IAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria: Check Age Limit, Marks Required, No of Attempts, Important Factor

IAT 2026 Eligibility

IAT 2026 Eligibility will be released along with the notification. Students have to first check the eligibility criteria of IISER 2026 and then fill out the form to appear for the exam. IAT 2026 has introduced significant changes to its eligibility criteria. IISER aptitude test eligibility age factor is now the primary criterion: students from the General and OBC categories must be born on or after October 1, 2000, while SC/ST/PWD candidates have a five-year relaxation, allowing those born on or after October 1, 1995, to apply. This change means that there is no longer a restriction based on the year of passing Class 12, enabling older applicants to participate in the exam, which could intensify competition due to a broader applicant pool.

IISER eligibility criteria 2026 include qualifying exam scores, nationality, educational background, and other relevant information that must be submitted when applying. Students can find detailed IISER 2026 eligibility criteria on this page.

Detailed IAT 2026 Eligibility

Students can check details about IISER aptitude test eligibility criteria 2026 below:

• Indian National, PIO & OCI students are eligible to apply. 
• Students must have passed the Class XII (or equivalent) exam with the science stream from any board recognized by the Council of Boards of School Education in India COBSE as per IISER eligibility criteria 2026.
• NEW: Students must be born on or after October 1, 2000. However, SC, ST, and PwD Students get a five-year age relaxation, so they must be born on or after October 1, 1995. There is no restriction on the year they completed Class 12.
• Students must have studied at least three subjects from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics in their Class XII (or equivalent) examination as per IAT 2026 eligibility criteria.
• Students of the SC/ST/PwD category must have scored a minimum of 55% marks in aggregate or equivalent grade in their Class XII (or equivalent) exam.
• Students belonging to other categories should have scored a minimum of 60% marks in aggregate or equivalent grade in their Class XII (or equivalent) exam.
• Students passing out from the J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE), from Winter Zone areas of Jammu division and the U.T. of Ladakh/ Kashmir division, who had appeared in Dec 2021 for their Class 12th or equivalent examination are also eligible for IISER Aptitude Test 2026.
• Students belonging to Kashmiri Pandit/Kashmiri Hindu Families (Non-Migrants) may also apply for the aptitude test as Kashmiri Migrants. They should upload a valid domicile certificate at the time of application in place of a "Kashmiri Migrant Certificate” and qualify for all the other eligibility criteria.

IAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria: Reservation Policy

Candidates who are going to apply for IISER Aptitude Test 2026 and belong to the reserved category should check the reservation policies for IISER 2026 eligibility criteria. 

• The Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates reserve 15% of seats.
• Candidates from Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserve 7.5% of seats.
• Candidates from Other Backward Classes belonging to the Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL) gets the 27% of seat reservation.
• Candidates who have disabilities (PwD candidates) with at least 40% impairment reserve the 5% of seats (supernumerary).
• Kashmiri Migrants get 3 seats per IISER in the reservation (supernumerary).
• EWS - up to 10% (according to Government of India rules). It should be noted that the EWS/OBC-NCL certificate must have been issued on or after April 1, 2026.

Note -  Candidates will require to submit the category certificates while filling out IISER Entrance Exam 2026 application form.