Checked 6 October 2026. Bank of India re-issues the notice every year with new dates; the latest we read is circular 2026-27/029 of 13.08.2026 (test on 04.10.2026, two days before this guide was checked). No result, cut-off or confirmation that the test took place was found.
Bank of India has run the same clerk to officer formula in three consecutive notices and changed only the numbers around it. The post is “General Banking Officer” in Junior Management Grade Scale I. Each year the notice is a circular letter from the Promotion Division of the Human Resource Department plus a notice with the rules, under the Settlement of 15 November 2014 with the Federation of Bank of India Staff Unions. The vacancy number moved from 356 (notice of 28.08.2024) to 983 (06.09.2025) to 813 (13.08.2026), while the application window shrank from seven days to four.
The bank’s staff circulars are not on its public careers pages. We read all three in copies hosted by BankersAdda (2024 and 2026) and Adda247 (2025) and label them reported; the text is Bank of India’s own. The scans are OCR, so every number below was checked against the pages for 2024 and read twice for 2025 and 2026. No tool in this guide: Bank of India’s marks calculator is in the selection guide.
Circulars 2024-25/035, 2025-26/039 and 2026-27/029 (reported copies).
Three notices, line by line
| Notice | Circular letter | Dated | Board approval of the vacancies | Vacancies | Online application window | Last date for approval by controlling authority | Cut-off for service | Cut-off for qualifications | Online test | Pre-promotion training starts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2024-25/035 (Ref HO:HR:PROM:090) | 28.08.2024 | 20.12.2023 | 356 | 30.08.2024 to 05.09.2024 | 06.09.2024 | 31.12.2024 | 31.08.2024 | To be advised separately | 09.09.2024 |
| 2025-26 | 2025-26/039 (Ref HO:HR:PROM:141) | 06.09.2025 | 17.12.2024 | 983 | 06.09.2025 to 10.09.2025 | 11.09.2025 | 30.09.2025 | 10.09.2025 | 12.10.2025 | 15.09.2025 |
| 2026-27 | 2026-27/029 (Ref HO:HR:PROM:108) | 13.08.2026 | 28.11.2025 | 813 | 17.08.2026 to 20.08.2026 | 21.08.2026 | 31.08.2026 | 20.08.2026 | 04.10.2026 | 31.08.2026 |
Dates are as printed in each circular. The 2024 circular did not fix a test date; we did not find it in the documents we read.
The Board approved each number on the date in the table; the management “at its sole discretion” may promote fewer than the declared number, depending on the response. Our arithmetic: 813 is 17% below 983.
What moved, in our arithmetic
| Notice | Days from Board approval to circular | Application window, days | Days from window close to service cut-off | Days from qualification cut-off to service cut-off | Days from circular to test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 252 | 7 | 117 | 122 | Not printed |
| 2025-26 | 263 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 36 |
| 2026-27 | 258 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 52 |
Two patterns stand out. First, the window is shrinking: seven days in 2024, five in 2025, four in 2026, with the 2026 notice arriving only four days before its window opened. Second, the service cut-off now sits close to the application date. In 2024 service was counted to 31.12.2024, 117 days after the window closed, so a clerk could count years that fell due months after applying; in 2025 the gap was 20 days and in 2026 it is 11. The qualification cut-off (degree, MBA, CA, JAIIB, CAIIB) is earlier still, and in 2025 and 2026 it is the last day of the window. Anything declared after it does not count for that round.
What did not change
We compared the three notices clause by clause. The rules below are the same in all of them.
