SBI Clerk 2026 is one of the most awaited banking recruitment exams in India, conducted by the State Bank of India to fill Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) posts across its nationwide branch network. As the country’s largest public sector bank, SBI offers this recruitment as a genuine pathway to long-term career stability, competitive pay, and social prestige, which is exactly why lakhs of graduates compete for it every year. The SBI Clerk 2026 notification is expected in August 2026, with the Prelims exam tentatively scheduled for September 26, 27, and October 3, 2026, followed by the Mains exam on November 23, 2026. This guide covers everything confirmed so far about SBI Clerk 2026 vacancy trends, eligibility rules, salary structure, exam pattern, and the full selection process in one comprehensive resource.
Unlike many government exams that include a formal interview round, SBI Clerk 2026 selection is based purely on performance across the Preliminary Exam, Main Exam, and a qualifying Language Proficiency Test (LPT) meaning your written test performance alone determines your final placement on the merit list.
What Is the SBI Clerk Exam 2026?
The SBI Clerk exam recruits candidates for the Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) role at State Bank of India branches nationwide. Junior Associates handle core day-to-day banking functions processing deposits and withdrawals, managing fund transfers, resolving account inquiries, and supporting overall branch operations. Because this role puts candidates in direct daily contact with customers, strong communication skills and comfort with routine transactional work matter just as much as exam performance. The absence of an interview round means the entire selection outcome rests on how candidates perform across the written examination stages.
SBI Clerk 2026 Notification
As of mid-2026, the official SBI Clerk 2026 notification has not yet been released. It is expected to go live in August 2026 on the SBI Careers portal, with online applications opening the same month. Candidates should treat the coming months as preparation time and regularly check the official website for the notification PDF, since exact vacancy numbers, application deadlines, and any changes to the exam pattern will only be confirmed at that point.
SBI Clerk 2026 Highlights
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Conducting Body | State Bank of India (SBI) |
| Post Name | Junior Associate / Clerk |
| Vacancies | To be announced |
| Category | Bank Job |
| Application Mode | Online |
| Age Limit | 20 to 28 years |
| Minimum Qualification | Graduation (Bachelor’s Degree) |
| Selection Stages | Prelims, Mains, Language Proficiency Test |
| Exam Mode | Online |
| Approximate Starting Salary | ₹46,000 (inclusive of allowances) |
| Official Website | sbi.bank.in |
SBI Clerk 2026 Important Dates (Expected)
| Event | Expected Date |
|---|---|
| Notification Release | August 2026 |
| Online Application Opens | August 2026 |
| Application Closing Date | To be announced |
| Prelims Exam | September 26, 27 & October 3, 2026 |
| Mains Exam | November 23, 2026 |
SBI Clerk Vacancy 2026 (Expected)
The exact SBI Clerk 2026 vacancy count hasn’t been announced yet, but reviewing recent years gives a useful sense of scale and volatility:
| Year | Vacancies |
|---|---|
| 2026 | To be announced |
| 2025 | 6,589 |
| 2024 | 14,191 |
| 2023 | 8,773 |
| 2022 | 5,486 |
| 2021 | 5,454 |
| 2020 | 7,870 |
| 2019 | 8,593 |
| 2018 | 7,200 |
Given this fluctuation — ranging from roughly 2,000 to over 14,000 openings in a single year, candidates shouldn’t assume any specific number for 2026 until SBI publishes the official notification.
SBI Clerk 2026 Eligibility Criteria
Age Limit
- Minimum age: 20 years
- Maximum age: 28 years
- Age relaxation: Applied according to standard government reservation norms
Category-Wise Age Relaxation
| Category | Upper Age Limit After Relaxation |
|---|---|
| SC/ST | 33 years |
| OBC | 31 years |
| PwD (General) | 38 years |
| PwD (SC/ST) | 43 years |
| PwD (OBC) | 41 years |
| Ex-Servicemen/Disabled Ex-Servicemen | Actual service period + 3 years |
| Widows/Divorced Women | 7 years (subject to a maximum of 35 years for General/EWS, 38 for OBC, 40 for SC/ST) |
| SBI Trained Apprentices (General/EWS) | +1 year |
| SBI Trained Apprentices (OBC) | +4 years |
| SBI Trained Apprentices (SC/ST) | +6 years |
| SBI Trained Apprentices, PwBD (Gen/EWS) | +11 years |
| SBI Trained Apprentices, PwBD (OBC) | +14 years |
| SBI Trained Apprentices, PwBD (SC/ST) | +16 years |
Educational Qualification
- A Bachelor’s degree from any UGC-recognized university is mandatory.
- Candidates holding an Integrated Dual Degree (IDD) should confirm their exact passing date meets the eligibility cutoff.
- Final-year students may apply provisionally but must complete their degree before joining if selected.
- Ex-servicemen who have completed 15 years of defence service and hold the relevant certification are also eligible under specific conditions.
- Basic computer literacy is required, since day-to-day branch work is largely system-based.
Nationality Requirements
Applicants must hold Indian citizenship, or fall under one of these categories: a citizen of Nepal or Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee who arrived in India before January 1, 1962, or a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) from specified countries — PIO applicants additionally require an eligibility certificate issued by the Government of India.
Number of Attempts
There’s no cap on how many times a candidate can attempt the SBI Clerk exam. As long as you remain within the applicable age limit for your category, you can reapply each year the notification is released.
