Checked 25 September 2026. From the 2026 information brochure (Annexure-I and the reservation sections) and the Phase-1 counselling notification. Reservation rules follow government orders and can change between years.
Whether a TG CPGET rank gets a seat depends as much on which bucket you compete in as on the rank itself. Seats are first split between local and unreserved candidates, then by community, with women's seats inside each group, EWS seats added on top, and — at campus and constituent colleges — extra seats for candidates from other states. This guide sets out each layer as the 2026 documents state it.
SC reservation in Telangana PG admissions is now split into three groups — 1%, 9% and 5%.
- The Phase-1 counselling notification applies SC sub-categorisation under Telangana G.O.Ms. No. 10 dated 14/04/2025: Group-1 1%, Group-2 9% and Group-3 5%, totalling 15%. Allotment codes in the 2026 list carry SC1, SC2 and SC3 accordingly, and each group has its own closing ranks.
2026 brochure and Phase-1 counselling notification.
Layer 1: local and unreserved
In every course, 85% of seats go to local candidates — the counselling notification words it as "local candidates of O.U. Area" under the 1974 admissions order — and 15% are unreserved (G.O.P. No. 646 of 1979 as amended, and G.O.Ms. No. 15, Higher Education, dated 27-02-2025). The unreserved 15% is open to:
| Who can claim an unreserved seat | Basis |
|---|---|
| All local candidates | Brochure Annexure-I |
| Candidates who lived in Telangana for 10 years (excluding study outside), or one of whose parents did (excluding employment outside) | Brochure Annexure-I |
| Children of State, Central, PSU, local-body or university employees working in the State | Brochure Annexure-I |
| Spouses of such employees | Brochure Annexure-I |
Local status is established from study certificates — which is why the counselling asks for bonafide certificates from Class I to the degree. A non-local candidate is considered for unreserved seats on a residence certificate (10 years in the State, theirs or a parent's) or an employer certificate; the brochure otherwise limits candidates schooled and educated entirely outside Telangana to NIQ seats.
Which quota applies to you
| Your situation | Seats you compete for |
|---|---|
| A local candidate (local status from your study certificates) | Local seats (85%) and unreserved seats (15%) |
| Lived in Telangana for 10 years, or a parent did | Unreserved seats (15%) |
| Child or spouse of a government, PSU, local-body or university employee working in Telangana | Unreserved seats (15%) |
| Schooled and educated entirely outside Telangana, with no residence or employer certificate | NIQ seats — 20% supernumerary, campus and constituent colleges, no hostel |
The brochure defines local areas and the unreserved categories in its Annexure-I; the table summarises how they combine. The counselling notification describes the local quota for OU-area courses as "85% for the local candidates of O.U. Area", which is why the 2026 allotment codes carry _OU for local seats and _UNR for unreserved ones. If your local status is not clear from your study certificates, a residence certificate is the document the notification asks for.
Layer 2: community reservation
| Category | Share |
|---|---|
| SC Group-1 | 1% |
| SC Group-2 | 9% |
| SC Group-3 | 5% |
| ST | 10% |
| BC-A | 7% |
| BC-B | 10% |
| BC-C | 1% |
| BC-D | 7% |
| BC-E | 4% (subject to court decision) |
| Open (OC merit) | 46% — the remainder |
Before EWS and NIQ, which are extra seats. Women's reservation applies inside each block.
Three rules that move seats between blocks
- Merit first. A reserved-category candidate who is admitted on rank counts against an open seat, not a reserved one.
- BC carry-over. Unfilled seats in one BC group pass to the next BC group, and then to open.
- SC and ST interchange. Unfilled SC seats go to ST and vice versa, and then to open.
2026 brochure, notes to the reservation section.
Layer 3: women, EWS, special categories, NIQ
| Provision | Rule |
|---|---|
| Women | At least 33.33% of seats in each category, with each subject in each college as a unit |
| EWS | 10%, as additional seats over and above the convener-quota intake; only OC candidates; not in minority institutions |
| PwD | 5% (SADAREM certificate required) |
| CAP (children of armed personnel) | 2% in the Phase-1 notification; the brochure describes NCC and CAP each as one seat per block of 30, for local candidates |
| NCC | 1% |
| NIQ (National Integration Quota) | 20% supernumerary seats in each course at campus and constituent colleges, for candidates from other states, at the prescribed fee; no hostel |
| In-service teachers and lab assistants | 2 seats each at OU in Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology |
One course, every category
The buckets do not close at the same rank. For M.Sc Mathematics on regular seats at the OU campus in 2026 Phase 1, the last local candidate admitted in each bucket had these ranks:
| Bucket (local, general seats) | Closing rank |
|---|---|
| Open (OC merit) | 25 |
| Open — women | 10 |
| BC-A | 35 |
| BC-B | 42 |
| BC-D | 48 |
| SC Group-2 | 127 |
| ST | 124 |
| EWS | 1,130 |
Derived from the official Phase-1 allotment list (regular seats; local, convener quota). Two things stand out. The women's open bucket closed earlier than the general open bucket (10 against 25) — which is not a harder bar for women: a woman is considered for the general open seats too, and in this course those reached rank 25. And the single deepest closing rank was EWS — 1,130 — because EWS seats are added on top of the intake and there were few EWS applicants with better ranks. For an OC candidate who qualifies for EWS, getting the 2026-27 EWS certificate before counselling can matter more than several marks in the test.
