NIFT Entrance Exam 2026 - Dates (Out), Application Form (Out), Admit Card, Pattern, Syllabus, Preparation Tips

The NIFT Entrance Exam 2026 is a national level test for admission to UG/PG courses at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). The NIFT 2026 Entrance Exam is scheduled to be held on February 8, 2026. The NIFT entrance exam 2026 registration process has started on December 8, 2025. Without any late fee, you will be able to fill out the application forms till January 6, 2026, and with a late fee of INR 5000, the registration process will continue till January 10, 2026. The application form correction process will be held from January 12 to January 14, 2026. The admit cards will be made available in the third week of January 2026. Following the completion of the exam, the NIFT Entrance Exam 2026 result will likely be announced in the third week of April 2026. The NIFT 2026 official portal was activated by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in the first week of December 2025. The direct link to access the NIFT 2026 official portal has been provided below.

To be able to appear for the exam, you are required to satisfy the NIFT entrance exam 2026 eligibility criteria. It is mandatory for you to have passed Class 12 and not be more than 24 years old for undergraduate courses like B.Des and B.F.Tech. However, if you want to enroll in postgraduate courses such as M.Des, M.F.Tech, and M.F.M, you should have obtained a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university, and no upper age limit has been. The NIFT application form filling process includes steps such as online form filling, payment of the fee, and application form correction etc. For most categories, the application fee stands somewhere around INR 3,000, and for SC/ST/PwD candidates, it stands at INR 1,500.

There are two components in the NIFT exam: the online GAT, which evaluates your expertise in reasoning, language, and numerical skills, and the offline CAT, which assesses your creativity and drawing ability. If you qualify the written exam, you become eligible for the Situation Test and Personal Interview. You can check all the details about the NIFT entrance exam 2026 dates on this page.

Applicants can check the NIFT 2026 important dates mentioned below in the table.

NIFT 2026 Exam Schedule for Stage II (UG Courses)

The following table highlights the Stage II exam schedule for NIFT bachelor’s courses (Regular, NLEA, and Artisans) for students who cleared Stage I:

NIFT 2026 Exam Schedule for Stage II (PG Courses)

Candidates who have cleared Stage I of the NIFT entrance exam 2026 can refer to the dates mentioned in the table below to participate in the offline personal interview:

Listed below are the NIFT 2026 entrance exam important highlights for the candidates:

NIFT is the national-level entrance test, which every year is conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology to admit students into the programs in design offered by it.

This test consists of two parts:

• Written Exams: It comprises a General Ability Test and a Creative Ability Test. While the GAT needs to be taken by all the candidates, the CAT has to be taken only by those applying for the B.Des and M.Des programs.
• Situation Test/Personal Interview: Candidates applying for B.Des with qualified scores in the written examination shall be required to take a Situation Test. Candidates applying for postgraduate programs are required to appear for a Personal Interview. 
  • Exclusion: For B.F.Tech, admission shall strictly be based on GAT scores only.

For most programs, the final NIFT 2026 score will be arrived at considering both the results of the written exams and that of the Situation Test or the Personal Interview. These scores or merit rankings will determine provisional admission to the design programs offered at its 18 campuses across the country. The programs offered are Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech), Bachelor of Design (B.Des), Master of Design (M.Des), Master of Fashion Technology (M.F.Tech) and Master of Fashion Management (M.F.M). Admission into these programs will depend on the NIFT merit ranking. In total, these institutes have 5,289 seats in the courses.

The Application for NIFT 2026 is expected to be out in November 2025. A direct link to the application form will be made available on our exam page. Before proceeding to fill out the application, you should check out the eligibility criteria that have been elaborated below. NIFT offers the following programs, namely, B.Des, M.Des, B.F.Tech, M.F.Tech, and M.F.M. While submitting the form, you will be allowed to choose the program suitable to your higher academics and professional pursuits.

How to Fill Out the NIFT 2026 Application Form?

The students must go through the instructions given by the institute properly before filling out the application form for NIFT 2026. The stepwise process to apply for the NIFT entrance exam 2026 is given below for the reference of the students.

• Step 1: The students will have to apply online by visiting the official website of the university.
• Step 2: This step requires students to check for the latest prospectus under “Admission” on the home page of NIFT to get detailed information about courses and fee structure. 
• Step 3: The NIFT application portal registration page for the candidates will open up on the new tab. The students who are applying as new users for the NIFT 2026 entrance examination must click on the "new application portal" and subsequently complete the registration process for the NIFT entrance exam 2026.
• Step 4: Applicants will then be able to create a login ID and password for NIFT 2026 registration and they can save the same for future login.
• Step 5: Candidates will then have to fill out the application form by entering all other personal details and educational qualifications, category, etc. to complete the NIFT 2026 registration form.
• Step 6: Students will then have to upload their identity details in the form of scanned photographs and scanned signatures as per the specified dimensions mentioned in the prospectus.
• Step 7: The registration process will be completed after the successful payment of a NIFT 2026 application fee. The students can pay the registration fee online using credit card/debit card/net banking, etc. The application fee is different for different categories of NIFT application forms.

