The National Testing Agency (NTA) has opened registration for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET UG) 2026, giving candidates until 30 January to apply online. The agency has kept the exam format largely unchanged from 2025 and confirmed that tests will be held from 11 to 31 May across multiple shifts.
CUET UG 2026 exam pattern
The CUET UG 2026 exam will be computer based. Each subject paper will last one hour and contain 50 multiple‑choice questions. All questions are compulsory. Candidates will earn five marks for each correct answer and incur a one‑mark penalty for each incorrect response. The syllabus for domain subjects will follow NCERT prescriptions.
Candidates may select up to five subjects from a combined list of 37 papers: 23 domain subjects, 13 language papers and one General Test in aptitude. The NTA has reiterated that students may choose a subject they did not study in class 12, but they should check university admission requirements for specific courses before doing so.
Registration and fee payment
Applications are being accepted at cuet.nta.nic.in until 30 January. Fee payments can be made using credit or debit cards, net banking or UPI until 31 January, 23:50. A correction window for application forms will be open from 2 to 4 February. Each candidate may submit only one application form.
Language options, cities and scheduling
The exam will be offered in 13 languages, including English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Tests will be conducted in more than 300 examination cities in India and a selection of international centres. Applicants may choose four preferred exam cities at the time of application and allocations will be attempted based on their choices and available capacity.
To accommodate the volume of candidates, NTA will run tests in multiple shifts each day. Organisers estimate between 325 and 350 unique question papers and more than 1,000 question paper permutations to maintain test security.
Admissions and results timeline
Scores from CUET UG 2026 will be valid for admissions to central, state, deemed and private universities for the 2026–27 academic session. More than 200 universities are expected to participate, including central, state, deemed and private institutions. NTA said the 2026 score will be used only for next academic year admissions.
Although no official result date has been announced, NTA has held discussions with UGC and university officials to expedite processing so that session start dates can be earlier than in previous years.
Last year’s registrations surpassed 1.35 million. With expanded city coverage and steady demand, authorities expect registrations for 2026 to rise further. Candidates should review university eligibility rules before selecting subjects and keep application deadlines and payment timelines in view.
Key Takeaways:
- Registration for CUET UG 2026 is open from 3 to 30 January with exams scheduled from 11 to 31 May.
- The CUET UG 2026 exam pattern features CBT mode, one-hour papers, 50 compulsory MCQs, +5 for correct and -1 for wrong answers.
- Students must choose five subjects from 37 options; tests will be offered in 13 languages and across 300+ cities.
