The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) has released the vacancy details for the IBPS SO 2026 recruitment (CRP SPL-XVI), inviting applications for Specialist Officer posts of 2027-28 across 11 participating public sector banks. A total of 745 vacancies have been notified this year across six posts — IT Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, and Marketing Officer. Interestingly, the Marketing Officer post has zero vacancies in 2026, a sharp contrast from previous years. Below is a detailed look at the IBPS SO Vacancy 2026 post-wise numbers, followed by the vacancy trend over the last several years to help candidates gauge how the opportunities have fluctuated.
IBPS SO Vacancy 2026
IBPS SO Exam 2026 Vacancy stands at 745 posts in total, with IT Officer (Scale-I) contributing the highest share at 301 vacancies, followed by Agricultural Field Officer at 190. The Marketing Officer post has not been notified with any vacancy this year, while Rajbhasha Adhikari and Law Officer account for 89 and 105 posts respectively.
| Post | IBPS SO Vacancy 2026 |
| I.T. Officer (Scale-I) | 301 |
| Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) | 190 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) | 89 |
| Law Officer (Scale-I) | 105 |
| HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) | 60 |
| Marketing Officer (Scale I) | 0 |
| IBPS SO Total Vacancy 2026 | 745 |
IBPS SO Vacancy Trend – Last 5+ Years
The IBPS SO vacancy trend shows significant year-on-year fluctuation, largely driven by hiring cycles and business needs of participating banks. Vacancies peaked sharply in 2024 at 2973 posts — more than four times the 2026 figure — before falling to 949 in 2025 and further down to 745 in 2026. Reviewing this trend helps aspirants understand that IBPS SO recruitment numbers are cyclical rather than steadily increasing or decreasing, and candidates should prepare consistently regardless of a particular year’s vacancy count.
| Year | IBPS SO Vacancy Trend |
| 2026 | 745 |
| 2025 | 949 |
| 2024 | 2973 |
| 2023 | 1402 |
| 2022 | 710 |
| 2021 | 1828 |
| 2020 | 720 |
| 2019 | 1163 |
| 2018 | 1599 |
| 2017 | 1315 |
IBPS SO Vacancy 2025 Post Wise
In 2025, IBPS SO recruitment saw a total of 949 vacancies, with Agricultural Field Officer leading at 390 posts, well ahead of IT Officer at 278. Unlike 2026, the Marketing Officer post was active in 2025 with 110 vacancies, while HR/Personnel Officer remained the smallest category at just 14 posts.
| Post | IBPS SO Vacancy 2025 |
| I.T. Officer (Scale-I) | 278 |
| Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) | 390 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) | 87 |
| Law Officer (Scale-I) | 70 |
| HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) | 14 |
| Marketing Officer (Scale I) | 110 |
| IBPS SO Total Vacancy 2025 | 949 |
IBPS SO Vacancy 2024 Post Wise
2024 recorded the highest vacancy count in recent years at 2973 posts, driven largely by a massive 1005 openings for Marketing Officer and 946 for Agricultural Field Officer. IT Officer also saw a substantial jump to 724 vacancies, making 2024 an exceptional year for IBPS SO aspirants compared to the years before and after it.
| Post | IBPS SO Vacancy 2024 |
| I.T. Officer (Scale-I) | 724 |
| Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) | 946 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) | 75 |
| Law Officer (Scale-I) | 182 |
| HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) | 41 |
| Marketing Officer (Scale I) | 1005 |
| IBPS SO Total Vacancy 2024 | 2973 |
IBPS SO Vacancy 2023 Post Wise
The total vacancy count for 2023 stood at 1402, roughly half of 2024’s figure. Marketing Officer again dominated with 700 vacancies, while Agricultural Field Officer contributed 500 posts. IT Officer, Law Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, and Rajbhasha Adhikari made up the remaining, comparatively smaller share of openings.
