SBI recruitment is the hiring programme of State Bank of India, run by its Central Recruitment & Promotion Department (CRPD) in Mumbai. It covers entry-level Probationary Officers (PO) and Junior Associates (the clerical cadre), plus Circle Based Officers (CBO), Specialist Cadre Officers (SCO) and other lateral roles. SBI runs its own exams, separate from the IBPS common exams that fill most other public sector bank vacancies.
Written by Sandeep Khati, founder of India Job Alerts · Last reviewed: 11 October 2026 · Facts checked against SBI’s official careers pages
This page is a standing hub, not a single job post. It explains every route into SBI, who can apply, how selection works and how to apply, and it links to each current SBI notification on India Job Alerts. For other bank, SSC, UPSC and state exams, see our government exam guides hub.
In this guide:
- SBI recruitment at a glance
- Posts under SBI recruitment
- SBI Probationary Officer (PO)
- SBI Junior Associate (Clerk)
- SBI Circle Based Officer (CBO)
- SBI Specialist Cadre Officer (SCO) and lateral roles
- Eligibility, age limit and relaxations
- How to apply for SBI recruitment
- SBI recruitment in West Bengal, Sikkim and North Bengal
- Avoiding fake SBI job offers
- Current SBI notifications on India Job Alerts
- FAQs
SBI recruitment at a glance
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Recruiter | State Bank of India, through its Central Recruitment & Promotion Department (CRPD), Mumbai |
| Main entry routes | Probationary Officer, Junior Associate, Circle Based Officer, Specialist Cadre Officer and other lateral posts |
| Typical qualification | Graduation in any discipline for PO, Junior Associate and CBO; specialist posts ask for a specific degree or experience |
| Mode of application | Online only, on SBI’s official careers website under Current Openings |
| Selection | Online tests, then a local language test, interview or group exercise depending on the post |
| Fee | Non-refundable. SC, ST and PwBD candidates usually pay no fee or only intimation charges; amounts change with each notification |
| Official source | SBI Careers: Current Openings |
Posts under SBI recruitment
SBI does not hold one annual exam. It publishes separate advertisements for each cadre through the year, and every advertisement has its own vacancy count, dates and eligibility. The table below shows how the main routes differ.
| Post | Level | Typical eligibility | Selection route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probationary Officer (PO) | Officer, Junior Management Grade Scale-I | Graduate, usually 21 to 30 years | Preliminary, Main, then group exercise and interview |
| Junior Associate (Clerk) | Clerical cadre | Graduate, usually 20 to 28 years | Preliminary, Main and a local language test |
| Circle Based Officer (CBO) | Officer, circle-wise posting | Graduate with at least 2 years of officer experience in a commercial bank or RRB | Online test, screening and interview |
| Specialist Cadre Officer (SCO) | Officer, regular or contractual | Post-specific degree, certification or experience | Shortlisting and interview |
| Other lateral posts | Various grades | Chartered accountants, economists, engineers, lawyers and similar | As stated in each advertisement |
Always read the advertisement itself. Age limits, fees, exam patterns and stages change from one SBI recruitment cycle to the next, so use the figures here to understand the structure and the notification to confirm the exact numbers.
SBI Probationary Officer (PO)
The Probationary Officer is SBI’s main entry point for young graduates. As described on SBI’s Probationary Officers careers page, any graduate can apply, and final-year students may apply provisionally if they show proof of passing by the date in the advertisement. Selected officers can be posted anywhere in India.
SBI PO selection process
- Phase I, Preliminary: a 1-hour online objective test of 100 marks covering English, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning. You must qualify in each section, and the marks do not count towards final merit.
- Phase II, Main: 200 marks of objective questions in four sections (3 hours) plus a 50-mark descriptive test of letter writing and an essay (30 minutes).
- Phase III: a group discussion (20 marks) and an interview (30 marks).
- Final merit: Main marks are scaled to 75 and the Phase III marks to 25, making a total of 100. Wrong answers in the online tests carry negative marking of one-fourth of the question’s marks.
SBI states a limit on attempts for PO: four for General candidates and seven for General PwBD and OBC candidates, with no limit for SC and ST candidates. Officers serve a two-year probation with intensive training and are confirmed after a screening process. PO advertisements have historically appeared around April and September, but always rely on the official site for the current schedule.
