IB ACIO Exam 2026: Overview, Recruitment, Syllabus, Salary & Notification

Posted: Jun 09, 2026 05:02 PM IST
Updated: Aug 16, 2026 03:05 PM IST
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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:

ParameterDetails
OrganisationIntelligence Bureau (IB)
Conducting BodyMinistry of Home Affairs (MHA)
Exam NameIB ACIO Grade-II/ Executive Examination 2026
Post NameACIO Grade 2/ Executive
VacanciesTo be Announced
Mode of ApplicationOnline
Registration DatesTo be Notified
Educational QualificationBachelor’s Degree/Graduation Degree from a recognised University
Age Limit18 Years to 27 Years
Selection ProcessWritten Test (Tier 1 & Tier 2)- Interview
SalaryRs. 44900/- to Rs. 142400/-
Official Websitewww.mha.gov.in

IB ACIO Important Dates & Schedule

Keep track of the schedule events as announced by the MHA:

EventsDates
Notification DateWill 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:

CategoryUpper Age Limit
OBC3 years
SC/ST5 years
Departmental candidatesup 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:

CategoryVacancies
General (UR)1537
Scheduled Caste (SC)556
Schedules Tribe (ST)226
Other Backward Castes (OBC-NCL)946
Economically Weaker Section (EWS)442
Total3717

Application Fee Structure

The fee structure for the examination comprises a processing charge and an examination fee depending on candidate categories:

FeeAll CandidatesGeneral, EWS, OBC (Male)
Processing FeeRs. 550/-Rs. 550/-
Application FeeNilRs. 100/-
Total FeesRs. 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.

SubjectsNo. of QuestionsTotal MarksTime Duration
Current Affairs20201 hour
General Studies20201 hour
Numerical Aptitude20201 hour
Reasoning and Logical Aptitude20201 hour
English Language20201 hour
Toatk1001001 hour

Tier 2 Descriptive Paper

Tier 2 consists of a 50-mark descriptive paper for 1 hour.

Subjects / ComponentsDetailsTotal MarksTime Duration
Essay WritingEssay Writing201 hour
English comprehensionEnglish comprehension101 hour
Long answer type questions2 questions of 10 marks each on Current Affairs, Economics, Socio-political issues etc201 hour
Total501 hour

Tier 3 Interview

ComponentTotal Marks
Personality Test100

Minimum Qualifying Marks

CategoryMinimum Qualifying Marks
UR (General)/OBC/EWS35
OBC34
SC/ ST33

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.

CategoryTier 1 (Out of 100)Tier 2 (Out of 50)
UR6530
OBC6025
SC5020
ST5020

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/UTExam Centres
A&N IslandPort Blair
Andhra PradeshAnantapur, Guntur, Kadapa, Kakinada, Kurnool, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Tirupathi, Vijaywada, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram
Arunachal PradeshNaharlagun
AssamDibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar, Tezpur
BiharArrah, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Purnea
ChandigarhChandigarh/Mohali
ChhattisgarhBhilai Nagar/Durg, Bilaspur CG, Raipur
DelhiDelhi/NCR
GoaPanaji
GujaratAhmedabad/Gandhinagar, Anand, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara
HaryanaAmbala, Hisar
Himachal PradeshBilaspur HP, Baddi, Hamirpur, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla
Jammu & KashmirJammu, Samba, Srinagar
JharkhandDhanbad, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Ranchi
KarnatakaBelagavi (Belgaum), Hubbali (Hubli), Mangaluru (Mangalore), Mysuru (Mysore), Shivamogga (Shimoga), Udupi
KaralaErnakulam, Kannur, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur
LadakhLeh
Madhya PradeshBhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Satna, Ujjain
MaharashtraAmravati, Chattrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai MMR, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Pune, Sangali, Satara, Solapur
ManipurImphal
MeghalayaShillong, Ri-Bhoi, Tura
MizoramAizawl
NagalandDimapur, Kohima
OdishaBalasore, Berhampur-Ganjam, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Sambalpur
PunjabAmritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala
RajasthanAjmer, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Kota, Sikar, Udaipur
SikkimGangtok
Tamil NaduChennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Vellore
TelanganaHyderabad/Secunderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Warangal
TripuraAgartala
Uttar PradeshAgra, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Prayagraj, Varanasi
UttarakhandDehradun, Haldwani, Roorkee
West BengalAsansol, 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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