The IBPS RRB 2026 notification (CRP RRBs-XV) carries 13,706 vacancies: 8,183 Office Assistant, 4,256 Officer Scale-I, 1,047 Scale-II and 220 Scale-III. Apply online by 21 September 2026.
The IBPS RRB notification 2026 (CRP RRBs-XV), released on 31 August 2026, advertises 13,706 vacancies across 43 Regional Rural Banks. The split is 8,183 Office Assistant (Multipurpose), 4,256 Officer Scale-I, 1,047 Officer Scale-II and 220 Officer Scale-III. Online applications are open from 1 September to 21 September 2026, with a fee of Rs 850 for general candidates and Rs 175 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates.
By seat count this is the biggest banking recruitment of the cycle. Read the post-wise picture below before you tick a post on the form.
| Post | Vacancies 2026 | Selection stages | Interview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Assistant (Multipurpose) | 8,183 | Prelims, Mains, Language Proficiency Test | No |
| Officer Scale-I (Assistant Manager) | 4,256 | Prelims, Mains, Interview | Yes |
| Officer Scale-II (Manager) | 1,047 | Single online exam, Interview | Yes |
| Officer Scale-III (Senior Manager) | 220 | Single online exam, Interview | Yes |
| Total | 13,706 |
Officer Scale-II and Officer Scale-III are experience-gated: they need a graduate degree with at least 50 percent marks plus roughly 2 years and 5 years of officer-level banking experience respectively. A fresh graduate is therefore choosing between the 8,183 Office Assistant seats and the 4,256 Officer Scale-I seats.
Per the CRP RRBs-XV notification released on 31 August 2026, Officer Scale-I Prelims runs on 21 and 22 November 2026 and Office Assistant Prelims on 6, 12 and 13 December 2026. Officer Scale-I Mains and the single exam for Officer Scale-II and Officer Scale-III are all on 20 December 2026, while Office Assistant Mains is on 30 January 2027.
| Stage | Post | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Online application and fee payment | All posts | 1 to 21 September 2026 |
| Preliminary exam | Officer Scale-I | 21 and 22 November 2026 |
| Preliminary exam | Office Assistant | 6, 12 and 13 December 2026 |
| Main exam | Officer Scale-I | 20 December 2026 |
| Single online exam | Officer Scale-II and Officer Scale-III | 20 December 2026 |
| Main exam | Office Assistant | 30 January 2027 |
Two scheduling facts matter. The two Prelims fall on different weekends, so applying for both creates no clash. And Officer Scale-I candidates get only about 4 weeks between Prelims on 21 November 2026 and Mains on 20 December 2026, so the Mains syllabus cannot wait for the Prelims result.
For the two posts open to freshers, age is counted as on 1 September 2026: Office Assistant needs 18 to 28 years and Officer Scale-I needs 18 to 30 years. Both require a bachelor degree in any discipline plus proficiency in the local language of the state you apply to. The fee is Rs 850 for general candidates and Rs 175 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates.
| Post | Age as on 1 September 2026 | Qualification | Fee (General) | Fee (SC, ST, PwBD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office Assistant (Multipurpose) | 18 to 28 years | Bachelor degree in any discipline | Rs 850 | Rs 175 |
| Officer Scale-I (Assistant Manager) | 18 to 30 years | Bachelor degree in any discipline | Rs 850 | Rs 175 |
Age relaxation for SC, ST, OBC, PwBD and ex-servicemen applies as in the advertisement. The local language condition is not a formality: you must read, write and speak the notified local language of the state where your chosen bank operates, and it is verified later. Confirm your category relaxation in the official PDF on ibps.in before you pay, because the window closes on 21 September 2026.
Apply for Office Assistant if your priority is the highest chance of a job this cycle: 8,183 seats is about 1.9 times the 4,256 Officer Scale-I seats, and there is no interview, so the Mains score alone decides the merit list. Choose Officer Scale-I for officer grade, faster promotion and higher pay, if you are comfortable facing an interview.
The differences that drive the decision:
You can apply for both, and for most fresh graduates under 28 that is the rational choice: one preparation, two chances, two fees. Treat the Officer Scale-I Prelims on 21 and 22 November 2026 as the first attempt and the Office Assistant Prelims on 6, 12 and 13 December 2026 as a second, better-informed run.
Counting from 5 September 2026, you have about 11 weeks to Officer Scale-I Prelims and about 13 weeks to Office Assistant Prelims. Spend weeks 1 to 6 building Reasoning and Numerical Ability accuracy, weeks 7 to 9 on timed full mocks, and the final 2 weeks on revision plus General Awareness groundwork for Mains.
Where the marks sit is not guesswork for us. Across the 26 previous-year IBPS RRB Officer Scale-I papers on our reference shelf (Prelims 2017 to 2023, Mains 2012 to 2023) and the 21 Prelims mocks we assembled from them, puzzles and seating arrangement together account for about 15 of the 40 Reasoning questions, and Data Interpretation for about 9 of the 40 Numerical Ability questions. Two topic families therefore decide roughly 24 of the 80 Prelims marks.
A plan built on those weights:
On Quiz4Exam you can run this plan on realistic papers: full-length IBPS RRB Officer Scale-I mock tests in a CBT interface that matches the 45-minute composite Prelims, plus sectional and topic-wise sets with detailed solutions and percentile analysis. Start with a free IBPS RRB mock test this week so your first timed attempt happens now, not in November.
Two posts answering the obvious next questions for the 2026 cycle: what is tested, and what the job pays.
Every figure here comes from the CRP RRBs-XV advertisement released on 31 August 2026. Vacancy counts can be revised, so confirm your state, category and closing date on ibps.in before you pay.
The IBPS RRB notification 2026 (CRP RRBs-XV), released on 31 August 2026, advertises 13,706 vacancies across 43 Regional Rural Banks. The post-wise split is 8,183 Office Assistant (Multipurpose), 4,256 Officer Scale-I, 1,047 Officer Scale-II and 220 Officer Scale-III. State-wise and category-wise numbers appear only in the official PDF on ibps.in.
Online registration and fee payment for IBPS RRB 2026 run from 1 September to 21 September 2026, so 21 September 2026 is the last date. The fee is Rs 850 for general candidates and Rs 175 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. You can apply for both Office Assistant and an Officer Scale post by paying separately for each.
Officer Scale-I Prelims is on 21 and 22 November 2026 and Office Assistant Prelims on 6, 12 and 13 December 2026. Officer Scale-I Mains and the single exam for Officer Scale-II and Officer Scale-III are all on 20 December 2026. Office Assistant Mains follows on 30 January 2027, per the CRP RRBs-XV notification.
Yes. The two posts are advertised in the same CRP RRBs-XV notification but are separate applications with separate fees, and their Prelims dates do not clash: Officer Scale-I on 21 and 22 November 2026 and Office Assistant on 6, 12 and 13 December 2026. The written pattern is identical, so one preparation covers both.
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No. Office Assistant (Multipurpose) selection is Prelims, then Mains, then a qualifying Language Proficiency Test, and the final merit list is built on the Mains score alone. Officer Scale-I is different: after Mains there is an interview, and the final merit uses an 80:20 weightage between Mains and interview.
