UGC NET December 2026: Notification Out, Apply Online Till 28 Oct — Fee, Eligibility, Exam Date (14–19 Dec)

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The National Testing Agency (NTA) has opened the application portal for UGC NET December 2026. The public notice, dated 8 October 2026, lays out the full schedule: online forms are being accepted from 8 October to 28 October 2026, and the Computer Based Test will be held from 14 to 19 December 2026 across 87 subjects.

If you have been waiting for this cycle, there is genuine good news in the notice — but also two small traps most candidates walk straight into every year. This article covers both, alongside the fee, eligibility, exam pattern and the document checklist, so you can file your form without last-day surprises.

UGC NET December 2026: Important Dates

The Three-Category Trap (Read This First)

Every year, thousands of candidates fill the UGC NET form without realising it now operates with three separate qualification categories, not one:

1. JRF + Assistant Professor — award of Junior Research Fellowship and eligibility for appointment as Assistant Professor
2. Assistant Professor + admission to Ph.D. — eligibility for appointment as Assistant Professor and for Ph.D. admission
3. Ph.D. admission only — eligibility for admission to Ph.D. programmes

The category you qualify in is decided by your score, and each has its own cut-off. The practical takeaway: a candidate who just misses the JRF cut-off can still walk away qualified as an Assistant Professor, or at least for Ph.D. admission. Do not treat the exam as an all-or-nothing shot at a fellowship.

The bigger confusion is the age limit. The 30-year maximum age applies ONLY to JRF — not more than 30 years as on 1 December 2026, the first day of the month in which this exam concludes. For the other two categories — Assistant Professor and Ph.D. admission — there is no upper age limit at all. This is stated explicitly in the Information Bulletin, so if someone tells you “you are too old for NET,” they are almost certainly confusing JRF with the whole exam.

Eligibility Criteria

• General / Unreserved / General-EWS: at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in a Master’s degree or equivalent from a UGC-recognised university/institution.
• OBC-NCL / SC / ST / PwD / PwBD / Third gender: at least 50% marks (without rounding off) in a Master’s degree or equivalent.
• Final-year candidates may apply: if you are pursuing your Master’s, or your final-year result is still awaited, you can apply provisionally — but you must complete the degree with the required percentage within two years of the NET result (within one year for the Ph.D.-only category), or the qualification stands cancelled.
• Ph.D. holders whose Master’s examination was completed by 19 September 1991 get a 5% marks relaxation (55% down to 50%).

The Late-Fee Window: What Rs. 500 Buys You (and What It Doesn’t)

NTA has kept a safety net this time: if you miss the 28 October deadline, you can still submit the application from 29 to 31 October 2026 by paying an extra Rs. 500 late fee, with the late-fee transaction allowed up to 31 October, 11:50 PM. This is the first NET cycle where the late window is being offered so prominently.

What the extra fee buys you is simply time — three more days. It does not buy you leniency on anything else: the eligibility bar, the photo and signature specifications, and the correction window (2–4 November) stay exactly the same. It also does not protect you from your own paperwork mistakes — a rejected photograph in a late application leaves you the same correction window everyone else gets. Treat 28 October as the real deadline and 31 October as insurance, not a plan.

Application Fee

Fee is payable online only — credit card, debit card, net banking or UPI — up to 28 October 2026 (11:50 PM), or up to 31 October with the late fee. The late fee is Rs. 500 over and above the normal category fee, not a flat Rs. 500 total.

Choosing Your Subject Among 87: Map It to Your Master’s

The December 2026 cycle covers 87 subjects in CBT mode. The subject list looks generous until you reach the fine print: Paper II — the subject paper — is meant to test domain knowledge of the subject you studied. In practice, candidates pick the subject closest to their Master’s degree.

That choice matters more than most candidates think. Since there is no negative marking (see the pattern below), your score ceiling is set almost entirely by how well your Paper II subject overlaps with what you already studied for two years of postgraduate work. Switching to a “scoring” subject you never studied is a gamble that rarely pays. If you are between two close subjects, check the official syllabus for each on the UGC website before deciding — the Information Bulletin does not carry the syllabus itself.

Exam Pattern

The test is a single 3-hour CBT sitting with two papers back-to-back and no break in between. All questions are compulsory, and there is no negative marking — an unanswered question earns zero, so it costs nothing to attempt everything.

Each question carries 2 marks. The question paper is bilingual — English and Hindi, except for language papers. Choose your medium carefully while filling the form: the option once exercised cannot be changed, and you must answer in the chosen medium. If any question’s translation is ambiguous, the English version is treated as final.

The Paperwork That Actually Gets Forms Rejected

NTA’s notices now spend as much space on documents as on dates, and with reason — a surprising share of applications stumble here, not on eligibility.

• Live photograph: the portal captures your live photo through your camera at the time of filling the form — switch it on or connect one before you start. You also upload a scanned recent photograph (10 KB–200 KB), colour or black-and-white, with 80% of the face (without mask) visible including ears, against a white background.
• Signature: scanned copy, 10 KB–50 KB.
• Aadhaar eKYC: the public notice advises candidates to use Aadhaar verification while filling the form — it speeds up registration, centre-level verification, and JRF processing. The bulletin also asks candidates to make sure their Aadhaar card carries their recent photograph, name, date of birth, gender and address, updated per UIDAI guidelines.
• One form only: a candidate may submit just one application — multiple forms lead to disqualification.
• Registration route: forms are accepted online only through ugcnet.nta.nic.in; registration runs through the single sign-on service “Meri Pehchaan”. Any other mode is not accepted.

How to Apply Online

1. Go to the official portal and open the UGC NET December 2026 application link.
2. Register with your own (or a parent/guardian’s) email ID and mobile number — all communication comes through these, so they must be accessible.
3. Fill the application form, upload the live photograph, scanned photo, signature and category/disability certificates, note down the system-generated application number.
4. Pay the fee online (UPI, card or net banking) before the deadline — 28 October, or 31 October with the Rs. 500 late fee.
5. Print the confirmation page. If you spot a mistake, use the correction window of 2–4 November 2026.

FAQs

What is the last date to apply for UGC NET December 2026?
28 October 2026 (11:50 PM) without late fee; 31 October 2026 (11:50 PM) with an additional Rs. 500 late fee.

When is the UGC NET December 2026 exam?
14 to 19 December 2026, in Computer Based Test mode, as per the official public notice.

What is the age limit for UGC NET December 2026?
For JRF: not more than 30 years as on 1 December 2026 (with relaxations for reserved categories, women, research experience, LL.M. holders and ex-servicemen). For Assistant Professor and Ph.D. admission: no upper age limit.

What is the application fee?
Rs. 1,150 for General/UR, Rs. 600 for Gen-EWS/OBC-NCL, and Rs. 325 for SC/ST/PwD/Third gender, plus Rs. 500 extra if you apply in the late window of 29–31 October.

Can final-year Master’s students apply?
Yes, provisionally — but you must complete the degree with the required percentage within two years of the NET result (one year for the Ph.D.-only category).

Is there negative marking in UGC NET?
No. Every question carries 2 marks, unanswered questions earn zero, and there is no penalty for wrong answers.

Important Links

Facts in this article are taken from the NTA public notice dated 8 October 2026 and the UGC NET December 2026 Information Bulletin on the official portal ugcnet.nta.nic.in. Dates are marked tentative by NTA — always verify on the official portal before acting.

Raju

Founder & Editor

Tracks every Sarkari notification and breaks it down into simple, accurate English so you never miss a date or misread eligibility.