Everything below comes from the notification IBPS issued on 1 August 2026 for CRP CSA-XVI (Customer Service Associates, the post earlier called Clerk, for vacancies of 2027-28), its corrigendum of 29 September 2026, and the IBPS examination calendar of 16 January 2026. This is the newest notified cycle as of 13 November 2026. IBPS calls its schedule tentative, so check ibps.in for changes. Our own comments are labelled.
Stages at a glance
| Stage | Mode | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Online Preliminary Examination | Computer-based, objective | Shortlisting for Mains (not counted in final merit) |
| Online Main Examination | Computer-based, objective | The only marks used for final merit |
| Provisional allotment | By IBPS, merit-cum-preference, State/UT-wise | Allots you to one participating bank |
| Local Language Proficiency Test (LLPT) | By the bank or an independent body | Qualifying; exempt if you studied the language in Class 10 or above |
| Document and identity verification | By the allotted bank | Eligibility check before joining |
The notification describes no interview and no typing test.
Dates (per IBPS):
| Activity | Schedule in the notification |
|---|---|
| Online registration and fee payment | 1 August to 21 August 2026 |
| Edit window | Two days after registration closes, to be notified on the website |
| Pre-Examination Training (PET) | September 2026 |
| Prelims call letter | September 2026 |
| Online Preliminary Examination | October 2026 |
| Prelims result | November 2026 |
| Mains call letter | November 2026 |
| Online Main Examination | December 2026 |
| Provisional allotment | March 2027 |
The IBPS calendar of 16 January 2026 is more specific: Prelims on 10 and 11 October 2026 and Mains on 27 December 2026. Both documents call the dates tentative. As of 13 November 2026, the CRP CSA-XVI page on ibps.in lists four documents (the window advertisement, the notification, the corrigendum and the updated vacancy annexure). We did not find a Prelims result notice on it.
Post, pay and eligibility
- Post: Customer Service Associate (CSA), a clerical cadre post.
- Pay scale (basic): Rs 24050-1340/3-28070-1650/3-33020-2000/4-41020-2340/7-57400-4400/1-61800-2680/1-64480. Allowances follow the rules of the bank you join.
- Participating banks (11): Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, UCO Bank and Union Bank of India.
- One State/UT only: clerical recruitment is State/UT-wise. You apply for the vacancies of one State or UT and are considered only there, even if your exam centre is allotted outside it.
- Age: 20 to 28 years as on 1 August 2026, that is, born between 2 August 1998 and 1 August 2006 (both dates inclusive). Relaxation: 5 years for SC/ST, 3 years for OBC (non-creamy layer), 10 years for persons with benchmark disabilities. Ex-servicemen and widows or divorced women have separate rules in clause B.II.
- Education: a degree in any discipline, with the result declared on or before 21 August 2026. Computer literacy is mandatory: a certificate, diploma or degree in computer operations, or computers or IT as a subject at school or college.
- Local language: you must be able to read, write, speak and understand the specified local language of the State/UT you apply for.
- Fee: Rs 175 for SC/ST/PwBD/ESM/DESM and Rs 850 for all others, GST included. Using the edit window costs Rs 200 for everyone.
- Vacancies: indicative only. Adding the State/UT totals in the updated Annexure I of 29 September 2026 gives 11,663. The same sum on the original annexure of 1 August gives 11,403. Neither document prints a grand total, so both figures are our addition. See cut-offs and vacancies for State-wise numbers.
Preliminary Examination
| Test | Medium | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | English | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Numerical Ability | English, Hindi and the State's listed language | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | English, Hindi and the State's listed language | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 minutes |
- Each test is separately timed. When the 20 minutes of one test end, you move to the next; unused time does not carry over.
- You must qualify in each of the three tests by securing cut-off marks that IBPS decides. There is no fixed qualifying percentage in the notification.
- IBPS then shortlists "adequate number of candidates in each category" for Mains. The ratio is not stated.
- The duration is one hour, but the notification says you may be at the venue for about two hours or more.
Main Examination
| Test | Medium | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General/Financial Awareness | English, Hindi and the State's listed language | 40 | 50 | 20 minutes |
| General English | English | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | English, Hindi and the State's listed language | 40 | 60 | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | English, Hindi and the State's listed language | 40 | 50 | 35 minutes |
| Total | 160 | 200 | 125 minutes |
- The notification marks the Mains tests "not by sequence", so do not assume the order in the table is the order on screen.
- Each test is separately timed here too.
- You need a minimum score in each test and a minimum total score. IBPS sets these after the exam, State/UT-wise, depending on vacancies.
- The duration is 125 minutes; expect about three hours or more at the venue.
- IBPS says any change in structure will be announced on its website, and that an Information Handout comes with the call letter.
