Exam Overview
SBI Clerk 2026: 9,124 Vacancies, Exam Date & Syllabus
SBI Clerk 2026: check 9,124 Junior Associate vacancies, Prelims exam date, eligibility, syllabus, exam pattern, salary, local language test and preparation details.
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Exam Description
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The SBI Clerk 2026 recruitment is being conducted by the State Bank of India for appointment to the post of Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) in SBI’s clerical cadre.
Under Advertisement No. CRPD/CR/2026-27/17, SBI has notified 7,680 regular vacancies and 1,444 backlog vacancies, giving a total of 9,124 vacancies in the main Junior Associate recruitment. Applications were accepted from 11 August to 31 August 2026.
Latest Update: The SBI Clerk Preliminary Examination call letter is now available on SBI’s Careers portal. The Prelims examination is scheduled for 26 and 27 September 2026.
Candidates who qualify Prelims will proceed to the Main Examination, which SBI’s notification schedules tentatively for November 2026. Final selection is based on Main Examination performance, subject to eligibility verification and the specified local-language requirement.
SBI Clerk 2026 Overview
| Particular | SBI Clerk 2026 Details |
|---|---|
| Organisation | State Bank of India |
| Post | Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) |
| Common Name | SBI Clerk |
| Advertisement | CRPD/CR/2026-27/17 |
| Regular Vacancies | 7,680 |
| Backlog Vacancies in Main Notification | 1,444 |
| Total Main Recruitment Vacancies | 9,124 |
| Application Dates | 11–31 August 2026 |
| Prelims Exam | 26–27 September 2026 |
| Mains Exam | Tentatively November 2026 |
| Minimum Qualification | Graduation |
| Qualification Cut-off | 31 December 2026 |
| Standard Age Limit | 20–28 years |
| Age Cut-off | 1 April 2026 |
| Selection | Prelims → Mains → LLPT where applicable |
| Interview | No |
| Starting Basic Pay | ₹26,730 |
| Approx. Starting Emoluments in Mumbai | Around ₹46,000/month |
| Application Fee | ₹750 for General/OBC/EWS; Nil for specified exempt categories |
What Is SBI Clerk?
SBI Clerk is the commonly used name for the Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) recruitment conducted by the State Bank of India.
Candidates selected through this examination join SBI in the clerical cadre and can work in areas such as customer service, account-related operations, deposits and withdrawals, branch documentation, digital-banking assistance, payment services and other day-to-day banking functions.
SBI Clerk vs IBPS Clerk: Unlike IBPS Clerk, where successful candidates may be allotted among several participating public sector banks, SBI Clerk recruitment is exclusively for State Bank of India.
That distinction makes SBI Clerk a separate recruitment even though its Reasoning, Numerical Ability, English and Banking Awareness question patterns overlap heavily with IBPS Clerk.
SBI Clerk Vacancy 2026
SBI’s official notification gives the following vacancy position:
| Vacancy Type | Posts |
|---|---|
| Regular Vacancies | 7,680 |
| Backlog Vacancies | 1,444 |
| Total | 9,124 |
The regular vacancies are distributed across States/UTs and reservation categories. The notification’s total row shows 1,114 SC, 837 ST, 1,716 OBC, 760 EWS and 3,253 General vacancies, giving 7,680 regular vacancies.
| Category | Regular Vacancies |
|---|---|
| SC | 1,114 |
| ST | 837 |
| OBC | 1,716 |
| EWS | 760 |
| General | 3,253 |
| Total | 7,680 |
The largest regular vacancy pools include Maharashtra with 1,718, Tamil Nadu with 1,410, Odisha with 1,100 and Karnataka with 760 vacancies.
Vacancy Note: SBI states that these vacancies are provisional and can change according to the bank’s actual requirements.
A detailed SBI Clerk Vacancy 2026 page should separately cover regular vacancies, backlog vacancies, State/UT-wise distribution, reservation categories and local-language requirements.
Important: SBI Also Has a Separate Backlog Recruitment Drive
Candidates may encounter another SBI Junior Associate notification during the same year.
SBI separately advertised 1,538 SC/ST/OBC backlog vacancies under Advertisement No. CRPD/CR/SPLDRIVE/2026-27/16. That recruitment had its own application process and examination.
It should therefore be displayed separately from the 9,124 vacancies under the main CRPD/CR/2026-27/17 recruitment.
This distinction is especially useful because vacancy figures from different SBI recruitment exercises should not be mixed.
SBI Clerk Exam Date 2026
The current SBI Clerk Prelims call letter has been released, and the regular Junior Associate Preliminary Examination is scheduled for 26 September 2026 and 27 September 2026.
SBI’s original notification had described Prelims as tentatively scheduled for September 2026 and Mains for November 2026.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Notification/Application Start | 11 August 2026 |
| Last Date to Apply | 31 August 2026 |
| Prelims Call Letter | Available |
| SBI Clerk Prelims | 26–27 September 2026 |
| SBI Clerk Mains | Tentatively November 2026 |
| Local Language Test | After provisional selection, where required |
Current Preparation Focus: Because the Preliminary Examination is now only days away, current-cycle preparation should focus heavily on mock tests, accuracy, sectional timing and revision.
