Dreaming of a career in banking? The IBPS Clerk 2025 exam is your gateway to joining top public sector banks in India. But before you dive into preparation, it’s crucial to understand the updated syllabus and exam pattern for both the Prelims and Mains stages.
In this blog, we break down everything you need to know, section-wise topics, marking scheme, time limits, and key changes.
Overview of IBPS Clerk Syllabus 2025
To prepare well for the IBPS Clerk 2025 exam, it’s important to know the subjects covered in both the Prelims and Mains stages. The exam is designed to test your core skills. In the Prelims, the Reasoning section checks your logical thinking and problem-solving skills, while Quantitative Aptitude focuses on your ability to work with numbers and interpret data. The English Language section tests your reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary.
In the Mains exam, you’ll face a few more sections. The Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude section checks both your logical reasoning and basic computer knowledge. The General/Financial Awareness section tests how well you know current affairs, banking, and the financial system. Understanding the full syllabus for both stages will help you plan better and focus on the right topics during your preparation.
| IBPS Clerk Syllabus | |
| Organization Name | Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) |
| Name of the Exam | IBPS Clerk 2025 |
| exam was held for which post | Customer Service Associates (CSA)- Clerk |
| Selection Process | Prelims and Mains |
| Maximum Marks | Prelims: 100 Marks, Mains: 200 Marks |
| Duration of Exam | Prelims: 1 Hour, Mains: 2 Hours 40 Minutes |
| Prelims Exam Date | 06, 07, 13 & 14 December 2025 |
| Mains Exam Date | 01 February 2026 |
| Marking Scheme | 1 mark each for every correct answer in the Online Test |
| Negative marking | 1/4th of the marks assigned to the question in MCQs |
| Mode of Examination | Online |
| Language of examination | English, Hindi, and 13 regional languages |
| Official Website | www.ibps.in |
IBPS Clerk 2025 Prelims and Mains Exams.
IBPS has shared the updated syllabus and exam pattern for the IBPS Clerk 2025 exam, just like it does every year. This year too, IBPS is expected to release a large number of vacancies for Clerk posts in 11 participating banks. If you are planning to appear for the exam, it’s important to first understand the latest syllabus and pattern. You’ll find the updated details in this post.
The IBPS Clerk Syllabus 2025 is quite similar to other bank exams. To clear the Prelims, you need to focus on three main sections:
- Reasoning Ability
- Quantitative Aptitude (Maths)
- English Language
Once you clear the Prelims, you should start preparing for the Mains exam, which has four sections:
- Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude
- Quantitative Aptitude
- English Language
- General / Financial Awareness
Understanding the syllabus well will help you plan your study better and improve your chances of success.
IBPS Clerk Prelims Syllabus 2025.
To prepare well for the IBPS Clerk exam, it’s very important to clearly understand the syllabus and exam pattern. The Prelims exam is an objective-type test and has three sections: English Language, Reasoning Ability, and Numerical Ability. This format has remained the same for the 2025 exam as well. Below, you’ll find the detailed Prelims syllabus to help you start your preparation in the right direction.
