SBI Clerk 2026: Prelims Done, Mains on 23 November

SBI Clerk 2026: prelims done, result next, mains on 23 November

SBI held the Clerk 2026 preliminary examination on 26 and 27 September 2026, in four shifts a day, with the call letter out from 21 September. A separate sitting for the backlog vacancies ran earlier, on 16 September. What comes next is the prelims result, then the main examination on 23 November 2026. The recruitment runs under advertisement CRPD/CR/2026-27/17 for Junior Associate (Customer Support and Sales) in the clerical cadre, and applications ran from 11 to 31 August 2026.

The advertised count is 9,766 posts: 7,680 regular vacancies, which the detailed advertisement on sbi.bank.in breaks down state by state and category by category, and 2,086 backlog vacancies listed separately. That separation matters more than it looks. Backlog vacancies are reserved posts carried forward from earlier cycles that went unfilled, they are open only to the categories they were carried forward for, and SBI schedules them on their own track rather than merging them into the regular merit list.

Junior Associate stays one of the most applied-for jobs in the country because it asks only for a graduation, has no interview at any stage, and pays a working salary from the first month. What it asks in return is a local language you can be tested on, which is the condition that catches out more candidates than the written papers do.

SBI Clerk 2026 important dates

The gap between prelims and mains is about eight weeks, which is the window that decides this recruitment. Prelims marks do not carry into the final merit, so a candidate who clears on 27 September starts level with everyone else and has those eight weeks to build the data interpretation, financial awareness and computer aptitude depth the mains tests.

Vacancy details

SBI allots vacancies state by state and circle by circle, and you apply for one specific state. That choice ties directly to the local language requirement covered below, and it cannot be changed later. A state with a larger allotment usually settles at a slightly lower cut-off, which is why the state-wise table in the detailed advertisement on sbi.bank.in is worth reading before you look at any cut-off analysis.

The 7,680 regular posts are reserved in the usual proportions, and the advertisement gives the category-wise figures alongside each state. The 2,086 backlog posts sit outside that structure: they exist only for the categories whose earlier vacancies lapsed, so most candidates are competing for the 7,680 rather than the headline 9,766.

Eligibility for SBI Clerk 2026

Age and qualification for the Junior Associate post have stayed stable across recent cycles.

On age, the limit is 20 to 28 years. In the 2025 cycle the age band translated to candidates born between 2 April 1996 and 1 April 2004, both inclusive. Category relaxation applies over the upper limit: 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC and ST, 10 years for PwBD, and further relaxation for ex-servicemen and specified groups per the notification.

On qualification, you need a bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification. Final-year students are generally not eligible unless they can produce the degree by the date the notification specifies. There is no minimum percentage for the degree.

The local language requirement is the eligibility rule candidates most often overlook. You must be able to read, write, and speak the official local language of the state you apply for. This is checked after the main exam through a Local Language Proficiency Test, and it can end an otherwise successful candidature, so apply for a state whose language you actually know.

Application fee

Payment is online through debit card, credit card, or net banking, and the fee once paid is not refunded, so check your eligibility carefully before you pay.

Selection process

SBI Clerk selection runs in three parts, and there is no interview.

1. Preliminary examination: a qualifying screen. Its marks do not count toward the final merit.
2. Main examination: the merit-deciding stage. Your rank rests on this.
3. Local Language Proficiency Test (LPT): a qualifying check that replaces the interview.

The design rewards candidates who clear prelims comfortably and then peak in the mains, since only the mains score builds the merit list.

Preliminary exam pattern

The prelims is a 100-mark test of 100 questions in 60 minutes, with a separate 20-minute timing for each section and a penalty of 0.25 marks per wrong answer.

The sectional timing is the tricky part. You cannot bank saved time from one section for another, so pace within each 20-minute block matters as much as overall accuracy.

Main exam pattern

The mains is a 200-mark test of 190 questions in 160 minutes, again with sectional timing and a 0.25 penalty per wrong answer. Note that reasoning and computer aptitude carries 60 marks for 50 questions, the one section where marks and question count differ.

There is no sectional cutoff in the mains, so you qualify on the overall score, which lets you play to your stronger sections and recover marks lost in a weaker one.

