SBI PO 2026 — Mains Call Letter, Prelims Result & Complete Official Guide

Latest official status — October 1, 2026: SBI PO recruitment under Advertisement No. CRPD/PO/2026-27/09 is at the Main Examination stage. SBI's official Careers page shows the Preliminary Examination result, marks secured by candidates and Main Examination call letter as available.

The 2026 recruitment is for 1,500 Probationary Officer vacancies. Applications ran from June 18 to July 8, 2026, and SBI's official result utility confirms that the Preliminary Examination was held on August 1 and 2, 2026.

For Search Console queries such as “SBI PO ka mains exam kab hoga,” “SBI PO pre score card 2026,” “Sarkari Result SBI PO 2026,” and “SBI PO Mains call letter”, the most useful current answer is: Prelims is complete, result/marks are out, and the Main Exam call letter is live.

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1. SBI PO 2026 Current Status at a Glance

Item	Verified 2026 Detail
Recruiting Bank	State Bank of India
Post	Probationary Officer
Advertisement	CRPD/PO/2026-27/09
Vacancies	1,500
Application Window	June 18 – July 8, 2026 — Closed
Prelims	August 1 & 2, 2026 — Completed
Prelims Result	Published
Prelims Marks / Score Card	Available
Main Exam Call Letter	Available
Phase-II Schedule in Advertisement	September 2026
Phase-III Tentative Window	October / November 2026
Final Result Tentative Window	November / December 2026
Official Careers Page	sbi.bank.in/web/careers/current-openings

For the exact Main Examination date, reporting time and centre, candidates should use the official Main Exam call letter rather than an unofficial fixed date.

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2. SBI PO 2026 Vacancy Details

The official 2026 advertisement gives the following vacancy breakup:

Category	Regular	Backlog	Total
SC	216	18	234
ST	108	36	144
OBC	390	—	390
EWS	144	—	144
UR	588	—	588
Total	1,446	54	1,500

PwBD vacancies are horizontal and are separately shown in the official notification.

SBI states that the notified vacancies are provisional and may vary according to the Bank's actual requirement.

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3. Important Dates — Official 2026 Cycle

Event	Date / Status
Advertisement / registration start	June 18, 2026
Last date to apply / pay fee	July 8, 2026
Pre-Examination Training	July 2026
Preliminary Examination	August 1 & 2, 2026 — completed
Preliminary Result	Published
Preliminary Marks	Available
Main Exam Call Letter	Available
Phase-II Main Examination	September 2026 per official schedule; use call letter for exact date
Main Result	September / October 2026 — tentative in advertisement
Psychometric Test	October / November 2026 — tentative
Group Exercise & Interview	October / November 2026 — tentative
Final Result	November / December 2026 — tentative

The later stages are tentative schedule windows from the official advertisement and can be changed by SBI.

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4. Eligibility Criteria

Age Limit — as on April 1, 2026

Candidates had to be:

21 to 30 years old as on April 1, 2026

The official notification states that candidates must have been born:

• not later than April 1, 2005; and
• not earlier than April 2, 1996.

Age Relaxation

Category	Relaxation
OBC (Non-Creamy Layer)	3 years
SC / ST	5 years
PwBD — UR/EWS	10 years
PwBD — OBC	13 years
PwBD — SC/ST	15 years
Eligible Ex-Servicemen / commissioned officers	5 years, subject to notification conditions

Educational Qualification

As on September 30, 2026:

• Graduation in any discipline from a recognized University, or equivalent qualification recognized by the Central Government.
• Final-year/final-semester candidates could apply provisionally if they could prove passing on or before September 30, 2026.
• Integrated Dual Degree candidates had to satisfy the same cut-off.
• Medical, Engineering, CA, Cost Accountant and other recognized equivalent qualifications are also covered by the official eligibility provision.

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5. Number of Chances — Correct 2026 Rule

The old page showed 4 chances for General/EWS and 7 for OBC. That is not the 2026 SBI PO rule.

