Bank Exams Eligibility 2025: Age Limit and Post-wise Eligibility Criteria for PO, Clerk & SO

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By Smartkeeda
23 Sep 2025

Every year, millions of students sit for bank exams with the aim of becoming a government bank employee. Before starting the preparation, the first step should be to check whether the candidate meets the eligibility criteria set by the institution conducting the exam. The eligibility criteria for these exams have components like age, educational qualifications, and post-specific requirements for posts like Specialist Officer (SO). Knowing and understanding the eligibility for bank exams will ensure that you are investing your time in the right exam. In this blog, we will be discussing the age limit for bank exams and other crucial filters. Stay informed

Bank Exams Eligibility 2025

The eligibility for most bank exams is based on three conditions, namely, age, educational qualification, and nationality. Most bank exams that are conducted in India follow this common framework, and the posts that don’t are usually the special posts, which are domain-specific. Candidates should be between the ages of 20 and 30, hold a graduation degree, and meet the nationality requirements. Checking the bank exams eligibility should be the priority of an aspirant because it helps them in deciding whether they should prepare for the particular exam.

Bank Exams 2025: Common Eligibility Requirements

These are the common Bank exams eligibility requirements:

1. Nationality Requirements:

  • A citizen of India, or
  • A subject of Nepal/Bhutan, or
  • A Tibetan refugee who came to India before January 1, 1962, intending to settle permanently, or
  • A person of Indian origin (PIO) who migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, or East African countries with the intention of permanent settlement in India.

Candidates other than Indian citizens must have a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India

2. Essential Qualification:

A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized university or an equivalent qualification recognized by the Government of India.

3. Age Limit:

For most bank exams, the age requirements are from 20 to 30 years. It varies from post to post. For example, for the clerical cadre, the age limit is often 20 to 28 years, while for the post of Probationary Officer, the age limit is 20 to 30 years.

Most Applied Bank Exam Posts 2025

Given below is the list of the bank exams that are popular among the aspirants:

Post Name

Conducting Body

Probationary Officer (PO)

IBPS, SBI

Clerk / Junior Associate

IBPS, SBI

Specialist Officer (SO)

IBPS, SBI, etc.

RBI Grade B Officer

Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

RRB Officer (Scale-I)

IBPS (for RRBs)

RRB Office Assistant (Multipurpose)

IBPS (for RRBs)

 

Bank Exam Age Limit 2025

The Bank exam age limit is a strict filter that ensures that the candidates who apply for the exam have the academic qualification and experience to be able to handle the responsibilities. Most exams have a low age limit of 20 years, but the upper limit varies. Given below is the age limit for bank exams:

Bank Exam Names

Age Limit

SBI PO Eligibility

21-30 years

SBI Clerk Eligibility

20-28 years

SBI CBO Eligibility

21-30 years

SBI SO Eligibility

20-50 years (as per post)

SBI Apprentice Eligibility

20-28 years

IBPS PO Eligibility

20-30 years

IBPS Clerk Eligibility

20-28 years

IBPS SO Eligibility

20-30 years

IBPS RRB PO Eligibility

18-32 years (as per post)

IBPS RRB Clerk Eligibility

18-28 years

RBI Assistant Eligibility

20-28 years

RBI Grade B Eligibility

21-30 years

RBI JE Eligibility 

20-30 years

RBI Office Attendant Eligibility

18-25 years

IPPB Assistant Manager Eligibility

20-30 years

NABARD Grade A Eligibility

21-40 years (as per post)

NABARD Grade B Eligibility

25-32 years

NABARD SO Eligibility

62 years (maximum)

IIBF Junior Executive Eligibility

28 years (maximum)

CAIIB Exam Eligibility

No age limit

JAIIB Exam Eligibility

No age limit

 

Bank Exam 2025 Age Relaxation

Age limit relaxation is also given according to government norms for the candidates coming from reserved categories. Given below is the general age limit relaxation:

Category

Relaxation

Scheduled Caste (SC) / Scheduled Tribe (ST)

Relaxation of up to 5 years in the upper age limit

Other Backward Classes (OBC)

Relaxation of up to 3 years in the upper age limit

Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD):

Relaxation of up to 10 years in the upper age limit

Ex-Servicemen

Relaxation of up to 5 years in the upper age limit

 

Bank Exam Educational Qualification 2025

One of the main aspects of eligibility for the bank exams is the educational qualification. The educational qualification depends on factors like the post level, the conducting body, and the recruitment process. Educational qualification for the most applied bank exams is given below:

Bank Exams Qualification

 
 

Bank Exam Names

Educational Qualification

 
 

SBI PO Eligibility

Graduation

 

SBI Clerk Eligibility

Graduation

 

SBI CBO Eligibility

Graduation

 

SBI SO Eligibility

Varies for each post

 

SBI Apprentice Eligibility

Graduation

 

IBPS PO Eligibility

Graduation

 

