SBI Clerk 2026 Notification: Vacancies, Dates, Pattern

This guide works only from SBI's own advertisement for this cycle (CRPD/CR/2026-27/17) and SBI's careers site, so every number below belongs to this recruitment, not to an older notification.

PapersAdda is an independent placement and exam information site, not affiliated with State Bank of India. The advertisement names sbi.bank.in/web/careers as the only place SBI will publish further announcements for this recruitment; SBI's older addresses, sbi.co.in and bank.sbi, forwarded to sbi.bank.in when PapersAdda checked on 28 September 2026. SBI's careers site also carries a standing caution: it never publishes the names of shortlisted or selected candidates, only roll or registration numbers, it informs selected candidates individually by SMS, email or post, and fraudsters have hosted lookalike websites with fake selection lists and appointment letters in its name. Never pay anyone, or share your registration number and password, because of a forwarded "selection list."

Vacancies: 7,680 Regular, With Backlog Listed Separately

The Total row of the advertisement's state-wise vacancy table shows 7,680 regular Junior Associate vacancies across 24 states and union territories, split as 1,114 SC, 837 ST, 1,716 OBC, 760 EWS and 3,253 General. Backlog vacancies sit in separate columns of the same table: 287 for SC, ST and OBC candidates (58 SC, 161 ST, 68 OBC), plus backlog columns for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (355) and ex-servicemen (1,444). A footnote says the backlog vacancies are net of those advertised in SBI's separate Special Recruitment Drive for SC/ST/OBC candidates (Advertisement CRPD/CR/SPLDRIVE/2026-27/16). The advertisement prints no single grand total across the regular and backlog columns, and PapersAdda has not invented one.

The 10 largest states by regular vacancies:

The other 14 rows are much smaller, from Madhya Pradesh (113) and Assam (110) down to Ladakh (7). The table has no row at all for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Punjab or Uttarakhand, so this advertisement carries no regular Junior Associate vacancies in those states. The advertisement also says the vacancies are provisional and may vary with the Bank's actual requirement.

You can apply for vacancies in one state or union territory only, and you can sit this test only once under this recruitment project. The table also shows the horizontal reservations inside the 7,680: 320 for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (91 VI, 83 HI, 76 LD, 70 d&e) and 1,093 for ex-servicemen (760 XS, 333 DXS). These follow the advertisement's rules of a 4% reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities under Section 34 of the RPWD Act, 2016, and a combined 14.5% for Ex-servicemen (10%) and for Disabled Ex-servicemen or dependents of servicemen killed in action (4.5%). The advertisement says this horizontal reservation is included in the vacancies of the parent categories, so these are not extra seats on top of the 7,680.

Eligibility: Age, Education and the Local-Language Rule

Age. You must be not below 20 years and not above 28 years as on 1 April 2026, meaning born between 2 April 1998 and 1 April 2006 (both dates inclusive).

Education. A graduation degree in any discipline from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Central Government, counted as on 31 December 2026. Final-year or final-semester students can apply provisionally, but must produce proof of having passed by that same date if provisionally selected.

Local language. Each state or union territory has a specified language (for example Gujarati for Gujarat, Kannada for Karnataka, Marathi for Maharashtra, Tamil for Tamil Nadu). A separate proficiency test is conducted after the Main Examination but before joining, for candidates who cannot show a Class 10 or Class 12 mark sheet proving they studied that language. Failing this test means you are not offered appointment, regardless of your exam score.

Who cannot apply. Anyone currently working in SBI's clerical cadre, or who previously resigned from SBI while in the clerical cadre, is not eligible for this recruitment.

No Interview: Prelims, Mains, and a Language Test Decide Everything

Selection has three stages, and only one of them counts toward your final rank:

1. Preliminary Examination, 100 marks in 1 hour: English Language (30 questions/30 marks/20 minutes), Numerical Ability (35/35/20 minutes), Reasoning Ability (35/35/20 minutes). There is no minimum qualifying mark for an individual section or the aggregate; SBI simply shortlists roughly 10 times the number of vacancies, by descending aggregate score, for the Main Examination.
2. Main Examination, 190 questions for 200 marks in 2 hours 40 minutes: General/Financial Awareness (50/50/35 minutes), General English (40/40/35 minutes), Quantitative Aptitude (50/50/45 minutes), and Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50 questions/60 marks/45 minutes). A minimum aggregate percentage applies here (with a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC/PwBD/XS/DXS candidates), decided by the Bank; there is no separate cutoff per subject.
3. Local Language Proficiency Test, only for candidates who need it, conducted after provisional selection and before joining.

