Updated : 2 hours ago
View Complete ArticleChecked 25 September 2026. MAH-B. Design CET 2027 has not been announced (checked 25 Sep 2026). Past dates are official; 2027 dates in the planner are projections.
As of 25 September 2026 the CET Cell has published nothing for 2027. But its calendar has been steady: a tentative schedule of all CETs in late November, registration from January, and the B.Design exam on a weekend in late March or early April — 29 March 2025, 5 April 2026. That puts the 2027 paper about six months away, which is the right amount of time for a test that is half drawing. This guide sets out the recent timeline and a preparation plan built on the official syllabus.
CET Cell schedules and notices, 2024–2026.
| Stage | 2025 cycle | 2026 cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Tentative CET schedule | 27 Nov 2024 | 21 Nov 2025 |
| Registration | 4 – 27 Jan 2025, extended to 31 Jan | 22 Jan – 24 Feb 2026, extended to 27 Feb |
| Application fee | ₹1,900; ₹1,400 for reserved / PwD candidates of Maharashtra | ₹2,200 (General, other states, J&K/Ladakh migrants); ₹1,700 for reserved / PwD of Maharashtra, orphan and transgender candidates |
| Edit window | — | 9 – 11 Mar 2026 |
| Exam | Sat 29 Mar 2025 | Sun 5 Apr 2026 |
| Score card | 9 Jun 2025 | 12 Jun 2026 |
| Practical-paper images + objections | 11 – 13 Jun (₹1,000 each) | 12 – 14 Jun (₹1,000 each) |
| CAP | 30 Jun – 9 Sep 2025 | 8 Jul – 14 Sep 2026 |
From the CET Cell's schedules, brochures and notices for 2025 and 2026. In 2026 both an APAAR ID and Aadhaar were needed to register.
Where other pages get this wrong
The MAH B.Des CET 2026 registration closed on 27 February 2026 after a final extension.
Commonly published instead: "Last date to apply: 24 February 2026" on some news and coaching pages (e.g. PW and Jagran).
The CET Cell extended registration to 27 February 2026 in a final-extension notice dated 24 February 2026.
The three dates are projections for a weekend around early April 2027; replace them when the tentative schedule is out. The split is a preparation allocation, not the paper's weighting: the drawing parts get 55% of study time because they carry half the marks and improve slowly, and 10% goes to full mocks.
| Month | Drawing (Parts A and B) | MCQs (Part C) |
|---|---|---|
| October | Daily 30-minute sketching: objects, hands, people in simple poses; basic one- and two-point perspective | Elements and principles of design; colour theory |
| November | Scenes from a paragraph (Part A style) in 45 minutes; shading and texture | Indian art history, dance and music forms, crafts and tribal art by state |
| December | Design problems (Part B style): an everyday problem → three thumbnail ideas → one rendered solution with notes | World cultures (Egypt, Rome, Mughal, Harappa); science and materials basics |
| January | Timed Part A and B pairs twice a week; get feedback from a teacher or peer | Reasoning with shapes and patterns; GK and current affairs weekly |
| February | Full mocks on Sundays: 2 h 45 min of paper, ideally on the real 11:00–3:00 timetable with its breaks | Mixed 60-question sets in 60 minutes; revise weak topics |
| March | Keep hands warm with short daily sketches; pack and test your drawing kit | Current affairs of the last six months; light revision |
Our plan, built on the CET Cell's syllabus. Register as soon as the window opens and choose your preferred centre carefully — once a centre is allotted it cannot be changed.
| Day | Drawing (about 1 hour) | MCQs (about 45 minutes) |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Part A prompt from a newspaper photo, 45 minutes | Art history and Indian crafts — 20 questions |
| Tuesday | Perspective and proportion drills | Colour theory and design principles |
| Wednesday | Part B problem: ideas and one rendered solution, 60 minutes | Shape and pattern reasoning |
| Thursday | Figures and hands; shading textures | Everyday science and materials |
| Friday | Part A prompt, timed | GK and the week's current affairs |
| Saturday | Part B problem, timed, with annotation | Mixed 30-question set in 30 minutes |
| Sunday | From February: a full 2 h 45 min mock | Review the week's wrong answers |
Our routine — about 10½ hours on weekdays and Saturday plus the Sunday mock and review, roughly 13–14 hours a week in all.
The syllabus tells you what the examiners look for. In Part A: "observation skills, creative/imaginative presentation, composition of drawing, right proportions, good line quality, perspective, and shading". In Part B: understanding the situation, a proportionate sketch that highlights the new features of your idea, an appropriate colour scheme and a short annotation that explains it. Practise with a timer from the start — 45 and 60 minutes go quickly — and always leave five minutes in Part B for the annotation, because an unexplained idea is an idea the examiner has to guess at.
| Part | Common loss of marks | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A (40 marks) | Figures out of proportion; flat scenes with no perspective; running out of time before shading | Block the composition in the first 5 minutes; shade last but leave 10 minutes for it |
| B (60 marks) | A pretty drawing that does not answer the problem; no notes | Write the problem's needs in one line before drawing; annotate every new feature |
| C (100 marks) | Blanks; neglecting art and design history, the biggest section | Answer all 60 — no negative marking; give art & design the most MCQ time |
Our suggestions, based on the official evaluation criteria.
The CET Cell's 2025-26 mock-test list (checked 25 Sep 2026) has no B.Design link and we found no official sample paper, so build your own practice: newspaper photographs as Part A prompts ("draw this market scene from a different angle"), everyday annoyances as Part B problems (a school bag that hurts, a crowded bus stop), and standard design-foundation and Indian art-history reading for Part C. Keep every practice sheet in a folder with the date — seeing your own improvement over six months is the best motivation there is. If you are an All India candidate, prepare for UCEED alongside: on All India seats the rules give preference to candidates with a non-zero UCEED score over those with a MAH-CET score.
Practise it, don't just read it
Part C is 100 marks with no negative marking. Timed quizzes on design awareness and reasoning build the pace.
The ProSyllabus MAH B.Des CET library has quizzes for Design Awareness and General Knowledge, Principles of Design and Art History, Visual and Spatial Reasoning and Logical and Analytical Reasoning — the Part C ground. The first one is free.
Not announced as of 25 September 2026. The last two exams were on 29 March 2025 and 5 April 2026, and the CET Cell has published its tentative schedule in late November.
Not announced. Registration opened on 4 January 2025 and 22 January 2026.
₹2,200 for 2026 (₹1,700 for reserved categories and persons with disabilities from Maharashtra); it was ₹1,900 / ₹1,400 in 2025.
Give the drawing parts — half the marks — daily timed practice, and study art and design fundamentals, the biggest MCQ section, alongside GK, everyday science and shape reasoning.
It can be, with consistent daily practice — enough time to improve sketching and cover the Part C syllabus with timed sets — but how much time you need depends on where you start.
The score card came out on 9 June 2025 and 12 June 2026, followed by a short objection window.
The CET Cell publishes none for B.Design. Build timed practice from the official syllabus.
In 2026 both an APAAR ID and Aadhaar were mandatory for registration. The 2027 requirements are not announced yet, so keep both ready.
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.