Checked 3 October 2026. High. Every date for December 2026 is open until NTA issues the bulletin and the registration notice; this page is updated when it does. Past-cycle dates are fixed and come from NTA notices.
On 3 October 2026 NTA had not opened registration or issued an information bulletin for UGC NET December 2026. The only official date is in NTA's examination calendar of 16 September 2026: UGC NET (December cycle) on 14 to 19 December 2026, with 20 and 21 December as buffer days. NTA calls those dates tentative and says the calendar "does not constitute a notification for any particular examination". Everything else on this page is what NTA actually did in the last five cycles, notice by notice, so you can see how the steps follow each other.
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Day counts are our arithmetic on the dates printed in NTA notices (see the tables below).
December 2026: what is official today
| Step | Status on 3 Oct 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Exam window | 14-19 Dec 2026, buffer 20-21 Dec (tentative) | NTA calendar notice, 16.09.2026 |
| Information bulletin | Not issued. The bulletin page lists June 2026, December 2025 and 2023 only | ugcnet.nta.nic.in, checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Registration | Not open. No notice on ugcnet.nta.nic.in or nta.ac.in mentions December 2026 | both portals, checked 3 Oct 2026 |
| Fee | Not announced for December 2026. June 2026: Rs 1,150 General, Rs 600 EWS and OBC-NCL, Rs 325 SC, ST, PwD/PwBD and third gender | June 2026 bulletin |
| City slip, admit card, answer key, result | Not announced | — |
Two more facts set the frame. The Joint CSIR-UGC NET December cycle is in the same calendar on 20 and 21 December 2026, the UGC NET buffer days. And the calendar notice says detailed bulletins and exam notices "will be issued separately at the appropriate time". Last December cycle, registration opened on 7 October 2025 for an exam that began on 31 December; if NTA keeps to its tentative window this year, the gap from today (3 October) to 14 December is 72 days (our arithmetic).
The last five cycles, step by step
| Step | June 2026 | Dec 2025 | June 2025 | Dec 2024 | June 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration opened | 29 Apr 2026 | 7 Oct 2025 | 16 Apr 2025 | 19 Nov 2024 | 20 Apr 2024 |
| Last date to apply (final) | 24 May 2026 (extended twice from 20 May) | 7 Nov 2025 (no extension) | 12 May 2025 (extended from 7 May) | 11 Dec 2024 (extended from 10 Dec) | 19 May 2024 (extended twice from 10 May) |
| Correction window | 26-28 May 2026 | 10-12 Nov 2025 | 14-15 May 2025 | 13-14 Dec 2024 | 21-23 May 2024 |
| City slip (first notice) | 10 Jun 2026 | 20 Dec 2025 | 19 Jun 2025 | 24 Dec 2024 | 7 Jun 2024; 12 Aug 2024 for the re-held exam |
| Admit card (first notice) | 17 Jun 2026 | 27 Dec 2025 | 22 Jun 2025 | 28 Dec 2024 | 14 Jun 2024; 17 Aug 2024 for the re-held exam |
| Exam days | 22-30 Jun and 5 Jul 2026; English, Commerce, Sociology re-held 9-10 Sep | 31 Dec 2025 to 7 Jan 2026 | 25-29 Jun 2025 | 3 Jan to 27 Jan 2025 (9 days) | 18 Jun (cancelled); re-held 21 Aug to 5 Sep 2024 |
| Provisional key and challenge | 16-18 Aug 2026 | 14-17 Jan 2026 | 6-8 Jul 2025 | 31 Jan to 3 Feb 2025 | 7-9 Sep and 11-14 Sep 2024 |
| Result | 28 Aug 2026 (84 subjects); 17 Sep 2026 (3 re-held) | 4 Feb 2026 | 21 Jul 2025 | 22 Feb 2025 | 17 Oct 2024 |
| e-certificate notice | 24 Sep 2026 | 22 Apr 2026 | 12 Sep 2025 | 28 Mar 2025 | 26 Dec 2024 |
Every date is the one printed in an NTA notice or press release (and, for the June 2024 cancellation, a Ministry of Education press release). Where NTA issued several city-slip and admit-card notices for different exam days, the first is shown.