Medium of the question paper
The English tests are in English only. The other tests are bilingual or trilingual depending on the State/UT you apply for. In the Hindi-speaking States (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand) the versions are English and Hindi. Uttar Pradesh has English, Hindi and Urdu. Other States add their own language: for example Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, Marathi and Konkani in Maharashtra, Bengali in West Bengal, Tamil in Tamil Nadu, Kannada and Konkani in Karnataka. You choose the medium in the application form. If the versions differ, the English version prevails.
Negative marking
The rule is the same for Prelims and Mains: for every wrong answer, one fourth (0.25) of the marks assigned to that question is deducted. A blank question costs nothing.
In Prelims every question carries 1 mark, so a wrong answer costs 0.25. In Mains the marks per question differ by test. The table below is arithmetic from the scheme, not an IBPS statement.
| Mains test | Marks per question | Penalty per wrong answer |
|---|---|---|
| General/Financial Awareness | 1.25 | 0.3125 |
| General English | 1 | 0.25 |
| Reasoning Ability | 1.5 | 0.375 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 1.25 | 0.3125 |
Normalisation and scores
- If the exam runs in more than one session, the corrected scores of each session are normalised by the equi-percentile method.
- Scores up to two decimal places are used for calculation.
- Mains scores are not shared with candidates until the provisional allotment process is complete.
Local Language Proficiency Test
- You opt for one language from the list for your State/UT (Annexure III) in the application. Examples: Hindi or Urdu for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar; Hindi for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; Hindi or Santhali for Jharkhand; Hindi or Punjabi for Haryana and Chandigarh.
- If your Class 10 or higher marksheet shows that you studied that language, you do not take the test.
- Otherwise the test is held after Mains or provisional allotment and before joining. It is marks-based and qualifying.
- Candidates who fail it are not offered appointment.
How the final merit is built
According to clauses F and K of the notification:
- Only Mains marks count. The 200 marks of Mains are converted to a score out of 100 for provisional allotment.
- Allotment is State/UT-wise, on merit-cum-preference, against the actual vacancies the banks report for 2027-28. The vacancies in the notification are indicative and cannot be claimed as final.
- A reserved-category candidate selected on general-category norms is treated as a general candidate for allotment.
- Tie-break: if two candidates have the same score, the older candidate is placed higher.
- A reserve list of about 30 percent of the vacancies in each category may be kept. It expires one year after the provisional allotment, or when a fresh allotment is made, whichever is earlier.
- Once a bank is allotted, no request for change is entertained.
Candidates using a scribe
Candidates eligible for a scribe, visually impaired candidates who use magnified font, and candidates with locomotor disability affecting the writing hand get 20 minutes of compensatory time for every hour of the examination. The time is system-based, so you must register for it in the application form.
Exam-day rules worth knowing
- Calculators, log tables, writing pads, mobile phones and health bands are on the list of items not allowed in the centre.
- Rough sheets are kept at each desk and must be handed back.
- Bring the call letter with photograph pasted, one extra photograph and original photo ID with a photocopy. For Mains you also need the authenticated Prelims call letter.
- IBPS analyses response patterns across candidates and can cancel a candidature if it concludes that answers were shared.
What this means for your attempt strategy
These are arithmetic consequences of the scheme and our reading of it, not IBPS advice.
- Time per question. Prelims English: 40 seconds each (20 minutes for 30). Numerical Ability and Reasoning: about 34 seconds each (20 minutes for 35). Mains General/Financial Awareness: 30 seconds each. The other three Mains tests: 52.5 seconds each.
- Guessing. A right answer earns the full marks of the question and a wrong one costs a quarter of it, so a guess breaks even when you are right one time in five. The ratio is the same in every test.
- Sectional cut-offs matter more than the total in Prelims. Because each test has its own timer and its own cut-off, a weak section cannot be rescued by a strong one.
- Mains weight. Reasoning Ability is 60 of 200 marks (30 percent), General/Financial Awareness and Quantitative Aptitude are 25 percent each, and General English is 20 percent. See preparation strategy.
Practise in this format: a free 10-question mini-mock is available to try. Full sectional-timer mocks, previous-year papers and topic practice are Pro; the IBPS Clerk series is listed under banking exams.
What this page does not have
- Confirmed exam days. We give the dates printed in the notification and the January calendar. We did not open a call-letter notice or a result notice for CRP CSA-XVI.
- The Information Handout. It is issued with the call letter and we have not seen the one for this cycle, so details such as the number of options per question are not stated here.
- The edit-window dates. The notification says they will be notified separately; no such notice is on the CRP CSA-XVI page.
- The shortlisting ratio for Mains and the sectional cut-offs. IBPS does not state them in the notification.
- Allowances and in-hand salary. The notification gives only the basic pay scale.
Related: Syllabus · Cut-offs · Preparation strategy