 and 100 from the interview. A candidate who just scrapes into Tier 2 starts the descriptive round many marks behind someone well clear of the line, and the interview rarely closes a large gap on its own.

Factors that will move the next IB ACIO cut off

• How many ACIO posts are advertised. The single biggest factor. Big intakes, as in the 2025 round, pull the shortlist deeper; a small one pushes it up.
• Shift difficulty. Tier 1 runs over several shifts. The notice explains how scores from different shifts are treated before shortlisting.
• Current affairs weight. One fifth of Tier 1 is current affairs and another fifth general studies. A tough GK set lowers scores across the board.
• Negative marking discipline. Heavy guessers bleed marks to the 0.25 penalty, which keeps the top of the list compact.
• Tier 2 format. The newest descriptive format asks for an essay, English comprehension and two longer written answers. Strong writers can recover from a middling Tier 1 score.

A practical target for Tier 1

Since no official past line is available, set your goal from your own mock tests and the size of the recruitment. Aim to be comfortably above the floor in every mock, then work on accuracy: a candidate who attempts 80 questions with 90 percent accuracy scores far better than one who attempts 95 with 70 percent. Track your scores section by section in all five blocks of 20 questions, and move time towards whichever block gives the most correct answers per minute.

Old question sets help you calibrate that target; our IB ACIO previous papers guide covers where to find them and how to time yourself.

How to check the IB ACIO result and cut off

1. Open mha.gov.in and look for the IB notices among the ministry's recruitment listings.
2. Get the Tier 1 result file for your recruitment and look up your own roll number in it.
3. Check whether a cut off or marks notice has been released alongside the result, and read it for your category.
4. Your individual marks are usually made available through the candidate login for a limited period; save a copy.

For other central government lines, compare the SSC CGL cut off, or see more central recruitments listed under SSC and central exams.