SBI PO 2026 Notification, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Salary and Free Mock Tests

The stages, and what each is really assessing

• Preliminary examination — speed and selection under twenty-minute sectional limits. Qualifying only.
• Main examination — depth and adaptability across data analysis, reasoning with computer aptitude, English, and general economy and banking awareness.
• Descriptive paper — a letter and an essay, carrying meaningful weight and written under time pressure.
• Psychometric test, group exercise and interview — the psychometric assessment informs the interview panel; the group exercise assesses how you contribute to a discussion rather than how much you say.

Qualification

• Degree — A graduation in any discipline from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Central Government, passed on or before 30 September 2026. Candidates in the final year or semester may apply provisionally and must produce proof of passing by 30 September 2026 if called for the interview; integrated dual degree holders must show the IDD passing date on or before the same date.
• Professional qualifications — The advertisement states that candidates with qualifications such as medicine, engineering, chartered accountancy and cost accountancy are also eligible.

Other conditions

• Nationality — Indian citizens, and subjects of Nepal and Bhutan and the migrated persons of Indian origin listed in the advertisement with a certificate of eligibility.
• Number of chances — Unreserved and EWS candidates may take four chances; OBC candidates and PwBD candidates of the UR, EWS and OBC categories seven; SC and ST candidates have no limit. Appearing in the main examination counts as a chance — the preliminary examination does not — counted from the examination of 18 April 2010.
• Fee — ₹750 for General, OBC and EWS candidates; nil for SC, ST and PwBD; online only, non-refundable.
• Posting — Anywhere in India; probationary officers are posted to branches and moved across the circle during probation.

The SBI PO process, from registration to appointment

1. Register on the SBI careers site during the window The link on sbi.co.in/web/careers/current-openings leads to the IBPS-hosted registration portal. Register with an e-mail address and mobile number that remain valid until joining, fill the form, and upload a photograph, signature, left-thumb impression and handwritten declaration to the advertisement’s size and format rules. A live photograph is captured through the webcam or phone at the time of application.
2. Choose the centre and, for clerical posts, one state Junior Associate candidates apply against the vacancies of one state or union territory, sit the examination in that state and later prove proficiency in its specified local language. PO candidates choose preliminary and main examination centres from the list in the advertisement; no change is allowed afterwards.
3. Pay the fee ₹750 for General, OBC and EWS candidates, paid online between 18 June and 8 July 2026; nil for SC, ST and PwBD. The fee is not refunded or held over for another recruitment.
4. Call letters through the same portal Call letters for each phase are released on the careers page and the portal about ten days before the date, with an information handout that gives the exact section timings and sample questions. Carry the call letter with a photo identity document and the photograph pasted on it.
5. Phase I: preliminary examination An hour-long online paper of three separately timed sections. There is no sectional cut-off; a category-wise merit list on aggregate marks shortlists about ten times the vacancies for Phase II. Preliminary marks are then discarded.
6. Phase II: main examination A longer online paper of separately timed sections, with a descriptive test typed on the computer immediately afterwards for the PO process. Phase II marks are what the final merit rests on.
7. Phase II shortlist and the descriptive test Each candidate must reach a minimum score in each of the four objective tests and in the descriptive test, and a minimum aggregate; candidates numbering about three times the category-wise vacancies are shortlisted for Phase III from the top of the Phase II merit list. Mains scores are published with the Phase II result.
8. Phase III: psychometric test, group exercise and interview Shortlisted candidates take an online psychometric test for personality profiling, then attend a group exercise and interview at a circle centre with the call letter, biodata form and original documents. Phase III carries 50 marks in total.
9. Final merit, result and joining Phase II marks out of 250 are normalised to 75 and Phase III marks out of 50 to 25; the final merit list is the total out of 100 by category, and the result is published on the careers page with roll numbers. Selected candidates go through a medical examination and document verification, execute the ₹2 lakh three-year bond and join as probationary officers on probation under the bank’s recruitment policy, with training at SBI’s institutes.

A six-month plan

1. Months 1–2: foundations Arithmetic to speed, the reasoning families (puzzles, seating, input–output, syllogism, inequality, coding, data sufficiency), English grammar, vocabulary and daily reading, and a daily banking, economy and current affairs routine.
2. Months 3–4: mains depth High-level DI (caselets, missing data, mixed charts) and data sufficiency with calculator practice; high-level puzzles and computer aptitude; cloze, error, para-jumble and reading comprehension at SBI length; ten timed essays and letters for the descriptive test.
3. Month 5: full mocks A prelims mock every second day on the three 20-minute timers, a mains mock every week with the descriptive test typed straight after, and an error log by topic.
4. Month 6: revision and Phase III preparation Revise from notes and the error log; keep banking awareness current to the mains date; then group-discussion practice on economic themes and an interview file built around your graduation subject, banking basics and current events.

Where the marks are in the 2026 scheme

• Reasoning and Data Analysis: 120 of 200 objective marks — Two marks a question with 0.5 off per error. Accuracy on the sets you attempt decides the rank.
• General Awareness, Economy and Banking: 60 marks in 45 minutes — Sixty recall questions; six months of daily reading is the preparation.
• English: 40 prelims marks, 20 mains marks and the whole descriptive test — Daily reading and weekly writing practice pay across three phases.
• Phase III: 25 of the final 100 — The group exercise and interview separate candidates who tied in the mains; prepare them as seriously as a paper.

Official documents

SBI careers — current openings (advertisement, corrigendum, call letters and results) Corrigendum removing the CIBIL clause (2 July 2026) Preliminary examination information handout (22 July 2026) Main examination information handout (2 September 2026) SBI PO 2025 advertisement (CRPD/PO/2025-26/04), for the Phase III and pay details SBI PO 2025 final result (19 December 2025)