IBPS PO Eligibility Criteria: Complete Guide for Aspiring Candidates

Being a banker might look like a regular 9-5 job, but it’s much more than that. Why? A bank job, especially for a Probationary Officer (PO), includes many financial tasks and office work. Plus, bankers interact with customers all day to help meet the needs of both the bank and its clients. However, one can become a banker at a government bank by taking the IBPS test. Before applying, one must know the IBPS PO age limit. This is because the young generation suits the banking profession the best. Many private banks offer jobs in various positions, including PO.

Being a Probationary Officer (PO) is one of the top positions in the banking industry. However, the Government of India has set an age limit for IBPS PO candidates. One reason for this is that older candidates might struggle with the job’s stress. A PO has many responsibilities, from managing systems to handling financial transactions. If you want to hold such an important role in a central bank, IBPS is your way in. In this article, we’ll cover everything about the IBPS PO age limit, educational requirements, future opportunities, and more.

IBPS PO Eligibility Criteria

There are multiple eligibility criteria that one should keep in mind when it comes to the IBPS exam. Not only the IBPS exam, but if you go through any Government exam’s eligibility criteria part, then you will discover the same. One possible reason behind setting a series of criteria is to reduce the number of applicants. Basically, by setting these criteria, the examiner used to do a very initial level of screening. However, while aspiring to crack the IBPS exam, you must fulfill this initial eligibility.

• A person who is an Indian citizen can apply online for the IBPS PO Exam.

• An applicant must have the minimum qualification. The Government of India has stated that the applicant must have passed an Undergraduate degree in any stream.

• The importance of adhering ibps PO age limit is mandatory. Not only IBPS, but also any seat for any other bank exam age limit is applicable. For IBPS, an applicant must not cross the age of 28 years, i.e., his age must remain within 20-30 years. However, the age relaxation is applicable for reserved categories, i.e., SC, ST, and OBC. As per the Government’s policy, candidates belonging to those categories can get up to 5 years of age relaxation.

• One must also qualify for the entrance test of the IBPS exam. The authority conducts a written exam in 2 Tiers. Only after qualifying for the first tier, one can sit for the next written test, i.e., Tier 2.
• Post qualifying the Tires 1 and 2, one becomes eligible for Tire 3. The cut-off of the previous 2 exams is counted here. So, the eligibility at the terminal stage denotes the marks you get in the last 2 written tests of this selection exam.

While the IBPS PO age limit plays a crucial role in eligibility, the marks obtained in graduation are also validated. To apply to IBPS, one must pass their UG course with a minimum of 50% marks in total.

IBPS PO Age Limit

The age limit plays a very crucial role in the IBPS exam. Apart from the centralized banks, even if you apply to any private bank, there is an age limit. Certainly, there is a reason behind keeping such age limitations. Working in the banking sector involves lots of activities. From taking care of financial transactions to offering customer service, all come under the responsibility. Following is the ibps age limit, stated in the official notification.

• The minimum age of an applicant should not be less than 20 years.

• Whereas the maximum age of an applicant should not be more than 30 years (preferably 28 years).

• The birth date of an applicant must fall between 02/10/1994 to 01/10/2004. As per this date bracket, the relaxation that the reserved category gets is decided. Usually, all the reserved category enjoys up to 10 years of age relaxation.

Age Relaxation for Reservation Category

No.	Reserved Category	Relaxation in Age (Years)
1	SC / ST	5 Years
2.	OBC (non-creamy layer)	3 Years
3.	ECO and Ex-Servicemen who have served in the Indian Military for at least 5 years or the Commission have been released due to the lack of requirement, as the assignment is completed. / During serving in the Indian Military, if the person has a physical injury or may prove his inefficiency in any assignments, then he may lose his job as per the guidelines.	10 Years
4	ECO and Ex-Servicemen who have served in the Indian Military for at least 5 years or the Commission have been released due to the lack of requirement, as the assignment is completed. / During serving in the Indian Military, if the person has a physical injury or may prove his inefficiency in any assignments, then he may lose his job as per the guidelines.	5 Years
5.	Riot affected the people of 1984	5 Years

Note:

• General Category and EWS (Economically Weaker Section) applicants are only to adhere to the maximum age limit. To sit for this exam, they must adhere ibps PO age limit mentioned above.

