SBI PO 2026: exam date, pattern, syllabus and how to apply
SBI PO is State Bank of India's own recruitment of Probationary Officers, run by its Central Recruitment & Promotion Department in Mumbai. The 2026 recruitment (advertisement CRPD/PO/2026-27/09, 18 June 2026) is near its end: the Main exam result is out, and SBI has fixed the psychometric test for 31 October 2026, with group exercises and interviews from 18 November 2026. The next SBI PO recruitment has not been announced. This guide covers those dates, the SBI PO exam pattern and syllabus, how to apply next time, and how to use the months before the next notice.
SBI PO at a glance
| Conducting body | State Bank of India (CRPD, Corporate Centre, Mumbai) |
| What it is for | Probationary Officer in Junior Management Grade Scale-I at SBI |
| Stages | Phase I Prelims, Phase II Mains (objective and descriptive), Phase III psychometric test, group exercise and interview |
| Mode | Online, at an examination centre |
| Prelims | 100 questions, 100 marks, 1 hour, three sections with 20-minute timers |
| Mains | 170 objective questions (200 marks) in 3 hours, then a 30-minute descriptive paper (30 marks) |
| Marking | One fourth of a question's marks deducted for a wrong answer; blanks score 0 |
| Languages | English and Hindi, except English Language (English only) |
| Eligibility (2026) | Indian citizen; a degree in any discipline passed by 30 September 2026; age 21 to 30 on 1 April 2026, with relaxations |
| Official website | SBI careers |
SBI PO 2026 exam date
The advertisement's tentative schedule put Prelims in August 2026 and Mains in September 2026. On SBI's current openings page, checked 20 October 2026, the recruitment is marked "Main examination result announced", with the Prelims result, Prelims marks and the Main result posted. SBI's notice on Phase III dates gives:
| Stage | Date (tentative) |
|---|---|
| Psychometric test | 31 October 2026 |
| Group exercise and interviews | From 18 November 2026 onwards |
| Final result (advertisement's schedule) | November / December 2026 |
SBI says call letters with the exact date and time "will be released shortly". If you did not get through this year, the next SBI PO advertisement will appear on the same careers page; as of 20 October 2026 it has not been announced. Our SBI PO exam dates page follows that page.
How to apply for SBI PO
Applications for 2026 closed on 8 July 2026. The 2026 advertisement set out these steps, which are a fair guide for the next one:
- Open SBI careers, current openings and read the full advertisement.
- Scan your photograph, signature, left-hand thumb impression and handwritten declaration as the advertisement's annexure describes. The declaration text is printed in the advertisement and must be in your own handwriting.
- Open the online application form and fill it in. Saving gives you a provisional registration number and password, so you can return to it.
- Check the form carefully before final submission: no edits are allowed after it.
- Pay online by debit card, credit card, internet banking or UPI. In 2026 the fee was ₹750 for Unreserved, EWS and OBC candidates and nil for SC, ST and PwBD candidates.
- Keep the printout; do not post it to the Bank.
Keep a working email address and mobile number active until the final result, since call letters and messages come that way.
SBI PO exam pattern
Phase I: Prelims
| Section | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 40 | 20 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 (100 marks) | 1 hour |
Each question has five options. There is no sectional cut-off in Prelims: about ten times the vacancies in each category are shortlisted on the aggregate. Prelims marks do not count in the final list.
Phase II: Mains
| Test | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning and Computer Aptitude | 40 | 60 | 50 minutes |
| Data Analysis and Interpretation | 30 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| General Awareness / Economy / Banking Knowledge | 60 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| English Language | 40 | 20 | 40 minutes |
| Descriptive: email, situation analysis, report or précis (typed) | 3 | 30 | 30 minutes |
Each Mains section and the descriptive paper has a qualifying score set by the Bank. Phase III is a psychometric test, a group exercise (20 marks) and an interview (30 marks). Mains (230) and Phase III (50) are converted to 75 and 25 for the final merit.
SBI PO syllabus
SBI's acquaint-yourself booklet gives illustrative question types rather than a fixed syllabus:
- English Language: grammar and error spotting, sentence completion, synonyms and antonyms, cloze, passage comprehension.
- Quantitative Aptitude: computation, quantitative reasoning, interpretation of tables and graphs.
- Reasoning Ability: puzzles and seating, syllogisms, inequalities, coding, blood relations, series, direction.
- Mains adds: computer aptitude, caselet and data sufficiency questions, economy and banking knowledge, and written communication.
More detail is on our SBI PO syllabus page.
A plan for the months that are left
If you have a Phase III call, prepare for the interview and group exercise: your degree subject, your home state, SBI's role and recent banking news, and short spoken answers practised aloud with a friend.
If you are aiming at the next SBI PO, the notice date is not known, so build the base now:
| Period | Focus | Mock tests |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | Arithmetic, puzzles and reading speed from basics | One full SBI PO mock test in week 1 to set a baseline |
| Month 2 | Timed 20-minute section sets daily; start banking awareness | One full mock a week, reviewed the next day |
| Month 3 onwards | Mains-level data interpretation and puzzles, typed email and précis practice | Two full Prelims mocks a week |
With 40 English questions in 20 minutes, English is the largest section in SBI Prelims, unlike IBPS PO; our SBI PO vs IBPS PO article compares the two in detail. Since there is no sectional cut-off in Prelims, the aggregate is what counts, so put time where marks come most easily.
Useful links
- SBI careers, current openings: application link and all notices
- SBI PO advertisement CRPD/PO/2026-27/09 (PDF)
- Notice: tentative dates for psychometric test, group exercise and interviews (PDF)
- Free SBI PO mock tests
- SBI PO syllabus
- SBI PO exam dates
- SBI PO vs IBPS PO
- IBPS PO 2026: exam date and how to apply
Frequently asked questions
When is the SBI PO 2026 interview?
SBI's notice gives the psychometric test on 31 October 2026 and group exercises and interviews from 18 November 2026 onwards. Call letters with exact times come on the SBI careers page.
Is there negative marking in SBI PO?
Yes. For a wrong answer in Prelims or the Mains objective tests, one fourth of the marks of that question is deducted. A blank costs nothing, and no penalty is stated for the descriptive paper.
Is there a sectional cut-off in SBI PO Prelims?
No. The 2026 advertisement says there is no sectional cut-off in Prelims. Mains has a qualifying score in every section and in the descriptive paper.
What is the SBI PO age limit?
For 2026, not below 21 and not above 30 years on 1 April 2026, with the relaxations in the advertisement. The next advertisement will set its own date.
When will the next SBI PO notification come?
It had not been announced on 20 October 2026. Watch SBI's current openings page; the 2026 advertisement appeared there on 18 June 2026.
Are your SBI PO mock tests official?
No. They are practice papers written for this site on the 2026 Prelims pattern, with three 20-minute sections, five options and the quarter-mark penalty.