NATA 2026: Exam Date, Registration, Eligibility, Syllabus, and More

The NATA 2026 exam will be conducted in 2 phases. The Phase 1 will be held on every Friday & Saturday except on public holidays from 4th April 2026 to 13th June 2026 in the afternoon session from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM. The Phase 2 exam dates are scheduled for 7th & 8th August 2026 from 10:00 AM to 01:00 PM (morning shift) and 01:30 PM to 04:30 PM (afternoon shift) for both days.

The Council of Architecture (exam conducting body) has begun with the NATA 2026 registration from 9th March 2026 for the aspiring students on ‘nata.in’. Candidates who wish to take the entrance test on the Upcoming Friday should complete the application process by Monday. Similarly, for Saturday test, the last date to apply is Tuesday.

NATA is held in 2 parts (Part A & B) including an offline test and a computer-based online adaptive test. The National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) is conducted by the Council of Architecture (COA). It is a national-level aptitude test for offering admission in the Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program offered by approximately 365 Colleges / Institutes / Universities across the Nation.   

This article contains detailed information about different aspects of NATA exam 2026 including its registration process, eligibility criteria, examination fee, exam pattern, syllabus, guidelines for the exam day, preparation tips, and more.

NATA exam is conducted in both English and Hindi languages. Candidates can not appear for the aptitude test more than 3 times in one academic year. In case of multiple attempts, the best out of all scores will be considered for NATA results by the exam authorities. Though, it is not mandatory for the candidates to appear in more than 1 attempt if they are satisfied by the scores of their 1^st attempt. The scores of the NATA exam are considered valid for a time period of 2 academic years.

The main highlights about NATA 2026 exam are stated in the table mentioned below:

It is crucial for the aspiring candidates to have information about the important dates and events that are related to NATA 2026. Candidates can refer to the below-mentioned table for details of NATA 2026 schedule:

* The above mentioned dates are tentative; official dates for important events of the NATA exam 2026 will be published soon on the official website.

The candidates aspiring to take admission in the Bachelor of Architecture program offered by participating Institutes / Universities in India through NATA, are required to thoroughly check the NATA 2026 eligibility criteria before registering for the exam. The eligibility criteria of NATA exam is declared by the Council of Architecture (conducting body).

Any age limit has not been prescribed by the conducting body. The candidates fulfilling any one of the below mentioned academic qualification are eligible to appear for NATA 2026:

• Passed 10+1 with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics (PCM)
• Passed 10+2 with PCM
• Passed 10+3 Diploma with Mathematics

* Candidates appearing in the above mentioned qualifications are also eligible for NATA 2026.

Check: NATA Eligibility Criteria 2026

Candidates can fill the NATA 2026 Application form online through its official website i.e., “www.nata.in”. Aspirants can complete the NATA 2026 Registration  for not more than 3 attempts of the exam (2 in Phase 1 & single attempt in case of Phase 2).The application for NATA can be submitted only after the successful payment of the exam fee.

It is mandatory for the candidates to take a printout of the confirmation page generated after the successful payment of fee. Registered candidates will be allowed to make corrections in their filled application form only once through the correction window.

Check: NATA Registration 2026

The aspiring candidates must know details about the topics that are included in the NATA 2026 syllabus, so they can effectively prepare for the exam. The syllabus of NATA exam 2026 has been framed to assess the cognitive skills, logical reasoning, critical thinking ability, cognitive skills, visual perception, and more abilities & skills of the candidates.

The syllabus of the NATA 2026 exam is different for Part A and B; information regarding the same is stated below:

Part A - Drawing and Composition Test

This part comprises of following sections:

• Composition and Colour
• Sketching and Composition (Black and White)
• 3D Composition

Part B - MCQ

The Part B assesses the students’ following abilities & skills:

• Visual Reasoning
• Logical Derivation
• G.K., Architecture & Design
• Language Interpretation
• Design Sensitivity
• Design Thinking
• Numerical Ability

Check: NATA Syllabus 2026

It is crucial for the aspirants to have information about the exam pattern along with the syllabus for better preparation of the entrance test. As per the NATA 2026 paper pattern, the exam will be held in two parts i.e., in offline and online adaptive mode respectively.

For Saturday test, the exam will be conducted in 2 sessions per day out of which students need to appear in any one. However, for Friday test, there will be only 1 session. Each session has two parts.The exam duration for each shift / session is 90 minutes and 180 minutes (3 hours) in total. The exam is conducted in English and Hindi languages.

As per the exam pattern, the question paper of NATA 2025 will have two parts i.e., Part A – Drawing and Composition Test (Offline) and Part B – MCQ & NCQ (Computer Based Online Test). There are a total number of 3 questions of 80 marks in Part A and 50 questions of 120 marks in Part B.

Check: NATA Exam Pattern 2026

Aspiring candidates are required to select a preferred city and session / shift in order to finalise a slot and generate the appointment card / admit card for the exam. The admit card will indicate the session, appointment number, and test centre allotted to the candidate. Registered candidates can download the NATA 2026 admit card from the official website i.e., “www.nata.in”.

It is mandatory for the candidates to carry the admit card to the test centre on the day of examination. Candidates who are aspiring to appear for multiple attempts are required to generate a new appointment card for each test.

*Candidates with a mutilated admit card will not be allowed to appear in the exam.

Exam centres will be allotted to the aspirants as per the availability of preferred date, city and session. NATA 2026 exam centres are present in different locations in India and Abroad.

Several test centres within India where NATA exam 2026 will be conducted by the test authorities are mentioned below:

* The allotment of test centres in international countries will be subject to availability of enough students.