| Post | IBPS SO Vacancy 2023 |
| I.T. Officer (Scale-I) | 120 |
| Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) | 500 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) | 41 |
| Law Officer (Scale-I) | 10 |
| HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) | 31 |
| Marketing Officer (Scale I) | 700 |
| IBPS SO Total Vacancy 2023 | 1402 |
IBPS SO Vacancy 2022 Post Wise
Vacancies dropped considerably in 2022 to 710 posts, one of the lowest counts in the past decade. Agricultural Field Officer remained the largest category at 516 vacancies, while Marketing Officer fell sharply to just 100 posts compared to the highs seen in 2023 and 2024.
| Post | IBPS SO Vacancy 2022 |
| I.T. Officer (Scale-I) | 44 |
| Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) | 516 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) | 25 |
| Law Officer (Scale-I) | 10 |
| HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) | 15 |
| Marketing Officer (Scale I) | 100 |
| IBPS SO Total Vacancy 2022 | 710 |
IBPS SO Vacancy 2021 Post Wise
2021 saw a strong rebound with 1828 total vacancies, the third-highest figure in this review period. Agricultural Field Officer led decisively with 884 posts, followed by Marketing Officer at 535, reflecting healthy hiring activity across most participating banks that year.
| Post | IBPS SO Vacancy 2021 |
| IT Officer Scale 1 | 220 |
| Agricultural Field Officer Scale 1 | 884 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale 1 | 84 |
| Law Officer Scale 1 | 44 |
| HR/Personnel Officer Scale 1 | 61 |
| Marketing Officer Scale 1 | 535 |
| IBPS SO Total Vacancy 2021 | 1828 |
IBPS SO Vacancy 2020 Post Wise
Vacancies in 2020 totalled just 720 posts, broadly in line with the low seen in 2022. Agricultural Field Officer once again accounted for the bulk of openings at 506, while other posts such as HR/Personnel Officer stayed in single digits at just 7 vacancies.
| Post | IBPS SO Vacancy 2020 |
| I.T. Officer Scale 1 | 57 |
| Agricultural Field Officer Scale 1 | 506 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale 1 | 28 |
| Law Officer Scale 1 | 55 |
| HR/Personnel Officer Scale 1 | 7 |
| Marketing Officer Scale 1 | 67 |
| IBPS SO Total Vacancy 2020 | 720 |
IBPS SO Vacancy 2019 Post Wise
In 2019, total vacancies reached 1163, driven primarily by 670 openings for Agricultural Field Officer and 310 for Marketing Officer. This marked a moderate recovery in hiring compared to 2020, though it remained well below the peak levels seen in 2021 and 2024.
| Post | IBPS SO Vacancy 2019 |
| I.T. Officer Scale 1 | 76 |
| Agricultural Field Officer Scale 1 | 670 |
| Rajbhasha Adhikari Scale 1 | 27 |
| Law Officer Scale 1 | 60 |
| HR/Personnel Officer Scale 1 | 20 |
| Marketing Officer Scale 1 | 310 |
| IBPS SO Total Vacancy 2019 | 1163 |
FAQs
Q1. How many vacancies are announced for IBPS SO 2026?
A1. IBPS has announced 745 vacancies for Specialist Officer (CRP SPL-XVI) posts across six disciplines for the 2027–28 recruitment cycle.
Q2. Which IBPS SO post has the highest vacancies in 2026?
A2. IT Officer (Scale-I) has the highest number of vacancies in 2026 with 301 posts, followed by Agricultural Field Officer with 190 vacancies.
Q3. Is there any Marketing Officer vacancy in IBPS SO 2026?
A3. No. IBPS has not notified any Marketing Officer vacancies for the 2026 recruitment cycle.
Q4. Which year recorded the highest IBPS SO vacancies in recent years?
A4. The highest number of IBPS SO vacancies was recorded in 2024, when 2,973 posts were announced across all Specialist Officer disciplines.
Q5. Why do IBPS SO vacancies change every year?
A5. IBPS SO vacancies vary based on the manpower requirements submitted by participating public sector banks, so recruitment numbers differ significantly from one year to another.
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Hi, I’m Tripti, a senior content writer at Oliveboard, where I manage blog content along with community engagement across platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp. With 3+ years of experience in content and SEO optimization related to banking exams, I have led content for popular exams like SSC, banking, railway, and state exams.