| IBPS Clerk Syllabus For Prelims | ||
| English Language | Reasoning Ability | Numerical Ability |
| Reading Comprehension | Puzzles(Box based puzzle, Designation based puzzle, Category based puzzle, Floor / Flat-floor based puzzle, Day / Month / Year based puzzle) | Simplification: BODMAS, Square & Cube, Square & cube root, Indices, fraction, percentage, etc |
| Fillers | Seating Arrangement(Circular Seating Arrangement (Uncertain), Square / Rectangle / Triangular seating Arrangement, Linear seating arrangement, Single row, Double row, Uncertain) | Approximation: BODMAS, Square & Cube, Square & cube root, Indices, fraction, percentage, etc |
| Sentence-Based Error | Inequality (Direct and Indirect Statement) | Number Series: Missing Number series, Wrong number series |
| Vocabulary | Distance and Direction (Normal) | Inequality: Linear equation, Quadratic equation, Quantity comparison |
| Cloze Test | Coding-Decoding (General) | Ratio and Proportion |
| Error Detection | Blood Relation (Normal) | Percentage |
| Sentence Improvement | Syllogism (2/3 statement + 2 conclusion) | Number System and HCF & LCM |
| Word Swap(3 words, 4 words) | Series(Alpha-numeric-symbol based, Alpha-numeric based, Word-based, Number based, Digit based series, Letter based series) | Average |
| Word Rearrangement(3 Words, 4 Words) | Order – Ranking (Comparison) | Age |
| Sentence Rearrangement | Word Pair / Number Pair | Partnership/ |
| Parajumble | Word formation (Meaningful word) | Mixture and Alligation |
| Column Based | Odd one out | Simple Interest |
| Idioms & Phrases | Word / Number based (Multiple operations) | Compound Interest |
| Word Usage | Time and Work | |
| Connectors/Starters | Pipe and Cistern | |
| Profit & Loss and Discount | ||
| Permutation & combination | ||
IBPS Clerk Mains Syllabus 2025
The IBPS Clerk Prelims and Mains syllabus are mostly similar, but the Mains exam includes some extra topics and has a higher difficulty level. One major addition in the Mains is the General/Financial Awareness section. To prepare for this, students should focus on banking awareness, static GK, and current affairs from the last 6 months.
In the Mains exam, more attention should be given to topics like Data Interpretation (DI), Puzzles, and Seating Arrangement, as they are more challenging and carry good weight. Overall, the Mains exam is tougher than the Prelims, so a focused and smart strategy is needed. You can check the detailed Mains syllabus below to guide your preparation.
| IBPS Clerk Syllabus For Mains | |
| Subject | Syllabus |
| General English | Reading comprehension: Conventional, Multiple Short RC, Comprehensive RC Fillers: Single, Double blanks, Double sentence single blanks, Triple blanks, Multiple Options, Sentence Completion, Vocab+Fillers Sentence Rearrangement: Conventional, Mixed Rearrangement, Sentence+Paragraph, Phrase swapping, Phrase rearrangement Error Detection: Old Pattern, Jumbled Error, Multiple Error, Sentence Based Error, Sentence Improvement single option, Sentence Improvement multiple option, similar sentences Inferences: Paragraph-Based, Sentence-Based, Word-Based Coherent Paragraph Paragraph Completion Starters Word Swap Word Rearrangement Spelling Error Idioms and Phrases: Meanings, Usage, Fillers Match The Columns: 3 columns, 2 columns based, column-based fillers Cloze Test: Blank, Replacement, Phrase, Pair WordsPhrase Swapping Word Usage: Single, Multiple |
| Reasoning Ability and Computer Aptitude | Seating Arrangement: Circular Seating Arrangement (Inscribed); Square / Rectangle / Triangular Seating Arrangement (Inscribed); Linear Seating Arrangement; Single row / Uncertain; Double row; Triple row; Blood Relation Based Seating Arrangement Miscellaneous: Inequality (Coded);Distance and Direction (Normal);Coding-Decoding (Coded);Blood Relation (Coded);Input – Output (Arrangement / Shifting); Resultant Miscellaneous; Syllogism(Normal, Reverse);Series(Alpha-numeric-symbol based, Coded Series);Order – Ranking Mains (Comparison); Data – Sufficiency (2 / 3 statement); Word / Number Based Logical Reasoning: Statement + Assumption; Statement + Inference; Statement + Conclusion |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Approximation: BODMAS, Square & Cube, Square & Cube root, Indices, Fraction, Percentage etc. Number Series: Missing Number series, Wrong number series, Double Pattern series, Statement and Variable based number series etc. Inequality: Quadratic equation, Quantity comparison, Statement-based Quadratic equation, etc. Arithmetic (Simple Arithmetic, Variable based Arithmetic, Filler