SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026: Prelims & Mains Marking Scheme
State Bank of India Clerk Exam 2026 ( SBI Clerk )
SBI Clerk 2026 Prelims Exam Date (Regular Vacancies)
27 Sep '26
SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026: State Bank of India will conduct SBI Clerk Prelims exam on September 27, 2026 and October 3, 2026. This is high time to do frequent revision and solve mock test and question papers. It is also recommended to go through exam pattern and syllabus during course of preparation.
The SBI Clerk prelims exam is qualifying in nature and the marks scored by candidate will not be counted for final merit list. The SBI Clerk syllabus consists of the topics that candidate need to study for preparation. Read below for more details on SBI Clerk exam pattern.
- SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026
- SBI Clerk Syllabus 2026
- SBI Clerk Selection Process 2026
- SBI Clerk Preparation 2026
- SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026 FAQs
SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026
SBI Clerk Prelims Exam Pattern 2026
| Section | No of Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language |
30 |
30 |
20 Minutes |
| Numerical Ability |
35 |
35 |
20 Minutes |
| Reasoning Ability |
35 |
35 |
20 Minutes |
| Total |
100 |
100 |
1 Hour |
SBI Clerk Mains Exam Pattern 2026
| Name of test | No of Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| General/ Financial Awareness |
50 |
50 |
35 Minutes |
| General English |
40 |
40 |
35 Minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude |
50 |
50 |
45 Minutes |
| Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude |
50 |
60 |
45 Minutes |
| Total |
190 |
200 |
2 Hours 40 minutes |
Test of Specified Local Language
All candidates who get provisionally selected after clearing Preliminary and Main exams need to appear for a test of specified opted local language. Any candidate who fails to clear test will be disqualified from recruitment.
| Download SBI Clerk Syllabus - Click Here |
SBI Clerk Syllabus 2026
Syllabus of SBI Clerk exam consists of English Language, Reasoning Aptitude, Quantitative Aptitude and General or Financial Awareness. Each section is time based and so candidates need to maintain speed and accuracy to gain good score in examination. Syllabus outlines topics that candidates need to prepare for exam. Check below SBI Clerk syllabus.
| SBI Clerk Prelims Syllabus | |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Topics |
| Reasoning | Logical Reasoning, Alphanumeric Series, Data Sufficiency, Seating Arrangement, Syllogism, Blood Relations, Input-Output, Coding-Decoding, etc |
| Numerical Ability | Simplification, Profit & Loss, SI & CI, Time & Distance, Work & Time, Data Interpretation, Ratio, Proportion, Percentage, Number System, etc |
| English Language | Reading Comprehension, Cloze Test, Fill in the blanks, etc |
| SBI Clerk Mains Syllabus |
|
|---|---|
| Subjects |
Topics |
| Quantitative Aptitude |
Simplification, Number Series, Data Sufficiency, Data Interpretation, Quadratic Equation, Time & Distance, Work, Profit & Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Ratio & Proportion, Averages, Percentages, etc |
| English |
Reading Comprehension, Synonyms, Antonyms, Para Jumbles, Cloze Test |
| General/Financial Awareness |
Current Affairs, Static GK, Banking/Financial terms, etc |
| Reasoning Ability |
Machine Input/Output, Syllogism, Blood Relation, Inequalities, Puzzles, Coding-Decoding, etc |
| Computer Awareness |
Basics of Computer: Hardware, Software, Generation of Computers, DBMS, Networking, MS Office, Important Abbreviations, etc |
SBI Clerk Selection Process 2026
SBI Clerk selection process consists of prelims and mains exams. Exam pattern for both prelims and mains is almost similar. Only change in SBI Clerk Mains exam is addition of an extra section that is General Awareness. Marks attained by candidate in prelims exam are not counted for final merit list. Final selection is done on basis of SBI clerk mains exam. Candidates are called for Language Proficiency Test after qualifying mains exam.
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SBI Clerk Preparation 2026
It is important for a candidate to make a proper strategy to secure a good score in both Prelims and Mains to clear the examination. Here we will provide a comprehensive study plan, strategy to ace the preparation, how to manage time, etc. Check beow few of the SBI Clerk preparation tips.
- Candidates must cover all the topics thoroughly as mentioned in the syllabus.
- Candidates should practice last year papers and mock test.
- In the last few weeks, candidates should start frequent revision and also focus on the important topics or sections.
- Build consistency and stick to the study plan.
Also Read: SBI Clerk Preparation Tips
SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026 FAQs
Candidates can check below SBI Clerk exam pattern FAQs.
