IBPS PO cut off 2025 and previous year cut offs

What the IBPS PO cut off means

Put simply, the IBPS PO pre cut off and the mains cut off are the minimum marks that still get a candidate of a given category through a stage. IBPS fixes it after the exam, not before, so nobody knows the exact figure while you are still preparing.

For IBPS PO you face two kinds of cut off at each written stage:

• Sectional cut off: a minimum score in each section. Miss it in one section and your total is not considered.
• Overall cut off: the minimum total for your category, applied only to those who cleared every section.

IBPS PO is an all India recruitment, so the cut off is declared for the country as a whole by category, not state wise as in the clerk exam. Searches for an IBPS PO prelims cut off state wise usually mix it up with IBPS clerk cut off figures.

IBPS PO cut off 2025 for prelims by category

The table puts the last three prelims cut offs side by side. Note that the section marks changed in 2025, when reasoning moved to 40 marks and quant to 30, so the totals are on the same 100 mark scale but the inner split is different.

General, OBC and EWS have shared one figure in each of these years. That happens because the prelims shortlists a fixed multiple of vacancies, and the reserved lists of OBC and EWS candidates often fill at the same score as the open list.

Sectional cut off in the 2025 prelims

The sectional bars look low, but they still knock out many candidates who spend too long on one section and rush another. English has had the highest sectional bar relative to its size, so do not leave it to luck.

IBPS PO mains cut off over three years

Mains cut offs are out of 225: 200 for the objective test and 25 for the descriptive paper.

The rise in 2025 lines up with the larger number of vacancies that year and a revised mains paper. A cut off near one third of the maximum may look modest, but the mains is long, tightly timed and penalises guessing, so actual scores stay low across the board.

Mains sectional cut off, 2025

Qualifying marks versus the final selection cut off

Clearing the mains cut off only earns an interview call. The final list is drawn on a 100 point scale in which the mains score is converted to 80 and the interview to 20. You must also score at least 40 percent in the interview, or 35 percent if you are from the SC, ST, OBC or PwBD categories.

When allotment is done, IBPS releases the highest and lowest scores at which candidates of each category were allotted. That lowest score is what people call the final cut off. Because it depends on how many banks report vacancies, it can move even when the written cut offs stay similar.

What will move the next cut off

• Vacancies: more posts mean a longer shortlist and usually a lower prelims bar, though more applicants can cancel that out.
• Paper difficulty: a lengthy puzzle set or a calculation heavy data section pulls scores down for everyone.
• Normalisation: the exam runs over several shifts, and scores are equated across shifts before cut offs are fixed.
• Pattern changes: a fresh section split, like the recent mains revision, makes year on year comparison less exact.
• Category size: the number of candidates in each category, compared with reserved vacancies, decides the gap between category cut offs.

No one can promise a figure in advance. Aim for a mock score clearly above the latest published cut off rather than just at it.

Finding the official figures on ibps.in

1. Open ibps.in and go to the CRP PO/MT section for the cycle you want.
2. Look for the score or result notice of the stage you sat. IBPS lists the cut offs alongside the score card link.
3. Sign in using your registration number with your password or birth date, and your personal score card shows each section.
4. Compare your score with the category and sectional figures in the notice.

Using past cut offs to set your target

Take the highest prelims figure from the last three years and add a margin of about five marks; for the General category that means planning for the high 50s in prelims mocks. For the mains, a steady score well above 80 in full mocks gives you room for a tough paper. Pair this with the section split on the IBPS PO syllabus page and timed practice using past IBPS PO question papers.