The SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026 is the first thing every serious aspirant must understand before starting preparation. The State Bank of India conducts the Junior Associate exam in two written stages — Prelims and Mains — followed by a Local Language Proficiency Test for applicable candidates. There is no interview for SBI Clerk.

The SBI Clerk selection process has:

1. Preliminary Examination
2. Main Examination
3. Local Language Proficiency Test for candidates who do not have valid proof of studying the opted local language in Class 10 or 12. There is no interview.

There is negative marking of 1/4th mark for every wrong answer in the objective tests.

The official recruitment structure for Junior Associates consists of:

This is the screening stage. Candidates who qualify prelims are shortlisted for mains. Prelims marks are not added to the final merit list.

This is the decisive written stage for final selection. Final merit is prepared using mains marks only, subject to qualifying the local language requirement where applicable.

Candidates who cannot produce evidence of having studied the opted local language in Class 10 or 12 must appear in this test. Those who fail it are not appointed.

No. SBI Clerk does not have an interview stage.

Yes. Each section has its own fixed time limit.
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No. Prelims is qualifying/screening in nature for mains shortlisting.

Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude carries 60 marks, the highest among all mains sections.

Yes. For every wrong answer, 1/4th of the marks assigned to that question is deducted. This rule applies to the objective tests.

The recent official pattern states that minimum qualifying marks for individual subjects are not prescribed and section-wise marks are not maintained in the current format. Qualifying is based on aggregate as decided by the bank.

This is a highly searched query because many old pages still create confusion around sectional cut-off.

SBI Clerk has Prelims + Mains + Local Language Proficiency Test where applicable. There is no interview.

There are two written stages and one language stage for applicable candidates: Prelims, Mains, and Local Language Proficiency Test.

No, there is no interview.

There are 100 questions in Prelims.

Prelims is for 100 marks.

The total duration is 60 minutes.

There are 3 sections: English Language, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning Ability.

Each prelims section has 20 minutes.

There are 190 questions in Mains.

Mains is for 200 marks.

The total duration is 2 hours 40 minutes.

General/Financial Awareness, General English, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude.

Yes. 1/4th mark is deducted for each wrong answer.

Yes.

Yes.

No. Final merit is based on mains marks.

The recent official pattern says minimum qualifying marks for individual subjects are not prescribed, and section-wise marks are not maintained.

No. It is asked in Mains.

No. It appears in Mains with Reasoning Ability.

Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude with 60 marks.

Only for candidates who do not have valid proof of studying the opted local language in Class 10 or 12.

Yes, it is a screening stage for mains shortlisting.

Prelims tests speed in English, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning; mains is broader and includes GA plus higher-level reasoning/quant.

Yes, except the English language section. This aligns with the official SBI exam booklet structure.

Yes, generally the clerk pattern is comparatively less difficult, though competition remains high. This is an inference based on the official structures and standard exam difficulty framing.