IBPS Clerk Eligibility

Graduation

 

IBPS SO Eligibility

Varies for each post

 

IBPS RRB PO Eligibility

Graduation

 

IBPS RRB Clerk Eligibility

Graduation

 

RBI Assistant Eligibility

Graduation

 

RBI Grade B Eligibility

Graduate / Post Graduation

 

RBI JE Eligibility 

B.Tech (Civil / Mechanical)

 

RBI Office Attendant Eligibility

10th Pass / SSC

 

IPPB Assistant Manager Eligibility

Graduation

 

NABARD Grade A Eligibility

Graduation

 

NABARD Grade B Eligibility

Post Graduation

 

NABARD SO Eligibility

BE/B. Tech or MCA

 

IIBF Junior Executive Eligibility

Graduation

 

CAIIB Exam Eligibility

12th Pass & JAIIB exam (only banking employees)

 

JAIIB Exam Eligibility

12th Pass 

 

 

Post-wise Bank Exam Eligibility 2025

 For an aspirant, it is important to be aware of the eligibility for bank exams. Bank aspirants should go through the tables given below for detailed information on the eligibility criteria of the popular government bank exams, like the age limit, educational qualification, work experience required, and the number of attempts allowed for each post.

Bank Exams Eligibility for the post of Probationary Officer

Probationary Officer

   
   

Bank PO Post

Educational Qualification

Age Limit

Work Experience

Number of Attempts

   

SBI PO

Graduate or Final year Applicant

Minimum: 21 years

NA

4 (General or EWS)

   

Maximum: 30 years

   

 

   

IBPS PO

Graduate or Final Year/Semester applicant

Minimum: 20 years

NA

Till the upper age limit

   

Maximum: 30 years

   

 

   

IBPS RRB PO

Officer Scale- I - Graduation or its equivalent degree preference.

For Officer Scale- I (Assistant Manager)- 18-30 years

Officer Scale- I - NA

Till the upper age limit

   

Officer Scale-II - Graduation with 50% aggregate marks or its equivalent degree preference

For Officer Scale-II (Manager) - 21-32 years

Officer Scale-II - 2 years experience as an officer in a Bank or Financial Institution.

   

Officer Scale-III - Graduation with 50% aggregate marks or its equivalent degree preference

For Officer Scale- III (Senior Manager) - 21-40 years

Officer Scale III - 5 years experience as an Officer in a Bank or Financial Institution.

   

 

Bank Exams Eligibility 2025 for the post of Clerk 

Clerk

   
   

Bank Clerk Post

Educational Qualification

Age Limit

Work Experience

Number of Attempts

   

SBI Clerk

Graduate 

Minimum: 20 years

NA

Till the upper age limit

   

Maximum: 28 years

   

IBPS Clerk 

Graduation with a degree/diploma in Computer Operations or IT

 

NA

Till the upper age limit

   

IBPS RRB Clerk

Graduate with a local language proficiency

Minimum: 18 years

NA

Till the upper age limit

   

Maximum: 28 years

   

 

Bank Exams Eligibility for the Post of Specialist Officer

Specialist Officer

 

 
   

Bank SO Post

Educational Qualification

Age Limit

Work Experience

Number of Attempts

   

SBI SO

Graduate/Post-graduate OR MBA/PGDM (as per post)

Minimum: 20 years

2-10 years in a respective domain (as per post)

Till the upper age limit

   

 

   

Maximum: 50 years 

   

 

   

(as per post)

   

IBPS SO

I.T. Officer (Scale-I) - 4-year B.E/B.Tech or PG degree in Electronics/ Electronics & Communication/Computer Science/IT/ Electronics & Instrumentation.

Minimum: 20 years

NA

Till upper age limit

   

Agricultural Field Officer (Scale I) - 4-year graduation degree in Agriculture/ Veterinary Science/ Dairy Science/ Horticulture/Animal Husbandry/Agricultural Biotechnology/ Food Science/ Agriculture Business Management/Food Technology/ Dairy Technology/ Sericulture/ Agro-Forestry/Forestry 

 

   

Rajbhasha Adhikari (Scale I) - PG degree in Hindi/Sanskrit with English/Hindi & English as subject(s) at the degree level

Maximum: 30 years

   

Law Officer (Scale I) - Bachelor's Degree in Law (LLB) with enrollment as an Advocate in the Bar Council.

 

   

HR/Personnel Officer (Scale I) - 2 Years’ PG degree or 2 Years Full-time PG Diploma in Personnel Management / Industrial Relations/HR / HRD/ Labour Law.

 

   

Marketing Officer (Scale I) - MMS (Marketing)/ Two Years, MBA (Marketing)/ 2 Years, PGDBA / PGDBM/ PGPM/ PGDM with specialization in Marketing.

 

   

NABARD SO

B.Sc or BE/B.Tech in IT/Computer Science /Engineering or MCA (as per post).

Upper Age Limit: 62 years

NA

Till upper age limit