• The applicants who wish to take the benefits of age relaxation must submit additional documents. For example, an SC candidate must submit their caste certificate to claim their relaxation. At the time of the personality test (Tier 3), candidates must provide the required documents. It will work as proof that he has adhered ibps PO age limit criteria.

All these certificates must have the Government of India’s accreditation. If a person belongs to the OBC category, then he must show the caste certificate as well. It will be accepted only if there is a mention of the type of layer. As the OBC category is divided into 2 parts. One is creamy and non-creamy. So, candidates belonging to the OBC category must ensure that there is a mention of which layer they belong to. One must keep in mind all these factors apart from ibps PO age limit.

IBPS PO Educational Qualification

In accordance with the IBPS PO eligibility criteria, candidates must have completed a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university.

Candidates who are in their final year or final semester of the degree program are not eligible to apply for this exam.

Any fractional percentage in the score will not be considered; for example, 54.99% will be rounded down to less than 55%, and 59.99% will be considered less than 60%.

IBPS PO Medical Requirements

Candidates applying for the IBPS PO exam must provide a medical fitness certificate. Depending on their eligibility, applicants must undergo specific tests to verify their medical condition and ensure it aligns with the necessary standards:

• Blood test
• Serum Cholesterol
• Abdomen and pelvic ultrasonography
• HIV test with Serum Creatinine
• ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate)
• Routine urine and stool tests
• Blood sugar test
• Chest X-ray (P.A view)

IBPS PO 2025 Credit History

(i) Candidates must maintain a healthy credit history before joining participating banks. The minimum credit score required will be determined based on the policies of the respective banks, which may change periodically.

(ii) If a candidate’s CIBIL status is not updated before the joining date, they must either update their CIBIL report or provide No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from lenders, confirming that there are no outstanding issues with any negatively reported accounts. Failure to do so could result in the cancellation of the offer letter. The final decision rests with the allocated bank.

IBPS PO Nationality Criteria

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts this competitive exam every year. The main goal is to fill up the vacancies in all the centralized banks of India. So, you can get a hint that this exam is particularly for Indian citizens. However, apart from the ibps PO age limit, there are many other criteria related to citizenship. These are,

• A candidate who is an Indian citizen can apply for this IBPS exam.

• There is an exception in terms of citizenship mentioned under ibps eligibility. One who has citizenship of Nepal and Bhutan, or a Tibetan Refugee, can also sit in this IBPS exam. But there is a criterion. Candidates who wish to apply must have migrated to India before 01/01/1962. They may need to show their permanent residence address in India also.

• Thinking about migrants from other countries like Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia, and Vietnam can also apply. But there is a criterion. The people who have migrated to India must show their permanent residential proof.

Candidates belonging to other countries must show a COE (Certificate of Eligibility), which must have a Government of India stamp. Apart from adhering ibps PO age limit, one must not skip this nationality part also. Because at any point in time, if one is unable to prove their nationality, then the authority may disqualify their candidature.

IBPS PO Reservation Policy of the Government of India

Apart from SC, ST, and OBC, many other categories may require reservation due to various reasons. Being a democratic country, the Government of India has introduced a reservation policy for those candidates. These reservation policies are mostly applicable to people with disabilities. Section 34, it mentions within The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 that disabled people can avail the facilities of reservation. In that case, the ibps PO age limit may not be applicable for them. Category-wise wise the definition of disabilities is,

OC Category

Under the OC category, there are multiple diseases mentioned under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act of 2016. Leprosy, Muscular Dystrophy, Acid attack victim, Orthopedically challenged, Dwarfism, and Cerebral Palsy are marked under the OC category. The definition of those diseases mentioned under this act accordingly,

• Leprosy – A person who suffered from Leprosy and was somehow cured, but he lost his senses in the affected area of his body.
• Cerebral Palsy – It is a state of non-functioning neurons. Therefore, an affected person is unable to use their body to perform any task.
• Dwarfism – People with very low growth suffer from dwarfism. Most of them are reportedly up to 4 feet in height.
• Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder that creates a hindrance in muscle development.
• Acid attack victim – People who become the victim of an acid attack and resulting in permanent disability.

Candidates who have any of the above-mentioned disabilities fall under the OC category. Thus, they can enjoy multiple reservations like age. So, candidates belonging to these physical discomforts can skip the predefined ibps PO age limit.

