NTA Exam Calendar 2026-27 lists tentative dates for 14 major exams from December 2026 to March 2027, including JEE Main, CUET PG and UGC NET
New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released its Examination Calendar 2026-27, giving students a tentative schedule for 14 major exams. The calendar covers examinations planned from December 2026 to March 2027, including JEE Main, CUET PG, UGC NET and CMAT. NTA released the calendar through an official public notice on September 16, 2026. However, all dates remain tentative and students should wait for the individual exam notifications for confirmed schedules.
NTA releases the exam calendar for 2026-27
NTA has issued the calendar as an indicative schedule to help students plan their preparation. It does not serve as the final notification for any of the listed examinations.
The agency will release a separate detailed notification for each exam. Those notifications will provide important information such as application dates, fees, eligibility requirements, exam pattern and other instructions.
The current calendar covers only the December 2026 to March 2027 period. It does not include JEE Main Session 2, which usually takes place in April, or exams such as NEET UG and CUET UG. NTA will announce those examinations separately.
December 2026: five exams to watch
NTA has proposed five examinations for December 2026.
The Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) examination will take place on December 6, according to the tentative schedule. SWAYAM will follow from December 8 to 12. The Rashtriya Military Schools examination will then take place on **December 13.
The December cycle of UGC NET has a proposed exam window from December 14 to 19. NTA has also kept December 20 and 21 as buffer dates for UGC NET. A buffer date means NTA can use that day if it needs to reschedule an examination.
The Joint CSIR UGC NET December cycle will also run on December 20 and 21 under the proposed calendar.
January 2027: the busiest month, headlined by JEE Main
January will have five examinations in the tentative calendar, making it the busiest month in this schedule.
The Army Cadets College examination will take place on January 4. On January 10, NTA has proposed both the SHRESHTA (NETS) examination and the NIFT Entrance Examination.
SHRESHTA (NETS) supports admissions to residential education for students in high schools in targeted areas, while the NIFT Entrance Examination is for students seeking admission through the National Institute of Fashion Technology entrance process.
The biggest examination of the month will be JEE Main Session 1. NTA has proposed the exam for January 22 to 24 and January 28 to 30, giving students six examination days across two blocks. January 31 will serve as a proposed buffer date for JEE Main.
The All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination (AISSEE) also has January 31 as its proposed exam date. Students should not assume that the JEE Main buffer date will remain unused. They should wait for the detailed notifications before planning both examinations around that date.
February 2027: CMAT and NITTT
The calendar lists two examinations for February.
The Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) has a proposed date of February 7, 2027. CMAT is used by students seeking admission to management programmes through participating institutions.
NTA has scheduled NITTT Part 1 for February 26 and 27. NITTT stands for the National Initiative for Technical Teachers Training.
As with the other exams, students should treat these dates as tentative until NTA releases the respective information bulletins.
March 2027: CUET PG closes out the cycle
March will bring the calendar’s examination schedule to an end, with CUET PG taking up the largest examination window.
NTA has proposed CUET (PG) from March 1 to 5, March 8 to 20, and March 24 to 25, 2027. These dates add up to 17 examination days. NTA has also kept March 30 and 31 as buffer dates.
CUET PG stands for Common University Entrance Test (Postgraduate). The examination supports postgraduate admissions, so its schedule covers a longer period than most of the other exams listed in the calendar.
NITTT Part 2 will also take place in March, with proposed examination dates on March 5 and 7.
Dates that clash: what students need to double-check
Students preparing for multiple examinations should pay particular attention to two dates.
First, SHRESHTA (NETS) and the NIFT Entrance Examination both have January 10, 2027 as their proposed date. Students interested in both exams should check the individual notifications before making plans.
Second, AISSEE is proposed for January 31, which NTA has also marked as a JEE Main Session 1 buffer date. A buffer date does not necessarily mean NTA will conduct JEE Main on that day. Students should therefore wait for the final JEE Main schedule and AISSEE notification before assuming that the two examinations will conflict.
Why NTA calls these dates “tentative”
NTA has clearly stated that the dates in the calendar can change. Administrative requirements, academic considerations, statutory requirements, logistical issues or other unforeseen circumstances could lead the agency to revise the schedule.
Students can use the calendar to organise their preparation at a broad level, but they should not treat the dates as final. The same approach applies to travel plans and other arrangements linked to examination dates.
NTA has followed this approach before. The agency last issued a similar comprehensive early examination calendar around September 2023 for the 2024 cycle.
What happens next
NTA will issue separate information bulletins for the examinations listed in the calendar. Those bulletins will provide confirmed schedules along with application details, fees and eligibility information.
Students should regularly check nta.ac.in for official updates rather than relying only on the tentative calendar. For now, the proposed dates can help candidates structure their preparation for the upcoming exam cycle.
