"SBI Clerk" is the common name for the post that State Bank of India advertises as Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) in the clerical cadre. Everything below comes from SBI's advertisement for the newest notified cycle, Advertisement No. CRPD/CR/2026-27/17 dated 11 August 2026, and from the "Acquaint Yourself" booklet SBI issued for its Preliminary Examination. Where we add arithmetic or a comment of our own, it is labelled. SBI calls its schedule tentative, so check the SBI careers page for changes.
Stages at a glance
| Stage | Mode | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Phase-I: Preliminary Examination | Online, objective, 100 marks | Shortlisting for Mains (marks not added to the merit) |
| Phase-II: Main Examination | Online, objective, 200 marks | Decides the merit list |
| Phase-III: Local Language Proficiency Test | Conducted after provisional selection, before joining | Qualifying; exempt if you studied the language in Class 10 or 12 |
| Verification and joining formalities | By the Bank | Eligibility, medical fitness and other checks |
There is no interview.
Dates (per SBI): online registration and fee payment ran from 11 August to 31 August 2026. The advertisement says the Preliminary Examination will be held "tentatively in the month of September 2026" and the Main Examination "tentatively in the month of November 2026". When we read the SBI careers page on 13 November 2026, the status line for this advertisement said the preliminary examination call letter was available for download. We did not find a Prelims result link or a Mains call letter for this advertisement on that page, so we do not state a Mains date here.
The post, pay and eligibility
- Vacancies: 7,680 regular vacancies (SC 1,114, ST 837, OBC 1,716, EWS 760, General 3,253) across 24 States and Union Territories, plus backlog vacancies. SBI calls the figures provisional. The state-wise list is on the cut-off page.
- One state only: you apply for the vacancies of one State/UT, and you can take the test only once under this recruitment. The merit list is state-wise and category-wise, and you are posted in the state you applied for.
- Age: not below 20 and not above 28 years as on 1 April 2026, that is, born between 2 April 1998 and 1 April 2006, both days included. Upper-age relaxation is 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC/ST, and 10, 13 and 15 years for PwBD candidates in the General/EWS, OBC and SC/ST categories. There are separate rules for ex-servicemen, for widows and divorced or judicially separated women who have not remarried, and for trained apprentices of SBI.
- Education: graduation in any discipline from a recognised university, as on 31 December 2026. Final-year or final-semester students may apply provisionally and must show proof of passing on or before 31 December 2026.
- Fee: Rs 750 for General, OBC and EWS candidates. Nil for SC, ST, PwBD, ex-servicemen and disabled ex-servicemen.
- Pay: the scale starts at Rs 24,050. The starting basic pay is Rs 26,730, which is Rs 24,050 plus two advance increments for graduates. SBI says the total starting emoluments at a metro like Mumbai will be around Rs 46,000 per month, and that allowances vary with the place of posting.
- Probation: a minimum of 6 months.
- Transfers: the advertisement says there is no provision for inter-circle or inter-state transfer before 5 years of service.
Phase-I: Preliminary Examination
| Test | Medium | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | English | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Numerical Ability | English, Hindi and the state's language where listed | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | English, Hindi and the state's language where listed | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 1 hour |
- Each test has separate timing. You cannot carry unused minutes from one test to another.
- Negative marking: one-fourth of the marks assigned to the question for each wrong answer. In Prelims every question carries 1 mark, so that is 0.25 (arithmetic).
- No minimum qualifying marks are prescribed for an individual test or for the aggregate. Section-wise marks are not maintained.
- Shortlisting: candidates in each category, "approximately 10 times the numbers of vacancies, subject to availability", are shortlisted for Mains in descending order of aggregate marks.
- The booklet says each question is followed by 5 alternatives, and only one question is displayed at a time.
- Calculators, mobile phones and smart watches are not allowed.
Medium of examination. English and Hindi are available for every state in the list. Some states add their own language:
| State/UT | Extra medium besides English and Hindi |
|---|---|
| Assam | Assamese, Bengali |
| Goa | Konkani |
| Gujarat | Gujarati |
| Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttar Pradesh | Urdu |
| Karnataka | Kannada |
| Maharashtra | Marathi |
| Manipur | Manipuri |
| Odisha | Odia |
| Tamil Nadu | Tamil |
| Telangana | Telugu, Urdu |
| Tripura, West Bengal | Bengali |
For Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Sikkim the medium is English and Hindi only. The English Language test is in English.
Phase-II: Main Examination
| Test | Medium | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General/Financial Awareness | As in Prelims | 50 | 50 | 35 minutes |
| General English | English | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | As in Prelims | 50 | 50 | 45 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | As in Prelims | 50 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| Total | 190 | 200 | 2 hours 40 minutes |
- Each test has separate timing here too.
- Negative marking: one-fourth of the marks assigned to the question. Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude has 50 questions for 60 marks. If the marks are spread evenly, that is 1.2 marks per question and 0.3 off for a wrong answer. This is our arithmetic; the advertisement gives only the totals.