Syllabus

English covers reading comprehension, cloze test, error spotting, sentence rearrangement, and vocabulary. Numerical Ability and Quantitative Aptitude cover simplification, number series, quadratic equations, data interpretation, and arithmetic topics like percentage, ratio, time and work, and profit and loss. Reasoning covers puzzles, seating arrangement, syllogism, coding and decoding, blood relations, and inequalities. The mains adds General and Financial Awareness, which spans banking terms, current affairs of the last six months, and static general knowledge, and Computer Aptitude, which covers computer basics, networking, and shortcuts. Financial awareness is the section that separates serious candidates, since it rewards steady reading of banking and economy news.

SBI Clerk salary and in-hand pay

The Junior Associate post carries a revised pay scale of about Rs 24,050 to Rs 64,480. A graduate entrant starts on a basic near Rs 26,730, which includes two advance increments granted for graduation. On top of the basic come dearness allowance, house rent allowance, transport allowance, and a special allowance, all set under the bank's periodic wage settlement rather than the central government pay rules.

In practice the gross works out to roughly Rs 46,000 to Rs 48,000 a month, and the in-hand lands around Rs 40,000 to Rs 43,000, varying with the posting city because house rent allowance changes with location. Dearness allowance in banking is revised every quarter, so treat the exact allowance figure as a moving number rather than a fixed one. Beyond pay, the post offers a fast promotion route, with a clerk able to move into the officer cadre in roughly three to four years through the internal channel.

The Local Language Proficiency Test explained

The LPT is the stage that quietly ends careers, and most candidates underrate it. After the mains, candidates who did not study the opted local language in Class 10 or 12 must pass a test of their ability to read, write, and speak that language. Candidates who did study the local language at the Class 10 or 12 level are exempt, and they prove it with the relevant marksheet. Failing the LPT means disqualification, no matter how high your prelims and mains scores were. The practical lesson is simple: apply for a state whose language you genuinely know, and keep your Class 10 or 12 language marksheet ready to claim exemption.

SBI Clerk 2025 cutoff (reference)

Cutoffs are state-specific, because each state has its own vacancy pool and candidate strength. As a reference from the 2025 prelims, general-category cutoffs (out of 100) sat near these marks.

Reserved-category cutoffs are lower and are released on individual scorecards. Use these as a planning band for 2026, not a guarantee, since the exact figure moves with the vacancy count and the difficulty of your shift. A useful way to read the table is by the vacancy pool behind each state: a high-vacancy state like Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra can close a little lower than a smaller state with the same applicant pressure, which is one more reason the state you choose is a strategic decision rather than an afterthought.

SBI Clerk vs IBPS Clerk

Candidates preparing for SBI Clerk usually also consider IBPS Clerk. This comparison sets out the real differences.

SBI Clerk pays more and promotes faster, but its cutoffs run higher and its mains is longer. IBPS Clerk spreads your chance across many banks with a slightly gentler cutoff. Most serious bank aspirants prepare for both, since the syllabi overlap heavily.

What an SBI clerk actually does

The Junior Associate role is customer-facing branch work, not back-office data entry alone. A clerk at an SBI branch opens and manages accounts, handles cash and clearing, processes deposits and withdrawals, issues passbooks and cheque books, and answers customer queries at the counter. In smaller branches a clerk may rotate across most of these desks in a single week. The work has fixed hours compared with the officer cadre, which is part of its appeal for candidates who want a stable banking career without the transfer intensity of an officer posting. The role also builds the practical banking knowledge that helps later when you sit the internal exam for promotion to the officer cadre.

Career growth at SBI

An SBI clerk does not stay a clerk. The bank runs an internal promotion channel that lets a Junior Associate move into the officer cadre in roughly three to four years, either through an internal written exam or through a seniority-cum-merit route, both spelled out in the bank's promotion policy. From there the ladder runs through the junior management and middle management officer grades over a career. This internal mobility, combined with the pay that starts higher than most other clerical jobs, is a large part of why SBI Clerk draws lakhs of applicants each cycle. For a graduate who wants a banking career but is not yet ready for the officer exam, the clerk route is a genuine foot in the door.

Documents you will need

Keep these ready before the application window opens, since the SBI portal times out if you leave the form to search for files.

1. A recent passport-size photograph and a scanned signature in the SBI-specified format.
2. Your degree certificate and mark sheets, for the qualification and date-of-birth details.
3. Your Class 10 or 12 marksheet showing the local language, if you want to claim LPT exemption.
4. A category certificate (OBC, SC, ST, EWS, or PwBD) where you claim relaxation.
5. A valid photo ID and an active email and mobile number for all exam alerts.

