This page lists SBI PO previous year question papers for 10 years, 2015 to 2024, with labelled mock papers for 10 years with no official question paper. SBI PO (State Bank of India Probationary Officer) is conducted by State Bank of India (SBI) and covers English, Quant, Reasoning, GA and Descriptive. Pick a year below for the paper, answer key and a timed practice plan; confirm dates and pattern on sbi.co.in.
Explore: Question papers by year · Syllabus & pattern · Pattern changes · FAQ
Year-wise question papers
SBI does not publish its PO question papers. Each year page has an original mock paper written to match the pattern and difficulty candidates reported for that year, clearly labelled as a mock, with notes on what the paper tested.
SBI PO 2024
The last cycle with the 30/35/35 Prelims split. Your main benchmark for Mains puzzles and DI.
SBI PO 2023
A good paper for practising Mains selection: long caselets and multi-variable puzzles.
SBI PO 2022
Sit it as a second full Prelims and Mains pair after 2024, under current timers.
SBI PO 2021
Use its DI sets for calculation speed and its English for long reading passages.
SBI PO 2020
The COVID-delayed cycle, with exams held in early 2021. Same structure as the years around it.
SBI PO 2019
A pre-pandemic paper in the modern format. A sound first full-length attempt.
SBI PO 2018
Good for practising the descriptive paper: write a letter and essay in 30 minutes.
SBI PO 2017
Mains in the four-section format still used through 2024. Useful for full-length practice.
SBI PO 2016
The first year of the four-section Mains and 30-minute descriptive. Sit Prelims with 20-minute timers.
SBI PO 2015
The first SBI PO with a separate Prelims and Mains. Best kept for chapter-wise revision.
Want to practise one topic at a time? SBI PO topic-wise practice sorts the 280 questions from our labelled mock papers by section and topic.
About SBI PO
SBI PO is State Bank of India’s own recruitment exam for Probationary Officers. SBI does not take part in the IBPS process, so it sets and runs this exam itself, usually once a year. The vacancies are fewer than in IBPS PO, the pay and career path at India’s largest bank draw a very large number of applicants, and the exam has a reputation as the toughest of the regular bank PO papers.
There are three phases. Phase I is a one-hour Prelims. Phase II is Mains: an objective paper of 200 marks plus a descriptive English paper of 50 marks. Phase III has, in recent cycles, included a psychometric test, a group exercise and an interview. The final merit list converts Mains marks (out of 250) to 75 and Phase III marks (out of 50) to 25, so Mains is three-quarters of your result. Prelims only screens.
That weighting tells you where past papers help most. SBI’s Mains is known for long, layered puzzles and data interpretation sets that look solvable but eat ten minutes. The only way to learn which sets to leave is to sit real-level papers and review what happened. The syllabus and section details are on the SBI PO syllabus and pattern page.
About the papers on this site
SBI does not release question papers or a public answer key for PO. Candidates see their own marks after results. The “previous year papers” you find online are memory-based, put together from what candidates remember after each shift. They are close enough to show the type and level of questions, but numbers inside DI sets and the exact options are often off.
Each year page here has an original mock paper modelled on what was reported for that cycle, marked clearly as a mock. The guide on memory-based and official papers explains how to use reconstructed papers carefully.
How the paper has changed
SBI PO’s topics have stayed steady across the decade. The bigger changes have been in how the Mains is divided and, most recently, in the balance of the Prelims.
| Cycle | Prelims | Mains (objective) | Descriptive | Phase III |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 100 questions in 1 hour: English, Quant, Reasoning | A different section layout from later years | Descriptive English paper | Group discussion and interview |
| 2016–2024 | English 30, Quant 35, Reasoning 35, 1 hour | Reasoning and Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis and Interpretation, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, English. 200 marks in 3 hours. Section sizes adjusted in some years | Letter and essay, 50 marks, 30 minutes, typed | Group exercise (20) and interview (30); psychometric test in recent cycles |
| 2025 notification | English 40, Quant 30, Reasoning 30, still 100 questions in 1 hour | Section sizes and marks changed again | Check the notification | Check the notification |
In recent cycles each Prelims section has had its own 20-minute timer. Wrong answers carry a quarter-mark penalty in the objective tests. SBI’s recent notifications have shortlisted from Prelims on overall marks, without the section-wise cut-offs that IBPS uses, but you should check the rule in your own notification.
