Checked 25 September 2026. From UAT-UK's key-dates, registration, FAQ and bursary pages, the Candidate Handbook, the Test Admission and ID Policy (2027 entry) and Pearson VUE's UAT-UK pages and locator (25 Sep 2026). Centre availability changes; check when booking.
For a student in India the ESAT is mostly a matter of logistics — and a few of them are easy to get wrong. The fee is £133, set by where you sit, not your nationality. The test is taken at a Pearson VUE centre; UAT-UK's locator confirms centres in and around New Delhi and Mumbai, but publishes no full city list. And the ID rule means an Aadhaar card alone is a risk: an ID without a signature is accepted only with a signed bank card. This guide covers booking, fees, ID, refunds and support.
UAT-UK key dates and FAQ; Test Admission and ID Policy §2.3–2.6.
Fee
| Where you sit | 2027 entry | 2026 entry |
|---|---|---|
| Test centre in the UK or Republic of Ireland | £78 | £75 |
| Test centre anywhere else, including India | £133 | £130 |
"The test fees depend on the Test Centre location, not your home or nationality." An Indian student sitting in Mumbai pays £133; the same student sitting in London would pay £78. The fee is per test, not per module, and the candidate pays — a school cannot register or pay on your behalf. UAT-UK quotes only pounds sterling; the rupee amount charged to an Indian card (and any bank or tax charges) is not published, so check your card's foreign-transaction terms.
What the ESAT will cost you
The UAT-UK fee is fixed by the test-centre location. Enter today's pound-to-rupee rate to see the rupee figure.
| ESAT fee, centre outside UK/Ireland | 133 GBP |
| TMUA fee, if you also need it (£133 outside the UK) | GBP |
Add your own travel and stay costs in rupees. The UK bursary covers the full fee only for UK residents testing in the UK, so it does not apply to candidates in India.
| Example | Fee |
|---|---|
| Indian student sitting in Mumbai | £133 |
| Indian student sitting in London | £78 |
| UK student sitting in Delhi | £133 |
| ESAT and TMUA, both in India | £133 + £133 |
Worked examples of UAT-UK's rule that the fee depends on the test-centre location.
Test centres in India
UAT-UK's Pearson VUE locator returned about 30 centres around New Delhi and 30 around Mumbai on 25 September 2026 (the display seems to cap at 30), including Pearson Professional Centers on Barakhamba Road, New Delhi, and in Andheri East, Mumbai. An official list of all Indian cities is not published; a coaching site's claim of "over 40 cities" could not be checked. UAT-UK warns that outside the UK "candidates may need to travel further within their country", and a centre on the map does not guarantee an ESAT seat on the day you want — search seats as soon as you know your modules.
Where other pages get this wrong
UAT-UK confirms Pearson VUE ESAT centres in and around New Delhi and Mumbai; it publishes no full list of Indian cities.
Commonly published instead: "ESAT test centres in over 40 cities in India", with a long list of named cities.
That list comes from a coaching site. The only official source is the Pearson VUE locator for UAT-UK; search it for your own city when you book.
ID: bring a passport
| Rule (ID policy, 2027 entry) | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Original, in date, government-issued, with photo and signature | Photocopies and expired documents are refused |
| Name must exactly match your booking | Book with the name exactly as on your passport |
| Passport accepted everywhere; photo-card driving licence or government ID card in the country of issue | A passport is always valid |
| ID without a visible signature is accepted ONLY with an unexpired bank or credit card showing your printed name and signature | An Aadhaar card alone is not enough (our reading — Aadhaar is not named) |
From UAT-UK's Test Admission and ID Policy for 2027 entry, §2.3–2.6. Arrive with time for check-in; the centre will refuse entry without acceptable ID.
On the day at the centre
| What to expect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Check-in | ID check against your booking; your name must match exactly |
| Rough work | An erasable board or laminated sheet and a marker; no own pen or paper |
| Calculator | None allowed, nor a dictionary |
| Timing | Modules back to back, 40 minutes each, no automatic breaks |
| Screen tools | Flag for review, a review screen, zoom and background colour |
| Result | Not on the day — about four weeks later in your UAT-UK account |
From UAT-UK's Candidate Handbook §7.2 and results page.
Taking the TMUA as well
Some students applying from India list both engineering and computer-science or economics courses. Those use the TMUA (Cambridge Computer Science, Economics and Mathematics, Imperial Computing and Mathematics, and courses at Durham, LSE and Warwick), a separate UAT-UK test with its own fee — also £133 outside the UK. The two can be sat in the same sitting or in different ones, once each per cycle, and the October rule for Oxbridge applicants applies to both. Book both together if you need both, so you can choose days that do not collide.
