Exam Pattern
SBI Clerk Exam Pattern
State Bank of India: Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales)
The SBI Clerk exam pattern below is checked stage by stage, so one stage cannot inherit another stage's scoring rules.
Prelims
Official CRPD/CR/2025-26/06 pattern| Questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0.25 per wrong answer |
| Sections | English Language, Numerical Ability, Reasoning Ability |
| Test | Qs | Marks | Min |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 |
Timing: 20 minutes per section.
Candidates must qualify each of the three separately timed sections. Prelims marks are used only for shortlisting; the final merit list is decided by Mains and a local-language test.
Official source · checked 5 August 2026The SBI Clerk Prelims exam pattern is 100 questions carrying 100 marks, to be answered in 60 minutes. That works out to about 36 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 3 sections are English Language, Numerical Ability and Reasoning Ability. All 3 sections are separately timed, so time saved in one cannot be carried into another. You cannot bank minutes by rushing an easy section.
SBI Clerk Prelims marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- A wrong answer deducts 0.25 marks; an unattempted question scores zero.
- A guess therefore breaks even at 20% accuracy: above that it gains you marks on average, below it loses them. A blind guess between four options is right 25% of the time, which is already above that line, so an educated guess is clearly worth making rather than leaving the question blank.
- Worked example: attempt 80 of the 100 questions and get 60 right and 20 wrong, and you score 55 out of 100.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 36 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free SBI Clerk mock test to see where your time actually goes.
Mains
Review pendingConfirmed via multiple independent current secondary sources: Mains is 190 objective questions for 200 marks in 2 hours 40 minutes, across General/Financial Awareness (50Q/50 marks/35 min), General English (40Q/40 marks/35 min), Quantitative Aptitude (50Q/50 marks/45 min), and Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude (50Q/60 marks/45 min, the only section with a non-uniform 1.2 marks per question). This site's Mains content covers General English, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude only (140 of the 190 objective questions), matching the official differential marks weighting per section; General/Financial Awareness is not built, since it needs current, fact-checked content rather than internally-verifiable calculation or language skill.
SBI Clerk exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in SBI Clerk?
SBI Clerk deducts 0.25 marks for a wrong answer. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in SBI Clerk?
SBI Clerk has 100 questions. That leaves about 36 seconds per question in SBI Clerk.
What are the total marks in SBI Clerk?
SBI Clerk is out of 100 marks.
How long is the SBI Clerk exam?
SBI Clerk runs for 60 minutes.
Does SBI Clerk have a sectional time limit?
Yes. SBI Clerk times its sections separately, so time left over in one section cannot be spent on another. Plan a per-section budget before you sit it.