The Intelligence Bureau (IB), operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), conducts the prestigious national-level recruitment for the Assistant Central Intelligence Officer (ACIO) Grade-II/Executive position. This role falls under the General Central Service, Group 'C' (Non-Gazetted, Non-Ministerial) category. Aspirants looking forward to a career in India's premier security and intelligence apparatus must stay updated with the notification details, selection process, and requirements.
For deeper insights into candidate prerequisites, you can explore the IB ACIO Eligibility Criteria. To get a head start on your preparation, you can also access the IB ACIO Mock Test portal for practice resources.
IB ACIO Recruitment 2026 Overview
Review the table below for a quick snapshot of the key parameters associated with the recruitment cycle:
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Intelligence Bureau (IB) |
| Conducting Body | Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) |
| Exam Name | IB ACIO Grade-II/ Executive Examination 2026 |
| Post Name | ACIO Grade 2/ Executive |
| Vacancies | To be Announced |
| Mode of Application | Online |
| Registration Dates | To be Notified |
| Educational Qualification | Bachelor’s Degree/Graduation Degree from a recognised University |
| Age Limit | 18 Years to 27 Years |
| Selection Process | Written Test (Tier 1 & Tier 2)- Interview |
| Salary | Rs. 44900/- to Rs. 142400/- |
| Official Website | www.mha.gov.in |
IB ACIO Important Dates & Schedule
Keep track of the schedule events as announced by the MHA:
| Events | Dates |
|---|---|
| Notification Date | Will be Released Soon |
| Registration Start Date | -- |
| Last Date to Apply Online | -- |
| Last Date to pay the application fee online | -- |
| Last Date to pay the application fee offline through the SBI challan | -- |
| IB ACIO Exam Date 2026 | -- |
Eligibility Criteria, Age Limit & Vacancy Trends
Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s Degree/Graduation Degree from a recognized university. The standard age criteria require candidates to be between 18 years and 27 years of age.
Upper age relaxations apply under specific government guidelines:
| Category | Upper Age Limit |
|---|---|
| OBC | 3 years |
| SC/ST | 5 years |
| Departmental candidates | up to 40 years of age who have rendered 3 years of regular and continuous service |
| Meritorious sportspersons specified in Para 1 (a) of DoP&AR O.M. No. 14015/1/76-Estt.(D), dated 4.8.1980. | 5 years |
| Widows, divorced women and women judicially separated from their husbands and not remarried. | UR- 35 years SC/ST- 40 years |
To gauge historical competitiveness, analyzing previous year distribution patterns is very helpful:
| Category | Vacancies |
|---|---|
| General (UR) | 1537 |
| Scheduled Caste (SC) | 556 |
| Schedules Tribe (ST) | 226 |
| Other Backward Castes (OBC-NCL) | 946 |
| Economically Weaker Section (EWS) | 442 |
| Total | 3717 |
Application Fee Structure
The fee structure for the examination comprises a processing charge and an examination fee depending on candidate categories:
| Fee | All Candidates | General, EWS, OBC (Male) |
|---|---|---|
| Processing Fee | Rs. 550/- | Rs. 550/- |
| Application Fee | Nil | Rs. 100/- |
| Total Fees | Rs. 550/- | Rs. 650/- |
IB ACIO Exam Pattern & Syllabus
The selection protocol consists of Tier 1 (Objective Type), Tier 2 (Descriptive Type), and Tier 3 (Interview/Personality Test). Candidates must carefully note exam subjects including Current Affairs.
Explore the detailed breakdown via IB ACIO Syllabus and check out IB ACIO Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2026- Click to Check. Practice references are also available through IB ACIO Previous Year Question Paper- Click to Check.