Booking, changes and refunds
| Step or rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Create a UAT-UK account | Opened 1 June 2026 for 2027 entry |
| Choose modules | Check every course on your list; modules cannot be changed after booking |
| Book through Pearson VUE | October booking closes 28 Sep 2026, 6pm UK (10:30pm India); January booking 21 Dec 2026, 6pm UK (11:30pm India) |
| Cancel or reschedule | Full refund if cancelled at least 48 hours before; no reschedule inside 48 hours |
| Missed appointment | The fee is forfeited |
| UCAS Personal ID | Add it to your UAT-UK account so scores reach your universities; do not guess it |
From UAT-UK's key dates, FAQ and Candidate Handbook. Pearson VUE's India toll-free number for UAT-UK candidates is 000 800 440 1837.
Access arrangements
Extra time, supervised rest breaks, a separate room, a reader or recorder and other adjustments are available worldwide, but they must be approved before you book, and UAT-UK takes up to ten working days to review. The October deadline (14 September) has passed; the January deadline is 7 December 2026, 6pm UK. Evidence is a school letter on headed paper describing your usual arrangements in public exams, or for non-students a diagnostic report or a 2026-dated medical letter. Zoom and background colour are available to everyone without applying.
UAT-UK Candidate Handbook and bursary page.
India is one of UAT-UK's key markets outside the UK, according to its 2025-26 annual report, so centres in the large cities see many ESAT candidates in the October window. Book early for the day and time you want, and have a second centre in mind. If something goes wrong on the day — a centre closure, a technical failure — contact UAT-UK and Pearson VUE immediately and follow their instructions, rather than booking a new test yourself: you may sit only once per cycle, and they decide how an incident is handled.
Before the day
- Check your booking confirmation: date, time, centre address and modules.
- Pack your passport (or signed ID plus a signed bank card).
- Plan the journey to arrive early — centres outside big cities may be far away.
- Remember: no calculator, no own paper; the centre gives you a board and marker.
Practise it, don't just read it
Logistics settled, three weeks of timed module practice is the best use of the time left.
The ProSyllabus ESAT library has topic quizzes for Maths 1 (algebra, geometry and trigonometry, statistics and probability), Maths 2 (functions and calculus), Physics (mechanics, electricity, waves), Chemistry and Biology — the first one is free.
What is the ESAT fee in India?
£133 at any test centre outside the UK and Republic of Ireland, including India. No rupee price is published.
Where can I take the ESAT in India?
At Pearson VUE test centres; UAT-UK's locator shows centres in and around New Delhi and Mumbai. Search the locator for your city when you book.
Is Aadhaar accepted for the ESAT?
Aadhaar is not named in UAT-UK's ID policy, and an ID without a signature needs a signed bank or credit card as well. A passport is the safe choice.
Can I take the ESAT online from home?
The standard route is a Pearson VUE centre. The ID policy mentions online proctoring only for those "permitted"; no general at-home option is offered.
Can I get a refund on the ESAT fee?
Yes, in full, if you cancel at least 48 hours before your appointment. A missed test forfeits the fee.
Is the ESAT bursary available for Indian students?
No. The bursary is for UK residents testing at a UK centre.
Can my school book the ESAT for me?
No. Candidates register and pay themselves.
Do I pay extra for three modules?
No. The fee is per test, not per module.
What if my name on the booking differs from my passport?
The name must exactly match your ID. Contact UAT-UK well before the test to fix it; a mismatch on the day can mean being turned away and losing the fee.
Can I get extra time for the ESAT in India?
Yes, access arrangements are available worldwide, but they must be approved before you book; the January deadline is 7 December 2026.
Does the ESAT fee depend on nationality?
No. It depends only on where the test centre is: £78 in the UK or Ireland, £133 everywhere else.
Can I take the ESAT and TMUA together?
Yes. They are separate tests with separate fees; each can be taken once per cycle, in the same or different sittings.
What is the Pearson VUE helpline for ESAT in India?
Pearson VUE lists India toll-free 000 800 440 1837 for UAT-UK candidates.
Sources
- official — UAT-UK — Key dates and deadlines for 2027 entry
- official — UAT-UK — Registering for a test
- official — UAT-UK — FAQ
- official — UAT-UK — Candidate Handbook, 2027 entry
- official — UAT-UK — Test Admission and ID Policy, 2027 entry
- official — UAT-UK — Bursary scheme
- official — UAT-UK — Course List, 2027 entry (April 2026)
- official — UAT-UK — TMUA
- official — Pearson VUE — UAT-UK
- official — Pearson VUE — UAT-UK test-centre locator
- official — Imperial College London — ESAT
- official — UAT-UK — Annual Report 2025-26, candidate data
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.
