Bihar APO Exam Pattern 2026: Complete Guide to Prelims, Mains & Selection Process

The Bihar APO exam pattern has three stages, set by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) for the post of Assistant Prosecution Officer under Advertisement No. 13/2026.

• Prelims is an objective screening test of 250 marks, Mains has eight descriptive papers worth 1,050 marks, and the interview carries 100 marks.
• Prelims marks do not count towards selection. Candidates final rank is decided by six of the eight Mains papers and the interview, a total of 950 marks.

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Bihar APO 2026 Highlights

The 2026 Prelims is over, so the next stage that matters is the Mains. Candidates can track the Bihar APO result for the Mains shortlist.

Stage	Date or Status
Notification (Advt. No. 13/2026, 300 posts)	25 February 2026
Online applications	27 February to 20 March 2026
Prelims	15 July 2026: General Studies 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Law 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Provisional answer key	12 August 2026
Final answer key	12 October 2026
OMR sheet download	28 October to 3 November 2026
Prelims result	Completed
Mains	Date not yet announced by BPSC

If you appeared, match your responses with the BPSC APO answer key 2026.

Bihar APO Exam Pattern 2026 Overview

BPSC selects Assistant Prosecution Officers in three stages: an objective Prelims of 250 marks, a descriptive Mains of eight papers worth 1,050 marks, and a 100-mark interview. Prelims only screens candidates, while the final merit list of 950 marks is drawn from six Mains papers and the interview.

For the notification, the 300 vacancies and the full 2026 schedule, read our complete Bihar APO exam 2026.

Stage	Type	Papers	Total Marks	Counts for Final Merit?
Prelims	Objective (MCQ), OMR sheet	2	250	No, screening only
Mains	Descriptive (written)	8	1,050	Yes, 850 marks (Hindi and English excluded)
Interview	Personality test	1	100	Yes

Bihar APO Prelims Exam Pattern 2026

The Bihar APO Prelims has two objective papers, General Studies (100 marks) and Law (150 marks), each with 100 questions and a 2-hour limit. Questions are set in Hindi and English, and answers are marked on an OMR sheet.

Paper	Subject	Questions	Marks	Marks per Question	Duration
I	General Studies (सामान्य अध्ययन)	100	100	1	2 hours
II	Law (विधि)	100	150	1.5	2 hours
Total		200	250		4 hours

In 2026, BPSC held both papers on the same day in two shifts, General Studies in the morning and Law in the afternoon.

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Subjects in Prelims Paper for Bihar APO 2026

The Law paper carries 60% of the Prelims marks, and each Law question is worth half a mark more than a GS question. A shaky Law paper is therefore harder to rescue with a strong GS score than the other way round.

Candidates can check how BPSC actually framed these topics, attempt the Bihar APO 2026 Prelims question papers under timed conditions.

• General Studies: current events of national and international importance, general science, Indian history and culture, Indian polity and Indian geography.
• Law: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 (BSA), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), Civil Procedure Code, 1908, and basic knowledge of the Constitution of India.

The topic-wise list for both papers is in our Bihar APO syllabus for Prelims and Mains. 

Is There Negative Marking in Bihar APO Prelims 2026?

BPSC deducts [negative-marking rate] for every wrong answer in both Prelims papers. The Mains is descriptive and has no negative marking.

With a penalty on every wrong answer, accuracy matters more than the number of questions attempted. Candidates can do Bihar APO exam analysis 2026 shows which Law areas candidates found hardest this year, so you know where careless attempts cost the most.

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Bihar APO Mains Exam Pattern 2026

The Bihar APO Mains has eight descriptive papers of 3 hours each, worth 1,050 marks in total. Two of them, Hindi and English, are qualifying only; the other six, worth 850 marks, decide your merit.

Paper	Subject	Marks	Counts for Merit?
I	General Studies	100	Yes
II	Hindi Language	100	No, qualifying (minimum 30)
III	English Language	100	No, qualifying (minimum 30)
IV	Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023	150	Yes
V	Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023	150	Yes
VI	Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (75 marks) + Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (75 marks)	150	Yes
VII	Constitutional Law of India	150	Yes
VIII	Other Laws	150	Yes
Total		1,050	850 for merit

Paper VI is a single paper split between criminal and civil procedure, so plan your answer time across both halves rather than treating CPC as optional.