SBI Junior Associate (Clerk)
Junior Associate (Customer Support and Sales), widely called SBI Clerk, is the entry route into the clerical cadre. Per SBI’s Junior Associate careers page, you need a graduation degree in any discipline from a recognised university, and the usual age range is 20 to 28 years on the date set in the advertisement. SBI also notes that Junior Associates become eligible for promotion to the officer cadre after three years of service.
- Preliminary exam: a 1-hour online test of 100 marks in English, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning, with sectional qualifying cut-offs.
- Main exam: a 200-mark online test covering General and Financial Awareness, General English, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning and Computer Aptitude.
- Local language test: candidates who cannot show the local language in their Class 10 or 12 mark sheet take a test before final selection. Candidates who are not proficient are disqualified.
Older notifications also included an interview, so check whether the current advertisement lists one. Circle and bank preferences are fixed when you submit the form, so choose the circle where you can read, write and speak the local language.
SBI Circle Based Officer (CBO)
Circle Based Officers join a specific SBI circle and are meant to work in that circle’s local language. Unlike PO and Junior Associate, CBO needs experience. A recent SBI advertisement asked for graduation plus at least two years of post-qualification experience as an officer in a Scheduled Commercial Bank or Regional Rural Bank, with a job profile close to SBI’s Scale-I Generalist Officer role.
Selection in that advertisement had an online test (an objective paper plus a 50-mark descriptive paper of letter writing and an essay), a screening of experience, an interview, and a local language proficiency test before joining. Final merit combined online test marks scaled to 75 with interview marks scaled to 25.
SBI Specialist Cadre Officer (SCO) and lateral roles
SBI recruits specialists such as IT, risk, legal, finance, wealth management and digital marketing professionals through Specialist Cadre Officer notifications. SBI’s Roles at SBI page also lists lateral hires such as chartered accountants, economists, engineers and lawyers.
SCO advertisements cover both regular posts (standard pay scale and bank benefits) and contractual posts (a cost-to-company package for a fixed term). Meeting the eligibility does not guarantee an interview call, because SBI shortlists a limited number of candidates. The merit list is based on interview marks, and call letters go out by email only. If you submit more than one application, only the last valid one is kept.
Eligibility, age limit and relaxations
Only Indian citizens can apply for the regular SBI cadres. The basics for most SBI recruitment notifications are below.
- Qualification: graduation from a recognised university for PO, Junior Associate and CBO. Distance-mode degrees are accepted for Junior Associate. Specialist posts name their own degrees and certifications.
- Age limit: measured on the date stated in the advertisement, not on the day you apply. Typical ranges are 21 to 30 for PO and CBO and 20 to 28 for Junior Associate.
- Age relaxation: SBI’s published relaxations include 5 years for SC and ST, 3 years for non-creamy-layer OBC, 5 years for eligible ex-servicemen, and 10 to 15 years for PwBD candidates depending on category. Relaxations cannot be combined.
- Language: you must be able to write and speak English, and for circle-based posts the local language of the circle.
How to apply for SBI recruitment
- Open SBI Careers, Current Openings and read the full advertisement for the post you want. Check the eligibility date, age limit and your category.
- Register online and fill in the application form. Choose your circle or preferences carefully, because SBI says they cannot be changed after submission.
- Upload your photograph, signature and any other documents in the format given in the advertisement. Recent notifications asked for a passport photo of roughly 20 to 50 KB and a signature of roughly 10 to 20 KB. Use our photo and signature resizer to meet the size limits, and the PDF compressor for certificates.
- Pay the fee online by debit card, credit card or net banking if it applies to your category. The fee is non-refundable.
- Save your registration number and password, which SBI sends by email and SMS. Download and keep a copy of the submitted form and the fee receipt.
- Watch your email and the official site for call letters, admit cards and results, then download them from the link SBI provides.
Register well before the last date. Servers slow down in the final hours of every SBI recruitment window, and a late or failed payment means a rejected form.
