The National Testing Agency published its examination calendar on 16 September 2026, and for once students do not have to guess when the next big exam window opens. The public notice, titled “Publication of the Examination Calendar of the National Testing Agency (NTA) up to March 2027”, lists 14 examinations running from the December 2026 cycle through March 2027. JEE (Main) Session 1 takes six days in late January. CUET (PG) takes 17 days in March. Everything in between is now on paper.
The notice carries one condition that matters more than any single date. NTA has said the schedule is tentative and can shift because of administrative, academic, statutory, logistical or other unforeseen reasons. The calendar is also not a notification. Application windows, fees, eligibility, syllabus and exam pattern will come separately in each Information Bulletin. So treat what follows as a planning document, not a boarding pass.
What the NTA notice dated 16 September 2026 says
The agency put the calendar in the public domain so candidates, schools, colleges and coaching institutes can plan their academic year around it. NTA has asked candidates to keep checking nta.ac.in and the individual exam portals for application schedules, city intimation slips, admit cards, answer keys and results, and to rely only on what appears on those official pages.
One line in the notice is worth reading twice: publishing this calendar does not amount to notifying any particular examination. Every year a section of aspirants books train tickets and hostel rooms the week a tentative calendar appears. That is the one thing this document does not support.
NTA exam calendar 2027: complete list of exams and tentative dates
| S. No. | Examination | Proposed date(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rashtriya Indian Military College | 06 Dec 2026 | 1 day |
| 2 | SWAYAM | 08 to 12 Dec 2026 | 5 days |
| 3 | Rashtriya Military Schools | 13 Dec 2026 | 1 day |
| 4 | UGC NET (December cycle) | 14 to 19 Dec 2026 (buffer: 20 to 21 Dec 2026) | 6 days |
| 5 | Joint CSIR UGC NET (December cycle) | 20 to 21 Dec 2026 | 2 days |
| 6 | Army Cadets College | 04 Jan 2027 | 1 day |
| 7 | SHRESHTA (NETS) | 10 Jan 2027 | 1 day |
| 8 | NIFT Entrance Examination | 10 Jan 2027 | 1 day |
| 9 | JEE (Main) Session 1 | 22 to 24 and 28 to 30 Jan 2027 (buffer: 31 Jan 2027) | 6 days |
| 10 | All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination | 31 Jan 2027 | 1 day |
| 11 | Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) | 07 Feb 2027 | 1 day |
| 12 | NITTT (Part 1) | 26 to 27 Feb 2027 | 2 days |
| 13 | CUET (PG) | 01 to 05, 08, 12 to 20, 24 to 25 Mar 2027 (buffer: 30 to 31 Mar 2027) | 17 days |
| 14 | NITTT (Part 2) | 05 and 07 Mar 2027 | 2 days |
December 2026 cycle
The cycle opens with the Rashtriya Indian Military College test on 6 December, followed by SWAYAM from 8 to 12 December and Rashtriya Military Schools on 13 December. UGC NET December 2026 runs across six days from 14 to 19 December, with two buffer days kept aside. Joint CSIR UGC NET follows on 20 and 21 December, which is the same pair of days reserved as UGC NET buffer. If UGC NET slips even by a day, NTA will have to rework the CSIR NET window.
January 2027
January is the crowded month. NIFT and SHRESHTA are both proposed for 10 January. JEE (Main) Session 1 occupies 22, 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30 January. The Sainik Schools entrance test sits on 31 January, which is also the JEE Main buffer day.
February and March 2027
February holds only two entries, CMAT on 7 February and NITTT Part 1 on 26 and 27 February. March belongs almost entirely to CUET (PG), which spreads across 17 exam days between 1 and 25 March, with 30 and 31 March kept in reserve. NITTT Part 2 falls on 5 and 7 March, inside the CUET window.
JEE Main exam date 2027: how it compares with 2026
Engineering aspirants will notice the session has moved later in the month.
| Point of comparison | JEE Main 2026 Session 1 | JEE Main 2027 Session 1 (proposed) |
|---|---|---|
| Exam days | 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28 January for Paper 1; 29 January for Paper 2 | 22, 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30 January |
| Start date | 21 January | 22 January |
| Total days in calendar | 6 | 6 plus 31 January buffer |
| Shifts per day | Two, morning and afternoon | Expected to stay at two |
| Mode | Computer based test, Drawing section of B.Arch on paper | Expected to stay the same |
| Session 2 | Held in the first week of April | Not listed in this calendar |
Two things stand out. First, the start has shifted by a single day, which tells you NTA is holding roughly the same slot in the academic year rather than experimenting. Second, and more usefully for planners, Session 2 is missing from this calendar entirely. That is not a signal that it has been dropped. The calendar stops at March 2027 by design, and the April session will come in a separate notification along with its own application window.
What JEE Main 2027 aspirants can expect
Registration for Session 1 has opened in late October or early November in recent cycles, with the correction window in early December and city intimation about two weeks before the first exam day. Working backwards from a 22 January start, an application window opening around the last week of October 2026 is the reasonable expectation. Nothing is confirmed until the Information Bulletin lands on jeemain.nta.nic.in.
On exam day itself, the recent pattern has been 75 questions across Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, with the optional questions in Section B removed a few cycles ago. Aadhaar linked biometric verification and photo capture at the centre have become routine. Expect both to continue.
Is 31 January a JEE Main exam day?