- Qualifying marks: you must score a minimum percentage on the aggregate, which the Bank decides. SC, ST, OBC, PwBD, ex-servicemen and disabled ex-servicemen candidates get a 5% relaxation on it. No minimum is prescribed for an individual subject, and section-wise marks are not maintained.
- Bonus for SBI apprentices: trained apprentices of SBI who meet the conditions in the advertisement get 2.5% of the maximum marks, that is 5 marks out of 200, added to their Mains aggregate.
Phase-III: Local Language Proficiency Test (LLPT)
You choose one "specified opted local language" of your state in the application form, and the Bank expects you to read, write, speak and understand it. If you produce a Class 10 or Class 12 mark sheet or certificate showing that you studied that language, you are not required to take the test. Everyone else who is provisionally selected takes the LLPT before joining. The advertisement gives this pattern:
| Test | Section | Passages | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-verbal test | Objective | 3 | 15 | 15 |
| Non-verbal test | Subjective | 3 | 15 | 15 |
| Verbal test | 20 |
That adds up to 50 marks (arithmetic). Minimum qualifying marks in each individual test are decided by the Bank, with a 5% relaxation for SC, ST, OBC, PwBD, ex-servicemen and disabled ex-servicemen. The advertisement is blunt about the result: candidates who fail the language test are not offered appointment. You take it at a centre in the state you applied for, at your own expense.
Local languages listed for some large states: Hindi for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh; Hindi or Urdu for Uttar Pradesh; Marathi for Maharashtra; Tamil for Tamil Nadu; Kannada for Karnataka; Gujarati for Gujarat; Odia for Odisha; Telugu or Urdu for Telangana; Bengali or Nepali for West Bengal. The full list is in the vacancy table of the advertisement.
How the final merit list is built
According to the advertisement:
- Prelims marks are not added. Only the aggregate marks in the Main Examination (out of 200) count.
- The merit list is drawn state-wise and category-wise, in descending order of Mains aggregate.
- Provisional selection is subject to verification of eligibility and to qualifying the local language test where it applies. Appointment is also subject to medical fitness.
- Wait list: up to 50% of the vacancies, state-category wise. Candidates are released from it quarterly against non-joining and resignations from the current batch, and it stays valid for one year from the declaration of the final result.
The advertisement does not describe a tie-break rule or a normalisation method, so we do not state one.
Candidates eligible for a scribe
Candidates eligible to use a scribe get compensatory time of 20 minutes for every hour of the examination, whether or not they actually use a scribe. On the durations above that is 20 extra minutes in Prelims (arithmetic). Candidates arrange their own scribe.
Compared with the previous cycle
We also opened the previous advertisement, No. CRPD/CR/2025-26/06 dated 6 August 2025. Its Prelims and Mains tables are identical to the 2026 ones: the same tests, questions, marks, timings and one-fourth negative marking, with the same rule that Prelims marks are not added. The age limit was also 20 to 28 years, reckoned as on 1 April 2025. Regular vacancies were 5,180 in 2025 against 7,680 in 2026. The pattern has therefore been stable across the two cycles we read. That is an observation, not a promise about future cycles.
What this means for your attempt strategy
These are arithmetic consequences of the scheme and our own reading, not SBI advice.
- Time per question in Prelims: English is 30 questions in 20 minutes, or 40 seconds each. Numerical Ability and Reasoning are 35 questions in 20 minutes, about 34 seconds each.
- Time per question in Mains: General/Financial Awareness 42 seconds, General English about 52 seconds, Quantitative Aptitude 54 seconds, Reasoning & Computer Aptitude 54 seconds.
- Guessing: with five options, +1 for a right answer and -0.25 for a wrong one, a completely blind guess has an expected value of zero. Once you can rule out one option, the expected value turns positive. Rule out nothing and there is no gain in guessing.
- No sectional minimum in Prelims means your total is what matters. A weak section does not eliminate you by itself, but the sectional timer stops you from spending spare time elsewhere, so each 20-minute block has to be used fully.
- Prelims is only a gate. Since the merit is Mains-only, General/Financial Awareness and Computer Aptitude, which do not appear in Prelims, deserve preparation time from the start. See preparation strategy.
Practise in this format: a free 10-question mini-mock is available to try. Full Prelims-pattern mocks, previous-year papers and topic practice are Pro; the SBI Clerk series sits under banking exams.
What this page does not have
- The exact Prelims dates and the Mains date for the 2026 cycle. The advertisement gives only tentative months, and we did not find a Mains notice for this advertisement on the careers page as of 13 November 2026.
- The minimum qualifying percentage for the Mains aggregate and for the language test. SBI says the Bank decides them and does not print a figure.
- Tie-break and normalisation rules. They are not in the advertisement or the booklet.
- A category-wise split of the backlog vacancies by state. It is in the advertisement's table; we give totals only.
- Any change made after 11 August 2026 by corrigendum. We did not see one listed for this advertisement.
Related: Syllabus · Cut-offs · Preparation strategy