UGC NET December 2026
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has extended the last date to apply for the UGC-NET December 2026 examination. In a public notice dated 27 October 2026, the agency moved the deadline for the online application form to 31 October 2026, up to 11:50 PM. The original last date was 28 October.
The notice says the extension is given without any late fee. It also says that all other terms and conditions in the Information Bulletin and earlier public notices remain unchanged.
Revised Application Schedule
| Activity | Revised date |
|---|---|
| Last date to submit the online application form | 31 October 2026 (up to 11:50 PM) |
| Last date for successful fee transaction | 31 October 2026 (up to 11:50 PM) |
Important Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Online registration opens | 08 October 2026 |
| Last date to apply (revised) | 31 October 2026, 11:50 PM |
| Correction window | 02 November to 04 November 2026 (up to 11:50 PM) |
| Exam city intimation | 23 November 2026 |
| Admit card download | 07 December 2026 |
| Exam dates | 14 to 18 December 2026 and 21 December 2026 |
| Answer key and result | To be announced later |
The exam runs for 180 minutes with no break between Paper 1 and Paper 2. Timings will be intimated later, and the centre, date and shift will appear on the admit card.
Application Fee
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| General / Unreserved | Rs. 1,150 |
| Gen-EWS / OBC-NCL | Rs. 600 |
| SC / ST / Third Gender | Rs. 325 |
| PwD / PwBD | Rs. 325 |
Service charges and GST are extra and are paid by the candidate to the bank or payment gateway. The fee can be paid through net banking, debit card, credit card or UPI. Once paid, it is not refunded.
What UGC-NET Decides
UGC-NET determines eligibility in three ways. Category 1 covers the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and appointment as Assistant Professor. Category 2 covers appointment as Assistant Professor and admission to Ph.D. Category 3 covers admission to Ph.D. only.
Eligibility Criteria
- General, Unreserved and General-EWS candidates need at least 55% marks in a Master’s degree or equivalent from a UGC-recognised university.
- OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD, PwBD and Third Gender candidates need at least 50%.
- Candidates in the final year of their Master’s, or awaiting results, may apply and are admitted provisionally. They must complete the degree with the required marks within two years of the NET result (one year for the “Ph.D. only” category).
- Ph.D. holders whose Master’s was completed by 19 September 1991 get a 5% relaxation in aggregate marks.
- Candidates with a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree need at least 75% marks or the equivalent grade, with a 5% relaxation for reserved categories. They are eligible for JRF and Ph.D. admission, but not for appointment as Assistant Professor.
Age Limit
For JRF, the upper age limit is 30 years as on 01.12.2026. A relaxation of up to 5 years applies to OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD, PwBD and Third Gender candidates, and to women. Candidates with research experience, LL.M. holders and armed forces personnel get relaxations too, but the total relaxation on these grounds cannot exceed five years.
There is no upper age limit for Assistant Professor or for Ph.D. admission.
Exam Pattern
The test is computer based and has two sections. Both consist of objective, multiple-choice questions.
| Part | Questions | Marks | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 50 | 100 | Teaching and research aptitude: reasoning, reading comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness |
| Paper 2 | 100 | 200 | Domain knowledge in the subject chosen by the candidate |
Every question carries 2 marks. There is no negative marking. Question papers are bilingual (English and Hindi), except for language papers. Candidates choose from 87 subjects, and Paper 1 is compulsory for all.
How Qualifying Marks Are Set
To be considered, a candidate must appear in both papers and score at least 40% aggregate marks (General and General-EWS) or 35% (SC, ST, OBC-NCL, PwD/PwBD and Third Gender). The number of candidates qualifying for Assistant Professor eligibility is equal to 6% of those who appeared in both papers on the basis of their Master’s degree or equivalent. Subject-wise and category-wise cut-offs are then derived from these slots.
How to Apply
- Register on the NTA UGC-NET website using your own e-mail ID and mobile number.
- Fill in the online application form and note the application number. A live photograph is required at this stage.
- Upload a recent photograph (10-200 KB), your signature (10-50 KB) and, if applicable, the disability or UDID certificate as a PDF (50-300 KB).
- Choose four exam cities in order of preference. Choices are limited to your state of permanent or present address.
- Pay the fee online. The confirmation page is generated only after a successful payment, so download and save it.
Registration uses the Meri Pehchaan single sign-on platform. Candidates do not need to post any document to NTA. For help, call 011-40759000 or write to ugcnet@nta.ac.in.
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