SBI Clerk Eligibility Criteria 2026
Candidates must satisfy age, educational and local-language requirements.
Age Limit
The standard age requirement is 20 to 28 years as on 1 April 2026.
Candidates must have been born not earlier than 2 April 1998 and not later than 1 April 2006, with both dates included.
Age Relaxation: Upper-age relaxation includes five years for SC/ST candidates, three years for OBC candidates and additional concessions for eligible PwBD, ex-servicemen and other specified categories.
Educational Qualification
Candidates need a graduation degree in any discipline from a recognised university or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Central Government.
Final-Year Students: Final-year/semester students were also permitted to apply provisionally, provided they can produce proof of having completed graduation on or before 31 December 2026 if provisionally selected.
This makes the educational cut-off significantly different from some IBPS recruitment cycles.
SBI Clerk Local Language Requirement
Candidates can apply for vacancies in one State/UT only and must be proficient in the specified local language of that State/UT in reading, writing, speaking and understanding.
Candidates who produce a Class 10 or Class 12 certificate showing that they studied the selected local language are exempt from the separate local-language test.
Other provisionally selected candidates must qualify the Local Language Proficiency Test (LLPT) before joining.
Important: Failure to qualify the Local Language Proficiency Test means appointment will not be offered.
This requirement should be covered in detail on the dedicated SBI Clerk Eligibility Criteria 2026 page.
SBI Clerk Prelims Exam Pattern 2026
The Preliminary Examination contains 100 questions for 100 marks in 60 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 min |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 min |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 min |
Each section is separately timed.
Negative Marking: SBI applies one-fourth negative marking for incorrect answers.
The current notification states that no minimum qualifying marks are prescribed for individual Prelims tests or aggregate score, and section-wise marks are not maintained.
Candidates are shortlisted for Mains in descending order of aggregate marks, approximately up to ten times the number of vacancies subject to availability.
SBI Clerk Mains Exam Pattern 2026
The Main Examination is considerably larger and contains 190 questions carrying 200 marks in 2 hours 40 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| General / Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 35 min |
| General English | 40 | 40 | 35 min |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 45 min |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 min |
| Total | 190 | 200 | 160 min |
Final Merit: Only the aggregate Main Examination marks are considered for preparation of the final merit list. Prelims marks are not added to final selection.
SBI Clerk Syllabus 2026
The Prelims syllabus revolves around three major areas.
English Language
English Language includes Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, fillers, error spotting, sentence correction, para jumbles, vocabulary and contextual grammar.
Numerical Ability
Numerical Ability includes simplification, approximation, number series, Data Interpretation and arithmetic topics such as percentage, ratio, average, profit-loss, interest, time-work and time-speed-distance.
Reasoning Ability
Reasoning Ability includes puzzles, seating arrangements, syllogism, inequalities, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking and alphanumeric reasoning.
Mains: The Main Examination adds General/Financial Awareness and Computer Aptitude, while Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning move to a more demanding level.
The detailed SBI Clerk Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2026 page should cover every topic separately and connect those topics directly to PraveshExam practice-question pages.
SBI Clerk Preparation Strategy 2026
With Prelims on 26–27 September, candidates preparing now should not try to rebuild their entire syllabus.
The focus should be on timed Prelims mocks, frequently recurring question types, weak-topic correction and avoiding unnecessary negative marks.
All three sections have 20-minute limits, so candidates need to know which questions to attempt immediately and which to leave.
Final-Days Focus: Mock Tests → Accuracy → Sectional Timing → Weak-Topic Correction → Revision
Mains preparation should continue in parallel, especially General/Financial Awareness, because that material cannot be built effectively in a few days after the Prelims result.
A detailed SBI Clerk Preparation Strategy 2026 page can include a current final-days plan alongside evergreen 90-day, 60-day and 30-day strategies.
SBI Clerk Salary 2026
One important SBI-specific detail is that although the clerical pay scale begins at ₹24,050, newly recruited graduate Junior Associates receive two advance increments, giving them a starting basic pay of ₹26,730.
The full pay scale is:
₹24,050–1,340/3–28,070–1,650/3–33,020–2,000/4–41,020–2,340/7–57,400–4,400/1–61,800–2,680/1–64,480
SBI states that the starting monthly emoluments for a clerical-cadre employee at a metro location such as Mumbai are around ₹46,000, including DA and other allowances at current rates. Allowances vary by posting location.
Probation: New Junior Associates are placed on a minimum six-month probation period.
SBI Clerk Application Fee 2026
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| General / OBC / EWS | ₹750 |
| SC / ST / PwBD / XS / DXS | Nil |
Fee Note: SBI states that the application fee and intimation charge are non-refundable.
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