Category	Maximum Permissible Chances
UR / EWS	6
UR-PwBD / EWS-PwBD	9
OBC / OBC-PwBD	9
SC / SC-PwBD	No restriction
ST / ST-PwBD	No restriction

What Counts as a Chance?

• Appearing in the Main Examination counts as a chance.
• Appearing only in the Preliminary Examination does not count as a chance.
• Historical years with a single written exam follow the special rule described in the notification.

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6. SBI PO 2026 Preliminary Examination Pattern

The official 2026 Preliminary Examination had 100 questions and a total duration of 1 hour.

Test	Questions	Time
English Language	40	20 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	30	20 minutes
Reasoning Ability	30	20 minutes
Total	100	60 minutes

Prelims Shortlisting Rule

• There is no sectional cut-off in Preliminary Examination.
• Category-wise merit is based on aggregate marks.
• Approximately 10 times the category-wise vacancies are shortlisted for the Main Examination from the top of the merit list.

Negative Marking

For every wrong answer in the objective tests, 1/4 of the marks assigned to that question is deducted.

No penalty is applied to an unanswered question.

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7. SBI PO 2026 Main Examination Pattern

The 2026 Main Examination consists of:

1. Objective Test — 200 marks
2. Descriptive Communication Skills Test — 30 marks

The descriptive test is conducted immediately after the objective test and candidates type their answers on the computer.

Objective Test

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude	40	60	50 min
Data Analysis & Interpretation	30	60	45 min
General Awareness / Economy / Banking Knowledge	60	60	45 min
English Language	40	20	40 min
Total	170	200	3 hours

Descriptive Communication Skills Test

Task	Rule
Email	1 out of 2 options
Situation Analysis	1 out of 2 options
Report Writing or Precis Writing	one of the provided alternatives
Questions / tasks	3
Marks	30
Time	30 minutes

Grand Total: 230 marks in 3 hours 30 minutes.

This corrects the older Letter + Essay 50-mark template that was on the page.

Main Exam Cut-Off Rule

Candidates must:

• obtain the sectional minimum in every Main test/section, including the descriptive component; and
• meet the category-wise aggregate qualifying score decided by SBI.

Up to approximately 3 times the category-wise vacancies may be shortlisted for Phase-III from the Main merit list.

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8. Phase-III — Psychometric Test, Group Exercise & Interview

Phase-III includes:

Psychometric Test

• Used for personality profiling.
• Findings may be placed before the interview panel.
• All psychometric questions are mandatory.

Group Exercise & Interview

Component	Marks
Group Exercise	20
Interview	30
Total	50

SBI decides the minimum qualifying marks for the Group Exercise and Interview.

Final Merit

Prelims marks are not added to final merit.

Stage	Maximum Raw Marks	Normalized Marks
Main Examination — Objective + Descriptive	230	75
Group Exercise + Interview	50	25
Final Merit	280	100

Candidates must qualify Phase-II and Phase-III separately.

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9. Application Fee — Official 2026 Rule

Category	Fee
UR / EWS / OBC	₹750
SC / ST / PwBD	Nil

The fee is non-refundable once paid.

The 2026 application window is closed, so candidates should not use unofficial “apply now” links for this cycle.

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10. SBI PO Salary, CTC & Benefits — Current Official Reference

The official 2026 advertisement states:

Starting Basic Pay

₹48,480 + 4 advance increments

JMGS-I Scale

₹48,480–2,000/7–62,480–2,340/2–67,160–2,680/7–85,920

Approximate Initial CTC

₹21.97 lakh at Mumbai Centre

This is the official 2026 reference and replaces the old ₹41,960 basic / ₹12–15 lakh CTC claim.

Other Benefits

The notification lists eligibility for benefits such as:

• DA;
• HRA;
• CCA;
• PF;
• NPS;
• LFC;
• medical facility;
• lease-rental facility;
• other allowances/perquisites as per prevailing rules.

