The National Testing Agency's regular application window for UGC NET December 2026 closed on October 28 at 11:50 pm, and a late-fee window is now open from October 29 to October 31 for candidates who missed the deadline.
Source: Shiksha — NTA registration figures
Candidates can still apply during the late-fee window by paying an additional late fee of Rs 500 on top of the category fee, according to the revised schedule published by the NTA. Applications that remain incomplete — without the fee payment, photograph or signature — will be rejected after the deadline passes.
Source: CareerIndia — revised schedule and late-fee window
The NTA had recorded 5,50,048 registrations by October 25, with 3,73,419 candidates having completed their applications and paid the fee, Shiksha reported from the agency's figures. Another 1,36,993 candidates were yet to upload their photograph and signature and pay the fee, while 31,580 had uploaded documents but had not paid the fee.
Source: Shiksha — NTA registration figures
The examination is held for eligibility for Assistant Professor posts, for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), and for admission to PhD programmes. It is conducted twice a year, in June and December, as a computer-based test.
Under the revised schedule issued in a corrigendum on October 16, the correction window will run from November 2 to November 4, the advance city intimation slip will be released on November 23, and admit cards will be available from December 7.
The examinations themselves are scheduled for December 14 to 18 and on December 21, across multiple shifts. The subject-wise day and shift allocation will follow in later notices from the NTA.
Registration now runs through Meri Pehchaan, the national single sign-on service, and applicants must capture a live photograph during the form, CareerIndia reported. Candidates should use their own email ID and mobile number, as the NTA sends notifications to those contacts only.
Source: CareerIndia — Meri Pehchaan and live photo
Candidates should apply only through the official portal, ugcnet.nta.nic.in, and keep a copy of the confirmation page after payment. For help, the NTA lists the numbers 011-40759000 and 011-69227700 and the email ugcnet@nta.ac.in.