Our arithmetic on the dates in NTA notices.
Our arithmetic. The June 2026 re-held subjects had their result 7 days after the re-exam.
What the steps mean
From registration to e-certificate
- Registration and fee. One online form on ugcnet.nta.nic.in; the fee is paid online and the form is complete only when the fee is through. The last date has been extended in four of the last five cycles, but not in December 2025.
- Correction window. A short window, two or three days, after the last date. NTA has moved it with each extension (June 2026: 22-24 May, then 25-27 May, then 26-28 May).
- City slip. The "advance intimation" of your exam city, released 6 to 12 days before the first exam day in the last five cycles. It is not the admit card and does not get you into the centre.
- Admit card. Released a few days before your own exam day, often in batches by date. It carries the centre, shift and reporting time.
- Provisional key. Question papers, recorded responses and provisional keys go up for two to four days; you can challenge an answer for Rs 200 per question.
- Result, cut-offs and final key. The result, the subject-wise cut-off PDF and, usually, the final key come out together. Score cards are downloaded from the portal; nobody is told individually.
- e-certificate. A separate notice, 27 to 77 days after the result in the last five cycles, for the Assistant Professor and JRF certificates.
Things that broke the timeline
Three of the last five cycles were disrupted. In June 2024 the pen-and-paper exam of 18 June was cancelled the next day by the Ministry of Education and re-held on computer from 21 August to 5 September 2024. In December 2024 the exam of 15 January 2025 was postponed for Pongal and Makar Sankranti and held on 21 and 27 January. In June 2026 NTA re-conducted English, Commerce and Sociology on 9 and 10 September after a committee found "many factual, typographical, translation errors" and "repetition of a significant number of questions previously administered", with no extra fee.
A conflict to know about: is the challenge fee refunded?
- The June 2026 bulletin (section 6.1) and the December 2025 challenge notice call the Rs 200 per question a "non-refundable" processing fee.
- The June 2026 challenge notice of 16 August 2026 says the fee "will be refunded in full for every" challenge that is accepted.
- Read the challenge notice of your own cycle; the later document is the one NTA issued for that window.
Plan backwards from the tentative window
The split in the planner is our suggestion, weighted roughly by marks; change it to suit you. The two dates are the first and last days of NTA's tentative window, not your exam day, which only your admit card will tell you.
Questions
When is UGC NET December 2026?
NTA's calendar of 16 September 2026 gives 14 to 19 December 2026, with 20 and 21 December as buffer days, and calls these dates tentative. NTA had not issued the bulletin or opened registration on 3 October 2026.
When will the December 2026 application form open?
NTA had not announced it on 3 October 2026. Last year the December cycle opened on 7 October 2025, and in 2024 on 19 November 2024.
What is the UGC NET application fee?
For June 2026 it was Rs 1,150 for General, Rs 600 for EWS and OBC-NCL, and Rs 325 for SC, ST, PwD/PwBD and third gender, plus bank charges and GST. The December 2026 fee will be in its bulletin.
How many days before the exam does the city slip come?
In the last five cycles the first city-slip notice came 6 to 12 days before the first exam day.
How soon after the exam is the result?
Between 22 and 54 days after the last exam day in the last five cycles. The December cycles took 26 and 28 days.
Is the city slip my admit card?
No. It only tells you the city in advance. The admit card, released a few days before your exam day, is what you carry to the centre.
Does NTA extend the last date?
It did in four of the last five cycles (June 2026 twice, June 2025, December 2024, June 2024 twice) but not in December 2025. Do not plan on an extension.
