Indian Olympiad Qualifier in Mathematics (IOQM)

Class 8 to 12 · run by Mathematics Teachers' Association (India) with HBCSE ↗

The first stage of India's mathematical olympiad. Students who do well go on to the Regional Mathematical Olympiad (RMO), then the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO), from which India's team for the International Mathematical Olympiad is chosen.

The facts, from the official site

IOQM 2026: Held on Sunday 6 September 2026, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Scores were released on 7 October 2026 and RMO cut-offs on 22 October 2026. Source: mtai.org.in ↗
Pattern: 30 questions, 100 marks, 3 hours: 10 questions of 2 marks, 10 of 3 marks and 10 of 5 marks. Every answer is a whole number from 00 to 99, marked on an OMR sheet. No negative marking. English or Hindi. Source: olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in ↗
Who can sit it: Born between 1 August 2007 and 31 July 2014 and studying in Class 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12; not yet passed Class 12 boards before 30 October 2026; not started university by 1 June 2027; living and studying in India since 30 October 2024 (the official eligibility document has the full rules, including for OCI holders). Source: ioqm.mtai.org.in ↗
Fee (2026): ₹180 for Kendriya Vidyalaya and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya students; ₹300 for everyone else. Source: ioqm.mtai.org.in ↗
Next stage: RMO 2026: Sunday 15 November 2026, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm: 6 questions with full written proofs, 17 marks each. The IOQM portal says RMO registration starts on 2 November 2026. Source: olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in ↗
Then: INMO 2027: Sunday 17 January 2027, 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm: 6 proof questions. HBCSE expects results in the last week of February or the first week of March 2027. Source: olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in ↗
IOQM 2027: Not announced on 23 October 2026. MTA (India) and HBCSE announce it on the sites linked here. Source: mtai.org.in ↗

Syllabus

HBCSE's 2026-27 brochure says aspirants should know all the mathematics in the NCERT books for Classes 8 to 12, and that the main areas are algebra, combinatorics, geometry and number theory. Its list (which it says is not complete) covers inequalities, progressions, polynomials, theory of equations, complex numbers and functional equations; plane geometry, Ceva and Menelaus, trigonometry and coordinate geometry; counting, the pigeonhole principle, recursion and elementary graph theory; and divisibility, congruences, the Chinese remainder theorem, Fermat's and Wilson's theorems and Diophantine equations. The IOQM FAQ adds that calculus and statistics are not included. Official syllabus: olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in ↗

Free official papers and pages

HBCSE past papers and sample questions ↗Mathematics tab: IOQM, PRMO, RMO and INMO papers from 2000 to 2026, many with solutions (olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in)
IOQM 2026 page (MTA India) ↗Links to the IOQM 2026 question paper (all sets) and its answer key (mtai.org.in)
IOQM 2024 question paper ↗English paper (PDF, HBCSE) (olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in)
IOQM 2024 answer key ↗Official key (PDF, HBCSE) (olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in)
IOQM 2023 paper with answer key ↗PDF, MTA (India) (mtai.org.in)
RMO 2025 solutions ↗For the stage after IOQM (PDF, HBCSE) (olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in)
Sample PRMO questions ↗HBCSE's sample questions for the old first stage, same answer style (PDF) (olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in)
HBCSE Mathematical Olympiad 2026-27 ↗Stages, dates and announcements (olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in)

How to use these papers

Read the syllabus for your class first, then try one official paper under the real time limit, without help.
Mark it with the official answer key, and list each question you got wrong by topic. That list is what to study next.
Try the next paper a week or two later and compare which topics are still on your list.
Past papers from 2000 onwards are on HBCSE's site; the newer ones match today's answer format (whole numbers from 00 to 99).

Good to know

SOF's "International Mathematics Olympiad" (SOF IMO) is a different exam. The International Mathematical Olympiad team is chosen through IOQM, RMO and INMO.
The IOQM 2026 paper and key on MTA's page open from MTA's SharePoint and Google Drive, not from mtai.org.in itself.

Dates and updates for this exam on Shishya: IOQM exam page.

Read on the official sites on 23 Oct 2026. Dates can change; the conducting body's site is the final word.