Canara Bank Graduate Apprentice 2026 Notification: 3,500 Training Seats

Canara Bank Graduate Apprentice 2026 offers 3,500 one-year training seats in bank branches across India, for the financial year 2026-27. These are apprenticeships under the Apprentices Act, 1961, not bank jobs. The online form runs from 1 October to 17 October 2026, both days included. You need a degree in any subject, passed between 1 January 2023 and 1 September 2026, and an age of 20 to 28 on 1 September 2026. The notice lists no written exam. The merit list ranks applicants by their Class 12 or Diploma marks, and the monthly stipend is Rs 16,650. General, OBC and EWS applicants pay a non-refundable fee of Rs 500, while SC, ST and PwBD applicants pay nothing.

Canara Bank Graduate Apprentice 2026 seats by state, led by Karnataka with 581

The 3,500 seats are spread over 37 state and union territory rows. You can choose seats in only one state. Inside that state, you rank all its districts in order of preference. The bank still places you where it needs people, so a district is never promised.

The smaller rows are Goa 25, Himachal Pradesh 23, Jammu and Kashmir 16, Tripura 8 and Chandigarh 6. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have 5 each. Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Nagaland, Puducherry and Sikkim have 4 each. Manipur has 3 and Mizoram 2. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Ladakh have 1 each.

Across India, the split is 1,541 Unreserved (UR), 845 Other Backward Classes (OBC), 553 Scheduled Caste (SC), 335 Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and 226 Scheduled Tribe (ST). Category shares follow each state’s own reservation percentages. For example, Uttar Pradesh has 170 UR, 110 OBC, 85 SC, 40 EWS and 4 ST seats.

Of the 3,500, 125 seats are kept for persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD): 39 visually impaired, 32 hearing impaired, 30 orthopedically challenged and 24 intellectual disability. These are counted inside the state totals, not added on top. The bank calls all the figures provisional, so they can change with its needs.

Class 12 or Diploma marks, not the degree, rank Canara apprentice applicants

Your degree marks play no part in the ranking. The degree only makes you eligible. Canara Bank builds a separate merit list for each state, sorted by the percentage you scored in Class 12 (HSC or 10+2) or in a Diploma.

• The minimum is 60% in Class 12 or Diploma, or 55% for SC, ST and PwBD applicants.
• Fractions are dropped. So 59.99% counts as below 60%, and 54.99% counts as below 55%.
• If two applicants have the same percentage, the older one ranks higher.
• The percentage is total marks in all subjects, across all years or semesters, divided by the total maximum marks, times 100.
• If your board gives a CGPA or OGPA (grade point average), convert it to a percentage in the form. You must then show a certificate from the board or university on its conversion rule.

The list uses only what you type into the form. If a figure does not match your mark sheet at document verification (DV, the check of original certificates), the bank rejects the application. Work out the percentage the way the notice sets out above, and do not round it up.

After the merit list, three checks remain: the DV, a local language test where it applies, and a medical fitness check by the bank.

Who cannot apply: a degree before 2023, a year of work, or a past apprenticeship

All eligibility is counted on 1 September 2026. Your date of birth must fall between 2 September 1998 and 1 September 2006, both days included. That is the 20 to 28 age band for General and EWS applicants.

The upper age limit is relaxed as follows:

• SC and ST: 5 years;
• OBC (Non-Creamy Layer): 3 years;
• PwBD: 10 years;
• widows, divorced women and women legally separated who have not remarried: up to age 35 for General and EWS, 38 for OBC and 40 for SC and ST.

The SC, ST and OBC relaxation can be combined with the PwBD relaxation.

The degree can be in any discipline, from a university recognised by the Government of India, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Central Government. It must have been passed between 1 January 2023 and 1 September 2026. A degree passed before 1 January 2023 does not qualify, even if every other rule fits. At engagement you must show proof that your result came out on or before 1 September 2026.

The notice shuts out these groups too:

• anyone with one year or more of job experience or training after their qualification;
• anyone who has done an apprenticeship under the Act before, with any employer, or is doing one now;
• anyone whose earlier apprenticeship was ended through their own fault;
• ex-servicemen and disabled ex-servicemen, who cannot be engaged at all under this notice;
• anyone without a 100% complete profile on the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) portal.

OBC applicants in the creamy layer must apply as General. EWS status needs an Income and Asset Certificate in the Government of India format. The family income limit for EWS is below Rs 8 lakh a year.

Rs 16,650 Canara stipend: Rs 10,500 from the bank, Rs 6,150 by DBT

The training lasts 12 months in selected branches. The monthly stipend is Rs 16,650, which includes the Government of India’s share. It reaches you in two parts:

• Rs 10,500 paid by Canara Bank into your account each month;
• Rs 6,150, the government share, credited to your bank account by Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

The bank deducts loss of pay, if any, before paying. There are no other allowances. Provident Fund (PF), ESI (the health cover scheme for employees) and bonus rules do not apply to apprentices.