Visual Impairment (VI)

Loss of vision is also considered, as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. However, the Government of India has mentioned 2 physical conditions, such as,

• Blindness – A person suffering from the complete absence of clear eyesight is called blind. There is a mention of a score that one must have to enjoy such a reservation. If a person has a very low visual power, i.e., 3 out of 60, or may be unable to watch any object, then he will be called blind. In that case, as per the reservation norms, he can get additional relaxation from the ibps PO age limit, educational criteria, etc.

• Low Vision is a condition that may not lead to blindness but creates issues in vision. Therefore, candidates having lower than 20 out of 60 are considered to have low vision.

Hearing Impaired (HI)

• Deaf – Based on the loss of hearing ability, the Government of India has tagged a person as deaf. To enjoy the reservation facility, the person must have lost 70 dB of their hearing ability in the ears.
• Hard of Hearing – By this term, one can get an idea about the complication. So, a person who lost his hearing ability from 60 dB to 70 dB comes under the reservation policy. People suffering from all the above issues can get reservations. Such as ibps PO age limit, education, etc.

Intellectual Disabilities (ID)

Under intellectual disabilities, it covers many other neurological diseases. Such as autism, specific learning disability, mental illness, etc.

• Autism is a neurological condition that may create issues in the initial stage of a child. As a result, a child loses their ability to communicate and fails to listen to others
• Specific Learning Disability – People having this disease mostly fail to study. They face immense problems in speaking, reading, solving mathematical problems, and more. To reduce the difficulty level of the exam, the government has given extra relaxation in ibps PO age limit and introduced special rules.
• Mental Illness – This disability refers to mentally retard people who are unable to behave properly. An affected person fails to judge and is unable to recognize anything.

Unlike SC, ST, and OBC candidates, those suffering from all those mentioned diseases can appeal for reservation. The Government of India has reserved 1/3 of the total seats for them. They even get some extra reservations from the allotted seats. People having any of those diseases get extra advantages from ibps PO age limit, educational eligibility, and so on.

Scopes

There is hardly any doubt that after becoming a PO, one can have a very bright future. It is one of those prestigious jobs that offer respect and a good amount of money. The IBPS exam provides jobs in all the central banks. So, one can get a government job after cracking this exam. But to get a job through this competitive exam, one must adhere to ibps PO age limit and other criteria. Here are some benefits of joining as a PO in a centralized bank.

• If you want to gain respect along with a good amount of salary structure, then PO is the best choice. It is such a post that will offer immense respect as well as a high pay scale.
• After cracking the exam by maintaining all the eligibility criteria like ibps PO age limit and other ibps qualifications, one enjoys lots of benefits. Such as traveling allowance, directory allowances, fuel reimbursement, and many more.

• The job role of a PO involves lots of management work. So, a Probationary Officer earns enough knowledge in handling management skills.

Suggested Read:

IBPS PO Salary 2025 | Job Profile, Pay Scale, Allowances

IBPS PO 2025: Your Complete Exam Guide for Success

Key Highlights of the IBPS Exam

Apart from keeping in mind the ibps PO age limit and other criteria, one must know other details of this exam. Here is a highlight of the necessary details.

Name of the exam	IBPS PO
Organizer	Institute of Banking Personnel Selection
Eligibility	Two Tires. One is Prelim and the other is Mains. The full mark in the prelim is 100 and the mains have a weightage of 200 marks. All are multiple-choice questions.
Salary Scale	Rs. 52,000/- to Rs. 55,000/-
Job Role	The job role includes all types of managerial tasks. There are various departments like HRA, Public Interactions, Financial Management, Loan and Credit, Cash inflow and outflow, etc.
Top Recruiters	SBI, Bank of Baroda, United Bank of India, RBI, Citi Bank, Dutch Bank, HSBC Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, etc.
IBPS Exam Pattern	Subjects in the IBPS Exam
Subjects in IBPS Exam	English Language.      Aptitude.       Reasoning.      General Awareness.      Current Affairs.        Data and Interpretationsg.       Descriptive English

All the above-mentioned details apply to the IBPS exam. Being a government competitive exam, one must adhere to all the eligibility criteria, especially ibps PO age limit. Besides, one must prepare well so that one can clear the test on the very first attempt. However, preparing for IBPS is quite lengthy because the syllabus is vast. If you want to earn while you learn, then you can join Chegg as a Subject Matter Expert. We offer you the best exposure as a teacher and the ease of working from anywhere at any time. So, if you think you are missing the chance to sit for this exam due to ibps PO age limit, then sign up today.

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