The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the official notification for UGC-NET December 2026. The exam decides eligibility for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), Assistant Professor and admission to Ph.D. in Indian universities and colleges. Online applications are open from 08 October 2026 to 28 October 2026 on the official portal, ugcnet.nta.nic.in. The test will be held in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode from 14 to 18 December 2026 and on 21 December 2026, and it covers 87 subjects. The Information Bulletin and the Public Notice, both dated 08 October 2026, carry the complete details. Update (16 October 2026): NTA has issued a corrigendum to the Information Bulletin — the exam will now be held on 14–18 December 2026 and 21 December 2026 (earlier 14–19 December 2026). The exam city will be intimated on 23 November 2026 and the admit card will be available from 07 December 2026.

The last date for the UGC NET December 2026 online form is 28 October 2026, up to 11:50 PM, and the last date for fee payment is the same. Candidates who miss this deadline get one more chance: late submission is open from 29 to 31 October 2026, up to 11:50 PM, with a late fee of Rs 500. After submission, the correction window will remain open from 02 to 04 November 2026, up to 11:50 PM. The exam city will be intimated on 23 November 2026 and the admit card will be available from 07 December 2026, and the answer key and result will be announced later.

The UGC NET December 2026 application fee depends on the candidate’s category. General / Unreserved candidates pay Rs 1,150, General-EWS / OBC-NCL candidates pay Rs 600, and SC / ST / PwD / Third Gender candidates pay Rs 325. Service and processing charges and GST are extra, as applicable. The fee can be paid online through Credit Card, Debit Card, Net Banking or UPI. Candidates applying in the late window from 29 to 31 October 2026 must pay the Rs 500 late fee in addition to the category fee.

For UGC NET December 2026 eligibility, candidates need a Master’s degree or equivalent from a UGC-recognised university with at least 55% marks, without rounding off, for General, Unreserved and General-EWS categories. For OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD and Third Gender candidates, the minimum is 50% marks. Final-year, pursuing and result-awaited candidates can apply provisionally, and they must complete the Master’s degree within 2 years of the NET result date, or within 1 year for Ph.D.-only admission. Ph.D. holders whose Master’s degree was completed by 19 September 1991 get a 5% relaxation, from 55% to 50%. Candidates with a 4-year or 8-semester Bachelor’s degree need a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate, with a 5% relaxation for SC, ST, OBC-NCL, Differently-Abled, EWS and other categories as decided by the UGC. Candidates must appear in the subject of their post-graduation, or in a related subject if their post-graduation subject is not in the NET subject list.

The UGC NET JRF age limit is 30 years, not more, as on 01 December 2026. Relaxation of up to 5 years is available for OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD, Third Gender and women candidates, and relaxation is also available for research experience up to 5 years, L.L.M. up to 3 years and armed-forces service up to 5 years, with total relaxation on all grounds capped at 5 years. For Assistant Professor and Ph.D. admission, there is no upper age limit.

The exam is a Computer Based Test with Paper 1 and Paper 2 in a single session of 180 minutes, or 03 hours, with no break between the two papers. The centre, date and shift will be as indicated on the admit card. To apply, candidates must visit the official UGC-NET portal at ugcnet.nta.nic.in, open the UGC-NET December 2026 application link, register with a valid email ID and mobile number, fill the form, choose their subject and exam city preference, upload documents as required, pay the application fee online, submit the form and take a printout of the confirmation page for future reference. The Joint CSIR-UGC NET December 2026 is the parallel exam for science subjects. It covers only 5 science subjects — Chemical, Earth, Life, Mathematical and Physical — with exams on 19, 22 and 27 December 2026, an apply window of 7 October to 5 November 2026 and a late window of 6 to 9 November 2026. Its fee structure is the same, Rs 1,150, Rs 600 and Rs 325, with a Rs 500 late fee. Science subject candidates apply in CSIR NET, while candidates from other subjects apply in UGC NET.