| Rule | As printed in all three notices |
|---|---|
| Graduate | 3 years of service in the clerical cadre |
| MBA, MCA, MMS or PGDM | 2 years (government-recognised university; for the management courses (MMS, PGDM) a two-year full-time PG diploma, or minimum three years if pursued part-time; MCA only as a full-time three-year course) |
| CA, CS, ICWA or CFA | 1 year |
| SSC, matriculation or 12th pass (or equivalent) | 8 years |
| Any other clerk | 10 years |
| What "service" means | Actual completed years as a full-time permanent clerk, probation included, in Bank of India only; sabbatical leave bars participation and is not counted |
| Service marks | 1 mark for each completed year, maximum 20; staff from Bank of Karad, Parur Central Bank and IIBI count 1.5 years there as 1 year |
| Qualification marks (maximum 15) | Graduate 3; JAIIB or CAIIB Part I 5; CAIIB 10 (includes the Part I marks); CA, ICWA, CFA or CS 10; postgraduate, double graduate or MBA 2 |
| Written test (65 marks) | 130 objective questions on banking and banking law and practice, 130 minutes, no negative marking |
| Minimum to be ranked | 22.00 of 65; 18.75 for SC, ST and PwD |
| Interview | None printed |
Read the first five rows as a ladder: a graduate needs 3 years, but a CA needs only 1 and a 12th-pass clerk needs 8. The same qualification does not shorten service anywhere else in the notice: JAIIB and CAIIB earn marks and change no years. Ex-servicemen get 1 year of weightage for armed-forces service above 5 and below 10 years and 2 years for 10 or more, counted both for eligibility and for service marks, but only after 3 years of active service in the bank at the service cut-off, and not if the benefit was used earlier for a special-allowance post or for promotion from sub-staff.
What 22.00 of 65 means
| Quantity | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Questions and marks | 130 questions, 65 marks, 130 minutes | Printed in the notice |
| Marks per question if all carry equal marks | 0.5 | Our inference: 65 / 130. The notice does not print a per-question mark |
| Minutes per question | 1 | Our arithmetic: 130 / 130 |
| Test bar as a share of the test | 33.8% (22.00 of 65); 28.8% (18.75 of 65) | Our arithmetic |
| Correct answers for the general bar | 44 of 130 | Our arithmetic, at 0.5 a question |
| Correct answers for the SC/ST/PwD bar | 37.5 of 130, so 38 in practice | Our arithmetic; a half-mark scheme cannot give 18.75 |
The bar only lets you into the ranked list. The rank itself is decided by service plus qualifications plus test marks, a total of 100, so a high test score cannot be replaced by service beyond 20 years or qualifications beyond 15.
After the test: list, posting, waiting list and conduct rules
| Stage | What the notice prints |
|---|---|
| Merit list | Candidates who qualify the test are ranked on service + qualifications + test marks. Ties go to seniority as a full-time permanent clerk, then to the older candidate. Ranking does not by itself mean selection; selection is when the bank issues the letter of offer. |
| Posting preference | You name one preferred zone (Mumbai South, Mumbai North, Head Office and Navi Mumbai count as one zone). Posting follows merit rank to the extent of vacancies in that zone, else anywhere in India. A promotee is not posted or retained in the same branch or office (visually handicapped excepted). |
| Waiting list | 10% of each category’s successful candidates, valid one year from the promotion date or until the next notice, whichever is earlier. |
| Probation and lien | One year of probation, extendable, with reversion possible; a lien as a clerk for one year. |
| Refusing or reverting | Not eligible for the next immediate occasion or one year, whichever is earlier. A bank-ordered reversion carries no bar. |
| Disciplinary action | Promotion is held for one year after a warning, censure or adverse remark and for two years after other punishment for gross misconduct; a pending charge sheet or FIR holds it until the case ends. |
| Accommodation | Under Regulation 25 of the Officers’ Service Regulations 1979 an officer has no right to bank housing; promoted officers may have to arrange their own under a subsidised scheme at first. |
SC, ST and PwD reservation follows Government guidelines; a reserved-category candidate who qualifies on general merit takes an unreserved point. Visually handicapped employees may sit with a scribe and may be posted to specified departments; deaf and dumb candidates are allowed to participate. Pre-promotion training of six days is arranged for SC, ST, OBC and PwD candidates who apply. If a candidate’s category or particulars turn out false, he or she is not promoted or, if promoted, is reverted.
What we could not find
- The date of the 2024 test, and any result or cut-off for the three rounds.
- Confirmation that the 12.10.2025 and 04.10.2026 tests took place on those dates.
- A zone-wise vacancy table we could read with confidence: each circular carries a zone-wise allocation annexure, but in the OCR scans the columns are not reliable enough to reproduce, so read it in the circular itself.
- The Settlement of 15.11.2014 itself.
Bank of India’s HRMS notice board and your zonal office hold the current position.
