SBI SO Syllabus: One Rule, Not One List
SBI prints a Professional Knowledge syllabus inside each advertisement that has a written test. Here is how to read it, and what the aptitude papers usually cover.
There is no single SBI SO exam, so there is no single SBI SO syllabus. State Bank of India, Central Recruitment & Promotion Department (CRPD) publishes many Specialist Cadre Officer advertisements a year, numbered CRPD/SCO/<financial year>/<serial>, and each one sets its own posts, selection process and, where there is a written test, its own syllabus. Some posts have no written test at all and are filled by shortlisting and interview.
What SBI does print, inside each advertisement that has a written test, is an indicative syllabus for the Professional Knowledge paper only. The General Aptitude papers are named but never given a topic list. This page explains what those papers usually cover, shows the one official syllabus we could verify (the 2026-27 Law advertisement), and tells you how to build the rest from your own advertisement.
Two kinds of papers, two kinds of syllabus
A regular SBI SO advertisement with an online test splits the objective paper into General Aptitude and Professional Knowledge. In advertisement CRPD/SCO/2026-27/02 (Law posts), General Aptitude means Test of Reasoning and English Language, both qualifying: you must clear a minimum mark the Bank decides, but the score does not count towards merit. Professional Knowledge is the only objective paper that counts, and it is followed by a descriptive test. The marks and minutes are on the exam pattern page.
What the General Aptitude papers usually cover
SBI names these papers but prints no topic list. The topics below are what bank officer tests usually carry, a working list, not an official one.
Test of Reasoning
Usually covers
Puzzles, seating arrangements, syllogisms, inequalities, coding and decoding, blood relations, data sufficiency, input-output
Role in the Law advertisement
Qualifying, 25 questions
English Language
Usually covers
Reading comprehension, cloze test, error spotting, sentence improvement, para jumbles, fill in the blanks, vocabulary in context
Role in the Law advertisement
Qualifying, 35 questions
Quantitative Aptitude
Usually covers
Simplification, number series, data interpretation, arithmetic (percentages, ratio, interest, time and work)
Role in the Law advertisement
Not in the Law advertisement; another advertisement may include it
| Paper | Usually covers | Role in the Law advertisement |
|---|---|---|
| Test of Reasoning | Puzzles, seating arrangements, syllogisms, inequalities, coding and decoding, blood relations, data sufficiency, input-output | Qualifying, 25 questions |
| English Language | Reading comprehension, cloze test, error spotting, sentence improvement, para jumbles, fill in the blanks, vocabulary in context | Qualifying, 35 questions |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Simplification, number series, data interpretation, arithmetic (percentages, ratio, interest, time and work) | Not in the Law advertisement; another advertisement may include it |
Test of Reasoning: topics to prepare
Reasoning questions in bank officer tests come in a few repeating families. Cover each family once, then practise under time.
- check_circlePuzzles and seating arrangements (linear, circular, floor-based, box-based): usually the largest share
- check_circleSyllogisms and inequalities: short rule-based questions you can finish in under a minute
- check_circleCoding and decoding, alphanumeric series, order and ranking
- check_circleData sufficiency: deciding whether the statements given are enough to answer
- check_circleInput-output and logical reasoning (statement and assumption, cause and effect)
Professional Knowledge: the only official syllabus, and it is per post
The Law advertisement (CRPD/SCO/2026-27/02) prints its Professional Knowledge syllabus as "only indicative and not exhaustive" and warns that the exam may contain questions beyond it. Its wording is "fundamental concepts, issues and current developments" in each of these six fields; the one-line gloss beside each field is ours, not SBI's.
- Constitutional Law
- The Constitution, fundamental rights, the courts and the limits on state power.
- Administrative Law
- How government bodies and regulators use their powers, and how courts review them.
- Financial sector laws
- The laws that govern banks, lending, recovery and financial regulation.
- Procedural laws
- How civil and criminal cases move through courts.
- New Labour Codes
- The consolidated labour laws and their effect on employment.
- Principles of Statutory Interpretation and Legal Drafting
- Reading statutes the way courts do, and drafting legal documents.
Puzzles, arrangements, syllogisms and data sufficiency. No signup.
Why the IT, HR and other post syllabi are not listed here
Each post gets its own indicative syllabus only when its advertisement includes a written test. The 2026-27 IT and HR advertisements we read select by shortlisting and interview, so they print no syllabus at all: your degree, your years of experience and the interview are the test. An IT officer syllabus exists only in an advertisement that holds an IT written test, and it can differ from one advertisement to the next.
So the honest answer to "what is the SBI SO IT officer syllabus" is: open the IT advertisement you are applying under and read its indicative syllabus section.
How to build your own syllabus from the advertisement
- 1
Find your advertisement
Go to SBI Careers, Current Openings, and open the CRPD/SCO advertisement for your post. Note its number; everything else on this page is keyed to it.
- 2
Check whether there is a written test
Read the selection section. "Shortlisting and Interview" means no written test and no syllabus. "Online Written Test and Interview" means read on.
- 3
Copy the indicative syllabus word for word
It is usually a short paragraph. Turn each phrase into a heading in your notes. Add "current developments" as a standing heading because the Law advertisement asks for them in every subject.
- 4
Prepare for a descriptive test if one is listed
The Law advertisement adds a descriptive paper of 5 answers out of 8 questions but prints no topics for it. Practise writing short structured answers on the same subjects as the objective syllabus.
How the exam tests this syllabus
In the Law advertisement, Professional Knowledge is 50 questions in 45 minutes, so a little under a minute a question. That pace suits questions on definitions, sections of an Act, landmark principles and recent amendments, not long case analysis. The phrase "current developments" in the syllabus is a signal: expect questions on changes from the last year or two, not only settled law.
The qualifying papers test speed under a fixed clock shared between reasoning and English. Because the score does not count towards merit, the aim is a clean pass with no section left short, which is why timed practice matters more than depth for these two papers.
Read your own advertisement before you trust any list
Each SBI Specialist Cadre Officer advertisement sets its own posts, eligibility, fee, selection process and dates. Read the specific advertisement on sbi.bank.in (Careers, Current Openings) before applying; the figures on these pages describe the advertisements named.
FAQs
Is there any exam for SBI SO?expand_more
Sometimes. Each Specialist Cadre Officer advertisement sets its own selection process. Entry-level regular posts such as the 2026-27 Law posts had an online written test plus interview; several 2026-27 senior and contract posts were filled by shortlisting and interview with no written test.
What is the SBI SO IT officer syllabus?expand_more
Only the IT advertisement you apply under can tell you. SBI prints an indicative Professional Knowledge syllabus inside each advertisement that has a written test, and the 2026-27 IT advertisements we read selected by shortlisting and interview, so they carried no syllabus.
Does SBI SO have quantitative aptitude?expand_more
Not always. The 2026-27 Law advertisement tests Reasoning and English only as General Aptitude. Other advertisements may add Quantitative Aptitude. Check the pattern table in your own advertisement.
Is the SBI SO syllabus the same as IBPS SO?expand_more
No. IBPS SO is a yearly exam with a published pattern and a Professional Knowledge paper per post. SBI SO has no fixed syllabus; each advertisement prints its own indicative list, and some posts have no written test.
Next steps
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- IBPS SO syllabusarrow_forward
- SBI SO Guidearrow_forward
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