Do I get my IOE deposits back?
Only if you complete the programme, and only if you claim within one year of leaving. Students who drop out part-way forfeit their deposits entirely.
The deposits are genuinely refundable, but on two conditions that are easy to fall foul of.
- If you complete the programme
- Deposits are refunded, but only within one year of leaving the campus
- If you leave part-way through
- Deposits are forfeited in full
- At a constituent campus, Regular
- Rs 3,400 in deposits
- At a constituent campus, Full Fee
- Rs 40,000 in deposits
The one-year clock is the trap
Graduates routinely forget the deposit, and after a year the claim is gone. Put a reminder in your own calendar on the day you finish, because nobody will chase you about it.
Why the forfeiture rule matters when you choose
Combined with the cancellation ladder, the message is consistent: the system is built to make leaving expensive. That is worth holding in mind when a college suggests taking a seat now and deciding properly later. On the Full Fee track the forfeited deposit alone is Rs 40,000.
Where the deposit rule meets the cancellation ladder
These are two different sections of the same booklet and they overlap at exactly one point, which is worth tracing because the answer changes depending on the day you walk away. The cancellation ladder in section 8 names the campus deposit only in its final row — more than seven days after classes begin, where it states that nothing is refunded, campus deposit included. Its first two rows set a deduction against the fee and say nothing about the deposit either way.
| When you cancel | Deducted from the fee | What the booklet says about the deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Before classes begin | 10% of the total, or Rs 15,000 — whichever is less | Not mentioned in this row |
| Within 7 days of classes beginning | 25% of the total, or Rs 35,000 — whichever is less | Not mentioned in this row |
| More than 7 days after classes begin | Nothing is refunded | Explicitly included in what is not refunded |
Scroll the table sideways for What the booklet says about the deposit.
Worked through on the Full Fee track at a constituent campus, where the deposits are Rs 40,000: cancel on the eighth day and the deposit is gone alongside the fee, because the booklet puts it inside that row. Cancel the week before classes start and the booklet caps the fee deduction at Rs 15,000 but does not state what becomes of the Rs 40,000. On the Regular track the same silence covers a much smaller sum, Rs 3,400.
That silence is the practical point. Do not assume the deposit returns simply because the early rows do not claim it, and do not assume it is forfeited either — the document does not say, and this page will not guess. Ask the campus to confirm in writing, before you pay, what happens to the deposit specifically if you cancel before classes begin. Get the answer against the deposit, not against "the fee", because the two are accounted separately.
Sections 8.3 and 8.4 of the booklet, page 18. Deposit amounts from section 9, page 20. The cancellation ladder is section 8, page 18, and is set out in full on the cancellation answer. The overlap described above is read from those two sections together; where the booklet is silent this page says so rather than inferring. Private colleges set their own deposit and refund terms.
Sources
- IOE B.E./B.Arch Booklet 2083 · published 7 August 2026 · read 18 August 2026
Last reviewed by Ram Raj Thapa, Admissions Officer, Imperial College of Engineering. Every figure on this page is cited to the document it came from.