Document Checklist

When applying for NIFT 2026, candidates need to upload both their photograph and signature in the specified format.

Students can be admitted to the participating colleges of NIFT based on merit ranks obtained in the NIFT 2026. The following is a discussion about the step-by-step NIFT admission process that students can follow. 

Step 1: Fill out NIFT Application Form 2026

Applicants must fill out the application form online for NIFT registration on the official website. The students should only fill in the relevant and genuine verifiable details in the application form. All the information furnished by the candidates will be cross-verified during the time of admission.

Step 2: Download the NIFT Admit Card 2026

The admit cards will be generated after successful registration by the students for the NIFT Application Form. The students can download their respective admit cards by visiting the official website and entering the basic details. Candidates must note that they will not receive any hard copy of the admit cards through post. 

Step 3: Appear for NIFT 2026 Written Examination

The students will then have to appear in the written tests - GAT and CAT. The written tests are conducted in paper-based mode.

Step 4: NIFT 2026 Result Declaration

The students can check the NIFT 2026 results online by visiting the portal after entering their login credentials. The score obtained in the written tests of NIFT 2026 will be used to shortlist candidates for the next round.

Note: The students who will be shortlisted for the B.Des course will have to appear in a Situation Test, while post-graduate students will appear in a Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GDPI).

Step 5: Appear for the NIFT Situation Test or GD/PI

The Situation Test is conducted for the B.Des course to test the material handling skills of the aspirants. The postgraduate students need to appear for the Group Discussion/Personal Interview round. 

Step 6: Declaration of Final NIFT Results 2026

The final results of NIFT 2026 are prepared by giving weightage to each tech component. The student must also note that the final result is used for the allocation of seats. 

Step 7: Appear for NIFT Counselling 2026

The counselling processes for NIFT will be conducted online and will have multiple rounds. The shortlisted students will then have to get registered and participate in filling out their choice of all the participating colleges. The allotment of seats will depend upon the NIFT merit rank of the students and the choice of preference opted at the time of registration.

Shortlisting Criteria for B.Des, B.F.Tech, M.Des, M.F.Tech, M.F.M 

Weightage of Each Component in B.Des, B.F.Tech, M.Des, M.F.Tech, M.F.M Selection Process

The selection process and exam pattern of all the courses have been provided below.

Applicants must go through NIFT 2026 eligibility criteria before applying for the entrance exam. The university offers courses in the Design stream for candidates who want to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. If the student is admitted to the UG course then their maximum age should be less than 24 years at the time of admission. For reserved categories like SC/ST and PwD candidates, the upper age limit may be relaxed by a period of five years. For candidates who are applying for PG courses, there is no age bar to appear for the NIFT entrance exam.

The NIFT 2026 admit cards are very likely to be issued by the NTA around the first week of February 2026, downloadable from the official website, nift.ntaonline.in. You will have to provide your Application Number and Date of Birth to access your admit card. Please note that admit cards shall not be sent by post.

On the day of the examination, candidates have to carry an admit card along with a valid photo ID at the exam centre. In the admit card, the details that will be mentioned are the Candidate's Name, Roll Number, Exam Date, Time, and Exam Location. Apart from this, the Situation Test and Personal Interview will have different admit cards.

How to Download the NIFT Admit Card 2026?

Students should follow the step-wise instructions given below to download the NIFT admit card 2026:

• Step 1: Visit the official website of the university.

• Step 2: Click on the “NIFT 2026 admit card”.

• Step 3: Candidates have to enter their credentials (any two) - registered email ID, date of birth, and six-digit application number.

• Step 4: Click on the ‘Submit’ button.

• Step 5: The admit card will appear on the screen.

• Step 6: Next, click on the ‘Download’ button.

• Step 7: Take a printout of the admit card and keep it safe for future use.

The candidates can check the NIFT 2026 exam pattern mentioned below.

• NIFT 2026 starts with the General Ability Test (GAT) and is followed by the Creativity Ability Test (CAT).

• The NIFT entrance test comprises a written test which is conducted for all five courses through the GAT.

• Applicants must note that only those eligible to take the CAT qualify for the GAT. The students who qualify for both exams are asked to appear for the Situation Test and after that, they will have to go through final rounds of personal interviews.

• GAT is applicable for the courses of Bachelor in Fashion Technology, Master of Fashion Management, and Master in Fashion Technology. 

