Checked 28 September 2026. From the GATE 2023–2026 statistical and performance reports and cut-off pages, and the 2024, 2025 and 2027 brochures. Candidates at or above a mark, μ+σ and marks-for-a-score are our arithmetic on those official figures.
Three numbers get mixed up in every GATE Architecture and Planning (AR) discussion: marks out of 100, the GATE score out of 1000, and the All India Rank. This guide puts four years of official AR data side by side. The short version: the general qualifying mark was 40 in 2025 and 2026, and it sat exactly on the new cap each time, because the paper’s mean plus one standard deviation came out above 40 (43.08 and 43.57). In 2026, 1,979 of 8,415 candidates who appeared scored 40 or more, only 655 scored 50 or more, and just 15 scored 70 or more. So a “good score” in AR is far lower than on most other GATE papers, and the score scale is steep: on the 2026 field, 50 marks became a score of about 503.
GATE 2026 statistical report and cut-off page.
Four years of AR at a glance
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Item |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,842 | 11,450 | 10,898 | 10,673 | Registered |
| 9,242 | 9,080 | 8,501 | 8,415 | Appeared |
| 1,965 | 2,049 | 2,837 | 2,747 | Qualified |
| 21.3% | 22.6% | 33.4% | 32.6% | Qualified ÷ appeared (ours) |
| 22.14 / 11.60 | 28.11 / 13.44 | 31.52 / 11.56 | 30.13 / 13.44 | Mean (μ) / SD (σ) of marks |
| 33.74 | 41.55 | 43.08 | 43.57 | μ + σ (ours) |
| 33.7 | 41.5 | 40 | 40 | Qualifying mark: General |
| 30.3 | 37.3 | 36 | 36 | Qualifying mark: OBC-NCL / EWS |
| 22.4 | 27.6 | 26.6 | 26.6 | Qualifying mark: SC / ST / PwD |
| 66.534 | 72.43 | 72.53 | 75.97 | Mean of top 0.1% or top 10 (M̄t) |
| 75.67 / 1000 | 77 / 981 | 83 / 1000 | 80.33 / 967 | Highest marks / score |
| −8.33 / −354 | −10.33 / −572 | −3.33 / −383 | −8.33 / −389 | Lowest marks / score |
| Sat 4 Feb, afternoon | not found in archived schedule | Sun 2 Feb, forenoon | Sun 15 Feb, afternoon | Exam slot |
Official GATE statistical reports 2023–2026, cut-off pages and schedules. The 2023 report prints the SD before the mean; the 2023 marks distribution confirms mean 22.14, SD 11.60. AR ran in a single session every year, so raw marks and normalised marks are the same.
The 40-mark cap and why 2024 was 41.5
The general qualifying mark in GATE is the larger of 25 and μ+σ, where μ and σ are the officially reported mean and standard deviation of the paper’s marks. From GATE 2025 the brochure adds a ceiling: the mark cannot exceed 40. The GATE 2027 brochure keeps that rule. It explains the AR history exactly. In 2024 there was no ceiling, μ+σ was 41.55, and the printed mark was 41.5. In 2025 and 2026 μ+σ was above 43, and the cap brought it down to 40. Reserved categories get fixed fractions of the general figure: 90% for OBC-NCL and EWS, two-thirds for SC, ST and PwD.
| Year | Rule in the brochure | μ + σ (ours) | Printed general mark | Was the cap binding? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | larger of 25 and μ+σ (no cap) | 33.74 | 33.7 | No cap existed |
| 2024 | larger of 25 and μ+σ (no cap) | 41.55 | 41.5 | No cap existed |
| 2025 | max(25, min(40, μ+σ)) | 43.08 | 40 | Yes |
| 2026 | max(25, min(40, μ+σ)) | 43.57 | 40 | Yes |
| 2027 | max(25, min(40, μ+σ)) | not known until the result | at most 40 | Result on 19 Mar 2027 |
Official μ, σ and cut-offs, 2023–2026. The two lines part in 2025, when the 40-mark cap began.
Our reading, not an official forecast: in two years out of two under the cap, AR hit it. Unless the 2027 paper is markedly harder, 40 is the working target for “qualified” in 2027 as well, 36 for OBC-NCL and EWS, and 26.6 for SC, ST and PwD.
