The IBPS PO Prelims 2026 Day 1, held on 22 August 2026, has concluded, and candidates who appeared in the first shift can now assess their performance and compare it with the expected cut off. The IBPS PO Prelims examination is being conducted across multiple shifts, so the final cut off will depend on the overall difficulty level, candidate performance, vacancies and normalization.
IBPS PO Prelims Expected Cut Off 2026
The IBPS PO Prelims Expected Cut Off 2026 will help candidates understand whether their estimated score is likely to be sufficient for qualification for the Mains Examination. Since IBPS does not release the actual cutoff immediately after each shift, candidates should use the expected marks only as a reference rather than treating them as the final qualifying score.
IBPS PO Prelims Category-wise Expected Cut Off 2026
Based on the initial assessment of the examination and the expected level of competition, the category-wise cutoff can be estimated in the following range.
| Category | Expected Cut Off 2026 |
| General | 46–50 |
| EWS | 46–50 |
| OBC-NCL | 46–50 |
| SC | 43–48 |
| ST | 38–43 |
| HI | 17–23 |
| OC | 31–36 |
| VI | 18–24 |
| ID | 18–24 |
Note: These are expected ranges, not official cutoffs. The final IBPS PO Prelims cutoff will be released by IBPS along with the result and may differ because of normalization and the performance of candidates across all shifts.
Factors Affecting IBPS PO Cut Off 2026
The final cutoff is not decided solely on the number of candidates attempting the examination because several factors influence the qualifying marks.
- Difficulty level of the paper
- Number of vacancies
- Number of candidates appearing
- Overall performance of candidates
- Shift-wise variation in difficulty
- Normalization of scores
- Category of the candidate
- Section-wise performance
IBPS PO Prelims Cut Off 2026: What Does Your Score Mean?
Candidates can compare their estimated marks with the expected range to get an initial idea of their chances. However, being close to the expected cutoff should not be treated as a definite indication of qualification because the actual cutoff can move after IBPS considers the performance across all shifts.
| Estimated Score |
Initial Assessment
|
| 60+ | Strong position |
| 55–59 | Good position |
| 50–54 |
Borderline to competitive
|
| 45–49 |
Depends heavily on category and normalization
|
| 40–44 |
Qualification may be difficult for some categories
|
| Below 40 |
Chances depend significantly on category and final cutoff
|
IBPS PO Prelims Cut Off: Why It Can Change After Day 1
The cutoff estimate after the first shift is based on limited candidate feedback. As more shifts are conducted on 22 and 23 August, the overall picture of the examination difficulty will become clearer, and expected cutoff ranges may consequently move upward or downward.
- Shift 1 performance alone does not determine the final cutoff.
- Questions can vary in difficulty across shifts.
- Candidate feedback from subsequent shifts can change the overall difficulty assessment.
- Normalization can affect candidates’ final scores.
- Category-wise competition also affects the qualifying marks.
| Related Posts | |
| IBPS PO Cut Off | IBPS PO Salary |










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