SBI PO Exam Pattern 2026
Candidates must be aware of the exam pattern and marks distribution for Preliminary and Mains exam before appearing for the SBI PO Examination process.
The examination process of SBI PO consists of 3 stages:
a. Phase-I: Prelims Examination,
b. Phase-II:Mains Examination
c. Phase-III: Comprise of (a) PSYCHOMETRIC TEST (b) GROUP EXERCISE (c) PERSONAL INTERVIEW
The structure of exams is as follows:
SBI PO Prelims 2026 Examination:Phase-I
This Prelims exam will be conducted in online mode wherein the candidates are required to attempt 100 questions having 1 mark each, in a
composite duration of 60 minutes. It is to be noted that the sectional cut-offs in the Prelims Exam has been removed now and the overall score of
all 3 sections shall be considered for selection to the next round of recruitment process.
S.No. | Name of the Section | Total Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
|---|
1 | English Language | 40 | | 20 Minutes |
2 | Quantitative Aptitude | 30 | | 20 Minutes |
3 | Reasoning Ability | 30 | | 20 Minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 Minutes |
Selection criteria for Main Examination: Category wise merit list will be drawn on the basis of the aggregate marks scored in the Preliminary
Examination. There will be no sectional cut-off in preliminary examination. Candidates numbering 10 times (approx.) of the numbers of vacancies
in each category will be short listed for Main Examination from the top of above merit list.
Phase-II: Main Examination: The Main Examination will be conducted online and will consist of Objective Tests for 200 marks and Descriptive
Test for 50 marks. The Descriptive Test will be administered immediately after conclusion of the Objective Test and candidates will have to type
their Descriptive Test answers on the computer.
SBI PO Mains Pattern 2026 Phase-II
The Mains examination will also be conducted in online mode & will have one objective and a descriptive test.
Objective Test Pattern:
The objective test section in Mains Examination will consist of 170 Objective questions having a total of 200 marks and a separate Descriptive
online Test having 2 questions for 50 marks.
S. No. | Name of Test (Objective) | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
|---|
1 | Reasoning & Computer Aptitude | 40 | 60 | 50 minutes |
2 | Data Analysis & Interpretation | 30 | 60 | 45 minutes |
3 | General/Economy/Banking Awareness | 60 | 60 | 45 minutes |
4 | English Language | 40 | 20 | 40 minutes |
| Total | 170 | 200 | 3 Hours |
Descriptive Test Pattern:
Communication Skills: Emails, Reports, Situation Analysis & Precis Writing shall be asked in this test and the test will be of 50 marks which needs
to be completed in a duration of 30 minutes.
S.No. | Name of the Test | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
|---|
1 | Communication Skills (Emails, Reports, Situation Analysis & Precis Writing) | 3** | 50 | 30 Minutes |
**Emails (Compulsory, one out of two options), Reports(Compulsory, one out of two options) and Either of Situation Analysis or Precis Writing (one of the two).
SELECTION CRITERIA FOR PHASE-III:
SECTIONAL CUT OFF / MINIMUM QUALIFYING MARKS IN MAIN EXAMINATION:
❖ Each candidate will have to score a minimum score in each test (i.e. Test I, II, III, IV & Descriptive paper individually) in Main Examination.
❖ Depending on the number of vacancies available, cut offs will be decided and candidates will be shortlisted for Phase III.
MINIMUM AGGREGATE QUALIFYING SCORE:
Category wise merit list will be drawn on the basis of the aggregate marks scored in Phase-II (Main Exam).
Candidates numbering up to 3 times (approx.) of the category wise vacancies will be shortlisted for Phase-III from the top of the category wise
merit list subject to a candidate scoring the minimum aggregate qualifying score, as decided by the Bank.
PENALTY FOR WRONG ANSWERS (APPLICABLE TO BOTH - PRELIMINARY & MAIN EXAMINATION):
There will be penalty for wrong answers marked in Objective Tests. For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate,
1/4th of marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty to arrive at corrected score. If a question is left blank, i.e. if no answer is
marked by candidate, there will be no penalty for that question.
Phase-III: Comprise of (a) PSYCHOMETRIC TEST (b) GROUP EXERCISE (c) PERSONAL INTERVIEW
(a) PSYCHOMETRIC TEST:
The Bank will conduct Psychometric test for personality profiling, of those candidates who will be shortlisted for
Phase-III. Findings of the test may be placed before the Interview panel for having a thorough perspective on the candidates.
Test Component | Duration | Maximum Marks |
|---|
(b) Group Exercise | -- | 20 |
(c) Interview | -- | 30 |
Total | -- | 50 |
The minimum qualifying marks will be as decided by the Bank.
FINAL SELECTION: The candidates will have to qualify both in Phase-II and Phase-III separately. The marks obtained in Main Examination (Phase II), both in the Objective Test and the Descriptive Test, will be added to the marks obtained in Phase-III for preparing the final merit list.
The marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination (Phase-I) will not be added for preparing the final merit list for selection.
The marks obtained by the candidates in Phase-II (Main Examination both Objective & Descriptive Tests) and Phase-III (Group Exercise & Interview) will be normalized to 100 marks as detailed below
Test | Maximum Marks | Normalized Marks |
|---|
Main Examination (Objective + Descriptive) | 250 | 75 |
Group Exercise & Interview | 50 | 25 |
Total | 300 | 100 |
The final merit list is arrived at after aggregating (out of 100) converted marks of Phase-II and Phase-III. Selection will be made from the top merit ranked candidates in each category.
Result Publication: Results of the Preliminary Examination, Main Examination and the Final Result will be made available on the Bank's website.