SBI Junior Associate 2026: 9,766 clerk posts, prelims on 26 and 27 September

SBI Junior Associate 2026 is now in the exam phase. Advertisement CRPD/CR/2026-27/17, dated 11 August, lists 9,766 clerical posts across the bank’s circles. A little over 13 lakh applications came in before 31 August. The prelims are on 26 and 27 September 2026, followed by mains on 23 November.

About the post

SBI’s front-line clerical grade is Junior Associate, covering customer service, cash and cross-selling at branches. Vacancies are declared circle-wise and the candidate is posted within the circle chosen in the form. Because the role involves daily customer contact, proficiency in the local language is a firm requirement; candidates who did not study the language up to Class 10 or 12 must pass a language test before joining. A separate special recruitment drive for SC, ST and OBC backlog vacancies ran under advertisement CRPD/CR/SPLDRIVE/2026-27/16 with its prelims on 16 September.

Eligibility recap

A bachelor’s degree in any discipline was required. The age band was 20 to 28 years on the cut-off date in the advertisement, with five years of relaxation for SC and ST, three for OBC and other categories as listed. The fee was Rs 750 for general, EWS and OBC candidates and nil for the rest.

Exam pattern

Prelims is a one-hour, 100-mark test of English, numerical ability and reasoning with 20-minute sections. It is qualifying, and SBI shortlists about ten times the vacancies in each category for mains. Mains has 190 questions over two hours forty minutes covering general and financial awareness, general English, quantitative aptitude, and reasoning with computer aptitude. Negative marking is a quarter mark in both papers. Mains marks alone decide the merit list; there is no interview.

Pay

Selected candidates join on SBI’s clerical scale with dearness allowance, house rent allowance and the other benefits listed in the advertisement. Take-home varies by city class and coaching estimates differ, so rely on the pay section of the advertisement for the exact basic.

Next steps

The prelims call letter was released on 21 September on the careers page. The mains call letter will follow the prelims result, expected in October. Candidates should keep the original application printout and a valid photo ID for every stage.

FAQs

When is the SBI Junior Associate 2026 prelims?

Prelims are on 26 and 27 September 2026; mains follows on 23 November.

How many vacancies are there?

Advertisement CRPD/CR/2026-27/17 has 9,766 regular vacancies.

Is there an interview?

No. The main-exam score determines the merit list.