Actual monthly take-home varies by city, allowance rates and deductions.

Service Bond

Selected candidates must execute a ₹2 lakh bond to serve SBI for a minimum of 3 years, under the conditions stated in the advertisement.

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11. How to Check SBI PO Result, Marks & Main Call Letter

1. Open the official SBI Careers → Current Openings page.
2. Find Recruitment of Probationary Officers — CRPD/PO/2026-27/09.
3. Use:
   • Preliminary Examination Result;
   • Marks Secured by Candidates;
   • Download Main Exam Call Letter;
   • Information Handout;
   • Scribe Guidelines, if applicable.
4. Verify the advertisement number before entering credentials.
5. Use the Main call letter for exact date, reporting time, venue and exam-day instructions.

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12. SBI PO 2026 Syllabus & Preparation Focus

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude

• high-level puzzles and seating arrangements;
• logical reasoning;
• data sufficiency;
• input-output;
• critical reasoning;
• computer fundamentals and workplace/digital-banking concepts where relevant.

Data Analysis & Interpretation

• tables;
• bar/line/pie charts;
• caselet DI;
• missing-data DI;
• probability/data sufficiency;
• arithmetic-driven interpretation.

General Awareness / Economy / Banking

• RBI and monetary policy;
• banking terminology;
• financial awareness;
• economy;
• current banking developments;
• major government financial schemes;
• recent current affairs relevant to banking/economics.

English Language

• comprehension;
• grammar/error detection;
• vocabulary;
• sentence arrangement;
• context-based usage.

Communication Skills

The 2026 descriptive test is not Letter + Essay. Practice:

• professional emails;
• situation analysis;
• report writing;
• précis writing.

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13. Preparation Strategy for the Current Mains Stage

Because Prelims is already complete, current candidates should prioritize Phase-II.

Daily Mains Plan

Area	Suggested Focus
Reasoning & Computer	1–2 timed high-level sets + mixed practice
Data Analysis	2–3 timed DI sets
Banking / Economy / GA	Current revision + static banking concepts
English	Timed RC + error/vocabulary practice
Communication Skills	One email / situation / report-or-précis task daily
Full Mock	Regular 3-hour objective + 30-minute descriptive simulation

Use the Official Information Handout

SBI has made the Main Examination Information Handout available on the current Careers page. Candidates should treat the current official handout and call letter as the final exam-day guide.

Books, coaching notes and mock platforms are editorial resources; they do not override SBI's official pattern.

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14. Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using the old Mains pattern: 2026 has 170 objective questions and a 30-mark communication-skills descriptive test.
2. Using old attempt limits: the correct 2026 limits are 6/9/no restriction by category.
3. Treating Prelims as a chance: only Main appearance counts as a chance under the current notification.
4. Using the old salary scale: starting basic is ₹48,480 + 4 advance increments.
5. Searching unofficial Mains dates: use the Main call letter for the exact date and venue.
6. Ignoring sectional Main qualifying scores: SBI requires sectional and aggregate qualification in Main.
7. Using an old apply link: the application window closed July 8, 2026.

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15. Official Verification Map

Need	Official Source
Current recruitment status	SBI Careers — Current Openings
Detailed notification	CRPD/PO/2026-27/09
Prelims result	SBI Careers
Prelims marks / score card	SBI official result utility
Main call letter	SBI Careers — current recruitment entry
Main information handout	SBI Careers
Final results	SBI Careers / Recruitment Results

Current Verified Identity

• Advertisement: CRPD/PO/2026-27/09
• Advertisement date: June 18, 2026
• Vacancies: 1,500
• Prelims: August 1–2, 2026
• Current stage: Main Examination call letter available

Last Updated: October 1, 2026 | Verified against the official SBI Careers page and detailed advertisement CRPD/PO/2026-27/09.