IB ACIO Exam 2023 - Latest Update, Pattern, Syllabus, Preparation Tips, Dates

Ministry of Home Affairs conducts ACIO exam in order to recruit the candidates as Assistant Central Intelligence Officer (ACIO) Grade-II/Executive. The exam is conducted for the recruitment at Intelligence Bureau in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Candidates between 18 to 27 years of age who hold graduation degree can apply for ACIO.

The exam of ACIO will be conducted for three phases - Tier I, II and Interview. Tier I exam will be objective type while the tier II exam will be descriptive. The objective paper will contain 100 marks questions while 50 marks questions will be asked for the descriptive part. Candidates who qualify in tier I will be called for the tier II exam. Tier II qualified candidates will further have to appear for an interview round after which the final result will be declared. ACIO is expected to be conducted at various centres at 33 cities across the country.  ACIO final result will be declared by taking the performance of the candidates in both tier I and II into consideration. Candidates who qualify in the ACIO exam can be posted anywhere in India.

The exam conducting authority has determined the eligibility criteria of IB ACIO. ACIO eligibility criteria is the minimum requirement that must be met by the candidates in order to appear for the exam. The eligibility criteria of ACIO is determined on the basis of age and education qualification of the candidates. It is important for the candidates to fulfill the eligibility criteria in order to avoid rejection at later stage of the selection process.

ACIO Eligibility Criteria - Age

In order to appear for ACIO, candidates must be between 18 to 27 years of age. However, there are various age relaxations that have been provided on the upper age limit of the candidates by the exam conducting authority to the candidates of reserved categories. The table below contains the relaxation as per the category.

ACIO Eligibility Criteria

ACIO Eligibility Criteria - Education qualification

• Candidates must hold a graduation degree.

• It is important for candidates to have computer knowledge.

Mode of Application : Online

Mode of Payment : Net Banking | Credit Card | Debit Card | Other

Ministry of Home Affairs released the application form of ACIO in online mode. Eligible candidates can fill the application form of IB ACIO within the time frame given by the exam conducting authority. Along with the filling of ACIO application form, candidates must pay the prescribed application form as per their category. In order to fill the application form, candidates must have a valid active email ID and mobile number. Candidates must also keep ready with them their scanned image and signature of the prescribed dimension before they sit for filling the application form of ACIO.

The application form of IB ACIO will be divided into two parts - part 1 and 2. Candidates are expected to fill both parts of the application form. In part 1 of the application form of ACIO, candidates must fill the personal and academic details while part 2 of the application form is related to the payment of application fee.

Candidates must upload the scanned image and signature at the time when they register for the ACIO exam.

In order to fill the application form of ACIO, candidates can follow the steps given below.

ACIO Application Form - Part 1

Step 1 - Registration

Step 2 - Uploading of scanned image and signature (the file should not be more than 50 kb)

Step 3 - Filling in the details

Step 4 - Preview

Step 5 - Final Submit

ACIO Application Form - Part 2

Step 1 - Payment of application form

Step 2 - Print out of application form and payment slip

The application fee of IB ACIO can be paid by the candidates either in online or in offline mode. The application fee of ACIO must be paid by only the male candidates belonging to the unreserved category. Reserved category and female candidates are exempted from the payment of application fee.

Application Fees - Rs 100

Application Fee payment in Offline mode

Candidates will have to take a printout of Challan form and pay the fee in cash in any branch of State Bank of India one day after the filling of application form. A Challan receipt will be given to the candidates by the bank reflecting the transaction ID, which must be kept safe with the candidates.

Application Fee payment in Online mode

The online payment of application fee can be done using debit card or credit card. During the payment of online application fee, candidates will have to provide their registration number.

Application Fees

IB ACIO Tier 1 Exam Pattern

The exam conducting authority prescribes the exam pattern of IB ACIO. Candidates must go through ACIO exam pattern in order to know the different phases in which the exam will be conducted, sections, total questions, duration, and marks distribution.

As per the exam pattern of ACIO, the exam is conducted for three phases - tier I, II, and Interview. Candidates who qualify in tier I become eligible to appear for tier II exam. All those candidates who pass in tier II of ACIO, are further called for the interview round.

ACIO Exam Pattern - Tier I (Objective)

• The exam will have objective type questions

• There will be 4 sections containing 25 questions each of 1 mark each.

IB ACIO Tier 2 Exam Pattern

All those candidates who will qualify in the tier I exam will further have to appear for the tier II exam of ACIO. Phase II exam of ACIO will of descriptive nature. The following table contains the details about the exam pattern of phase II exam of ACIO.

ACIO Exam Pattern - Tier II (Descriptive)

All those candidates who will qualify in the tier II exam of ACIO will further have to appear for the Interview round. Candidates who will be shortlisted in the interview round will further have to appear for document verification and medical test.

IB ACIO Tier 1 Admit Card

The exam conducting authority will issue the admit card in three phases. The admit card of IB ACIO will be issued separately for tier I, II and Interview. All those candidates who will successfully fill the application form will be issued the tier I admit card. The admit card of tier II will be issued to only those candidates who will qualify the prelims exam of ACIO. All those candidates who qualify for the interview round will be issued the admit card of ACIO for the interview. The admit card of ACIO will be sent to each candidate through email on their personal email ID. The admit card sent to the candidates will contain the date and time of the examination along with the venue where the exam will be conducted. Candidates must take a print out of ACIO admit card and carry it to the allotted exam centre on the day of examination. Along with the admit card of ACIO, candidates must also carry one of the prescribed photo ID proofs - aadhaar card, voter card, PAN card, passport, driving license.

ACIO Admit card for Tier I

The admit card of ACIO tier I will be issued to only those candidates who will successfully fill the application form. ACIO admit card for tier I will be sent to the candidate through email. The admit card of IB ACIO will contain the details about the exam date and time and venue where the exam will be conducted. Candidates must take the print out of the admit card and carry it to the exam centre as they will not be allowed to take the test if they fail to bring the admit card. Along with the admit card candidates must also carry one of the prescribed photo identity proofs.

IB ACIO Tier 2 Admit Card

All those candidates who will qualify the tier I exam of ACIO will be issued the admit card for tier II examination. The admit card of ACIO tier II can be downloaded by the candidates by visiting the application portal or their personal mail. ACIO Admit card for tier II will contain the date, time and centre of Tier-II exam. Candidates must take a printout of the admit card and bring it to their respective exam centres. Candidates must also carry one of the photo ID proofs. No candidates will be allowed to appear for the exam if they do not have their admit card on the day of examination.

IB ACIO Tier 1 Exam Centers