SBI Clerk 2026 Syllabus and Exam Pattern: Prelims, Mains and Language Test

SBI recruits Junior Associates (Customer Support & Sales), the clerical cadre usually called SBI Clerk, through an online Preliminary exam, an online Main exam and a test of the local language. This post follows SBI's advertisement No. CRPD/CR/2026-27/17 and the "Acquaint Yourself" booklet SBI issued for the 2026 Prelims. The advert placed Prelims tentatively in September 2026 and Mains tentatively in November 2026. Check the current dates on SBI's careers page.

SBI Clerk 2026 exam pattern at a glance

All figures are from the advertisement. In both stages, each test has its own timer.

Prelims: rules that matter

• Negative marking: one-fourth of the marks given to a question is deducted for each wrong answer. A blank question costs nothing.
• Five options: the Prelims booklet says each of the 100 questions has 5 alternatives.
• No cut-off by section or in aggregate: the advert says no minimum qualifying marks are prescribed for individual tests or for the aggregate score, and section-wise marks are not kept.
• Shortlist for Mains: about 10 times the number of vacancies in each category, taken in descending order of aggregate marks.
• Language of the paper: English Language is set only in English. The other two tests are in English and Hindi, and in some States also in a regional language listed in the advert.
• No calculator: the booklet does not allow a calculator, separate or on a watch.

Because there is no sectional cut-off in Prelims, your total is what counts. Still, a weak section limits the total, and the separate 20-minute timers mean you cannot move spare time from one section to another. The SBI Clerk exam pattern page shows how our mocks copy this timing.

Mains: rules that matter

• Negative marking: the same one-fourth rule applies.
• Aggregate qualifying marks: you need a minimum percentage in aggregate, as decided by the Bank, with a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD/XS/DXS candidates. There is no minimum for individual tests, and section-wise marks are not kept.
• Unequal marks in Reasoning: Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude has 50 questions but 60 marks. The advert does not say how the extra marks are spread across questions.
• Final merit: Prelims marks are not added. Only the aggregate Mains marks decide provisional selection, and the merit list is drawn State-wise and category-wise.
• Apprentice bonus: trained SBI apprentices who meet the advert's conditions (engagement starting on or after 01.01.2022 and one year of branch experience completed by 31.08.2026) get 2.5% of the maximum marks, that is 5 out of 200, as bonus marks.

Section-wise syllabus

SBI does not publish a chapter-by-chapter syllabus for this post. The booklet describes each test in a sentence and gives sample questions. The table below puts the official description next to the sample question types SBI printed.

The booklet also warns that its samples are "only illustrative and not exhaustive", so the actual paper can include other question types. To see what SBI has really asked, work through the original papers on our SBI Clerk previous year papers page. A topic list built from those papers is on the SBI Clerk syllabus page.

For Mains, the financial awareness part is the one section that Prelims does not test at all. Since Mains marks alone decide selection, start reading banking and current news well before the Prelims result.

Test of the local language

Each candidate applies for one State or UT and opts for one local language of that State at the time of applying. The test comes after provisional selection on Mains marks and before joining.

• Who is exempt: a candidate who produces a 10th or 12th standard mark sheet or certificate showing they studied the opted language.
• Who fails: a candidate not found proficient is not offered appointment.

The advert gives the pattern of this Local Language Proficiency Test:

You need the minimum qualifying marks the Bank decides in each test, with a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD/XS/DXS candidates. The marks do not enter the merit list.

How to use this pattern

1. Practise each section on its own clock. Twenty minutes for 35 Numerical questions is tight. Use the SBI Clerk quant mock test to time just that section.
2. Count your wrong answers. With a quarter-mark penalty, four wrong answers wipe out one right answer.
3. Plan for Mains early. Mains has more questions, a new awareness section and is the only stage that ranks you.
4. Check the language rule for your State. If you did not study the opted language in class 10 or 12, prepare for the language test as well.

You can take full timed papers with negative marking in our live bank exam tests.