Choosing your state and language

The single decision that quietly shapes your SBI Clerk chances is the state you apply for. You apply against one state's vacancy pool, and two things follow from that choice. First, the cutoff varies by state, so a state with more vacancies or fewer applicants can close at a lower mark. Second, and more important, you take on that state's local language obligation, which the LPT verifies after the mains. Applying for a state whose language you cannot read, write, and speak is a common and avoidable way to lose a seat you earned on the exam. Pick the state where your language proficiency and, ideally, the vacancy count both work in your favour, rather than chasing a low cutoff into a language you do not know.

A preparation plan that fits SBI Clerk

The two-stage structure asks for a two-speed plan. The prelims is a speed test under strict sectional timing, so early preparation should build accuracy and pace in English, numerical ability, and reasoning, with daily timed sectional drills rather than long untimed study. Because you cannot carry saved time between sections, learning to abandon a hard question quickly is itself a scoring skill. Once the prelims is within reach, shift weight to the mains, where quantitative aptitude, reasoning with computer aptitude, and general and financial awareness decide the merit. Financial awareness rewards a steady habit of reading banking and economy news across the six months before the exam, and it is the section where well-prepared candidates pull ahead. Data interpretation sits in both quantitative and reasoning and deserves dedicated practice, since a single lengthy set can swing several marks. Throughout, mock tests taken at the same time of day as your slot, followed by an honest review of every error, do more for your score than fresh theory in the final weeks.

What happens between the prelims and 23 November

The preliminary examination is a screening stage and its marks do not carry into the final merit. Clearing it puts you into the main examination on 23 November 2026, and the mains score alone decides the merit list, because SBI Clerk has no interview at any stage.

That gives a candidate who sat on 26 or 27 September roughly eight weeks. It is the most valuable stretch in this recruitment and the one most often wasted waiting for the prelims result, which is not needed to start preparing.

The mains tests four areas the prelims does not touch in the same depth: General and Financial Awareness, General English, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability with Computer Aptitude. Financial awareness across the six months before the exam is the standard scope, and it is the section that separates candidates most reliably, because it rewards accumulation rather than technique.

After the mains comes the Local Language Proficiency Test. It is qualifying rather than scored, but failing it ends the application regardless of your mains marks, and it is tested on the language of the state you applied to.

Frequently asked questions

When is the SBI Clerk 2026 prelims exam? 26 and 27 September 2026, in four shifts a day. SBI released the prelims call letter on 21 September 2026 on sbi.bank.in, and the shift and centre are printed on it. The recruitment runs under advertisement CRPD/CR/2026-27/17 and applications closed on 31 August 2026.

How many vacancies are there in SBI Clerk 2026? 9,766 in total, made up of 7,680 regular vacancies and 2,086 backlog vacancies. The backlog posts are reserved-category vacancies carried forward from earlier cycles and are open only to those categories, so for most candidates the real pool is 7,680. The previous Junior Associate cycle carried 13,735 posts, which makes 2026 a materially smaller recruitment.

What is the SBI Clerk in-hand salary? A Junior Associate starts on a basic near Rs 26,730, including two graduate increments, on a pay scale of about Rs 24,050 to Rs 64,480. With allowances, the in-hand works out to roughly Rs 40,000 to Rs 43,000 a month, varying by posting city.

Is there an interview in SBI Clerk selection? No. SBI Clerk selection is Preliminary exam, then Main exam, then a Local Language Proficiency Test. The LPT replaces the interview, and the final merit rests on the main exam score alone.

What is the age limit for SBI Clerk 2026? The age limit for the Junior Associate post is 20 to 28 years, with relaxation of 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC and ST, and 10 years for PwBD candidates, plus further relaxation for ex-servicemen and specified groups per the notification.

Is there negative marking in SBI Clerk? Yes. Both the prelims and the mains deduct 0.25 marks for each wrong answer. There is no sectional cutoff in the mains, so you qualify on the overall score.

What is the LPT and who is exempt? The Local Language Proficiency Test checks whether you can read, write, and speak the official language of the state you applied for. Candidates who studied that language in Class 10 or 12 are exempt on producing the marksheet. Failing the LPT leads to disqualification regardless of exam scores.

What is the difference between SBI Clerk and IBPS Clerk? SBI Clerk recruits only for the State Bank of India, pays around Rs 40,000 to 43,000 in-hand, promotes to officer cadre in about three to four years, and runs an extra LPT stage. IBPS Clerk recruits for 11 public-sector banks with a slightly lower in-hand and gentler cutoffs.