IBPS Clerk Cut Off 2026: State-Wise Prelims and Mains Previous Year Marks
IBPS Clerk Cut Off 2026: State-Wise Prelims and Mains Previous Year Marks
In the 2025 IBPS Clerk cycle, the UR Prelims cut-off in Chandigarh was 86.50 out of 100. In Gujarat, the same category cleared at 45.25. Same paper, same day, same difficulty, and a gap of over 41 marks.
That single comparison explains why a national "expected cut-off" figure is close to useless. IBPS Clerk cut-offs are declared state by state and category by category, and the number that matters to you is the one for your state alone. This page carries the actual 2025 figures for both stages, plus an explanation of how the three different cut-offs in this exam fit together.
There are three cut-offs, not one
The one people misread is the first. Prelims marks are discarded once shortlisting is done. Clearing the Prelims at 46 and clearing it at 86 put you in exactly the same place, because the merit list is built from Mains marks alone and there is no interview at clerical level.
IBPS Clerk Prelims cut off 2025, state-wise
Out of 100 marks. A dash means IBPS did not declare a figure for that category in that state, usually because no vacancy was advertised there.
These figures are compiled from published cut-off listings for the 2025 cycle. Confirm against the scorecard and cut-off notice on ibps.in before using them for any decision that matters.
IBPS Clerk Mains cut off 2025, state-wise UR
Mains scores are converted to a 100-point scale before the merit list is drawn, which is why these numbers look so much lower than the Prelims figures. They are not out of 200.
IBPS also publishes SC, ST, OBC and EWS Mains cut-offs for each state. The UR column is shown here because it is the highest bar in every state and therefore the most useful single reference point.
Why the spread between states is so wide
Chandigarh at 86.50 and Gujarat at 45.25 in the same Prelims is not a difficulty difference. It is arithmetic.
IBPS calls roughly a fixed multiple of the vacancy count to the Mains. So the Prelims cut-off in a state is set by the ratio of candidates who sat the paper to posts advertised there. Chandigarh advertises a handful of posts and attracts candidates from across the north. Gujarat advertises a large number and draws mostly from within the state, because of the language requirement.
- Few posts, many applicants gives you Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, all above 80 in 2025
- Many posts, a language filter on who can apply gives you Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, all in the mid-40s
- Hindi-belt states with substantial vacancy sit in the middle, with Bihar at 61.25, Jharkhand at 74.50 and Uttar Pradesh at 69.75
The practical lesson is one most aspirants learn the expensive way. A low cut-off state is low precisely because fewer people can apply there, and the reason they cannot apply is the local language rule. Choosing a state for its cut-off without the language behind it means clearing the Prelims and then failing the Language Proficiency Test, which is covered in the IBPS Clerk eligibility guide.
What to expect in the 2026 cycle
IBPS has not released any cut-off for CRP CSA-XVI, and nobody can. The Prelims has not been held. Anyone publishing an "expected cut-off" in September is guessing.
What can be said honestly is that this cycle advertises 11,403 posts against 15,751 in the previous cycle, a drop of roughly 28 percent. Fewer posts with a similar or larger applicant pool usually pushes cut-offs up rather than down. How much depends on paper difficulty on 10 and 11 October, which nobody knows yet.
Use the 2025 column for your state as a working target and add a small buffer. If you are consistently scoring above your state's 2025 UR figure in timed mocks, you are in reasonable shape. If you are scoring at it, you are not, because the 2026 bar is likely to be higher.
How to actually use these numbers
- Find your state and category row. Ignore every other row. You are not competing with Chandigarh.
- Set the mock target at your state figure plus 8 to 10 marks. This covers the vacancy drop and normal year-to-year drift.
- Check the target per section, not just the total. With 20-minute sectional locks, a total built on two strong sections and one weak one is fragile.
- Stop tracking the Prelims number after October. From the Mains onwards, the only figure that matters is the Mains cut-off for your state, and it lives on a completely different scale.
ExamAtlas gives a state-comparable score with every attempt in the free IBPS Clerk Prelims mock test series, so you can hold your mock score against your state's actual history rather than a national average. Turning a gap into a plan is what the IBPS Clerk preparation strategy guide is for, and the marks structure behind all of it is in the IBPS Clerk exam pattern guide.
Frequently asked questions
What was the IBPS Clerk Prelims cut off in 2025?
It varied by state. For UR candidates it ranged from 45.25 in Gujarat to 86.50 in Chandigarh out of 100. Bihar was 61.25, Uttar Pradesh 69.75, Jharkhand 74.50, West Bengal 78.50 and Delhi 84.00.
Is the IBPS Clerk cut off the same across India?
No. IBPS declares cut-offs separately for every state and union territory and for every category within it. Your competition is limited to candidates who selected the same state, which is why the spread between states is so large.
Do Prelims marks count towards the final merit list?
No. Prelims is qualifying only. The state-wise merit list is built entirely from Mains marks, and there is no interview, so a candidate who cleared the Prelims by a fraction starts the Mains on level terms with everyone else.
Why are Mains cut-offs so much lower than Prelims cut-offs?
Because the scales differ. Prelims cut-offs are out of 100 for a 100-mark paper. Mains marks are converted to a 100-point scale from a 200-mark paper before the merit list is drawn, and the Mains paper is harder, so the converted figures sit in the 30s and 40s.
Will the 2026 cut off be higher or lower?
IBPS has not declared anything and the Prelims has not been held. The one relevant fact is that vacancies fell from 15,751 to 11,403, roughly 28 percent, which historically tends to push cut-offs upward. Treat any specific predicted number you see right now as a guess.
What is a safe score to target in the Prelims?
Your own state's 2025 figure for your category plus about 8 to 10 marks, scored in a timed mock with sectional locks. A national average target is not useful here.
Does IBPS release sectional cut-offs for the Prelims?
IBPS publishes state-wise and category-wise cut-offs as a single figure and does not release section-level numbers. Since each section is locked to 20 minutes, a weak section will drag your total down in any case, so the practical approach is to keep every section workable.
Where can I check my own cut off officially?
On ibps.in. IBPS puts up the scorecard along with the category-wise and state-wise cut-off notice after each stage of the result is declared.
The number to write down
Find your state in the Prelims table, add ten, and put that figure on a sticky note above your desk. That is your mock target between now and 10 October.
Then forget the Prelims table entirely on 11 October, because from that morning onward the only cut-off in this exam that can affect your posting is the Mains figure for your state. Everything else about the cycle is in the IBPS Clerk complete guide.