SBI Clerk (Junior Associate)

“SBI Clerk” is the commonly used name for SBI’s recruitment of Junior Associates (Customer Support & Sales) in the clerical cadre. SBI describes Junior Associates as a clerical-cadre entry route for young graduates. The role is customer-facing: the 2025–26 notice says recruits are expected to make customer calls, provide banking and advisory services, cross-sell products, and may have outdoor travel, flexible hours, or shift work depending on requirements.

The examination is therefore a recruitment selection process rather than an academic entrance examination. SBI publishes recruitment notices, application links, results, and later announcements through its official Careers pages; a fresh notice is the controlling source for a future cycle.

• The recruitment is State/UT-specific: candidates in the 2025–26 cycle could choose only one State/UT.
• There was no inter-circle/inter-state transfer provision for Junior Associates recruited under that notice, subject to limited intra-state exceptions specified by SBI.
• SBI identifies Junior Associate as a clerical-cadre role and says eligible employees can seek promotion to the officer cadre after three years of service.

The 2025–26 notice required Indian citizenship and graduation in any discipline from a recognised university or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Central Government. Integrated dual-degree candidates needed to have passed by the notice’s stipulated date; final-year/semester candidates were allowed to apply provisionally but had to produce proof of passing by December 31, 2025 if selected. The notice also recognised specified education certificates held by matriculate ex-servicemen with at least 15 years of Union Armed Forces service.

For that cycle, the age requirement was 20 to 28 years on April 1, 2025 (birth dates April 2, 1997 through April 1, 2005, inclusive). Upper-age relaxation was stated for OBC, SC/ST, PwBD, ex-servicemen/disabled ex-servicemen, eligible widowed/divorced/judicially separated women, and specified SBI trained apprentices. Exact cut-off dates and relaxation rules must be rechecked against the next advertisement.

Applicants for a State/UT vacancy had to be able to read, write, speak, and understand the specified local language. Those who could show a Class 10 or 12 marksheet/certificate evidencing study of the language did not have to take the local-language test; other provisionally selected candidates had to qualify it before appointment.

• The 2025–26 notice provided 4% horizontal reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, subject to the notice’s post-suitability and documentation conditions.
• Candidates already working in SBI’s clerical cadre, and people previously employed in SBI’s clerical cadre who resigned, were ineligible under that specific recruitment project.
• Selection and appointment remained subject to document/eligibility verification, medical fitness, and SBI’s Know Your Employee formalities.

The verified 2025–26 pattern had two online objective-test stages. Preliminary examination was 100 questions for 100 marks in one hour: English Language (30 questions, 30 marks, 20 minutes), Numerical Ability (35, 35, 20 minutes), and Reasoning Ability (35, 35, 20 minutes). SBI applied a one-fourth-mark penalty for each wrong objective-test answer and stated that it did not maintain sectional marks or prescribe a preliminary minimum qualifying score.

The Main examination was 190 questions for 200 marks in two hours 40 minutes: General/Financial Awareness (50 questions, 50 marks, 35 minutes), General English (40, 40, 35 minutes), Quantitative Aptitude (50, 50, 45 minutes), and Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50, 60, 45 minutes). It also carried a one-fourth-mark wrong-answer penalty. SBI could set an aggregate qualifying standard, with the stated 5% relaxation for listed reserved categories; no individual-subject qualifying mark was prescribed.

SBI shortlisted candidates for Main examination from the preliminary aggregate ranking, approximately 10 times vacancies subject to availability. Preliminary marks were not added to the final merit list. State- and category-wise merit was based on Main-exam aggregate marks, then remained subject to eligibility checks and, where needed, the local-language test.

• The question-paper medium depended on the State/UT applied for; English was used for English sections, while other tests were offered in the listed State/UT languages as applicable.
• The 2025–26 local-language assessment for applicable candidates included non-verbal objective and subjective components plus a verbal test.
• Exam structure, duration, languages, score rules, and shortlisting ratios may be revised by SBI in a future recruitment.

When SBI opens a Junior Associate recruitment, application is online only through the SBI Careers current-openings page. In the 2025–26 process, candidates registered online, uploaded a photograph, signature, left-thumb impression, and handwritten declaration, checked the form, paid online through debit card, credit card, or internet banking where a fee applied, and retained the e-receipt and completed form. SBI stated that no printout of the application form had to be sent to the bank.

The 2025–26 form allowed a saved application to be reopened and edited up to three times before final submission. After submission, changes were not allowed. Candidates needed an active email address and mobile number through results, because SBI used those channels for call-letter and related communications.

For the examinations, the notice required the downloadable call letter, appropriate photographs, and an original photo identity proof plus self-attested copy. For the Main examination, shortlisted candidates also had to bring their authenticated Preliminary call letter and authenticated identity-proof copy. SBI advised candidates to rely on its Careers site for announcements rather than assuming a yearly schedule.

• Before submitting, confirm the chosen State/UT, local language, category, personal details, graduation status, and document uploads; the notice says corrections are not entertained after final submission.
• The 2025–26 fee was nil for SC/ST/PwBD/XS/DXS and ₹750 for General/OBC/EWS; it was non-refundable. Do not assume the same fee in a later cycle.
• Avoid third-party application portals: SBI identifies its authorised Careers website as the channel for announcements and applications.

Build preparation around the two timed online objective tests in the latest verified notice. For Preliminary examination, practise English Language, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning Ability in separate 20-minute blocks. For Main examination, add General/Financial Awareness, General English, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude under the specified sectional time limits. Timed practice is particularly important because both stages used separately timed sections.

Use accuracy as well as speed: the 2025–26 notice imposed a one-fourth-mark deduction for each wrong answer in objective tests. Candidates should therefore practise deciding when to attempt, skip, and return within the permitted section time, rather than treating the exam solely as a question-volume test.

Prepare the specified State/UT local language early. Candidates without Class 10 or 12 evidence of studying that language could be required to take the local-language test after provisional selection and before joining. SBI also offered online pre-examination training for eligible SC/ST/OBC/ex-servicemen/PwBD candidates who opted for it in the application.

• Use the official “Acquaint Yourself” booklet issued with the call letter for the live cycle’s operational instructions and test details.
• Practise with the language medium applicable to the State/UT selected in the notice.
• Do not bring prohibited devices: the 2025–26 notice barred mobile phones, smart watches, pagers, calculators, and similar communication devices at the venue.

A successful candidate is provisionally selected as a Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales) in SBI’s clerical cadre for the State/UT applied for, subject to document verification, local-language qualification where applicable, medical fitness, and other joining formalities. The 2025–26 notice provided for a minimum six-month probation period, required prescribed e-learning during probation for confirmation, and allowed SBI to extend probation where completion or performance requirements were not met.

As dated compensation context only, the August 2025 notice stated a pay scale beginning at ₹24,050 and a graduate entrant’s starting basic pay of ₹26,730 after two advance increments. It estimated starting emoluments at about ₹46,000 per month in a metro such as Mumbai, inclusive of allowances at the then-current rates; SBI expressly noted that allowances vary by place of posting.

SBI’s Careers site describes a longer-term pathway: Junior Associates may be eligible for promotion to the officer cadre after three years of service. This is an employer-stated opportunity, not a guarantee of promotion, which remains governed by applicable service and promotion rules.

• The 2025–26 notice described customer service, banking/advisory services, marketing and cross-selling responsibilities, and possible outdoor travel, flexible hours, or shifts.
• The notice stated that final merit used Main-exam performance, not Preliminary marks.
• The 2025–26 process could maintain a State/category-wise waitlist of up to 50% of vacancies for one year from final-result declaration; this should not be assumed for a future cycle.