Practise it, don't just read it
Whatever the final dates, the ten Paper 1 units are fixed. Ten weeks is enough to cover them once and revise them twice.
Nine UGC NET quizzes are live on ProSyllabus today, all on Paper 1: teaching aptitude, research types and methods, research aptitude, reading comprehension, syllogisms and fallacies, logical reasoning, mathematical reasoning, ICT, and the higher education system. There is no Paper 2 subject quiz yet.
ProSyllabus is an independent study site. It is not part of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts UGC-NET, or of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Always confirm on ugcnet.nta.nic.in and nta.ac.in.
More in this series
- UGC NET cut-offs by subject and category, every cycle since 2023
- UGC NET JRF vs Assistant Professor vs PhD only
- UGC NET pattern, marking, percentile and normalised marks
- UGC NET previous papers and official answer keys
- UGC NET notice board — alerts and updates
- UGC NET exam day: time management and CBT
- UGC NET syllabus and a study plan
- CSIR NET: JRF vs Assistant Professor
Sources
- official — NTA public notice, 16.09.2026 — examination calendar up to March 2027: UGC NET (December cycle) 14-19 Dec 2026, buffer 20-21 Dec 2026; "tentative"; "does not constitute a notification"
- official — UGC-NET portal (ugcnet.nta.nic.in) — notices, answer keys, results
- official — NTA — Information Bulletin, UGC-NET June 2026 (as on 30.04.2026): pattern (s.2.2), marking (s.2.5), eligibility and age (ch.3), result procedure (s.6.3), normalisation (Appendices VIII and IX), subject codes (Appendix II)
- official — NTA, 29.04.2026 — opening of registration for UGC-NET June 2026 (29 Apr to 20 May; fee Rs 1,150 / 600 / 325)
- official — NTA, 20.05.2026 and 23.05.2026 — extensions of the June 2026 last date (to 24 May 2026) and correction window 26-28 May
- official — NTA, 10.06.2026 — advance city intimation, UGC-NET June 2026
- official — NTA, 17.06.2026 — release of admit card, UGC-NET June 2026
- official — NTA, 16.08.2026 — challenge of provisional answer keys, June 2026 (16-18 Aug; Rs 200 per question, refunded for every challenge accepted)
- official — NTA public notice, 16.08.2026 — re-conduct of the English, Commerce and Sociology papers on 9 and 10 September 2026
- official — NTA press release, 28.08.2026 — declaration of results of UGC-NET June 2026 (84 subjects): registered, appeared and qualified counts
- official — NTA press release, 17.09.2026 — results of the June 2026 re-examination in English, Commerce and Sociology
- official — NTA, 07.10.2025 — opening of registration for UGC-NET December 2025 (7 Oct to 7 Nov 2025)
- official — NTA, 12.10.2025 — examination schedule of UGC-NET December 2025 (31 Dec 2025 to 7 Jan 2026)
- official — NTA, 20.12.2025 — advance city intimation, UGC-NET December 2025
- official — NTA, 14.01.2026 — provisional answer keys for challenge, December 2025 (14-17 Jan 2026; "non-refundable processing fee" of Rs 200)
- official — NTA press release, 04.02.2026 — results of UGC-NET December 2025
- official — NTA, 16.04.2025 — opening of registration for UGC-NET June 2025
- official — NTA press release, 21.07.2025 — results of UGC-NET June 2025
- official — NTA, 19.11.2024 — opening of registration for UGC-NET December 2024
- official — NTA, 13.01.2025 and 14.01.2025 — postponement of the 15 January 2025 exam and new dates of 21 and 27 January 2025
- official — NTA press release, 22.02.2025 — results of UGC-NET December 2024
- official — Ministry of Education (PIB), 19.06.2024 — cancellation of the UGC-NET June 2024 examination held on 18 June 2024
- official — NTA public notice, 17.10.2024 — result of UGC-NET June 2024 (exam 21 Aug to 5 Sep 2024)
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.
