AIBE Answer Key 2026 – Provisional Key, Objection Window and Final Key

Updated 23 September 2026

The AIBE answer key is released in two stages. A provisional key appears first, alongside an Objection Tracker window in which candidates can challenge individual questions. Objections are then examined, questions may be withdrawn, and a final answer key is published. The result follows that.

The stage that matters most is the one candidates ignore: when a question is withdrawn, it is removed from evaluation and the paper is marked out of a smaller total, which lowers the marks needed to pass. Section 4 sets out that arithmetic.

Table of Contents

1. How the AIBE answer key process works
2. The AIBE XXI timeline, as it actually ran
3. How to download the answer key and raise an objection
4. What happens when a question is withdrawn
5. How to calculate your score
6. Expected AIBE XXII dates
7. Frequently asked questions

1. How the AIBE answer key process works

Four stages, in order:

1. Provisional answer key. Published on the official AIBE portal shortly after the examination, alongside the question paper itself.
2. Objection Tracker window. A fixed period in which candidates may challenge a specific question or its stated answer. This is the only point at which a candidate can influence the outcome.
3. Final answer key. Published after the objections have been examined. Questions found to be defective are withdrawn.
4. Result. Declared against the final key.

The provisional key is not the final word, and the final key is not always identical to it. In AIBE XX the Bar Council withdrew five questions following the objection window.

2. The AIBE XXI timeline, as it actually ran

The best guide to what to expect is what happened last time. These dates are from the Bar Council’s own notices on the official AIBE portal.

Three things worth taking from that table.

The provisional key came out three days after the paper. Check the portal from day three, not week two.

The objection window was open for seven days and it closed at a stated minute. It is not extended.

The gap from examination to result was 41 days. For AIBE XXII, with the paper on 29 November 2026 and the result given as between 7 and 10 January 2027, the gap is roughly 39 to 42 days. The pattern holds.

3. How to download the answer key and raise an objection

1. Go to the official AIBE portal.
2. Log in with the User ID and password from your application. Do not create a new account.
3. Open the answer key section and download the key for your question paper set code. The paper is issued in multiple sets with the questions in a different order, so the key for Set A will not match a Set D paper.
4. To object, open the Objection Tracker, select the question number, and submit your challenge with supporting reasoning.

How to make an objection that works. An objection is an argument, not a complaint. Cite the provision. If the key says option B and the Act says option C, quote the section and sub-section, and where the point turns on a judgment, name the case. A bare assertion that the answer is wrong achieves nothing. The Bar Council’s notice following AIBE XXI recorded that all objections received were duly examined and the key finalised accordingly.

Check the set code on your admit card and question booklet before you start. Objecting against the wrong set is the most common wasted submission.

4. What happens when a question is withdrawn

This is the part that changes your result and almost nobody explains it.

Where a question is withdrawn, whether for a technical error or on a valid objection, it is removed from evaluation altogether. No bonus mark is awarded to anyone. The paper is then marked out of the reduced total, and because the qualifying percentage is fixed, the number of marks needed to pass falls with it.

The AIBE XX example. Five questions were withdrawn after the objection window. The paper was evaluated out of 95 rather than 100. The qualifying score became:

• 45% of 95 = 42.75, taken as 43 marks for General and OBC candidates
• 40% of 95 = 38 marks for SC, ST and PwD candidates

A second mechanism exists, and it is not the same thing. For AIBE XXI no questions were withdrawn. The Bar Council’s press release of 18 July 2026 records that the result was directed to be calculated on the basis of 100 marks, and that the Monitoring Committee, having gone through the question paper and the result summary, unanimously decided to moderate the result and reduce the qualifying marks by three. The cut-off fell to 42 and 37.

So one paper shrank the denominator and the other moved the line. Neither is announced in advance, and a candidate calculating their own score from the final key should treat 45 and 40 as a ceiling rather than a certainty. Our note on AIBE passing marks works through both in full.

5. How to calculate your score

1. Get your question paper set code from the admit card or booklet.
2. Download the final key for that set, not the provisional one.
3. Count your correct answers. Each is worth one mark.
4. Deduct nothing for wrong answers. There is no negative marking, so your score is simply the number correct.
5. Note how many questions were withdrawn, if any, and work the percentage against the reduced total.

A worked example. On a paper where three questions were withdrawn, the total is 97. A General candidate needs 45% of 97, which is 43.65, so 44 marks. The same candidate on a full 100-mark paper would need 45.

6. Expected AIBE XXII dates

The Bar Council has published the examination and result dates. The answer key stages are not separately notified in advance, but the AIBE XXI pattern gives a working expectation.

Only the examination date and the result window are notified. The rest are expectations drawn from the last cycle and should be confirmed on the official portal.

7. Frequently asked questions