Work out a course's seats
How a course's seats divide
Enter a course's sanctioned intake. The calculator applies the 2026 percentages with whole-seat rounding, adds EWS and NIQ supernumerary seats, and shows the local / unreserved split.
Illustration only. The Directorate allots by a roster, and a course with few seats cannot give every group a whole seat. Women's reservation (at least 33.33%) is applied within each category.
| Category (intake of 40) | Seats at these percentages |
|---|---|
| Open (OC merit) | 18 |
| SC Group-1 | 0 |
| SC Group-2 | 4 |
| SC Group-3 | 2 |
| ST | 4 |
| BC-A | 3 |
| BC-B | 4 |
| BC-C | 0 |
| BC-D | 3 |
| BC-E | 2 |
The table is the same arithmetic for a course with 40 sanctioned seats — the size of many campus M.Sc and M.A. courses. At that size SC Group-1 and BC-C round to zero seats, which is exactly why a roster, not a percentage, decides who gets the first seat in small groups. The Directorate's roster may place seats differently from this rounding.
Reading the allotment codes
The code parts below are as they appear in the 2026 Phase-1 allotment list; the decoding is ours, from how the parts combine with the categories the notification defines.
| Code part | Meaning |
|---|---|
| REG_ / SF_ | Regular or self-finance seat |
| OPEN, BCA … BCE, SC1, SC2, SC3, ST, EWS | The category bucket the seat was allotted in |
| _OU | Local seat (the notification's "O.U. Area" local quota) |
| _UNR | Unreserved (the 15%) |
| _GEN / _FEMALE | General seat or a seat reserved for women |
| _NIQ | National Integration Quota seat |
So REG_OPEN_OU_GEN is a regular, open-merit, local, general seat — the bucket our closing-rank pages call "OC local" — and SF_BCB_OU_FEMALE is a self-finance BC-B local seat reserved for women. Reading your own allotment order with this key tells you which bucket you were admitted in, which matters if you upgrade in a later phase.
Practise it, don't just read it
Reservation decides the bucket; the rank decides the seat within it.
The ProSyllabus TS CPGET library has topic quizzes for Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Commerce, Economics, English, History, Political Science and Sociology. Each question comes with an explanation.
What is local and non-local in TS CPGET?
85% of the seats in each course are reserved for local candidates of the local area and 15% are unreserved. The unreserved seats are open to all local candidates, to those who have lived in Telangana for 10 years (or whose parent has), and to children and spouses of government, PSU, local-body and university employees working in the State.
What is the SC reservation in TS CPGET 2026?
15%, sub-categorised into Group-1 (1%), Group-2 (9%) and Group-3 (5%) under G.O.Ms. No. 10 dated 14/04/2025.
What is the BC reservation in TS CPGET?
BC-A 7%, BC-B 10%, BC-C 1%, BC-D 7% and BC-E 4% (subject to court decision), 29% in total.
Is EWS reservation available in TS CPGET?
Yes: 10% as additional seats over and above the convener-quota intake, for OC candidates only, and not in minority institutions.
Can students from other states apply for TS CPGET?
Yes, for NIQ seats: 20% supernumerary seats in each course at campus and constituent colleges, at the prescribed fee and without hostel. Candidates schooled and educated entirely outside Telangana are eligible only for NIQ seats.
Is there reservation for women in TS CPGET?
At least 33.33% of seats in each category are reserved for women, taking each subject in each college as a unit.
Can a BC candidate get an open seat?
Yes. A reserved-category candidate admitted on merit counts against an open seat, so BC, SC and ST candidates compete for open seats as well as their own category.
How is a BC-B woman candidate considered in TS CPGET?
For the open general seats on merit, then the open seats reserved for women, then BC-B seats. The allotment gives the highest option in her list that any of those buckets reaches at her rank.
Why was the EWS closing rank so deep at OU campus Maths?
EWS seats are added over and above the intake and only OC candidates with an EWS certificate can take them. In 2026 Phase 1 the EWS seat in M.Sc Mathematics at the OU campus closed at rank 1,130, far deeper than any other bucket.
Is SC sub-categorisation applied in TS CPGET?
Yes, in 2026: SC seats are split into Group-1 (1%), Group-2 (9%) and Group-3 (5%) under G.O.Ms. No. 10 dated 14/04/2025, and allotment codes carry SC1, SC2 and SC3.
Do unfilled reserved seats go to open candidates?
Eventually. Unfilled BC seats pass to the next BC group and then to open; unfilled SC and ST seats interchange and then fall to open.
What does REG_OPEN_OU_GEN mean in the CPGET allotment?
A regular (not self-finance) seat in the open-merit category for local candidates, not reserved for women.
More in this series
- M.Sc closing ranks 2026, college-wise (Phase 1)
- M.A. and M.Com closing ranks 2026 (Phase 1)
- Counselling: Phase 2 dates, web options, documents, fees
- Exam pattern and subject-wise weightage
- Eligibility: which CPGET test your degree allows
- A 2027 preparation plan, by the syllabus
- TS CPGET notice board — official updates
- TS CPGET — complete information guide
Sources
- official — TG CPGET 2026 information brochure
- official — Phase-1 counselling notification
- official — Phase-1 list of provisionally allotted candidates
- official — Press note No. 25 — Phase-2 schedule (21-09-2026)
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.
