One rule shapes IBPS Clerk preparation more than any other: every section has its own cut-off. In Prelims you have to qualify in English, Numerical Ability and Reasoning separately. In Mains you need a minimum score in all four tests as well as a minimum total. A brilliant Reasoning score cannot carry a weak English one.
That is why the plan on this page starts every day with your weakest section, not your favourite one. Below you'll find the official dates and pattern, a four-week plan to Prelims, daily timetables for the hours you really have, and a Mains plan to 27 December.
IBPS Clerk 2026: the dates to plan around
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Registration | 1–21 August 2026 (closed) |
| Prelims | 10 and 11 October 2026 |
| Prelims result | November 2026 |
| Mains | 27 December 2026 |
| Provisional allotment | March 2027 |
Source: the IBPS calendar of 16 January 2026 and the CRP CSA-XVI notification. IBPS can change its dates, so check your call letter for your exact date and shift.
This cycle fills 11,403 indicative vacancies for 2027–28 across 11 public sector banks, and Union Bank of India had not yet reported its numbers. You applied for one State or UT, and you compete only for its vacancies.
The exam pattern
Prelims: a gate with three locks
| Section | Questions and marks | Time |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 questions, 30 marks | 20 minutes |
| Numerical Ability | 35 questions, 35 marks | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 questions, 35 marks | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 questions, 100 marks | 60 minutes |
Mains: where your rank is decided
| Section | Questions and marks | Time |
|---|---|---|
| General/Financial Awareness | 40 questions, 50 marks | 20 minutes |
| General English | 40 questions, 40 marks | 35 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 40 questions, 60 marks | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 40 questions, 50 marks | 35 minutes |
| Total | 160 questions, 200 marks | 125 minutes |
Every section is timed separately. A wrong answer costs a quarter of that question's marks, and a blank costs nothing. New this year: Mains Quantitative Aptitude has 40 questions in 35 minutes, up from 35 questions in 30 minutes.
What the pattern means for your plan
- Your weakest section sets your result. With a cut-off in every section at both stages, an hour on your weakest section is worth more than an hour polishing your best. Look at your last three mocks: the section with the lowest score as a share of its marks goes first every day.
- Prelims marks are thrown away. Only Mains marks count towards the final merit list. Prelims has to be cleared, not topped, and Mains preparation should not wait for the result.
- General Awareness is won before the exam, not in it. It is 50 marks in 20 minutes, 30 seconds a question: you either recognise the answer or you don't. It is not in Prelims, but it rewards a short daily habit more than any other Mains section, so start it now.
- Reasoning carries the most marks. It is worth 60 of the 200 Mains marks, one and a half marks a question. Mains puzzles are longer than Prelims ones, so move to Mains-level sets as soon as Prelims is over.
A four-week plan to Prelims
Count back from your Prelims date: week 1 starts four weeks before it.
| Week | What to do |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Find the weak spots. One full mock under exam timing on day one. List the question types you skipped or got wrong in each section. Every day: 20 minutes of calculation practice (tables, squares, percentages, fractions) and one reading comprehension |
| Week 2 | Lock in the quick marks. Numerical Ability: simplification, approximation, number series and quadratic comparison. Reasoning: inequality, syllogism, blood relations and direction sense. English: cloze test, error spotting and fill in the blanks. Two timed sectional tests a day on your weakest section |
| Week 3 | Mocks and review. A full mock every other day, reviewed for as long as it took to sit. Puzzle, seating arrangement and data interpretation sets every day. No new topics after this week |
| Final week | Sharpen, don't cram. A full mock on most days, then only the question types on your mistakes list. Keep the day before the exam light and sleep on time |
Daily timetables for the Prelims weeks
Pick the version that matches the hours you really have. Keep the order of the blocks and move the clock times to fit your day.
6 hours: full-time
| Time | Session | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00–8:30 | Weakest section | Question types from your mistakes list, first untimed, then against the clock |
| 9:00–10:00 | Numerical Ability | Simplification, approximation and one arithmetic topic |
| 10:30–11:30 | Reasoning | Two puzzle or seating sets, then a set of short questions |
| 2:00–3:00 pm | English | One reading comprehension, one cloze test and error spotting |
| 4:00–4:30 pm | Sectional test | One 20-minute section under exam timing, then check it |
| 7:00–8:00 pm | Revision | Topics due today, and General Awareness on alternate days |
3 hours: working or in college
| Time | Session | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00–7:00 | Weakest section | The question types that cost you most in your last mock |
| Commute or lunch | General Awareness | 20 minutes of banking and financial news, for Mains |
| 8:30–9:15 pm | Numerical Ability or Reasoning | Alternate days |
| 9:15–9:45 pm | English | One reading comprehension or cloze test |
| 9:45–10:05 pm | Sectional test | One 20-minute section under exam timing |
On weekends, sit one full mock and spend as long reviewing it as you spent taking it.
After Prelims: a Mains plan to 27 December
The Prelims result is due in November, roughly halfway to Mains. Wait for it and you lose half your Mains preparation, so start the day after Prelims.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Mid-October to the result | Build the Mains base. General Awareness every day: banking and financial news from the last four to six months, plus banking terms. Reasoning: longer puzzles. Quantitative Aptitude: data interpretation and arithmetic at Mains length. English: longer reading comprehension |
| The result to mid-December | Full Mains mocks. 160 questions in four timed sections: one a week at first, then two, each with a full review. Write a one-page General Awareness summary every week |
| Final two weeks | Revise. Your General Awareness summaries and mistakes list only. A full mock every two or three days, and no new sources |
Writing SBI Clerk too? Its Mains is due in November, in the middle of this plan. The Mains sections overlap, so keep one routine and add a short daily Computer Aptitude block for SBI — the SBI Clerk study plan sets out the differences.
The language test
IBPS checks that you can read, write, speak and understand the language of the State or UT you applied for. If your class 10 (or higher) mark sheet shows you studied that language, you are exempt. Otherwise you take the Local Language Proficiency Test after Mains and provisional allotment, before joining. It is qualifying, and failing it means no appointment, so if you need it, practise the language a little each week once Mains is over.
How the free planner turns this into today's sessions
- A plan built from the exam. Type "IBPS Clerk", your exam date, how many hours you can study and when you usually study. The AI builds a daily routine weighted towards the topics that appear most in previous papers.
- A timer that keeps you honest. Every session runs on a timer that keeps going when you lock your phone and stops at the scheduled length. On Android, Focus Shield silences your phone while it runs.
- Catch-up instead of quitting. When you keep falling short for several days, the planner offers to resize your routine to what your best days show you can sustain. Sessions that no longer fit are paused, never deleted.
- Mock tests on the Prelims pattern. IBPS Clerk Prelims mocks with three separately timed 20-minute sections and negative marking. Your first test is free.
- Spaced revision that escalates. Each topic comes back after 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days, with harder questions as you master it — useful for General Awareness, where facts fade fast.
- Current affairs and an honest record. Filter the daily current affairs for Banking (the full digest comes with Lighthouse Pro), and see in the wastage report how much of your planned time you actually studied.
Start with today
Open the planner, add IBPS Clerk with your Prelims date, and run today's first session. Your plan will be ready in about a minute.