Prelims is an online objective test of 100 questions for 100 marks in 1 hour: English Language (30 questions, 20 minutes), Numerical Ability (35, 20 minutes) and Reasoning Ability (35, 20 minutes), with one-fourth negative marking.
The SBI Clerk Preliminary exam is the first online test. It only decides who goes to Mains - its marks are not added to the final merit list. Here is the pattern from the 2026 notification (CRPD/CR/2026-27/17), which matches the 2025 and 2024 notifications.
| Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 1 hour |
Rules you must know
- Separate timing: each section has its own 20 minutes. You cannot move time from one section to another.
- Negative marking: one-fourth of the marks for a question is deducted for each wrong answer.
- No qualifying marks: no minimum marks are prescribed for individual sections or for the aggregate, and section-wise marks are not maintained.
- Shortlisting: about 10 times the number of vacancies in each category (subject to availability) are called for Mains, from a list in descending order of aggregate marks.
- Five options: each question has five alternatives.
- No early submission: you cannot submit before the full test time is over.
Medium of the exam
The English Language section is in English only. Numerical Ability and Reasoning are available in English, Hindi and, in many states, the regional language of the State you applied for (for example Marathi in Maharashtra, Tamil in Tamil Nadu).
What gets asked most
- English: reading comprehension, cloze test, error detection, fillers and para jumbles.
- Numerical Ability: simplification and approximation, number series, quadratic equations, data interpretation and arithmetic word problems.
- Reasoning: puzzles and seating arrangement, syllogism, inequality, coding-decoding, blood relations and direction sense.
- SBI Junior Associates 2026 detailed advertisement (CRPD/CR/2026-27/17)
- SBI JA 2026 Preliminary Exam 'Acquaint Yourself' booklet
- SBI Junior Associates 2025 detailed advertisement (CRPD/CR/2025-26/06)
Rules can change with each notification. Confirm on sbi.bank.in/web/careers.
More exam pattern questions
- What is the SBI Clerk Mains exam pattern?Mains has 190 questions for 200 marks in 2 hours 40 minutes: General/Financial Awareness (50 Qs, 50 marks, 35…→
- Is there sectional timing in the SBI Clerk exam?Yes. Both Prelims and Mains have separate timing for each section. In Prelims each section gets 20 minutes; i…→
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- Is SBI Clerk Prelims only qualifying, or are its marks counted in the final result?Prelims is only a screening test. Its marks are not added for selection; the final merit list is based only o…→
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