GATE Registration 2026 (Ongoing): How to Fill Application Form, Fees, Last Date, Documents

The registration and application for GATE 2026 will be live from 25^th August 2025 and the GATE Registration 2026 window will be closed on 25^th September 2025 by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati without late fees. The last date to register for the exam with late fee is 6^th October 2025. The application form correction window will be available till 20^th November 2025 (tentative) for all candidates. However, for PwD candidates, it will probably close on 22^nd November 2025.

The application fee for the female students & those belonging to the SC / ST / PwD categories is Rs. 1000/- & Rs. 2000/- for the other candidates & the Foreign Nationals. Students applying after 25^th September 2025 will have to pay Rs. 500/- as penalty fee.

This article contains detailed information about GATE 2026 Registration including the fees, step-by-step process to register and apply, documents required, correction window, etc.

GATE is a National Level Exam which is conducted for admission in Masters and Direct Doctoral Programs courses in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Science, Commerce, Arts, and Humanities discipline & Ph.D programs offered by institutes like IITs, NITs, etc. The GATE application form 2026 will be filled through GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS) portal. Students should ensure that they fit into the GATE Eligibility Criteria 2026 to experience an uninterrupted application process.

Candidates can learn about the key aspects of the GATE 2026 registration from the table listed-below:

For the successful registration process of the GATE 2026 exam, aspirants need to pay the prescribed application fee by using any one of the payment modes mentioned-below:

• Net Banking
• Debit Card
• Credit Card
• UPI

The below-listed table specifies the category-wise GATE Registration 2026 fees for a single paper:

* For the above-mentioned fee, additional bank charges or online transaction charges may be applicable.

Note: Students who want to appear in 2 test papers are required to pay the double amount of the above-mentioned fees in the table. Moreover, the above-listed  fee is neither refundable nor transferable except when the authorities remove the two-test paper combination concept.

* Persons with Benchmark Disabilities of more than 40% specified disability will be eligible for fee concession.

Candidates who desire to apply for the GATE Exam 2026 are advised to follow the below given step-by-step application process:

Step 1: Registration

• Visit the exam’s official website i.e., ‘gate2026.iitg.ac.in’.
• Click on the GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS) portal link available on the home page of the official website.
• Fill in the below-given details for GATE registration 2026:
  • Candidate’s Name
  • Valid Email ID
  • Mobile Number

* Candidates will not be able to register for the exam with the already registered email and mobile number.

• Now, create a strong and unique password.
• After submitting the registration form, an Enrollment ID will be sent on the registered Email.

* Students are advised to securely note down the Enrollment ID and  generated Password for future references.

Step 2: Fill the Application Form

• After successful registration, login with the required credentials and start filling the below-given details in the GATE Application Form 2026:
  • Personal Details such as Candidate’s Name, Date of Birth, Mobile Number, Parent’s Name & Mobile Number, etc.
  • Academic Information including Eligibility Degree details (Roll Number / Registration Number, College Address, and PIN code of college).
  • Contact Details
  • Choice of GATE Test Papers (Maximum of 2)
  • Examination Cities (Maximum 3 from the test cities list issued by the exam conducting body).
  • Payment Details

Note: Students have to fill only one application form of GATE 2026 even if they want to apply for both test papers. Moreover, already registered students can directly start filling in the application form.

Step 3: Upload the documents and Preview the Filled Application Form

• Upload the scanned images of required documents in specified format.
• Press the “Save and View Application Form” icon to preview all the filled details in the form.

Step 4: Payment

• After clicking on “Submit and Proceed to Payment” tab, no further changes will be applicable.
• Afterwards, read and accept the declaration to submit the form.
• Now, pay the specified examination fee to complete the application process.

Step 5: Download the PDF

• Once the payment transaction is successful, download the PDF of the filled application form from the GATE 2026 application portal.