It is mandatory for the aspiring candidates to effectively prepare for the entrance test. There are certain tips that can help in boosting the potential of candidates to score well in the examination; the tips for NATA 2026 preparation are as follows:

• Aspirants should be well aware of the exam pattern and topics covered in the syllabus for getting an overview of the type of questions that will be covered in the question paper.
• Candidates are advised to create a realistic study plan and refer to the authentic study resources for better preparation.
• Students should refer to the previous year question papers for getting insights of the marking scheme and topics that are most likely to be included in the question paper.
• It is crucial for the aspirants to frequently attempt mock tests for self assessment and for analysing the areas of strength and weakness in regards to their exam preparation.
• To perform effectively in the NATA examination, aspirants are advised to make notes and revise the previously prepared topics regularly for making the concepts more clear.         

The conducting body (COA) of NATA 2026 has prescribed certain guidelines that are mandatory to be followed by the candidates on the exam day. Some of these guidelines are mentioned below:

• Aspiring candidates should report to the exam centre before the appointment time.
• Aspirants are required to bring a printout of appointment card / admit card along with original Identity Proof such as Passport / Aadhar Card / Voter ID / Driving License / any other valid photo ID document.  
• The candidates are allowed to carry pencils, sharpeners, dry colours, erasers, and up to 15 cm large scale.
• If a student is found carrying any printed or written, textual material, pieces of papers or any other material except the ones mentioned above will be detained from taking the exam.
• Candidates should not bring any mobile phones, bluetooth devices, blades, calculators, log tables, electronic watches, or any electronic gadget in the exam hall.
• It is mandatory for the students to stay in the examination hall throughout the exam duration.

Candidates who wish to increase their overall performance in the NATA exam 2026 are advised to download & begin practising with the NATA previous year question papers. Solving the sample papers aid in self-assessment wherein the students can identify their strengths & weaknesses and prepare accordingly to make their concepts stronger.

By practising with the NATA past year papers regularly, aspirants will get an idea about the exam pattern, marking scheme, difficulty level of the examination, and the type of questions they can expect in the main exam.

Mock tests are designed to make the aspirants familiar with the exam pattern & rules to be followed on the NATA 2026 exam day. Students who aspire to get good marks in the Aptitude Test must attempt its mock tests to avoid any confusion on the exam day.

Appearing for the mock tests will assist the applicants in boosting their confidence & improving proficiency in solving the asked questions more accurately. Candidates will ultimately be able to analyse their preparation level & prepare the topics they are weak in more efficiently.

The official Answer Key of the NATA 2026 Entrance Test will be released by its conducting body i.e., COA - Council of Architecture, after the commencement of exam.

Students can check the Answer Key on the official website which is “nata.in” and match the answers included with what they have marked in the exam. Analysing the answer key will give the students an idea of how much they are expected to score in the NATA exam 2026.

The result of the NATA exam 2026 will be announced in the form of a scorecard 7 days after the respective exam date. The NATA 2026 Result will be declared by COA on the official website of NATA i.e., “nata.in”. The results will be available on the website for 90 days from the date of announcement. After this, students will not be able to download their result / score card. For the Phase 1, the final scorecard will contain the best raw score and percentile score. However, for Phase 2, only the raw score of the candidates will be mentioned as per the percentile-based scoring method.

Applicants who have appeared maximum 3 times in the NATA exam 2026, all the previous scores of the attempted tests will be given on the scorecard. Additionally, their best score out of all the number of attempts will be considered as the final valid result.

* The results will be valid for the duration of 2 academic years from the year in which the candidates have last appeared.

The NATA 2026 cut off sets a standard that the appearing candidates have to meet in terms of test score in order to qualify the NATA exam 2026. Students who will qualify the test will be eligible to take admission in the participating Architecture Colleges / Institutes / Universities across India.

As per the exam authorities, students who will satisfy the below-given 3 criteria will be considered as NATA qualified:

• In Part A, students must secure at least 20 marks out of 80.
• In Part B, candidates should obtain a minimum of 30 marks out of 120.
• Overall, the applicants must have secured at least 70 marks (aggregate) out of 200 in the NATA exam 2026, respectively.

The NATA 2026 counselling is not conducted by the exam conducting body i.e., COA. Students can apply to any of the 365 Colleges / Institutes / Universities across India that accept the NATA scores and conduct respective counselling for admission. The NATA 2026 seat allotment at the participating colleges will begin after the declaration of NATA results 2026.

However, students must note that they need to fulfil the respective eligibility criteria, score the minimum qualifying marks in NATA exam 2026, have the original documents & complete other formalities prescribed by the desired College / Institute / University. If the candidates fail to satisfy any of the prescribed requirements, their admission can be cancelled.

There are approximately 365 Colleges / Institutes / Universities all over India that are recognised by the COA and offer admission in the 5-year Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) Program to the students based on their marks in the NATA exam 2026.

Some of the NATA 2026 participating Colleges, Institutes & Universities are listed below:

• School of Architecture, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM), (Deemed to be University), Rushikonda
• School of Architecture, Dr. YSR Architecture and Fine Arts University, Chenur
• Royal School of Architecture, Guwahati
• Amity School of Architecture and Planning, Amity University, Raipur
• MBS School of Planning and Architecture, Dwarka, New Delhi
• Parul Institute of Architecture and Research, Parul University, Vadodara
• Institute of Architecture & Planning, Nirma University, Ahmedabad
• Jindal School of Art and Architecture, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat
• R.V. College of Architecture (RVCA), Bangalore
• School of Architecture, Christ University, Bengaluru

Check: Colleges Accepting NATA