SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026: Prelims & Mains Marking Scheme

State Bank of India Clerk Exam 2026 ( SBI Clerk )

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SBI Clerk 2026 Prelims Exam Date

26 Sep '26 - 27 Sep '26

Shikha Goyal
Updated on Jul 7, 2026 17:05 IST

By Shikha Goyal, Assistant Manager

SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026: The State Bank of India will release the SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026 along with the notification on the official website. To understand the exam pattern of an examination is very crucial. Candidate will the help of exam pattern come to know the marking scheme, weightage of the topics, number of questions asked, etc. The SBI Clerk exam will be conducted in two stages including Prelims and Mains. 

The SBI Clerk prelims exam is qualifying in nature and the marks scored by the candidate will not be counted for the final merit list. The SBI Clerk syllabus consists of the topics that candidate need to study for the preparation. Read below for more details on SBI Clerk exam pattern.  

Table of contents
  • SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026
  • SBI Clerk Syllabus 2026
  • SBI Clerk Selection Process 2026
  • SBI Clerk Preparation 2026
  • SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026 FAQs
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SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026

Before studying the SBI Clerk Syllabus, candidates need to understand the exam pattern.Candidates required to secure the marks more than or equal to the cut off marks of the SBI Clerk to qualify the each stage of an examination. The Prelims exam is the first stage in the selection process. The exam will be conducted online. The total marks of the prelims exam is 100 and that of Mains is 200. The paper pattern for SBI Clerk prelims and mains is given below. 

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


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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 the test will be disqualified from the recruitment. 

Download SBI Clerk Syllabus - Click Here
Also Read:
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SBI Clerk Syllabus 2026

The syllabus of the SBI Clerk exam consists of the subjects including English language, Reasoning Aptitude, Quantitative Aptitude and General or Financial Awareness. Each section is time bound and so candidates need to maintain speed and accuracy to gain good score in the examination.The syllabus outlines the topics that candidates need to prepare for the 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

Syllabus in any competitive exam plays a crucial role in the preparation. Candidates should be well versed with the syllabus. Clear understanding of the syllabus and exam pattern is important in the preparation of the SBI Clerk exam. The syllabus provide an understanding about the topics asked in the exam, what a candidate need to study etc.
Also Read:
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SBI Clerk Selection Process 2026

The SBI Clerk selection process consists of prelims and mains exams. The exam pattern for both prelims and mains is almost similar only the change in the SBI Clerk Mains exam with the addition of an extra section that is General Awareness. The marks obtained in the prelims exam are not counted for the final merit list. Final selection is done on the basis of the mains exam. Candidates qualifying the mains exam are called for Language Proficiency Test.

Candidates need to clear the each stage to receive the final appointment letter. The SBI Clerk prelims exam is of total 100 marks and mains carries 200 marks. Those candiates who will qualify the prelims exam will be called for mains exam. However, the marks obtained in the prelims exam are not counted for the final merit list. Final selection of candidates is done based on the mains exam only. To qualify the exam, candidates are also required to secure the desired SBI Clerk cut off. There are no sectional cut off marks in the SBI Clerk 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

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SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2026 FAQs

Candidates can check below SBI Clerk exam pattern FAQs.

Q:   What is the difficulty level of SBI Clerk exam?
A: 

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.

Q:   What is SBI Clerk negative marking?
A: 

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.

Q:   How many rounds are there in SBI Clerk exam?
A: 

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.

Q:   Is the SBI Clerk exam bilingual?
A: 

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/UTMedium 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

Q:   What is the qualifying score in SBI Clerk Mains exam?
A: 

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.

Q:   Is pattern of questions different from state to state in SBI Clerk exam?
A: 
No, SBI follows a similar SBI Clerk exam pattern for different states. SBI Clerk exam pattern is such that it comprises prelims exam, Mains exam and language proficiency test. The prelims and Mains exams are conducted online. The prelims exam carries three sections-English Language, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning Ability. The total marks allotted to the test are 100. The Mains exam is conducted for the qualified candidates of the prelims exam. The Mains exam carries four sections: 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. It is mandatory to clear the language proficiency test.
Q:   Why is SBI Clerk exam tough than IBPS Clerk?
A: 

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.

Q:   Is knowledge of Computers required for SBI Clerk exam?
A: 

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. 

 

Q:   What are the job responsibilities of SBI Clerk?
A: 
The process to attempt RRB NTPC mock test is given below.
 
The questions appear in serial 
Candidates can answer one by one
To select an answer, click on the button of one of the options
To save answers, click on the save and next button

 

Q:   How many questions are there in each section of the SBI Clerk preliminary exam?
A: 

A total of 100 questions are asked in SBI Clerk prelims exam. The distribution of questions in SBI Clerk prelims exam is given below.

SectionNo of QuestionsDuration

English Language

30

20 Minutes

Numerical Ability

35

20 Minutes

Reasoning Ability

35

20 Minutes

Total

100

1 Hour

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