While filling the GATE application form 2026, students are required to upload the below-given documents:

• Valid Photo ID (Aadhaar-UID  (preferable) / Aadhaar Virtual ID / Passport / PAN Card / Voter ID / Driving License / Government Issued ID)
• SC / ST Category Certificate (If Applicable)
• PwD Certificate (If Applicable)
• Dyslexic Certificate (If Any)
• Candidates Signature and Passport Size Photographs

Below-given are the instructions to upload the scanned documents / images at the time of filling the application form:

Candidate’s Passport Size Photograph

The passport size photograph of the applicants should be uploaded in the following manner:

• Must be a colour photograph taken against the white background.
• The photograph is required to be clearly visible.
• Photo Size: 3.5 cm Width × 4.5 cm Height
• Format: JPEG / JPG with 0.66 (minimum aspect ratio) and 0.89 (maximum aspect ratio).
• Pixel Resolution: 530 x 690 (maximum) and 200 x 260 (minimum).
• File Size: Minimum of 5 KB to maximum of 1 MB.
• In the photo, there should be only one individual and it must not cover any other person and things / objects like sunglasses, hats, etc.
• In the scanned image, the candidate's face should cover A2, A3, B2, B3, C2, and C3 grids.

* Students should know that failure of any of the above-mentioned conditions will lead the application to get cancelled, without the refund of examination fee.

Candidate’s Signature

To upload the candidate’s signature, follow the below-listed instructions:

• The signature must be signed either in black or dark blue colour ink pen.
• A signature signed by any other person will not be acceptable.
• Image Size in Pixel: 80 x 280 (minimum) and 160 x 560 (maximum).
• Format: JPEG / JPG
• Image Size: 1 cm Height x 0 cm Width
• File Size: 5 KB (minimum) to 200 KB (maximum).
• The signature should be done in the rectangular box and scanned through a professional scanner.
• Candidates are advised not to use mobile phones to click the image of the signature.
• If the signature during the examination does not match with the one on the admit card, students will be disqualified from appearing in the GATE test.

Note: SC / ST Category Certificate, PwD Certificate, and Dyslexic Certificate are required to be uploaded in the PDF format.

IIT Guwahati i.e., the exam conducting body will open the GATE application form 2026 correction window most likely till 20^th November 2025. However, for the PwD category students, it will end on 22^nd November 2025. Registered students can visit the GOAPS portal to rectify the mistakes in the filled application form.

If there’s a defect in the GATE 2026 application form then in such a case, the respective defects will be marked and notified to the candidates via email / text message. Students must ensure they rectify the concerned mistakes within the due date or else their application may be considered provisional or get rejected.

The below-given table indicates the correction fee that is required to pay to make edit in particular sections:

* Apart from the above-mentioned sections, students will be able to also edit details of Parents / Guardian / Correspondence Address, and Eligibility Degree details without paying any correction fee.

Note: The correction form fee will not be refundable under any circumstances except in case of multiple transactions.

During the GATE registration 2026 process, students have to opt for code to select their papers for the GATE exam. Students who will be appearing in 2 test papers are required to first choose their primary choice of paper and then the secondary choice from the below-given combination list:

Below-given are some special points in regards to GATE registration 2026 which are required to be considered by the students:

• Students need to make the payment again if the authorities have not received the fee amount. In any situation, if the amount has been deducted from the candidate’s bank account but the confirmation of the payment has not been received, then the amount will be refunded to them.
• If the payment has been made multiple times due to technical problems, the extra amount will be refunded to the same bank account of the candidates within the duration of 15 days.
• If students are not sure whether the payment is done or not, due to some technical issues, they are advised to check the status of payment transaction in their bank account and login again to the GOAPS portal for the same.
• While filling the application form, students are not allowed to use any prefix before name such as Mr / Shri / Dr / Ms / Smt / Prof / Capt / Maj / Lt / Col / Er /Ar, etc.
• Candidates have to ensure that their name in the application form is the same as mentioned in the valid Photo ID proof which they will carry at the examination centre.
• In case candidates have submitted more than one application form for GATE then, only 1 among them will be accepted and no refund shall be processed for the rejected forms.

Note: Registered students should go through the GATE Exam Pattern 2026 in detail for effective exam preparation.