The 2025 change is worth thinking about if you are solving older papers now. Moving to 40 English questions puts more weight on the section where many quant-strong candidates are weakest. If you practise with 2017 to 2024 papers, do extra English sectionals to make up for it, and sit at least a few mocks in the new split before the exam.
What the papers show, section by section
Reasoning (and Computer Aptitude in Mains)
SBI puzzles are the part of the paper students talk about most. Even in Prelims, expect puzzles with more people, more attributes and fewer direct clues than in IBPS PO. Floor-based puzzles, box stacking, scheduling across months or days, and circular arrangements with mixed directions come up often. Around them sit inequalities, syllogisms, coding, blood relations and direction questions.
In Mains, this section has 60 minutes or close to it, and SBI uses that time to test reasoning in depth. You will meet puzzles where a single clue changes two cases, data sufficiency, input-output, logical reasoning on statements and arguments, and a few computer questions.
When you review an SBI Reasoning section, ask yourself one question for every set you attempted: “Would I attempt this first again?” Most students find that their worst losses came from sets they stuck with too long, not from sets they skipped.
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Analysis
Prelims Quant includes approximation, a number series or quadratic set, two or three DI sets and arithmetic word problems. SBI DI in Prelims can already be at IBPS Mains level, with missing values to find or two charts to combine.
Mains DI is the heaviest section of the exam. Long caselets, radar or mixed charts, data sufficiency with three statements and arithmetic problems written as paragraphs are common. Accuracy suffers when you rush the first read and misplace a percentage base.
Use past Mains papers to build a short list of the DI shapes that cost you most time. For many students it is caselets with missing data. Practise those separately before your next full paper.
English Language
Prelims English has reading passages, cloze tests, error detection, para jumbles and word-usage questions. With the 2025 split it is now 40 of the 100 questions, which makes it the largest section in Prelims.
Mains English is reading-heavy. Passages are long and often drawn from economics, policy or technology writing. Questions test inference and vocabulary in context as well as plain recall. Fillers, connectors and sentence rearrangement fill the rest.
Track RC and grammar mistakes separately. RC improves slowly with daily reading of editorials or long-form business writing. Grammar improves quickly with focused practice on the rules that keep catching you.
General/Economy/Banking Awareness (Mains)
This section covers banking awareness, the economy and current affairs, often from the six months before the exam. SBI tends to ask about its own products and history alongside RBI policy, government schemes and financial institutions. Static facts appear but are a small part.
Past papers here show the kind of question SBI likes: direct facts from banking news, terms like repo and CRR, schemes and their ministries, recent appointments. Use them to decide what to put in your notes during your own cycle.
Descriptive English (Mains)
The descriptive paper has a letter and an essay, typed in 30 minutes, for 50 marks. That is a fifth of the Mains total, so it affects your final rank more than in IBPS PO. Topics are usually on banking, the economy, technology or a current social issue.
Write at least eight to ten timed pieces before Mains. Keep letters in the standard format, and in essays give a clear opening, two or three developed points and a short conclusion. Typing speed is a real factor. If you struggle to type 250 words in 15 minutes, practise typing too.
Phase III
The group exercise and interview carry 50 marks between them, converted to 25 for the final list. Past papers cannot help here. Prepare by reading about SBI’s business, recent banking events and your own background.
Notes on recent years
2024 was the last cycle with the 30/35/35 Prelims split. Its Mains followed the four-section objective format with the 50-mark descriptive paper. Solve it near the end of your preparation as your closest guide to Mains difficulty.
2022 and 2023 are good papers for Mains practice. Both used the four-section Mains, and their Reasoning and DI sections have more sets than most people can finish, which is exactly what you need to practise leaving sets.
2020 and 2021 belong to the COVID period, when the 2020 cycle’s exams moved into early 2021. The format did not change. Use them as additional full-length papers.
