IBPS RRB 2026 Exam Date (Tentative) – Prelims from 21 Nov

About IBPS and the RRBs

The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) is an autonomous body based in Mumbai. The 28 participating Regional Rural Banks gave it a mandate to run one common recruitment each year. CRP RRBs-XV is this year’s round.

IBPS holds the online exams. The Nodal RRBs coordinate the officer interviews with help from NABARD and IBPS. Each bank remains the final authority on whom it appoints.

Exam dates and where things stand

Registration ran from 1 September 2026. The first last date was 21 September. A corrigendum of 21 September then extended it to 27 September 2026. The corrigendum prints no closing time.

The exam dates come from the IBPS tentative calendar dated 16 January 2026. The other stages come from the notification, which also calls them tentative.

We checked the RRB XV page on ibps.in on 3 November 2026. It showed no separate exam schedule and no call letter link. Go by the calendar until IBPS says otherwise. The calendar itself says IBPS may change exam dates.

Vacancies (updated 25 September 2026)

IBPS revised Annexure I three times in September. The notification of 1 September listed 13,706 posts. The updates of 9 and 15 September raised that to 13,745. The latest list, dated 25 September 2026, adds up to 13,757.

Uttar Pradesh Gramin Bank has the most Office Assistant posts (1,200), followed by Andhra Pradesh Grameena Bank (900). For Officer Scale I, Gujarat Gramin Bank leads with 600. Manipur Rural Bank reported zero for both posts. IBPS calls all these figures indicative. Allotment will follow the vacancies each bank actually reports.

Eligibility

Office Assistant and Officer Scale I need a bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Your result had to be out by 21 September 2026. The deadline extension did not move this date.

For Scale II General Banking, you need 50% in the degree. You also need 2 years as an officer in a bank or financial institution. Scale III needs 50% and 5 years of such experience. Specialist posts have their own degrees, listed in the positions table above.

Office Assistant and Scale I also need the local language of the RRB’s state. Each bank lists its languages in Table A of the notification. Study of that language in Class VIII or higher counts as proof.

If you lack it at selection, you get six months from joining to learn it. The RRB’s board can extend this, but not beyond the probation period.

The upper limits above apply to General and EWS candidates. SC/ST candidates get 5 extra years, OBC (non-creamy layer) 3 and PwBD 10.

Ex-servicemen applying for Office Assistant add their service plus 3 years, up to age 50. Disabled SC/ST ex-servicemen add 8 years instead of 3. Released commissioned officers with 5 years of service get 5 years for officer posts.

Widows, divorced women and legally separated women who have not remarried get their own limit. For Office Assistant they can apply up to age 35 (OBC 38, SC/ST 40). The SC/ST/OBC relaxation combines with only one other relaxation. Our age calculator with category relaxation checks your exact age on the cut-off date.

Prelims and mains pattern

Both prelims last 45 minutes, and each test has its own time limit. You must clear the cut-off in each test.

Each wrong answer costs one fourth of that question’s marks. Blank answers cost nothing. Prelims marks do not count in the final merit list.

The Office Assistant and Scale I mains has 200 questions for 200 marks in 120 minutes. Reasoning carries 50 marks, Computer Knowledge 20 and General Awareness 40. A language test adds 40, and Numerical Ability or Quantitative Aptitude 50. One candidate asked about both eligibility and the language paper on Careers360:

"mai agriculture student hu .. to kya mai ibps rrb clerk/ PO ka exam de skti hu? aur mai eglish paper ki jgh hindi dena chahti hu ?" (Careers360 Q&A, 22 February 2025)

The 2026 notification answers both points. A degree in any discipline qualifies for Office Assistant and Scale I. Scale I even gives preference to agriculture graduates. The result must be out by 21 September 2026, and the local language rule still applies.

The prelims has no English test at all. In the mains you pick either the English Language or the Hindi Language test.

The single exam for Scale II General Banking and Scale III has 200 questions in 120 minutes. Scale II specialists get 240 questions in 150 minutes. The single exam also lets you pick English or Hindi Language.

Officers then face a 100-mark interview. You need at least 40% there (35% for SC, ST, OBC and PwBD). IBPS weighs exam and interview 80:20.

Call letter download and exam day

IBPS sends no call letter by post or courier. You download it from ibps.in with your registration number and password or date of birth. It gives your centre, venue address, date and time. Watch your registered email and phone as well.

On exam day, carry:

• the call letter printout with your photo pasted on it
• one more copy of the same photo
• an original photo ID with the same name as the call letter, plus a photocopy
• the scribe form and UDID card or disability certificate, if you use a scribe

PAN, passport, permanent driving licence, voter card and Aadhaar all work as ID. A ration card or learner’s licence does not. IBPS suggests keeping about 8 copies of your application photo for later stages.

Important instructions

• IBPS will not change your centre. It may place you in another state.
• Staff stamp your prelims call letter and ID copy. Keep both, since the mains needs them.
• After the exam, Scale II and III candidates hand in the call letter with the ID copy stapled.
• Wash off mehndi or ink before the biometric thumb scan.
• IBPS rejects signatures written in capital letters.

Also preparing for SBI? See the SBI clerk mains and state-wise vacancies and SBI’s 10 specialist officer posts.

For other bank exams, see our bank jobs list. New call letters go on our admit card page as they come out.

Latest updates

• 3 November 2026: No call letter link on the IBPS RRB XV page yet. We will add it here when IBPS publishes it.
• 25 September 2026: IBPS updated Annexure I to 13,757 indicative vacancies (corrigendum).
• 21 September 2026: IBPS extended registration to 27 September 2026 (corrigendum).