Both Prelims and Mains deduct a quarter mark for every wrong answer. Crucially, your Prelims score is not added to your Mains score: SBI's advertisement states plainly that only the Main Examination's aggregate marks decide the final merit list, drawn state-wise and category-wise. There is no personal interview at any stage. Trained SBI apprentices who meet the conditions the advertisement sets get a 2.5% bonus (5 of the 200 Mains marks) added to their aggregate. A wait list of up to 50% of vacancies is maintained per state and category, released quarterly against non-joining or resignation, valid for one year from the final result.

Fee

The fee, once paid, is non-refundable and cannot be held in reserve for any other exam or selection.

Where the 2026 Cycle Stood on 28 September 2026

Online registration and fee payment for Advertisement CRPD/CR/2026-27/17 ran from 11 August to 31 August 2026. The advertisement put the Preliminary Examination tentatively in September 2026 and the Main Examination tentatively in November 2026.

As checked on 28 September 2026, SBI's careers page still labels this advertisement "PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION CALL LETTER IS AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD", but the IBPS-hosted call-letter page that SBI links to reads "Call letter Download is over". In other words, the Prelims call-letter window has closed. SBI's listing for this advertisement showed no Prelims result link at that check. What comes next, per the advertisement, is the shortlist for Mains and then the Mains call letters, which it says will be downloadable tentatively from 10 days before the exam date, with all further announcements published only on sbi.bank.in/web/careers.

Separately, SBI's careers page lists a special recruitment drive for SC/ST/OBC backlog vacancies (Advertisement CRPD/CR/SPLDRIVE/2026-27/16). Its notice gives that drive's online Preliminary Examination as tentatively scheduled for 16 September 2026, and as checked on 28 September 2026 its call-letter page also reads "Call letter Download is over". The two advertisements are separate processes with separate call letters and results, so track each one on its own.

No hard copy of any call letter is posted: you download and print your own, using your registration number and password or date of birth.

Pay: What a Junior Associate Actually Starts On

The advertisement gives the basic pay scale as Rs 24,050-1,340/3-28,070-1,650/3-33,020-2,000/4-41,020-2,340/7-57,400-4,400/1-61,800-2,680/1-64,480. Read left to right, that means a starting basic of Rs 24,050, rising by increments through the scale to a top basic of Rs 64,480.

Graduates start two increments up the scale, so the starting basic pay is actually Rs 26,730, not the scale's bottom figure. Including Dearness Allowance and other allowances at current rates, SBI states total starting emoluments of around Rs 46,000 a month at a metro centre like Mumbai, for newly recruited graduate Junior Associates. That is a gross figure before deductions, not in-hand pay, and allowances vary with the place of posting. On top of monthly pay, the role carries provident fund, pension under the New Pension Scheme, medical benefits, and leave-fare concessions as per the Bank's rules. The newly appointed Junior Associate is on probation for a minimum of 6 months, extendable if e-lessons or performance expectations are not met.

Check any pay figure against this advertisement. If a guide or a forwarded chart gives a different starting basic for this recruitment, it is not quoting SBI's 2026-27 advertisement, which prints the scale above.

Registration Is Closed: What to Keep Safe Until the Result

Registration for this advertisement was online only (the advertisement says no other mode of application will be accepted) and ran from 11 to 31 August 2026, so you can no longer apply under CRPD/CR/2026-27/17. If you did apply, three things from the advertisement matter from here:

• Your registration number and password (or date of birth) are what the call-letter and result pages ask for. Open those pages only from SBI's careers page at sbi.bank.in/web/careers, never from a forwarded link, and never share the details.
• Keep your Prelims call letter safe. It is not collected at the venue, only stamped there, and candidates called for Mains must bring it along with the Mains call letter.
• Keep at least eight copies of the photograph you uploaded, because later stages need them; each exam also requires two additional copies along with the call letter.

On fraud, SBI is specific. Its careers page says it never publishes the names of shortlisted or selected candidates, only roll or registration numbers, and that fraudsters have hosted websites made to look like SBI's. The advertisement adds that SBI does not endorse any coaching platform, consultancy, individual or digital channel claiming guaranteed selection, influence in recruitment or insider guidance, and that canvassing in any form leads to disqualification. Treat anyone who offers to "fix" your Mains score or wait-list position as a fraud attempt.

WHAT PAPERSADDA THINKS

The number worth remembering from this advertisement is not the vacancy count, it is the Mains-only merit rule: your Prelims score gets you into Mains and then stops mattering. If your Prelims went well, put your remaining preparation into Mains, where General/Financial Awareness alone carries 50 of the 200 marks and is easy to leave until too late. Be clear-eyed about pay as well: Rs 26,730 starting basic and about Rs 46,000 a month in gross emoluments at a metro is a solid government-bank offer, but your in-hand amount will be lower after deductions, so plan a joining decision on the advertisement's figures and your own posting, not on a forwarded chart. Treat SBI's own advertisement and the notices on sbi.bank.in/web/careers as the only sources that matter from here.

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