How many candidates reach each mark
This is the table to read before you set a target. It counts candidates who appeared and scored at or above each mark, from the official marks-distribution tables. It shows how thin the top of AR is: in 2026 only 126 people reached 60.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Marks at or above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 1 | 1 | 80 |
| 1 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 70 |
| 25 | 127 | 92 | 126 | 60 |
| 159 | 558 | 525 | 655 | 50 |
| 684 | 1,749 | 1,928 | 1,979 | 40 |
| 2,122 | 3,902 | 4,647 | 4,151 | 30 |
| 4,882 | 6,504 | 7,159 | 6,428 | 20 |
| 7,897 | 8,333 | 8,284 | 7,907 | 10 |
Summed by us from the official appeared-marks distribution (bins of 10 marks) in each statistical report. “—” means the report’s top bin started below that mark.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Marks bin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | 54 | 9 | 40 | below 0 |
| 1,255 | 693 | 208 | 468 | 0–10 |
| 3,015 | 1,829 | 1,125 | 1,479 | 10–20 |
| 2,760 | 2,602 | 2,512 | 2,277 | 20–30 |
| 1,438 | 2,153 | 2,719 | 2,172 | 30–40 |
| 525 | 1,191 | 1,403 | 1,324 | 40–50 |
| 134 | 431 | 433 | 529 | 50–60 |
| 24 | 117 | 79 | 111 | 60–70 |
| 1 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 70–80 |
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 80–90 |
Official appeared-marks distribution, GATE AR 2023–2026.
Candidates who appeared, from the official distribution; bins merged by us (below 30 = the first four rows of the table above; 50 and above = the last four).
From marks to score
The official formula is Score = 350 + 550 × (M − Mq) ÷ (M̄t − Mq), capped at 1000. M is your marks, Mq the general qualifying mark and M̄t the mean of the top 0.1% of candidates (or the top 10, whichever is larger). Because AR’s M̄t is only about 36 marks above Mq, every extra mark is worth about 15 score points. The table applies each year’s official Mq and M̄t to the same marks.
| Marks | Score on 2026 field | Score on 2025 field | Score on 2024 field | Score on 2023 field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 197 | 181 | 146 | 288 |
| 35 | 274 | 265 | 234 | 372 |
| 40 | 350 | 350 | 323 | 456 |
| 45 | 426 | 435 | 412 | 539 |
| 50 | 503 | 519 | 501 | 623 |
| 55 | 579 | 604 | 590 | 707 |
| 60 | 656 | 688 | 679 | 791 |
| 65 | 732 | 773 | 768 | 874 |
| 70 | 809 | 857 | 857 | 958 |
Our arithmetic with the official formula and the official Mq and M̄t of each year. Scores below 350 are possible and are printed on scorecards; only reserved-category candidates can qualify there.
GATE AR score and rank calculator (2023–2026 fields)
Enter your expected marks out of 100 (after negative marking). The calculator applies the official GATE score formula using the real qualifying mark and topper average of the year you pick, and estimates a rank from that year's official mark distribution.
Estimates only. Your real score depends on the 2027 field, which is not known until the result on 19 March 2027. Qualifying marks by category are the official figures for that year. Rank is interpolated between official mark bands and is approximate.
Marks you need for a target score
| Target score | 2023 field | 2024 field | 2025 field | 2026 field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 42.7 | 49.9 | 48.9 | 49.8 |
| 600 | 48.6 | 55.6 | 54.8 | 56.4 |
| 700 | 54.6 | 61.2 | 60.7 | 62.9 |
| 800 | 60.6 | 66.8 | 66.6 | 69.4 |
Our inversion of the official formula: M = Mq + (S − 350) × (M̄t − Mq) ÷ 550.
Where other pages get this wrong
In GATE AR 2026, 50 marks or more was the top 655 of 8,415 who appeared, and 70 or more was only 15 people. On the 2026 field, 50 marks became a score of about 503.
Commonly published instead: CollegeDekho’s “good score in GATE AR” page (updated 5 Feb 2025) calls 70–75 marks a good score and 75+ excellent, and links AR to a “lucrative job in a public sector undertaking”.
A 70 in AR is a top-20 performance, not an ordinary good score. On public jobs, the only GATE-AR recruiter we could document is the Airports Authority of India, with 3 to 11 posts per cycle (see our jobs guide).