Based Arithmetic, Multiple statement and Multiple options-based Arithmetic): Ratio and Proportion, Percentage, Number System & HCF and LCM, Basic Algebra, Average, Age, Partnership, Mixture and Alligation, Simple Interest, Compound Interest, Time and Work, Pipe and Cistern, Profit & Loss and Discount, Speed Time Distance, Boat And stream, Train, Mensuration 2D and 3D, Probability and Permutation and combination, etc. Data Interpretation: Table Data Interpretation (Simple table DI, Missing Table DI, Variable based table DI), Pie chart Data Interpretation (percentage + Degree based and Missing & Variable based), Line chart DI (Single and Multiple line chart), Bar chart DI (Single and Multiple line chart), Mixed DI, Caselet (Table based caselet, Venn Diagram based caselet Arithmetic and Filler based caselet), Radar Data Interpretation, Arithmetic Topic wise Data Interpretation, New pattern Data Interpretation (Scatter, Stock, Funnel, Sunburst) etc. Data Sufficiency: Two-Statement and Three-Statement Data Sufficiency |
| General/ Financial Awareness | National Current Affairs, International Current Affairs, State Current Affairs, Sports News, Central Government Schemes, Agreements/MoU, Books & Authors, Summits & Conferences, Defense News, Science & Technology News, Banking and Financial Awareness, Static Awareness, Recent RBI Circulars Based Questions, Business & Economy related News, Important Days, Obituaries, Important Appointments, Important Awards & Honours, Union Budget 2025-26, Economic Survey 2025-26, Ranks/Reports/Indexes… |
IBPS Clerk Exam 2025 Pattern
The IBPS Clerk 2025 Preliminary Exam is an online test that checks your skills in English, reasoning, and basic maths (aptitude). Both the Prelims and Mains exams will be held in English and Hindi, so you can choose your preferred language.
In the Prelims, there are 3 sections, and you need to clear the cut-off in each section to qualify for the Mains exam.
Let’s now take a closer look at the exam pattern for both Prelims and Mains below.
2025 IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam Pattern
The IBPS Clerk 2025 Prelims exam will be conducted online and will last for a total of 1 hour. It includes three sections: English Language, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning Ability, with 20 minutes allotted for each section. There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer, so accuracy is important. Candidates must score at least the cut-off marks in each section to qualify, as set by IBPS.
Based on the number of vacancies and other requirements, IBPS will shortlist a suitable number of candidates from the Prelims to appear for the Mains exam. It’s important to note that the Prelims are only a qualifying stage, which means the marks scored in this round will not be added to the final merit list. Only those who clear the Prelims will move on to the scoring stage, the Mains exam.
| IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam Pattern 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name of Tests(Objective) | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 minutes |
2025 IBPS Clerk Mains Exam Pattern
As per the latest update by IBPS, the IBPS Clerk Mains Exam will have 190 questions to be answered in 160 minutes. Now, Reasoning Ability and Computer Aptitude are combined into one section with 50 questions to be solved in 45 minutes. There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer. The Mains exam is scored, and its marks are counted in the final selection.
| IBPS Clerk Mains Exam Pattern 2025 | |||
| Name of Tests (Objective) | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| English Language | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 45 minutes |
| General/ Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 35 minutes |
| Total | 190 | 200 | 160 minutes |
The marking scheme of IBPS Clerk is given below:
1. For a correct answer, one mark is awarded to candidates
2. For incorrect answers, 0.25 marks are awarded
3 . The score is calculated based on the number of correct and incorrect answers
Conclusion
Understanding the IBPS Clerk 2025 syllabus and exam pattern is the first step toward effective preparation. Both the Prelims and Mains stages test your core skills like reasoning, numerical ability, English, and general awareness. With the right study plan, regular practice, and a clear focus on important topics, you can confidently move through each phase of the exam. Stay consistent, manage your time well, and keep revising to boost your chances of success in the IBPS Clerk 2025 exam.
