How SBI Clerk selection works
SBI Clerk (Junior Associate, Customer Support & Sales) is State Bank of India’s own clerical recruitment, run state/UT-wise: you apply for the vacancies of one state/UT only and can appear only once in this recruitment. The advertisement sets three phases — an online prelims that shortlists, an online Main exam whose aggregate decides the merit list, and a test of your opted local language for those who need it. Merit is drawn state-wise and category-wise, and selected candidates are posted in the state they applied for.
Stage-by-stage flow
- Prelims — shortlisting online testThere are no minimum qualifying marks for any test or the aggregate. Candidates are ranked on aggregate marks, and roughly 10 times the vacancies in each category (subject to availability) are shortlisted for Mains. Prelims marks don’t carry forward.
- Mains — the scored stageFour objective tests. You need a minimum percentage on the aggregate, decided by the bank, with 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD/XS/DXS; there is no minimum for individual tests.
- Provisional selectionQualified candidates are placed in descending order of Mains aggregate within their state and category, and provisional selection is made on that merit. Results are put up on SBI’s website.
- Local Language Proficiency TestQualifying, held after provisional selection but before joining — unless your Class 10 or 12 mark sheet/certificate shows you studied the opted language.
- Verification & joiningFinal selection is subject to verification of your eligibility and the information in your application. Appointment also needs medical fitness and KYE (know your employee) formalities.
Prelims — the gateway
A 1-hour online objective test for 100 marks: English Language (30 questions, 30 marks, in English only), Numerical Ability (35 questions, 35 marks) and Reasoning Ability (35 questions, 35 marks), each separately timed at 20 minutes. One-fourth of a question’s marks is deducted for each wrong answer. No minimum qualifying marks are prescribed for the individual tests or the aggregate, and section-wise marks are not maintained; about 10 times the vacancies in each category are shortlisted for Mains on aggregate marks. The advertisement schedules the 2026 prelims tentatively in September 2026; call letters are out, and your exact date and shift are on your call letter.
Mains — the decider
Four separately timed objective tests — General/Financial Awareness (50 questions, 50 marks, 35 min), General English (40 questions, 40 marks, 35 min, in English only), Quantitative Aptitude (50 questions, 50 marks, 45 min) and Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 questions, 60 marks, 45 min): 190 questions and 200 marks in 2 hours 40 minutes, with one-fourth of a question’s marks deducted for each wrong answer. You must reach a minimum percentage on the aggregate, decided by the bank (5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD/XS/DXS); no minimum is prescribed for individual tests and section-wise marks are not maintained. Only the Mains aggregate counts for the final merit list. The advertisement schedules the Mains tentatively in November 2026.
Final merit & provisional selection
Prelims marks are not added: only the aggregate marks in the Main exam are used to prepare the final merit list. Candidates who qualify the Mains are placed in descending order of aggregate marks in their state and category, and provisional selection is made on that basis. SBI trained apprentices who meet the conditions (engagement on or after 1 January 2022, one year’s branch experience completed by 31 August 2026, satisfactory conduct, the trade test passed and the joint National Apprenticeship Certificate) get 2.5% of the maximum marks — 5 out of 200 — added to their Mains aggregate. Final selection remains subject to eligibility verification and, where applicable, the language test.
Local Language Proficiency Test
You must be proficient — reading, writing, speaking and understanding — in the local language you opted for from your state/UT’s list in the vacancy table. Provisionally selected candidates who did not study that language in Class 10 or 12 take the LLPT after provisional selection and before joining, at a centre in the state applied for (decided by the bank), at their own expense. It has a Non-Verbal Test — an objective section (3 passages, 15 questions, 15 marks) and a subjective section (3 passages, 15 questions, 15 marks) — and a Verbal Test of 20 marks. You need the bank’s minimum qualifying marks in each test (5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD/XS/DXS); if you don’t qualify, you won’t be offered appointment.
The advertisement does not give a date for the language test or the final result; watch SBI’s careers page for the schedule.
Documents & joining
Admission to the exams is provisional: SBI determines eligibility only at the time of joining, so keep your documents ready. Certificates for any age relaxation are submitted at joining; OBC candidates need a non-creamy-layer certificate issued between 1 April 2026 and the date of joining; EWS candidates must produce an Income & Asset Certificate for FY 2025-26 on the date of document verification, with no extension; SC/ST candidates submit a caste certificate in the Government of India format; and PwBD candidates need a disability certificate dated on or before the last date of registration. Employees of government offices, PSUs, nationalised banks or financial institutions must bring a discharge certificate from their employer. Before joining you also declare any pending criminal cases, and appointment is subject to medical fitness and KYE. New Junior Associates serve a probation of at least 6 months and must complete the prescribed e-lessons to be confirmed.
Crack SBI Clerk with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ practice sets & timed mocks — to the SBI Clerk pattern.
Peak for Mains, the stage that counts
Since only the Main exam builds your rank, JobSafal weights your plan toward Mains — while still getting you into the prelims shortlist.
Mains-weighted plan
Make the prelims shortlist, then peak for the Mains tests that decide merit.
Full CBT mocks
Real-interface mocks with rank comparison.
Date alerts
Prelims result, Mains call letter and final result reminders.
PYQ practice sets
Practice sets in the SBI Clerk pattern for prelims and Mains.