SBI Clerk 2026 Application Process
Online registration will open through the official SBI careers portal (sbi.bank.in) once the notification is released. The general process involves completing the application form with personal and educational details, uploading a scanned photograph and signature per the specified format, and submitting the prescribed application fee online.
SBI Clerk 2026 Application Fee
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| General/OBC/EWS | ₹750 |
| SC/ST/PwD | Nil |
SBI Clerk 2026 Selection Process
Selection unfolds across three stages, and candidates must clear each one to receive a final appointment:
- Preliminary Examination — A qualifying-stage screening test.
- Main Examination — The scoring stage that primarily determines your position on the final merit list.
- Language Proficiency Test (LPT) — A qualifying test assessing your proficiency in the local language of the state you’ve applied for.
Notably, there is no interview round in the SBI Clerk selection process — your final outcome depends entirely on written exam performance and qualifying the LPT.
SBI Clerk 2026 Exam Pattern
Prelims Exam Pattern
The Preliminary Exam consists of 100 objective questions worth 1 mark each, to be completed within 60 minutes. A negative marking of 0.25 marks applies for every incorrect answer.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 minutes |
Mains Exam Pattern
The Main Exam is conducted online in an objective, multiple-choice format, carrying a total of 200 marks across four sections, to be completed within 2 hours and 40 minutes. Each section has its own fixed time allocation.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| General English | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 45 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 minutes |
| General/Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 35 minutes |
| Total | 190 | 200 | 2 hours 40 minutes |
Language Proficiency Test
After clearing both Prelims and Mains, candidates must appear for the LPT, which tests fluency in the official/local language of the state applied for. This is a qualifying round rather than a scoring one, but failing it can still disqualify an otherwise successful candidate.
SBI Clerk Syllabus 2026
The Prelims and Mains syllabus overlaps significantly, though Mains questions are generally more difficult:
- Reasoning: logical reasoning, alphanumeric series, ranking/direction/alphabet tests, data sufficiency, coded inequalities, seating arrangement, puzzles, tabulation, syllogism, blood relations, input-output, coding-decoding
- Quantitative Aptitude: simplification, profit and loss, mixtures and allegations, simple and compound interest, surds and indices, work and time, time and distance, mensuration (cylinder, cone, sphere), data interpretation, ratio and proportion, percentage, number systems, sequence and series, permutation, combination and probability
- English Language: reading comprehension, cloze test, para jumbles, fill in the blanks, multiple meaning/error spotting, paragraph completion
- Mains-only addition — General/Financial Awareness and Computer Aptitude: current banking and financial affairs, along with fundamental computer knowledge relevant to daily branch operations
SBI Clerk 2026 Exam Medium
The Prelims and Mains exams are conducted bilingually or trilingually in English plus Hindi, and in many states, an additional regional language. For example, candidates in Tamil Nadu can attempt the exam in English, Hindi, or Tamil; candidates in West Bengal can choose English, Hindi, or Bengali; and candidates in Karnataka can choose English, Hindi, or Kannada. Each state has its own specific language options as notified by SBI, so candidates should confirm their state’s exact medium choices when the official notification is released.
SBI Clerk 2026 Salary Structure
The SBI Clerk pay scale follows the structure: ₹24,050–1340/3–28,070–1650/3–33,020–2000/4–41,020–2340/7–57,400–4400/1–61,800–2680/1–64,480. In practical terms, the starting basic pay is approximately ₹26,730 per month, and total starting emoluments including Dearness Allowance and other applicable allowances come to roughly ₹46,000 per month.
Probation Period
Newly selected clerks serve a 6-month probation period, during which their performance is formally assessed. Underperformance during this window can result in an extended probation period before confirmation.
SBI Clerk 2026 Exam Centres
SBI conducts the Prelims and Mains exams across a wide network of cities spanning every state and union territory from Port Blair in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands to Leh in Ladakh, and from Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. Major hubs include Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow, alongside numerous tier-2 and tier-3 cities in every region. Candidates select their preferred exam city during the application process, subject to seat availability, and the final allotted centre is confirmed on the admit card.
| SBI Official Website | https://sbi.bank.in/web/careers |
| Home Page | cbtexams.in |
FAQs
When will the SBI Clerk 2026 notification be released?
The SBI Clerk notification 2026 is expected in August 2026 on the official SBI Careers portal, with online applications opening the same month.
Is there an interview in the SBI Clerk selection process?
No. Final selection is based entirely on performance in the Preliminary Exam, Main Exam, and the qualifying Language Proficiency Test — there is no interview round.
What is the expected salary for SBI Clerk 2026?
The approximate starting salary, including Dearness Allowance and other allowances, is around ₹46,000 per month, with a basic starting pay of roughly ₹26,730.
How many vacancies will be announced for SBI Clerk 2026?
The exact number hasn’t been announced yet. Recent years have ranged widely, from around 5,000 to over 14,000 vacancies, so candidates should wait for the official notification rather than assume a specific figure.
Is there negative marking in the SBI Clerk exam?
Yes, the Prelims exam applies a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each incorrect answer.
How many times can I attempt the SBI Clerk exam?
There is no fixed limit on attempts. You can apply every year the notification is released, as long as you remain within your category’s applicable age limit.
What is the SBI Clerk 2026 exam pattern?
Prelims consists of 100 questions across English, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning within 60 minutes. Mains consists of 190 questions worth 200 marks across English, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, and General/Financial Awareness within 2 hours 40 minutes, followed by a qualifying Language Proficiency Test.