USE THESE TOOLS
SBI recruitment in West Bengal, Sikkim and North Bengal
Candidates from West Bengal, Sikkim and North Bengal usually apply to the Kolkata circle. In a recent Circle Based Officer advertisement, SBI listed West Bengal and Sikkim under the Kolkata circle (which also covers the Andaman and Nicobar Islands), with Bengali, Nepali and Hindi as the local languages. Candidates from other North Eastern states fall under the North Eastern circle, headquartered at Guwahati.
If you studied Bengali or Nepali in school, keep your Class 10 or 12 mark sheet ready, because it can exempt you from the local language test. We cover regional openings in our West Bengal jobs, Sikkim jobs and North Bengal jobs sections, so you can also track state-level SBI vacancies there.
Avoiding fake SBI job offers
Fake recruitment messages circulate on social media and messaging apps every cycle. SBI says recruitment details, notices, interview schedules and final results are published only on its official careers website, and that it publishes roll or registration numbers, not candidate names. Candidates are informed individually by SMS, email or post.
- Never pay an agent, consultant or middleman for a job or a “guaranteed” seat.
- Do not trust forwarded PDFs, shortened links or unofficial websites. Open the official careers page yourself and check the notice there.
- Treat any request for a payment other than the online application fee as a red flag.
- Cross-check any SBI post on India Job Alerts against the official advertisement. Each of our posts links to the source notification.
Current SBI notifications on India Job Alerts
These posts carry the vacancy counts, dates and apply links. Open each one and check the closing date, because older notifications may have closed. You can also browse the full SBI recruitments archive and our bank jobs section.
PO, Clerk and exam updates
- SBI Clerk (Junior Associate) recruitment notification
- SBI PO Prelims result and shortlisted list
- SBI PO Main exam call letter download
Specialist Cadre Officer and officer posts
- SBI Specialist Cadre Officer recruitment
- SBI SCO recruitment for wealth management posts
- SBI SCO recruitment for digital marketing posts
- SBI Trade Finance Officer recruitment
Prepare for SBI exams
Practise with the syllabus and previous question papers sections, then track admit cards and results as each stage opens. For the full list of government exam guides, return to the exams hub.
FAQs
How often does SBI recruitment happen?
SBI publishes separate advertisements through the year rather than one yearly notice. Probationary Officer advertisements have historically appeared around April and September, while Junior Associate, Circle Based Officer and Specialist Cadre Officer notices come out as vacancies arise. Check SBI Careers or this hub for the current position.
Where do I apply for SBI recruitment?
Apply online only through the Current Openings section of SBI’s official careers website. SBI says it publishes recruitment details only on its official careers sites, so avoid applying through links shared by agents or unofficial websites.
What is the difference between SBI PO and SBI Clerk?
SBI PO is an officer-grade entry (Junior Management Grade Scale-I) with a Preliminary, Main, group exercise and interview route. SBI Clerk, officially Junior Associate, is the clerical cadre with a Preliminary, Main and local language test. Junior Associates can become eligible for promotion to the officer cadre after three years of service.
Can final-year graduation students apply for SBI recruitment?
For Probationary Officer, SBI allows final-year students to apply provisionally, provided they submit proof of passing the degree by the date given in the advertisement. Other posts have their own rules, so read the eligibility clause of the notification you are applying for.
Is there an application fee for SBI recruitment?
Most SBI notifications charge a non-refundable fee to General, OBC and EWS candidates, while SC, ST and PwBD candidates pay no fee or only intimation charges. The amount changes between notifications, so confirm it in the current advertisement.
Is SBI recruitment the same as the IBPS exam?
No. SBI runs its own recruitment through its Central Recruitment and Promotion Department. IBPS conducts common exams for most other public sector banks, so you must apply to SBI and IBPS separately.
Do I need to know the local language for SBI jobs?
For circle-based posts such as Junior Associate and Circle Based Officer, yes. You must be able to read, write and understand the local language of the circle, and candidates whose Class 10 or 12 mark sheet shows it are usually exempt from the test.
Written and verified by
Sandeep Khati
Founder and Editor, India Job Alerts
B.Tech in Computer Science from Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College (2010). Former Systems Engineer at TCS and in digital publishing since 2011. He started India Job Alerts in April 2025 to publish verified government and PSU job notifications for West Bengal, Sikkim and the rest of India. Every post is checked against the official notification before it goes live. Also writes about the Darjeeling hills at SearchDarjeeling.