Tier 1 Exam Pattern
Tier 1 consists of 100 MCQs to be completed in 1 hour with a 1/4 negative marking scheme.
| Subjects | No. of Questions | Total Marks | Time Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Affairs | 20 | 20 | 1 hour |
| General Studies | 20 | 20 | 1 hour |
| Numerical Aptitude | 20 | 20 | 1 hour |
| Reasoning and Logical Aptitude | 20 | 20 | 1 hour |
| English Language | 20 | 20 | 1 hour |
| Toatk | 100 | 100 | 1 hour |
Tier 2 Descriptive Paper
Tier 2 consists of a 50-mark descriptive paper for 1 hour.
| Subjects / Components | Details | Total Marks | Time Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay Writing | Essay Writing | 20 | 1 hour |
| English comprehension | English comprehension | 10 | 1 hour |
| Long answer type questions | 2 questions of 10 marks each on Current Affairs, Economics, Socio-political issues etc | 20 | 1 hour |
| Total | 50 | 1 hour |
Tier 3 Interview
| Component | Total Marks |
|---|---|
| Personality Test | 100 |
Minimum Qualifying Marks
| Category | Minimum Qualifying Marks |
|---|---|
| UR (General)/OBC/EWS | 35 |
| OBC | 34 |
| SC/ ST | 33 |
Salary Structure & Cut-Off Trends
The position offers a Level 7 pay scale (₹44,900 – ₹1,42,400) under the 7th Central Pay Commission with standard Central Government allowances. The in-hand salary is approximately Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 90,000 per month depending on posting location (X, Y, or Z cities).
Find detailed salary breakdowns via IB ACIO Salary or IB ACIO Salary Structure- Click to Check. For historical cut-off analysis, visit IB ACIO Cut Off [Previous Year]- Click to Check.
| Category | Tier 1 (Out of 100) | Tier 2 (Out of 50) |
|---|---|---|
| UR | 65 | 30 |
| OBC | 60 | 25 |
| SC | 50 | 20 |
| ST | 50 | 20 |
Exam Centres
Candidates must select five preferred exam city options during application, which cannot be changed later. Refer to the table below for state-wise exam centres:
| States/UT | Exam Centres |
|---|---|
| A&N Island | Port Blair |
| Andhra Pradesh | Anantapur, Guntur, Kadapa, Kakinada, Kurnool, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Tirupathi, Vijaywada, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Naharlagun |
| Assam | Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar, Tezpur |
| Bihar | Arrah, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Purnea |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh/Mohali |
| Chhattisgarh | Bhilai Nagar/Durg, Bilaspur CG, Raipur |
| Delhi | Delhi/NCR |
| Goa | Panaji |
| Gujarat | Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar, Anand, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara |
| Haryana | Ambala, Hisar |
| Himachal Pradesh | Bilaspur HP, Baddi, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla |
| Jammu & Kashmir | Jammu, Samba, Srinagar |
| Jharkhand | Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Ranchi |
| Karnataka | Belagavi (Belgaum), Hubbali (Hubli), Mangaluru (Mangalore), Mysuru (Mysore), Shivamogga (Shimoga), Udupi |
| Karala | Ernakulam, Kannur, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur |
| Ladakh | Leh |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Satna, Ujjain |
| Maharashtra | Amravati, Chattrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai MMR, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Pune, Sangali, Satara, Solapur |
| Manipur | Imphal |
| Meghalaya | Shillong, Ri-Bhoi, Tura |
| Mizoram | Aizawl |
| Nagaland | Dimapur, Kohima |
| Odisha | Balasore, Berhampur-Ganjam, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Sambalpur |
| Punjab | Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala |
| Rajasthan | Ajmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Kota, Sikar, Udaipur |
| Sikkim | Gangtok |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Vellore |
| Telangana | Hyderabad/Secunderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Warangal |
| Tripura | Agartala |
| Uttar Pradesh | Agra, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Prayagraj, Varanasi |
| Uttarakhand | Dehradun, Haldwani, Roorkee |
| West Bengal | Asansol, Burdwan, Durgapur, Kalyani, Kolkata, Siliguri |
Official Notification Reference
For complete verification and official guidelines, you can download the official resource file: Download IB ACIO (Previous Year) Official Notification PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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