IBPS Clerk: Which State to Apply For, the Language Rule and Past Scores

The rules that tie you to one state

Two consequences follow. First, a strong score does not travel: if your state’s cut-off is high, you cannot be moved to a state where it was lower. Second, the language rule is a real gate, not a formality. Choosing a state whose listed language you cannot read, write, speak and understand means sitting a test after you have already won the seat, and losing the seat if you fail it.

The exam medium and the language test are separate things. A candidate applying for Tamil Nadu can take the Reasoning, Numerical and Quant tests in English, Hindi or Tamil, but still needs Tamil for the language test unless a mark sheet or certificate of 10th standard or above shows Tamil. Several states list more than one language for the test, as the table below shows.

Every state: language, seats and last year’s UR score

The table below puts the CSA-XVI indicative seats (Annexure I as updated on 29 September 2026) beside the language list and the CSA-XV UR main-round minimum score (out of 100). The minimum is the lowest normalised score that was allotted a bank in the main round of 2 March 2026 (Chandigarh: 17 July 2026). The guide on scores has the other categories.

Which states gained and lost seats

The fairest comparison is CSA-XVI against CSA-XV at notification, because both are early figures banks reported. CSA-XVI is taken as updated on 29 September 2026; that update added 260 Bank of Baroda seats and lowered no row. On that basis 25 of the 36 rows went up and 11 went down (our count; 23 and 13 before the update). The comparison against CSA-XV’s final figure, after the corrigenda of October and November 2025, is harsher, because those corrigenda added thousands of seats that CSA-XVI has not had yet.

The rises are concentrated in the north and east: Uttar Pradesh (+437), West Bengal (+411), Karnataka (+288), Punjab (+211) and Bihar (+183). The falls are concentrated in the south: Kerala (−209), Tamil Nadu (−196), Andhra Pradesh (−169) and Telangana (−61). Kerala’s 121 seats are about 37% of the 330 it was notified with in CSA-XV (our arithmetic). Gujarat moved from a fall to a small rise (753 to 761) with the 29 September update. Fourteen of the 36 rows are ahead even of last year’s final figure (our count); the four biggest gains are Delhi (+142 against its final 279), Punjab (+104), Karnataka (+72) and Uttarakhand (+43), and the other ten are small: Haryana (+11), Tripura (+9), Chandigarh and Meghalaya (+5 each), Arunachal Pradesh and Lakshadweep (+4), Sikkim and Andaman & Nicobar (+3), Rajasthan (+2) and Puducherry (+1).

Do not read too much into the direction for small states. Chandigarh fell from 63 to 20 against the notified figure, but CSA-XV’s own final figure for Chandigarh was only 15, so CSA-XVI is higher than what was actually offered last time. In units of a few dozen seats, one bank’s decision moves the total.

Few seats does not mean a low cut-off

Smaller states are often assumed to be easier. The CSA-XV scores do not support that as a rule. The highest UR main-round minimum in the country was Chandigarh’s, with 15 final seats. Delhi and Uttarakhand were close behind. At the other end, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Mizoram and Goa had the lowest minimums, but they also had only a handful of seats and, apart from Goa, a language list many applicants cannot meet.

Two large states stand out. Karnataka and Gujarat had well over a thousand final seats each and UR minimums under 40, several marks below Uttar Pradesh. IBPS publishes no State/UT-wise applicant counts, so the published figures cannot say why. One unverified hypothesis is that the Kannada and Gujarati language requirement narrows the pool; treat it as a guess, not a finding. What is certain is the practical limit: a high-seat, low-score state is only an option if you can clear its language test, or hold the mark sheet that waives it.

Hindi-speaking states and the widest pool

Hindi is a test language for Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir and Andaman & Nicobar. Candidates proficient in reading, writing, speaking and understanding Hindi, or holding qualifying proof of having studied it, have Hindi as a test option in more State/UT rows than any other listed language. Their CSA-XV UR minimums ran from 35.38 in Andaman & Nicobar to 49.63 in Chandigarh, with most between 41 and 48.

English is a listed test language for Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim and Andaman & Nicobar. Those are small rows, from 19 to 45 seats in CSA-XVI (as updated 29.09.2026), and IBPS printed several categories there as NA in CSA-XV because there was no vacancy or no candidate.

Before the next cycle

If you are planning for CSA-XVII, the order of work is: check which listed languages you can prove with a mark sheet or certificate of 10th standard or above; list the states whose test language you could pass without one; then compare seats and past scores only among those. Remember that the notified seats move a great deal after the notification: in CSA-XV the total went from 10,277 to 15,701 through two corrigenda (our sums), and the state shares moved with it. Last year’s scores are a guide to how competitive a state is, not a promise of this year’s cut-off.

For CSA-XVI candidates, the state is fixed. What remains in your control is the Mains score, which sets your merit rank; the allotment itself also depends on your category, the vacancies banks actually report, reservation rules and bank preferences.

Can I apply for more than one state in IBPS Clerk?

No. The notification allows vacancies in one State/UT only, and you are considered only for that State/UT.

Can I write the IBPS Clerk exam in another state?

Normally no. You appear at a centre in the State/UT you applied for. IBPS may, at its discretion, allot a centre outside that State/UT, but only for conducting the exam; you are still considered only for the State/UT you applied for.

Is knowing the local language compulsory for IBPS Clerk?

Yes. Candidates should be proficient in the specified/opted local language listed for that State/UT in Annexure III, and failing the language test disqualifies.

Who is exempt from the IBPS Clerk language test?

Candidates who produce a mark sheet or certificate of 10th standard or above showing they studied the specified/opted local language.

When is the IBPS Clerk language test held?

After qualifying the Mains/provisional allotment and before joining. The notification says it may be conducted by an independent body or by the bank.

Which states have the most IBPS Clerk seats in 2026?

Uttar Pradesh (1,752), Karnataka (1,458), Maharashtra (1,062), West Bengal (951) and Gujarat (761), per the indicative CSA-XVI figures as updated on 29.09.2026.

Which states lost seats in CSA-XVI?

Against the CSA-XV notified figures, the biggest falls are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 11 of 36 rows are lower (our count, using the update of 29.09.2026; 13 before it).

Is a small state easier for IBPS Clerk?

Not as a rule. In CSA-XV Chandigarh had the highest UR minimum (49.63) with 15 final seats.

Is registration for IBPS Clerk 2026 still open?

No. CSA-XVI registration closed on 28 August 2026, so the state given at registration is the one you will be allotted in.

In which languages can I take the IBPS Clerk exam?

English is set only in English. The other tests are in English, Hindi and the languages listed for your State/UT.