From score to rank
Each statistical report prints a table of score bands and the All India Ranks inside them. Read it with one caveat. The lowest bands end at ranks (4,043 in 2023, 4,894 in 2026) far above the number who qualified (1,965 and 2,747), so the ranks appear to be counted over everyone who appeared, not only qualifiers. We print the figures as published.
| Score band as printed 2024–26 | As printed 2023 | 2023 AIR | 2024 AIR | 2025 AIR | 2026 AIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900–1000 | 1000–901 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| 800–900 | 900–801 | 5–20 | 6–25 | 3–24 | 4–15 |
| 700–800 | 800–701 | 23–87 | 26–91 | 26–73 | 16–76 |
| 600–700 | 700–601 | 91–196 | 94–252 | 79–210 | 79–242 |
| 500–600 | 600–501 | 207–487 | 265–534 | 228–575 | 255–631 |
| 400–500 | 500–401 | 510–994 | 559–1071 | 612–1318 | 656–1384 |
| 300–400 | 400–301 | 1033–1928 | 1106–1911 | 1362–2496 | 1438–2487 |
| 200–300 | 300–201 | 1989–3347 | 1987–3047 | 2574–4192 | 2553–3991 |
| 100–200 | 200–101 | 3449–4043 | 3123–4440 | 4275–5496 | 4078–4894 |
Official AR score-band tables, GATE 2023–2026 statistical reports. 2024–2026 print half-open bands (900–1000, 800–900 and so on); 2023 prints 1000–901, 900–801. Both labels are shown; a score of exactly 800 or 900 falls on a printed boundary.
Your GATE AR score, read against four years of official rank bands
Enter a GATE score out of 1000. The tool finds the band it falls in, shows the All India Ranks that band covered in each official report, and converts the score back to the marks it needed on each year’s field.
AR score-band → rank tables of the GATE 2023–2026 statistical reports, as printed. Marks are our inversion of the official score formula. The same numbers are in the tables above.
Category qualifying scores and who wrote the paper
| Year | General score | OBC-NCL / EWS score | SC / ST / PwD score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 350 | 293 | 161 |
| 2024 | 350 | 275 | 179 |
| 2025 | 350 | 282 | 123 |
| 2026 | 350 | 289 | 145 |
Official qualifying scores by category from the cut-off pages and reports.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,794 / 4,425 / 896 | 5,645 / 4,390 / 881 | 4,856 / 3,723 / 1,091 | 4,666 / 3,595 / 1,094 | General |
| 453 / 377 / 91 | 465 / 388 / 107 | 539 / 458 / 150 | 558 / 476 / 148 | EWS |
| 4,115 / 3,303 / 606 | 3,798 / 3,111 / 644 | 3,822 / 3,049 / 928 | 3,695 / 2,985 / 882 | OBC-NCL |
| 1,143 / 882 / 283 | 1,191 / 922 / 335 | 1,288 / 986 / 526 | 1,312 / 1,017 / 461 | SC |
| 337 / 255 / 89 | 351 / 269 / 82 | 393 / 285 / 142 | 442 / 342 / 162 | ST |
| not in the report retrieved | 6,647 / 5,190 / 1,051 | 6,358 / 4,892 / 1,485 | 6,357 / 4,949 / 1,459 | Female (all categories) |
| not in the report retrieved | 4,802 / 3,889 / 997 | 4,538 / 3,608 / 1,352 | 4,316 / 3,466 / 1,288 | Male (all categories) |
Registered / appeared / qualified, official statistical reports. More women than men wrote AR in each year from 2024 to 2026.
What a “good” AR score means in practice
Tie the marks to what they buy (the admissions guide has the full tables). Our conversions use the 2026 field. 40 marks qualifies. The last-round closing scores of most NIT planning programmes in CCMT 2026 sat between 350 and 410, which is about 40 to 44 marks. NIT Calicut’s M.Plan closed at 549 in its last round (about 53 marks). IIT Kharagpur’s architecture and planning cut-offs for General candidates were 620 and 656 in 2026, about 58 to 60 marks, close to the 60-mark line that only 126 candidates reached in 2026.
| Goal (2026 data) | GATE score | Marks on the 2026 field (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Qualify, General | 350 | 40.0 |
| Most NIT planning programmes, last round (CCMT) | 350–410 | 40.0–43.9 |
| Score 500 | 500 | 49.8 |
| NIT Calicut M.Plan, last round | 549 | 53.0 |
| IIT Kharagpur ARP, General (two cut-offs) | 620–656 | 57.7–60.0 |
Scores from CCMT 2026 and IIT Kharagpur’s 2026 cut-off sheet; marks are our inversion of the 2026 formula.