The difficulty level of the prelims exam is usually easy. The English and Reasoning sections are easy, whereas, Maths section is easy to moderate. The Mains exam paper is usually moderate. The difficulty level of the English Language section is easy, Quant section is moderate, Reasoning & Computer Aptitude section is moderate and General/Financial Awareness section is moderate. The prelims exam of SBI Clerk carries questions from Reasoning, English Language and Quantitative Aptitude. The total marks allotted to the test are 100. The mains exam of SBI Clerk carries questions from General/ Financial Awareness, General English, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude. The total marks allotted to the test are 200. Candidates qualifying the mains exam are called for Language Proficiency Test.
There is a negative marking in the SBI Clerk exam. 1/4th mark assigned to a particular question is deducted as a penalty for wrong answers. For correct answers in the exam, candidates score one mark. The total marks of candidates are calculated based on the number of correct and incorrect answers. The corrected scores obtained by each candidate in different sessions of the exam are normalised using the equi-percentile method. Scores upto two decimal points are taken for the purpose of calculations. The marks of candidates are calculated as per marking scheme. Candidates should attempt maximum number of questions to secure the desired score in the exam.
SBI Clerk exam comprises prelims and Mains exams. Total marks allotted to test are 100. Total marks for the mains test are 200. Candidates qualifying the mains exam are also required to appear for LPT. Prelims marks are not counted for the final merit list.
Besides English and Hindi, SBI Clerk question paper appears in the regional languages. The languages of SBI Clerk question paper are given below.
| Sr. | State/UT | Medium of Exam |
|---|---|---|
1 | Andaman & Nicobar | English, Hindi |
2 | Arunachal Pradesh | English, Hindi |
3 | Assam | English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali |
4 | Chhattisgarh | English, Hindi |
5 | Daman & Diu | English, Hindi, Gujarati |
6 | Delhi | English, Hindi |
7 | Goa | English, Hindi, Konkani |
8 | Gujarat | English, Hindi, Gujarati |
9 | Haryana | English, Hindi, Punjabi |
10 | Himachal Pradesh | English, Hindi |
11 | Jammu & Kashmir | English, Hindi, Urdu |
12 | Karnataka | English, Hindi, Kannada |
13 | Kerala | English, Hindi, Malayalam |
14 | Lakshadweep | English, Hindi, Malayalam |
15 | Madhya Pradesh | English, Hindi |
16 | Maharashtra | English, Hindi, Marathi |
17 | Manipur | English, Hindi, Manipuri |
18 | Meghalaya | English, Hindi |
19 | Mizoram | English, Hindi |
20 | Nagaland | English, Hindi |
21 | Odisha | English, Hindi, Odia |
22 | Pondicherry | English, Hindi, Tamil |
23 | Punjab | English, Hindi, Punjabi |
24 | Rajasthan | English, Hindi |
25 | Sikkim | English, Hindi |
26 | Tamil Nadu | English, Hindi, Tamil |
27 | Telangana | English, Hindi, Telugu, Urdu |
28 | Tripura | English, Hindi |
29 | Uttar Pradesh | English, Hindi, Urdu |
30 | Uttarakhand | English, Hindi |
31 | West Bengal | English, Hindi, Bengali |
Candidates are required to score a minimum percentage marks on aggregate (For SC/ST/OBC/PwBD/XS/DXS candidates, 5% relaxation available thereon). Minimum qualifying marks on aggregate will be as decided by the bank. No minimum qualifying marks for individual subject are prescribed. Section wise marks will not be maintained.
SBI Clerk exam is little tougher than IBPS Clerk. The syllabus and pattern for both the exams are same. The level of questions asked in SBI Clerk exam is high.
Yes, knowledge of computers is required for SBI Clerk exam. This subject appears in the Mains exam of SBI Clerk along with Reasoning. Questions from this section are asked from Basics of Computer: Hardware, Software, Generation of Computers, DBMS, Networking, Internet, MS Office, Input-Output Devices and Important Abbreviations.
A total of 100 questions are asked in SBI Clerk prelims exam. The distribution of questions in SBI Clerk prelims exam is given below.
| Section | No of Questions | Duration |
|---|---|---|
English Language | 30 | 20 Minutes |
Numerical Ability | 35 | 20 Minutes |
Reasoning Ability | 35 | 20 Minutes |
Total | 100 | 1 Hour |
Upcoming Sarkari Exam Dates
TNPSC Group 4 2026 Application Dates 6 Oct '26 - 5 Nov '26