SBI Clerk eligibility at a glance
The baseline: be an Indian citizen, be 20–28 years old on 1 April 2026, be a graduate by 31 December 2026, and be proficient in the local language of the one state/UT you apply for. SBI admits everyone who applied with the fee to the tests provisionally and checks age, qualification and category documents only at joining — so check every rule yourself.
Nationality
SBI invited applications from eligible Indian citizens only. Two further rules decide whether you can apply at all:
Before joining, selected candidates must disclose any pending criminal case, and SBI may verify police records. Appointment is also subject to being declared medically fit and completing the bank’s KYE (Know Your Employee) formalities.
Age limit
There is one age band for the post, counted as on 01.04.2026:
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Minimum age | 20 years |
| Maximum age | 28 years (General & EWS) |
| Date of birth | Not earlier than 02.04.1998 and not later than 01.04.2006 (both dates inclusive) |
Reserved categories get the upper-age relaxations below. Copies of the certificates for any relaxation must be submitted at the time of joining, and no change of category is allowed after registration.
Age relaxation
The upper age limit is relaxed for these categories. Relaxations are not cumulative — you cannot add one item to another.
| Category | Age relaxation |
|---|---|
| OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) | 3 years |
| SC / ST | 5 years |
| PwBD (General / EWS · OBC · SC/ST) | 10 years · 13 years · 15 years |
| Ex-Servicemen (XS) / Disabled Ex-Servicemen (DXS) | Actual period of service in the defence forces + 3 years (8 years for DXS belonging to SC/ST), up to a maximum age of 50 years |
| Widows, divorced women and women judicially separated from their husbands who have not remarried | 7 years, up to a maximum age of 35 (General/EWS), 38 (OBC) or 40 (SC/ST) |
| Trained apprentices of SBI | General/EWS 1 year, OBC 4, SC/ST 6, PwBD (General/EWS) 11, PwBD (OBC) 14, PwBD (SC/ST) 16 |
OBC candidates need a non-creamy layer certificate in the Government of India format, issued between 01.04.2026 and the date of taking up appointment; creamy-layer OBC candidates apply as General. The apprentice relaxation applies only if your engagement started on or after 01.01.2022, you completed one year of branch experience in SBI by 31.08.2026 with satisfactory conduct, passed the trade test and hold the joint National Apprenticeship Certificate. Serving armed forces personnel can apply as ex-servicemen only if their specified period of engagement ends on or before 31.08.2027. Dependents of servicemen killed in action do not get the ex-servicemen age or education relaxation.
Educational qualification & language
Graduation in any discipline from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Central Government, as on 31.12.2026. The rules that come with it:
Language test: if your Class 10 or 12 mark sheet / certificate shows you studied the opted language, you don’t take the Local Language Proficiency Test. Otherwise you must qualify in it after provisional selection and before joining — failing it means no appointment.
Application fee, state and category rules
Registration and fee payment ran online from 11.08.2026 to 31.08.2026. Your category decides your fee, age relaxation and reservation — and it cannot be changed after you register.
Application fee
Nil for SC/ST/PwBD/XS/DXS candidates; ₹750 for General/OBC/EWS. Paid online by debit card, credit card or internet banking. It is non-refundable and can’t be held over for another exam.
One state/UT only
You apply for the vacancies of one state/UT and can appear only once. You may sit the exam at any notified centre, but you are considered only for the state/UT you applied for, and if selected you are posted there — with no inter-state transfer before 5 years’ service.
EWS
An Income & Asset Certificate on the Government of India format, for FY 2025-26 and valid for 2026-27, issued by a competent authority. If you can’t produce it at document verification, you won’t be considered.
Category is final
No change of category is allowed after registration. Admission to the tests is provisional; your documents are verified only at joining.
Persons with benchmark disabilities
The advertisement sets no physical standards for this post. 4% of posts are reserved horizontally for persons with benchmark disabilities — at least 40% of a specified disability — under section 34 of the RPwD Act, 2016, in these categories:
| Category | Code | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Visual impairment | VI | Blindness and low vision |
| Hearing impairment | HI | Deaf and hard of hearing |
| Locomotor disability | LD | Including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, acid attack victims, and spinal deformity or injury |
| Intellectual disability & others | d | Autism spectrum disorder (mild), intellectual disability, specific learning disability, mental illness |
| Multiple disabilities | e | A combination of the categories above |
You need a disability certificate from a competent authority, dated on or before the last date of registration (31.08.2026). Candidates with 40% or more disability who have a physical limitation to write may use a scribe they arrange at their own cost, and get compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour of the exam whether or not they use one. Full rules are in para 2 of the official advertisement.
Crack SBI Clerk with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ practice sets & timed mocks — built around the SBI Clerk pattern.
Cleared the eligibility check? Start day one
Eligibility gets you to the start line — a plan gets you across it. Once you know you qualify, JobSafal turns the SBI Clerk syllabus into a daily routine.
Daily study plan
The prelims and mains syllabus sequenced into short daily targets.
PYQ practice sets
Six timed SBI Clerk sets to check your speed and accuracy.
Timed mocks
Full-length mocks in a timed test interface, with analysis after each attempt.
English & Hindi
Notes and practice in both languages.