Practise it, don't just read it
The step from 40 to 50 marks is ten net marks of accuracy. Our topic quizzes are the cheapest way to find which ten.
The ProSyllabus GATE Architecture and Planning library has ten 10-question topic quizzes today, among them Principles of Architectural Composition, Development Control and Zoning Regulations and Housing and Slum Improvement (Part A ground), History of Architecture, Climate and Solar Geometry, Structural Systems and Analysis and Building Materials and Properties (B1 ground), and Settlement Geography and Regional Theories and Water Supply and Sanitation Services (B2 ground). Every option comes with a worked explanation.
What was the GATE AR cut-off in 2026?
The official qualifying marks were 40 for General, 36 for OBC-NCL and EWS, and 26.6 for SC, ST and PwD. The same figures applied in 2025.
Why was the GATE AR 2024 cut-off 41.5 when the cap is 40?
The 40-mark cap was introduced in GATE 2025. In 2024 the rule was simply the larger of 25 and mean plus SD, which came to 41.55, printed as 41.5.
Is 50 marks a good score in GATE AR?
Yes. In 2026 only 655 of 8,415 candidates who appeared scored 50 or more, and on the 2026 field 50 marks is a score of about 503, above the last-round closing of most NIT planning programmes in CCMT.
How many marks do I need for a 600 score in GATE AR?
About 56.4 marks on the 2026 field, 54.8 on the 2025 field and 55.6 on the 2024 field, by our inversion of the official formula.
Is there normalisation in GATE AR?
No. AR was held in a single session in each of 2023 to 2026, so raw marks and normalised marks are the same.
Are B1 and B2 candidates ranked separately?
No. Both are ranked on one list with one score. The choice between B1 and B2 affects only which 25 marks you answer.
When is the GATE 2027 result?
19 March 2027, according to the GATE 2027 important-dates page.
More in this series
- GATE AR 2027 syllabus: what moved where
- GATE AR previous papers, counted for 2027
- Jobs through GATE Architecture
- M.Arch and M.Plan admission through GATE AR
- GATE AR 2027 preparation plan
- GATE Architecture and Planning: the complete guide
- GATE Architecture and Planning 2026 paper analysis
- GATE Architecture and Planning notice board: official updates
- Parental advice for GATE Architecture and Planning
Sources
- official — GATE 2026 Statistical and Performance Report (IIT Guwahati, PDF)
- official — GATE 2026 — cut-off marks
- official — GATE 2025 Statistical and Performance Report (IIT Roorkee, PDF)
- official — GATE 2025 — cut-off marks
- official — GATE 2024 Statistical and Performance Report (IISc, PDF)
- official — GATE 2024 — cut-off marks
- official — GATE 2023 Statistical Report (IIT Kanpur, PDF)
- official — GATE 2027 Information Brochure, IIT Madras (revised 27 Sep 2026) — AR paper structure, fees, score formula, qualifying rule
- official — GATE 2025 Information Brochure, IIT Roorkee (PDF) — first brochure with the 40-mark cap
- official — GATE 2024 Information Brochure, IISc (PDF) — qualifying rule without a cap
- official — GATE 2027 — Important dates (captured 28 Sep 2026: regular close 5 Oct, late fee 12 Oct 2026)
- official — GATE 2026 — examination schedule (AR on Sun 15 Feb 2026, afternoon session)
- official — GATE 2025 — examination schedule (AR on Sun 2 Feb 2025, forenoon session)
- official — CCMT 2025–2026 — opening and closing GATE scores (NIC OR-CR) and 2026 brochure
- official — IIT Kharagpur — JMP GATE score cut-offs 2023–2026 and 2026-27 brochure (Architecture and Regional Planning)
- reported — CollegeDekho — “What is a Good Score in GATE Architecture & Planning (AR)?” (updated 5 Feb 2025; see correction)
- reported — PW — “GATE Architecture and Planning Cut Off” (checked 28 Sep 2026; 2023 SC cell blank)
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.
