Selection Process
SBI Clerk Selection Process 2025
State Bank of India: Junior Associate (Customer Support & Sales)
How selection works
SBI Clerk selection uses an online Preliminary Examination and Main Examination, followed by the specified opted Local Language Proficiency Test where applicable. Preliminary marks are not added to final merit; the final aggregate is based on Main Examination marks, with the trained SBI apprentice bonus added where applicable.
Stage-by-stage process
Phase I: Preliminary Examination
Candidates take the 100-mark Prelims with three separately timed sections. SBI prescribes no minimum qualifying marks for individual Prelims tests or for the aggregate. Candidates are shortlisted for Mains in descending order of aggregate Prelims marks, generally at about ten times the number of vacancies, subject to availability.
Phase II: Main Examination
Shortlisted candidates take the Main Examination. Candidates must meet the Bank-decided minimum aggregate qualifying percentage; no individual-subject minimum is prescribed. Preliminary marks are not carried forward. For eligible trained SBI apprentices, the advertisement adds a 5-mark bonus to the Main aggregate to arrive at the final aggregate score.
Local Language Proficiency Test
Provisionally selected candidates who cannot show Class 10 or Class 12 evidence of having studied the specified opted local language must qualify the language test before joining. Failure to demonstrate proficiency leads to disqualification.
Provisional and final selection
SBI prepares State-wise and category-wise merit from the final aggregate score, including the trained SBI apprentice bonus where applicable, subject to the applicable local-language requirement and verification of eligibility and application information.
Main Examination pattern
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 160 minutes |
The rows sum to the official Main Examination total: 190 questions, 200 marks and 160 minutes. The separate 5-mark trained SBI apprentice bonus, where applicable, is added after the Main aggregate and does not change the 200-mark exam pattern.
Official source
Source: SBI Junior Associate recruitment advertisement CRPD/CR/2025-26/06. The Main pattern, qualifying and merit rules, trained SBI apprentice bonus, and local-language requirement on this page follow the official advertisement. View the official SBI Junior Associate 2025 advertisement.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SBI Clerk selection process?
It runs to 4 stages, in this order: Phase I: Preliminary Examination, Phase II: Main Examination, Local Language Proficiency Test and Provisional and final selection. Each is described on this page with what it involves and what clearing it requires. You reach a stage only by clearing the one before it, so the whole process is a funnel rather than a checklist you work through in parallel.
Do marks from every SBI Clerk stage count towards the final merit?
Not necessarily, and it is worth checking rather than assuming. Multi-stage recruitments usually mix two kinds of stage: qualifying ones, which you must clear but whose marks are discarded afterwards, and merit-bearing ones, whose marks carry into the final ranking. Clearing a qualifying stage comfortably earns nothing beyond clearing it, so effort spent pushing that score higher is effort not spent on the stage that decides your rank. The stage descriptions on this page say which is which, and the notification is the authority on it.
Which SBI Clerk stage should I prepare for first?
Phase I: Preliminary Examination, because nobody sees stage two without it. It is also the stage with the most competition in it: every applicant sits it, and it exists to cut that field down. Preparing for a later stage before clearing the first is the commonest way candidates waste a cycle. There are 18 free tests for SBI Clerk here to work on it with.
Can the SBI Clerk selection process change between cycles?
Yes, and it does. Stages get added, merged or dropped, a qualifying paper becomes merit-bearing, or a skill test moves from one stage to another, and the change is announced in the notification for that cycle rather than separately. The sequence on this page is read from the official SBI Junior Associate 2025 advertisement, cited and linked at the foot of the page, so check it against the current notification before assuming the process you prepared for last year is the one you will sit.