The notice is clear that apprentices are not Canara Bank employees. You get none of the benefits staff get. The bank also has no duty to offer a regular job during or after the training. When the year ends, you leave the branch with a joint NATS certificate.

Other terms from the notice:

• Working hours are the same as the bank’s clerical staff.
• You get one casual leave per month completed, up to 12 a year, and no other leave. At most 4 can be taken at one time.
• Apprentices may not join or form any union.
• The bank can end the contract with 7 days’ notice for misbehaviour, disobedience or poor performance, and it may also end it for misconduct.
• The contract ends if you do not report at the branch on the day training starts.

Local language test for the state you pick in the Canara form

Each state row names its local language. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar list Hindi/Urdu, for example, and Karnataka lists Kannada. You skip the language test if your Class 10 or Class 12 mark sheet or certificate shows you studied that language.

Everyone else takes the test when called for DV. If you fail it, you are not engaged, whatever your merit rank. So check the language listed for your state before you choose it.

The NATS enrolment number the Canara Bank form asks for

The apply link on the Canara Bank page opens a form hosted by IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection). It asks for your NATS enrolment number, so the NATS step must come first.

1. Register on nats.education.gov.in and complete your profile to 100%. Note the enrolment number it gives you.
2. Open the Canara Bank Graduate Apprentice application form and click “Click here for New Registration”.
3. Note the provisional registration number and password. An e-mail and SMS should confirm them. If they do not arrive, the bank says to treat the registration as not done.
4. Fill in every field, choose one state, and rank its districts.
5. Upload the photo, signature, left thumb impression and handwritten declaration.
6. Use “Save and Next” to check each page. Nothing can be changed after “Final Submit”, including category, date of birth, state and districts.
7. Pay the fee online by 17 October 2026 and print the e-receipt and the form. The IBPS page allows printing until 1 November 2026.

The fee is Rs 500 for General, OBC and EWS applicants, including intimation charges and GST. SC, ST and PwBD applicants pay nothing. The fee is not refunded. You can pay online by card, net banking, IMPS or mobile wallet.

Submit only one application. If you send more than one, the bank keeps only the latest complete one.

Canara upload sizes: photo, signature, thumb and English declaration

All files must be JPG or JPEG. The signature and the declaration are rejected if written in capital letters. The declaration must be in English, in your own handwriting. Copy this text exactly:

“I, _______ (Name of the candidate), hereby declare that all the information submitted by me in the application form is correct, true and valid. I will present the supporting documents as and when required.”

Your name in the form must match your Class 10 mark sheet. If you changed it, use the name in the gazette notice or marriage certificate. Caps, hats and dark glasses are not allowed in the photo. Religious headwear is fine if it does not cover the face.

Papers to carry when Canara Bank calls you for engagement

• the printout of your online application;
• proof of date of birth (birth certificate or Class 10 certificate);
• a photo ID such as Aadhaar, PAN, passport, voter ID or driving licence;
• all mark sheets from Class 10 onwards, including every semester or year of the degree, and the final degree;
• a caste certificate in the Government of India format for SC, ST and OBC, with the non-creamy layer clause for OBC;
• an Income and Asset Certificate for EWS;
• a UDID (Unique Disability ID) card and disability certificate for PwBD applicants.

Bring the originals with a self-attested photocopy of each. The form also asks you to disclose any pending criminal case, and the bank may check police records.

A state-wise and category-wise waiting list stays valid for one year from the result, or until the next drive, whichever is earlier. The bank releases candidates from it only once, to fill seats left by people who do not join.

No closing hour, no merit-list date: what Canara and IBPS have not fixed yet

• No closing time is given for 17 October 2026, in the notice or on the IBPS form page.
• No date is given for the merit list, DV or the start of training.

Your degree year, your Class 12 percentage and your state’s language

1. Check your degree result date (1 January 2023 to 1 September 2026) and your Class 12 or Diploma percentage (60%, or 55% for SC, ST and PwBD).
2. Finish your NATS profile to 100% and keep the enrolment number ready.
3. If your state’s listed language is not in your Class 10 or 12 papers, be ready for the language test at DV.

For other bank and graduate listings, see bank jobs and apprenticeships, all-India government jobs and jobs for graduates. For an earlier drive of the same kind, read our page on the Indian Overseas Bank apprentice drive of 2026 and the HPCL Graduate Apprentice 2026 page. Among other national posts, SSC CHSL 2026 sets Class 12 as its minimum, so graduates also qualify.

✍️ Published byLokesh Rathore

Lokesh Rathore is a content writer with over 4 years of experience covering Government Jobs, Sarkari Result, Admit Card and Sarkari Yojana. He turns complex official notifications into clear, accurate and easy-to-follow updates for job seekers across India - with every post cross-checked against official government sources.

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