What Paper VIII (Other Laws) Covers for Bihar APO Mains 2026

Paper VIII is worth as much as BNS or BSA, yet it tests ten separate statutes:

• Arms Act, 1959
• Explosive Substances Act, 1908
• Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
• Information Technology Act, 2000 (Chapter XI)
• Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 (Chapters VI and VIII, as amended in 2018 and 2020)
• Bihar Prohibition and Excise Rules, 2021 and 2022
• Bihar Police Act, 2007
• Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988
• Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012

The two Bihar prohibition laws and the Bihar Police Act are state-specific, so most national-level study material does not cover them. Topic-level detail for every paper is in the paper-wise Bihar APO Mains syllabus.

Hindi and English Are Qualifying Papers

Candidates must score at least 30 out of 100 in both the Hindi and the English paper. These marks are not added to your merit total, but if you fall below 30 in either, the rest of your Mains is not counted.

Both papers test plain written expression, so regular writing practice is enough for most candidates.

Why the New Criminal Laws Matter for Mains

Three of the six merit papers (IV, V and VI) are set on the BNS, BSA and BNSS, which replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Evidence Act and the CrPC from 1 July 2024.

Expect Mains answers to need the new section numbers, with the old ones only for context. Our list of standard Bihar APO books 2026 for BNS, BSA and BNSS covers updated editions.

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Bihar APO 2026 Total Marks and Merit Calculation

The Bihar APO final merit list is prepared out of 950 marks: 850 from the six Mains merit papers and 100 from the interview. Prelims marks and the Hindi and English papers are left out.

Component	Marks in the Paper	Marks in Final Merit
Prelims (GS + Law)	250	0
Mains Papers I, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII	850	850
Mains Papers II and III (Hindi, English)	200	0
Interview	100	100
Total	1,400	950

In practice, this means about 89% of your final score comes from the Mains. A candidate who scrapes through Prelims but writes strong Mains answers can finish well ahead of one who topped the Prelims.

Past selection thresholds help you set a realistic Mains target; see the category-wise Bihar APO cut-off for previous years.

Bihar APO Interview Exam Pattern 2026

The Bihar APO interview carries 100 marks and is the last stage. Only candidates who pass both qualifying language papers and are shortlisted on their Mains merit papers are called.BPSC does not publish a separate interview syllabus.

Candidates Mains subjects, especially criminal procedure and evidence, and the day-to-day role of a prosecutor in Bihar's courts are the natural base for preparation.

What to Do Now If You Took the 2026 Prelims

Start Mains answer writing now, before the Prelims result. Because Prelims marks carry no weight in the final merit, the weeks before the result are best spent on the 850 marks that do count.

1. Estimate your Prelims score from the final answer key, then stop revisiting it.
2. Write one timed answer a day in BNS, BSA or BNSS, using the new section numbers.
3. Build short notes for Paper VIII, starting with the two Bihar prohibition laws and the Bihar Police Act.
4. Write one Hindi and one English piece a week so the 30-mark qualifying papers are never a risk.

Key Takeaways

Here is the Bihar APO exam pattern in brief, so you can see at a glance which marks decide your final rank.

• The Bihar APO exam has three stages: Prelims (250 marks), Mains (1,050 marks) and an interview (100 marks).
• Prelims is a screening test with negative marking; its marks are not counted in the final merit list.
• The Mains has eight 3-hour descriptive papers, and Paper VI combines BNSS (75 marks) and CPC (75 marks).
• Hindi and English need at least 30 marks each but do not add to your merit score.
• The final merit list is out of 950 marks: 850 from six Mains papers plus 100 from the interview.
• Since Mains decides nearly 90% of the final score, start answer writing in BNS, BSA, BNSS and Paper VIII before the Prelims result.

If you want a structured guidance, take a free demo online class or talk to a Judiciary Gold counsellor about the Judiciary APO Coaching 2026.