2016 to 2019 are in the modern Mains format and are a good place to start full-length practice. Sit their Prelims with 20-minute sectional timers.
2015 was the first two-stage year and used a different Mains layout. Use it for arithmetic, grammar and basic reasoning practice rather than as full papers.
Using old papers at different stages of preparation
When you are building your base
Work topic by topic. After each Quant chapter or Reasoning question type, solve the related questions from several years of SBI and IBPS papers. Begin with IBPS, since it is a step easier, then move to SBI sets of the same type. That gives you a ladder instead of a cliff.
Two to three months before Prelims
Start full Prelims papers, two or three a week, at the current section split. If your notification follows the 2025 pattern, adjust older papers by adding ten English questions from another paper and dropping five each from Quant and Reasoning. Review each paper the same day, noting how long each puzzle or DI set took.
Between Prelims and Mains
SBI’s gap between Prelims and Mains is usually a few weeks. Spend it on Mains papers and on GA revision. Sit a full three-hour objective paper followed by the 30-minute descriptive at least four or five times. Mains fatigue is real: many people do well in the first two sections and fall apart in the third.
Before Phase III
Read SBI’s recent annual report highlights and news about the bank. Prepare clear answers on why you want to be a banker, your graduation subjects and your home state.
Mistakes students make with past papers
The biggest mistake is assuming that because you can solve IBPS PO papers, SBI will be similar. Prelims may feel close, but SBI Mains Reasoning and DI are a different level. Students who only practise IBPS-level sets often run short of time in SBI Mains.
The second is neglecting the descriptive paper. At 50 marks it is too large to wing. A student who scores well in the objective test and writes a weak essay can lose a rank they had earned.
Students also tend to keep practising the old Prelims split after the pattern has changed, and to trust every memory-based paper without checking. If an SBI DI set from a coaching PDF does not add up, the problem may be in the reconstruction, not in your method.
FAQ
Does SBI release PO question papers?
No. SBI does not publish its PO question papers or a public answer key. The papers you find online are memory-based reconstructions. The year pages here have original mock papers in each year’s reported pattern, clearly marked as mocks.
What changed in the SBI PO pattern in 2025?
The 2025 notification moved Prelims to 40 English, 30 Quantitative Aptitude and 30 Reasoning questions, still 100 questions in one hour, and changed section sizes in Mains. Older papers used a 30/35/35 Prelims split, so add English practice when you use them.
How is the SBI PO final merit list prepared?
Mains marks out of 250 (objective plus descriptive) are converted to 75, and Phase III marks out of 50 (group exercise and interview) are converted to 25. Prelims is a screening stage only, so its marks do not count.
Is SBI PO harder than IBPS PO?
Most candidates find SBI PO Mains harder, especially the puzzles and data interpretation, and the descriptive paper carries twice the marks. Prelims is closer in level. Practising with SBI papers in your last few weeks prepares you for both exams.
How many years of SBI PO papers should I solve?
Do 2016 to 2024 as full papers, since they follow the modern Mains format. Use 2015 for topic practice. If you have time left, IBPS PO papers make good extra Prelims practice.
How should I prepare for the SBI PO descriptive paper?
Write a letter and an essay in 30 minutes, typed, at least eight to ten times before Mains. Use banking, economy and technology topics. Keep letters in standard format and keep essays organised. Check your typing speed early, since running out of time is a common problem.
Does SBI PO have sectional cut-offs?
SBI’s recent notifications have shortlisted on overall marks in Prelims, unlike IBPS. Rules for Mains and the final stage are in each notification, so read yours before relying on any year’s practice. You still need a good score in every section to reach the overall cut-off.
Should I solve SBI PO puzzles even if I cannot finish them?
Yes, in practice. Attempt every puzzle in a past paper during review, untimed, so you learn the structures. In a timed attempt, practise deciding within a minute whether to start a set, and leave the ones that look long.
Where to get the official papers
SBI posts PO notifications, call letters and results on the careers section of sbi.co.in. It does not publish the question papers. Use the latest notification for the current pattern, dates and eligibility. We add notes and mock papers for each year, but the notification is the final word.