Exam pattern at a glance
SBI SO isn’t one exam. Each specialist post has its own advertisement and pattern. In 2026-27, two regular-basis advertisements have an online written test: CRPD/SCO/2026-27/02 (Law) and CRPD/SCO/2026-27/03 (Bank Medical Officer). Selection for both is a written test followed by an interview. BMO adds a local language test before joining.
Assistant / Deputy Manager (Law)
Both Law posts sit the same paper. Three objective tests run for 90 minutes. The 45-minute descriptive test follows immediately, typed on the computer. You must clear the objective test and the descriptive test individually. Your written-test merit is your Professional Knowledge score plus your descriptive score.
| Part | Taken by | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective tests (3) | All candidates | 110 | 110 | 90 min |
| Descriptive test | All candidates | 5 of 8 | 50 | 45 min |
| Interview | Shortlisted on written-test merit | — | 100 | — |
Law — test-wise breakdown
Reasoning and English share one 45-minute timer, and Professional Knowledge has its own 45 minutes. The advertisement counts the written test as Objective 50 (Professional Knowledge) + Descriptive 50. The 60 aptitude marks are qualifying and are not added to merit.
| Test | Questions | Marks | Time | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test of Reasoning (qualifying) | 25 | 25 | 45 min shared | English & Hindi |
| English Language (qualifying) | 35 | 35 | 45 min shared | English |
| Professional Knowledge | 50 | 50 | 45 min | English & Hindi |
| Descriptive Test (Professional Knowledge) | 5 of 8 | 50 | 45 min | Hindi or English |
| Grand total | 110 + 5 | 160 | 2 h 15 m | Merit: 50 PK + 50 descriptive |
Bank Medical Officer (BMO-II)
One objective test of 100 questions for 150 marks in 90 minutes, with no descriptive paper. To be called for interview you must reach SBI’s cut-off in Professional Knowledge and score the minimum qualifying marks in the aptitude tests. Merit is drawn circle-wise and category-wise, because you apply for one circle only.
| Test | Questions | Marks | Time | Medium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test of Reasoning (qualifying) | 15 | 15 | 45 min shared | English & Hindi |
| Quantitative Aptitude (qualifying) | 15 | 15 | 45 min shared | English & Hindi |
| English Language (qualifying) | 20 | 20 | 45 min shared | English |
| Professional Knowledge | 50 | 100 | 45 min | English & Hindi |
| Total | 100 | 150 | 90 min | Merit: 100 PK marks |
SBI says the minimum qualifying marks in the BMO aptitude tests are decided by the Bank, or may be waived at its discretion. Every question has five options.
Interview & local language test
The written test decides who is called for interview. The interview completes the merit list, and BMO candidates then face a language check before joining.
Interview · both posts
SBI calls a category-wise number of candidates, as it decides, based on written-test performance. The interview (called an “interaction” for BMO) carries 100 marks, with qualifying marks set by the Bank. The final merit list normalises written-test and interview marks and weights them 70:30. Documents are checked against originals at this stage.
Local Language Proficiency Test · BMO
Provisionally selected BMO candidates are tested on reading, writing and understanding one specified local language of the circle they applied for, before joining. Fail it and you won’t be offered appointment. A Class 10 or 12 mark sheet or certificate showing you studied that language exempts you.
Negative marking, post by post
This is where the two papers differ most. Law has no penalty, so an attempted question can’t cost you marks. BMO deducts one-fourth of a question’s marks for each wrong answer. Unattempted questions carry no penalty in either paper.
| Paper | Penalty per wrong answer |
|---|---|
| Law — all three objective tests | None |
| Law — descriptive test | Not an objective test — no penalty rule applies |
| BMO — all four tests | ¼ of the question’s marks |
| Unattempted questions (both) | No penalty |
SBI’s BMO booklet adds that if a test’s total penalty works out to a fraction, the marks are rounded off to the nearest whole number. The Law booklet notes that, even without a penalty, you shouldn’t answer by random guessing. In both posts, candidates tied on marks at the cut-off are ranked by age, older first. Cut-offs and minimum qualifying marks are set by the Bank and haven’t been published.
Prep for SBI SO with your own daily plan
Daily targets for Reasoning, English & Quant — the qualifying tests in the SBI SO written exam.
Get the qualifying tests out of the way
Your Professional Knowledge marks count only if you clear Reasoning and English, plus Quant for BMO, in a shared 45-minute window. JobSafal’s SBI SO plan turns those aptitude sections into daily targets. It doesn’t cover law or medicine, and SBI SO mock tests aren’t available yet.
Daily targets
Reasoning, English and Quant topics split into short daily sessions you can finish.
Reasoning
Ranking, direction, puzzles and the other question types in SBI’s sample questions.
English
Grammar, vocabulary and comprehension for the English Language test, which is in English only.
Quant for BMO
Computation and data from tables and graphs for the BMO paper’s 15 Quant questions.
