BPSC 72nd Expected Cut Off 2026: Category-Wise Marks and 5-Cycle Trend
BPSC 72nd Expected Cut Off 2026: Category-Wise Marks and 5-Cycle Trend
The BPSC 72nd Prelims is on 26 July 2026, a single shift from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM, for 1,186 posts. The moment you walk out of the centre, one number will decide your next three months: the cut-off. This page puts the last five cycles of official BPSC cut-off data in one place and gives you a realistic expected range for the 72nd, category by category.
One thing upfront. BPSC releases the official cut-off only with the Prelims result, on bpsc.bihar.gov.in. Everything marked "expected" below is an estimate built from the 67th to 71st trend, not a leak and not a guarantee. Treat the ranges as a planning tool.
BPSC 72nd Prelims 2026: Quick Overview
BPSC 72nd Expected Cut Off 2026 (Category-Wise Estimate)
Three straight cycles now, the 69th, 70th and 71st, have landed the Unreserved cut-off in a tight 88 to 92 band. The 72nd offers 1,186 posts against 1,298 in the 71st, a small dip that nudges the bar up slightly rather than down. Unless the 26 July paper turns out unusually tough or easy, the ranges below are where the needle should settle.
These are estimates. The official figure can sit outside a range if the paper difficulty swings hard. Female and PwD sub-category cut-offs typically run 8 to 12 marks below the main category line, as the 70th and 71st data below shows.
Qualifying Marks vs Cut Off: Two Different Bars
Every cycle, thousands of aspirants mix these up. BPSC has a minimum qualifying percentage, fixed by rule. Crossing it does not put you in the Mains list. The competitive cut-off, which depends on how everyone else scored, runs 25 to 30 marks above the qualifying line for most categories.
Blunt opinion: if your mock scores hover near the qualifying line, you are not in the race yet. The real bar is the competitive cut-off, and that is the number to train against.
BPSC 71st Prelims Cut Off (Latest Official Data)
The 71st Prelims was held on 13 September 2025 and the commission declared the result with the cut-off on 18 November 2025. This is the freshest official reference for the 72nd.
BPSC 70th Prelims Cut Off
The 70th Prelims went almost identically at the top. UR closed at 91.00, three marks above the 71st.
5-Cycle Cut Off Trend: 67th to 71st (Unreserved)
The single most useful table on this page. Watch what happened after the 67th.
The lesson is simple. Since negative marking arrived, the UR cut-off has refused to leave the high-80s to low-90s corridor. BPSC Prelims is now an accuracy exam, not an attempts exam.
What Will Decide the 72nd Cut Off?
- Vacancy count: 1,186 posts against 1,298 in the 71st. Fewer seats, mild upward pressure on the bar.
- Single shift: one paper for everyone on 26 July, so no normalisation. Your raw net score is your final score.
- Negative marking design: a wrong answer costs 1/3, and a fully blank question also costs 1/3. Only marking Option E (Not Attempted) keeps you at 0 for a skipped question. Careless blank-leavers will bleed marks without realising it.
- Paper difficulty: the wildcard. A Bihar-heavy, current-affairs-dense paper drags the cut-off toward 85; a straightforward polity-history paper pushes it past 90.
- Applicant turnout: BPSC CCE regularly pulls close to 5 lakh applications; actual attendance on exam day shapes the tail of the distribution.
What Score Should You Target on 26 July?
Work backwards from the trend. For UR, a net score of 95 plus is the comfort zone in almost any paper scenario; 90 to 94 keeps you alive; below 85 needs luck. For BC and EBC, 88 plus is safe. For SC and ST, 78 plus gives breathing room.
On attempts: 105 to 115 attempts with 90 percent accuracy beats 130 attempts with 75 percent accuracy every single time under the minus 1/3 regime. Mark Option E on questions you genuinely cannot touch instead of leaving them blank. That one habit alone can save 3 to 5 marks, which is exactly the width of a cut-off band.
If you want to see where you stand before Sunday, ExamAtlas has free BPSC-pattern mocks with AI analytics that show your topic-wise accuracy, so you know whether your 92 is a stable 92 or a lucky one. The BPSC 72nd admit card guide covers the exam-day document checklist.
What Happens After You Cross the Cut Off?
Clearing the Prelims bar puts you in a Mains pool of roughly 11,000 to 12,000 candidates competing for 1,186 seats. The Mains is descriptive: General Hindi is a qualifying paper needing a minimum of 30 percent, while the General Studies papers and Essay carry the merit weight, followed by a 120-mark Interview. Your Prelims score is left behind at the door.
Two practical consequences. First, a 92 in Prelims and an 88 in Prelims enter Mains as equals, so do not celebrate margin, celebrate qualification. Second, the 6 to 9 week result gap is exactly the window in which serious candidates finish one full round of GS answer-writing practice. Check the exact Mains paper scheme in the official 72nd notification PDF before planning, since BPSC has tweaked Mains structure across recent cycles.
How to Check the Official BPSC 72nd Cut Off
- Go to bpsc.bihar.gov.in after the Prelims result is announced.
- Open the 72nd CCE Prelims result notice; the cut-off PDF is attached with it.
- Find your category row and compare it with your expected score from the answer key.
- Download the PDF; you will need the reference during Mains form-filling.
FAQs on BPSC 72nd Cut Off 2026
When will the official BPSC 72nd cut off be released?
With the Prelims result on bpsc.bihar.gov.in. Going by the 71st cycle, where the 13 September exam got its result on 18 November, expect roughly a 6 to 9 week gap after 26 July.
What is the expected BPSC 72nd cut off for General category?
Around 85 to 92 out of 150, based on the 88 to 91.67 band the last three cycles have held. The final number depends on paper difficulty and turnout.
Is the Prelims score counted in the final merit list?
No. Prelims is qualifying only. Merit comes from Mains (GS-1, GS-2, Essay) plus the Interview. But you must cross the Prelims cut-off to reach that stage.
How many candidates qualify Prelims?
Roughly 10 times the number of vacancies, applied category-wise. For 1,186 posts, expect a Mains list in the vicinity of 11,000 to 12,000 candidates.
Does leaving a question blank really cost marks in BPSC?
Yes. A fully blank question attracts the same -1/3 as a wrong answer. To skip safely you must mark Option E, Not Attempted, which scores 0. This rule is unique to BPSC and catches lakhs of first-timers.
Is there any sectional cut off in BPSC Prelims?
No. It is a single General Studies paper with one overall cut-off per category. Only the category-wise qualifying percentage and the competitive cut-off apply.
Final Word
Do not sit and refresh cut-off predictions after the exam. The productive sequence is: match your responses with the answer key on 26 July evening, log your expected net score, and if you land anywhere above your category range, start Mains answer-writing the very next morning. The 71st toppers who cleared the 88 bar had their GS-1 notes open by result week; the ones who waited for the official PDF lost two months. Verify every figure on bpsc.bihar.gov.in once the result notice is out.