No. It is a buffer. NTA keeps buffer days for a technical failure at a centre, a local disruption, or a re exam for an affected shift. In most cycles buffer days are never used and quietly lapse.
CUET PG exam date 2027: a 17 day window in March
CUET (PG) 2027 is proposed for 1 to 5 March, 8 March, 12 to 20 March and 24 to 25 March, with 30 and 31 March as buffer.
| Point of comparison | CUET PG 2026 | CUET PG 2027 (proposed) |
|---|---|---|
| Window | Early March to late March | 1 March to 25 March |
| Exam days | 15 | 17 |
| Start date | 6 March | 1 March |
| Shifts | Two to three per day | Expected two to three per day |
| Paper duration | 90 minutes | Expected 90 minutes |
| Question count | 75 domain questions | Expected 75 |
| Marking | Plus 4 for correct, minus 1 for wrong | Expected to stay |
| Mode | Computer based test | Computer based test |
The window has grown by two days and starts five days earlier. The obvious reading is that subject count and registration volume are both rising, and NTA needs more slots. CUET (PG) 2026 ran across more than 150 subject papers for over four lakh registered candidates, and each additional subject paper needs its own shift somewhere in the grid.
What CUET PG 2027 candidates should plan for
Registration for the postgraduate test has typically opened in mid December and closed in the second half of January, with the subject wise date sheet arriving in February. If the March start holds, expect the same rhythm, only compressed by a few days. Since Part A general aptitude was dropped, the paper has been purely domain based, so a candidate preparing for one subject is preparing for one 90 minute test and nothing else.
A caution for PG aspirants: an earlier start means final year undergraduate exams and CUET (PG) can collide. Check your university calendar before you assume March is free.
UGC NET December 2026 and CSIR NET December 2026
UGC NET December cycle is proposed for 14 to 19 December 2026 across six days, with 20 and 21 December as buffer. Joint CSIR UGC NET is proposed for 20 and 21 December 2026. NET has been running as a computer based test with two papers attempted back to back in a single three hour session, Paper 1 carrying 50 questions and Paper 2 carrying 100. Nothing in this calendar suggests a change to that structure.
CMAT 2027, NIFT 2027 and AISSEE 2027
CMAT is proposed for 7 February 2027, a single day. In 2026 the MBA entrance was held on 25 January, so the test has moved almost two weeks later. That gives candidates a slightly longer runway after the year end, though it also pushes results and B school shortlisting deeper into February.
NIFT is proposed for 10 January 2027. The 2026 edition was held on 8 February, so design aspirants are looking at an exam nearly a month earlier than last year. That is the single largest date shift in this calendar and the one worth acting on first if fashion and design is your target.
The All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination is proposed for 31 January 2027 and SHRESHTA (NETS) for 10 January 2027, the same day as NIFT.
Clashes and overlaps to watch
Three overlaps sit in the calendar as published. NIFT and SHRESHTA share 10 January. AISSEE on 31 January falls on the JEE Main buffer day, which only becomes a problem if NTA actually uses that buffer. Joint CSIR UGC NET on 20 and 21 December sits on the UGC NET buffer days. None of these is a drafting error. Buffers are contingencies, and NTA resolves them in the detailed notifications. Candidates sitting two of these exams should wait for the individual bulletins before committing to travel.
Predictions: what is likely to change before the final notifications
These are expectations based on how the agency has handled recent cycles, not announcements.
Dates for the single day exams, CMAT, NIFT, AISSEE and the military school tests, usually hold. They involve fewer centres and fewer shifts, so there is less to go wrong.
The long windows are where movement happens. JEE Main Session 1 could compress from six days to five if registrations come in lower than expected, since Paper 1 has recently needed only ten shifts. The CUET (PG) window is the most likely to be edited, because the final count of subjects and candidates is not known until applications close in January.
Expect JEE Main Session 2 to be notified for early April 2027, following the pattern of the last several cycles. Expect CUET (UG) and NEET (UG) 2027 to appear in a second calendar covering April onwards, since this one stops at March by design. NEET (UG) has been held on a single day in early May.
One more thing to expect: exact dates reach you personally through the city intimation slip and admit card, not through this calendar. Even within a published six day window, your day and shift are allotted.
How to download the NTA exam calendar 2027 PDF
Go to nta.ac.in, open the Public Notices or Latest News section on the homepage, and look for the notice dated 16 September 2026 on the publication of the examination calendar up to March 2027. The calendar is attached to that notice. Save it, but check the exam specific portal before you rely on any date.
Frequently asked questions
When was the NTA exam calendar 2027 released?
Through a public notice dated 16 September 2026.
What is the JEE Main exam date 2027?
JEE (Main) Session 1 is proposed for 22, 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30 January 2027, with 31 January 2027 as buffer.
When will CUET PG 2027 be held?
CUET (PG) 2027 is proposed across 17 days between 1 and 25 March 2027, with 30 and 31 March as buffer.
Is the NTA exam calendar 2027 final?
No. NTA has stated the dates are tentative and may change.
Does the calendar include NEET UG 2027 or CUET UG 2027?
No. This calendar covers examinations only up to March 2027.
When is CMAT 2027?
7 February 2027, a single day.
When is the UGC NET December 2026 exam?
14 to 19 December 2026, with 20 and 21 December as buffer days.
For more such articles Clarity Wire by Ashutosh Bhatt. For more insight on education updates, entrance exam notices and official announcements, follow Clarity Wire at https://claritywire.in/.