Practise it, don't just read it
Sixty-five of Bank of India’s 100 marks come from one test of banking and banking law, with no negative marking. Five of our practice quizzes cover deposits, cheques, KYC, priority sector and loans.
Fifteen practice quizzes of ten questions each are live. Five cover banking law and practice: Banker-Customer Relationship and Deposits, Negotiable Instruments Act, KYC and Anti-Money Laundering, Priority Sector Lending, and Loans, Securities and NPAs. Ten cover bank accounting and branch work: reconciliation, final accounts, bills of exchange, deposit interest, journal entries and ledgers, trial balance, CBS posting, NEFT and RTGS, IT security, and business English. Every answer carries an explanation.
Other banks in this series: Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Union Bank of India and Central Bank of India. Rules that run across banks are in the eligibility guide, the pattern and syllabus guide, the selection guide and the officer pay guide.
More in this series
- Eligibility by bank: years, JAIIB/CAIIB, age
- Exam pattern and syllabus by bank
- Selection: merit, seniority, vacancies and posting
- Officer pay after promotion: Scale I, DA and allowances
- Preparation: banking law, KYC, PSL and NPAs
- PNB: Selectivity channel, marks and test
- Bank of Baroda: All India and Seniority channels
- Union Bank: State Services and All India channels
- Central Bank of India: pattern and eligibility
- SBI clerk to officer promotion (Trainee Officer / JMGS-I): what is public
- Bank promotion Scale I to Scale II: cycles we could source
- Bank promotion Scale II to Scale III: cycles we could source
- JAIIB and CAIIB increments and PQP: pay calculator
- JAIIB and CAIIB syllabus: every paper and module on one map
- Alerts and updates for JAIIB / CAIIB (IIBF)
Frequently asked questions
How many vacancies has Bank of India announced for clerk to officer promotion?
356 in the circular of 28.08.2024, 983 in the circular of 06.09.2025 and 813 in the circular of 13.08.2026. The Board approved them on 20.12.2023, 17.12.2024 and 28.11.2025 respectively, and the management may promote fewer than the declared number.
Is there an interview in the Bank of India promotion process?
No interview is printed in any of the three notices. The 100 marks are service (20), qualifications (15) and the written test (65).
What are the qualifying marks in the Bank of India promotion test?
22.00 out of 65 for general candidates and 18.75 for SC, ST and PwD candidates. Only candidates who reach it are ranked.
Is there negative marking in the Bank of India promotion test?
No. Each notice says there is no negative marking for wrong answers. The test is 130 objective questions in 130 minutes.
Which date does Bank of India use to count my service?
31.08.2026 for service and 20.08.2026 for educational qualifications in the 2026 notice; 30.09.2025 and 10.09.2025 in 2025; and 31.12.2024 and 31.08.2024 in 2024.
When was the Bank of India promotion exam held?
The 2025 notice fixed it for 12.10.2025 and the 2026 notice for 04.10.2026. The 2024 notice said the date would be advised separately and we did not find it. We found no confirmation or result for the 2026 test.
Does JAIIB or CAIIB reduce the years of service at Bank of India?
No. It earns qualification marks (5 for JAIIB or CAIIB Part I, 10 for CAIIB) and changes none of the service requirements. Only a degree, MBA, CA, CS, ICWA or CFA changes the years.
Sources
- reported — Bank of India Circular letter 2026-27/029 (Ref HO:HR:PROM:108) of 13.08.2026 with Notice of 13.08.2026: Promotion from Clerical Cadre to General Banking Officers’ Cadre, JMGS-I (full text of the bank’s own circular; copy hosted by BankersAdda)
- reported — Bank of India Circular letter 2025-26/039 (Ref HO:HR:PROM:141) of 06.09.2025 with Notice of 06.09.2025: same promotion, 983 vacancies, test 12.10.2025 (full text; copy hosted by Adda247)
- reported — Bank of India Circular letter 2024-25/035 (Ref HO:HR:PROM:090) of 28.08.2024 with Notice of 28.08.2024: promotion from Clerical Cadre to General Banking Officers’ Cadre, JMGS-I, 356 vacancies (full text; copy hosted by BankersAdda)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
