SBI PO Mains 2026: Exam Day Live, 15802 Shortlisted

Published September 12, 2026 — Mumbai, India. The State Bank of India (SBI) is conducting the SBI PO Mains 2026 exam today, Saturday, September 12, 2026, in a single morning window from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM IST. A total of 15,802 candidates have been shortlisted for the Mains from the Prelims held on August 1–2, 2026, competing for 1,500 Probationary Officer (PO) vacancies under Advertisement No. CRPD/PO/2026-27/09. The Mains result is expected in October 2026.

Data last verified September 12, 2026 from the State Bank of India (SBI) official notification CRPD/PO/2026-27/09, the SBI PO Mains call letter, and Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) reference data.

Quick Answer

The SBI PO Mains 2026 exam is being held today, Saturday, September 12, 2026, in a single morning window from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM IST. 15,802 candidates have been shortlisted from the Prelims for 1,500 PO vacancies (CRPD/PO/2026-27/09). The exam pattern is 170 objective questions for 200 marks in 3 hours, plus a 30-mark descriptive test in 30 minutes (total 230 marks, 3 hours 30 minutes). Negative marking: 0.25 marks per wrong answer. Mains result is expected in October 2026; the final selection round (Psychometric Test + Group Exercise + Personal Interview) is in October–November (State Bank of India, 2026).

SBI PO 2026-27 recruitment timeline

Source: State Bank of India, CRPD/PO/2026-27/09 notification (2026).

SBI PO Mains 2026 exam pattern (objective + descriptive)

The Mains has two components on the same day. Sectional timing is enforced — once the timer for a section ends, you cannot return to it.

Source: State Bank of India, CRPD/PO/2026-27/09 notification (2026).

Negative marking: 0.25 marks deducted for each wrong answer in the objective test. No negative marking in the descriptive test. Sectional cut-off applies — candidates must clear the cut-off in each section to be considered for the overall merit (State Bank of India, 2026).

What to expect on exam day

• Reporting time: 7:30 AM at the assigned centre. Gates close at 8:25 AM; latecomers are not admitted.
• Handwriting sample: candidates provide a handwriting sample from 8:25 AM to 8:30 AM before the objective test begins.
• Test sequence: Reasoning & Computer Aptitude first (50 min), then Data Analysis & Interpretation (45 min), then General/Economy/Banking Awareness (45 min), then English Language (40 min), then the 30-minute descriptive test.
• Permitted items: Mains call letter, one photo ID (Aadhaar, PAN, passport, driving licence, or voter ID), two passport photographs, the authenticated Prelims call letter, and a blue or black ballpoint pen.
• Prohibited items: mobile phones, smart watches, calculators, study material, any electronic device, food (water is usually allowed in transparent bottles). SBI is strict; violations lead to disqualification.

Documents required at the exam centre

1. SBI PO Mains call letter — printed copy downloaded from the SBI Careers portal. The call letter includes the exam centre address, reporting time, and roll number.
2. Photo ID proof (original + photocopy) — Aadhaar, PAN, passport, driving licence, or voter ID. The name on the ID must match the call letter.
3. Two recent passport-size photographs — same as uploaded during registration.
4. Authenticated SBI PO Prelims call letter — the prelims call letter, with the invigilator's signature and stamp from the August 1–2 exam, must be carried as proof of qualifying for the Mains.

Expected good attempts and difficulty (based on 2024–25 trends)

Historical good-attempt ranges for SBI PO Mains:

Source: State Bank of India, CRPD/PO/2025-26 and 2024-25 exam analysis (2024, 2025); coaching-centre analysis published post-exam (Mahendra's, Testbook, Oliveboard, 2024–2025).

For the Mains 2026 specifically, expect Data Analysis to be the section that decides final selection — the 60-mark weight with 45 minutes and the typical moderate-difficult difficulty creates the highest variance between candidates. General/Economy/Banking Awareness is the easiest scoring section with 60 questions for 60 marks; well-prepared candidates with 6 months of current-affairs revision can attempt 45+ here (State Bank of India, 2025, 2026).

What happens after the Mains result

The SBI PO Mains result in October 2026 will shortlist approximately 3–5 times the vacancies (around 4,500–7,500 candidates) for the Phase III selection round. Phase III has three components:

1. Psychometric Test — a 20–30 minute questionnaire on personality traits. Not eliminatory; used for interview context only.
2. Group Exercise (GE) — a 30-minute group discussion on a banking/economic topic. Tests communication and team work.
3. Personal Interview (PI) — 15–20 minutes with a panel of 4–5 SBI officers. Weight: 50 marks.

The final merit list is prepared by combining the Mains score (out of 250 — 200 objective + 30 descriptive + 20 interview) with normalization for the interview. The final cutoff in recent cycles has been around 80–95 marks for the general category (State Bank of India, 2025).

Pay and career path after selection

SBI POs are appointed in Junior Management Grade Scale I (JMGS-I) with a starting basic pay of ₹41,960 per month. With DA, HRA, and other allowances, the in-hand salary is approximately ₹58,000–65,000 per month at the start, rising to ₹1.2–1.5 lakh per month after 5–7 years. POs are eligible for promotions to Assistant Manager, Deputy Manager, Manager, Chief Manager, Assistant General Manager, Deputy General Manager, General Manager, and Chief General Manager over a 25–30 year career (State Bank of India, 2026).

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