SBI PO Cut Off 2026: Check Expected Category-Wise Prelims Marks, Last Year Trend and Qualifying Score

The State Bank of India has conducted the SBI PO Prelims 2026 examination, and lakhs of aspirants are now searching for one number that decides everything — the SBI PO Cut Off 2026. The official cut off will be released by the bank along with the prelims result on the official website, sbi.co.in/careers. Until then, candidates can match their attempts against the expected cut off marks compiled on the basis of the exam difficulty level, the number of applicants, the shift-wise paper pattern and the previous year's cut off trend.

This year, the State Bank of India is filling 1,500 Probationary Officer vacancies. Only those candidates who score marks equal to or above the category-wise cut off in the preliminary examination will be shortlisted for the SBI PO Mains 2026 exam. The prelims is purely a qualifying stage — the marks scored here are not added to the final merit list — but clearing it is the single biggest filter in the entire selection process.

SBI PO Expected Cut Off 2026 (Category-Wise)

The SBI PO Cut Off 2026 is expected to vary across categories. An important point every aspirant must note is that SBI does not prescribe sectional cut offs for the preliminary examination. Shortlisting for the next stage is based only on the overall aggregate score obtained by the candidate out of 100 marks.

Note: These are expected marks only. The official SBI PO cut off may differ once the evaluation and normalisation process is completed by the bank.

SBI PO Previous Year Cut Off

Candidates must review the previous year's cut off marks to understand the real level of competition and to estimate a safe qualifying score. The last year's SBI PO prelims cut off is given below:

A quick comparison shows why the expected SBI PO Prelims cut off 2026 has been placed slightly lower than last year's figures in most categories. The gap between the OBC and General cut off last year was under two marks, which tells candidates that in SBI PO, the reserved-category race is almost as tight as the unreserved one.

Factors Affecting SBI PO Cut Off 2026

The final SBI PO Cut Off 2026 is determined only after the bank considers several moving factors together:

The total number of Probationary Officer vacancies announced (1,500 this year) The overall difficulty level of the prelims question paper The number of candidates who actually appeared for the test against those registered The overall performance and attempt pattern of candidates across shifts The category-wise reservation distribution of seats

Since the SBI PO exam is conducted in multiple shifts across several days, the State Bank of India also applies a normalisation process. Normalisation adjusts scores across sessions so that a candidate who attempted a slightly tougher shift is not placed at a disadvantage compared to one who received an easier set. This is why the final marks displayed in the scorecard may differ from the raw marks a candidate calculates using an answer key or coaching-institute memory-based paper.

SBI PO Prelims Exam Analysis 2026: What Aspirants Reported

The prelims paper carried 100 questions for 100 marks in a 60-minute window, with sectional timing of 20 minutes each for English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability. There is a penalty of one-fourth mark for every wrong answer, which is precisely why a high attempt count with low accuracy is more dangerous than a moderate attempt count with strong accuracy. Candidates estimating their score should always calculate net marks after deducting negative marking, not gross attempts.

A safe attempt in a moderate-level SBI PO prelims paper generally falls in the 62 to 72 range with 85 per cent-plus accuracy for General category aspirants. Reserved-category candidates targeting a comfortable margin should aim to stay at least four to five marks above their expected category cut off, because the cut off can rise sharply if a large number of candidates cluster around the same score band.

SBI PO Prelims Result 2026: How to Check

The SBI PO Prelims Result 2026 and the cut off will be published together on the official portal. Candidates can follow these steps:

• Visit the official website sbi.co.in and open the Careers section
• Click on the Current Openings or Recruitment of Probationary Officers link
• Open the SBI PO Prelims Result 2026 PDF or the result login link
• Enter the registration number and date of birth or password
• Check the qualifying status and download the scorecard for future reference

Shortlisted candidates will then move to the SBI PO Mains 2026 examination, followed by the Psychometric Test, Group Exercise and Interview round. The final merit list is prepared from the Mains marks and the interview phase — the prelims score has no weightage in the final selection.

What Candidates Should Do Now

Aspirants who are confident of clearing the expected SBI PO cut off 2026 should immediately shift to Mains preparation rather than waiting for the result. The Mains paper carries a far heavier weightage of Data Analysis and Interpretation, Reasoning and Computer Aptitude, General/Economy/Banking Awareness and English Language, along with a Descriptive Test for letter and essay writing. Candidates in the borderline band should also begin Mains revision, because the gap between the prelims result and the Mains exam date is historically short.

Disclaimer: The cut off marks mentioned in this article are expected figures based on previous year trends, vacancy count and exam difficulty analysis. Candidates are advised to rely only on the official cut off released by the State Bank of India on sbi.co.in for final confirmation.