• There is no negative marking in the NIFT 2026 entrance examination. It is advisable that students must attempt all the questions.

Find the subject-wise distribution for each programme below.

NIFT GAT Exam Pattern 2026 for B.Des and M.Des

NIFT GAT Exam Pattern 2026 for B.F.Tech

NIFT GAT Exam Pattern 2026 for M.F.M & M.F.Tech

The list of cities for the written examination of NIFT 2026 will be announced in the information brochure. Earlier, the NIFT conducted the written test in 60 cities across India. Candidates must choose the city while filling out the NIFT application form 2026. Note that one city may have more than one exam centre. Your allotted centre will be mentioned on your admit card. You cannot choose an individual exam centre; only the city can be chosen.

The allocation of NIFT 2026 exam centres will consider:

• The chosen exam city
• The applicant's address
• The number of seats available at exam centres in the selected city

Exam Centers of NIFT Entrance Exam 2026

The NIFT 2026 syllabus is divided into five major components. It includes questions from Quantitative Ability, Communication Ability, General Knowledge and Current Affairs, English Comprehension, and Analytical and Logical Ability. The students can check the syllabus for both the GAT and CAT. The syllabus is different for both tests. The following is a discussion of the syllabus for NIFT GAT and NIFT CAT.

NIFT GAT Syllabus 2026

The following table shows the NIFT GAT 2026 syllabus:

NIFT CAT Syllabus 2026

The syllabus for NIFT 2026 CAT is designed to check the drawing skills and evaluate the observation perspective of the students. The following is the NIFT CAT 2026 syllabus:

• Creativity in the development of a thought

• Power of observation

• Design ability of the applicant

• Discernment ability

When preparing for the NIFT entrance exam 2026, it is also essential for candidates to work with previous years’ question papers in addition to sample papers. Here's why:

• Examining NIFT previous years' question papers helps candidates understand the format and nature of the questions that typically appear in the design entrance exam.
• By reviewing these papers, candidates can gauge the level of difficulty, familiarize themselves with the types of questions, and understand the marking scheme and question weightage.
• Furthermore, analyzing these past papers allows candidates to identify any changes or new trends in question patterns. This insight is important for adapting their preparation strategies effectively.

To start your preparation, start by selecting the right study materials for the NIFT entrance exam 2026. In this section, we will provide the NIFT 2026 best books suitable for the exam. The following resources offer comprehensive learning of all key topics updated from the revised pattern. Have a close look to select the appropriate NIFT preparation books for your study schedule.

NIFT Books for CAT and GAT

NIFT Books for Situation Test

If you are an aspiring candidate looking ahead to enrol into the B.Des and M.Des programs, you must take both the GAT and CAT tests. However, for those applying to B.F.Tech, M.F.Tech, and MFM, you are only required to take the GAT. Here are some simple NIFT 2026 preparation tips for the NIFT 2026 GAT and CAT tests: 

NIFT 2026 Preparation Tips for GAT 

• Understand Exam Format: Be well conversant with the exam pattern and syllabus; it helps a lot in knowing what one is expecting.

• Concentrate on Recommended Study Materials: To seek the best guidance with the most recommended NIFT 2026 best books.

• Make a Study Plan: Make a proper study plan describing the topics, and follow it. Begin your preparation at a very early stage to ensure that you have enough time at hand for practising sample papers, taking mock tests, and revising thoroughly.

• Practice a Lot: Solve as many sample papers as you can by including previous years' question papers in your practice.

• Mock Tests: In the last few days, one needs to give many mock tests to verify his or her level of preparation and build up his or her self-confidence.

• Stay Healthy: Keep yourself positive and healthy during the entire preparation.

NIFT 2026 Preparation Tips for CAT

• Improve Observation and Creativeness: Develop your powers of observation and creativeness.

• Understand Geometric Shapes: Comprehend exactly what geometric shapes are and their peculiarities.

• Drawing Concept Before Actual Drawing: Take time to conceptualize your drawings before you have to draw them.

• Line Drawing Improved: Make sure your lines are legible and clear; every wobbly, indecipherable line may cause you to lose some points.

• Basic Shading Skills: Shading is not an important thing to know for the CAT, but knowing the basics is not a bad thing, either.

• Diverse Drawing Skills: Practice drawing in a range of styles: the human figure, cartoons, perspective, doodling, and geometric shapes.

If you are preparing for the NIFT entrance exam 2026, solving sample papers is always necessary. This will be very helpful for improving problem-solving strategies along with time management skills. The type of questions will be the same as that you will get in your main exam, keeping the level of difficulty and scope maintained according to your needs.

Start solving NIFT sample papers early in your studies. For example, once you have covered certain material in a particular chapter, solve the problems mentioned in the sample papers. This will not only strengthen your learning but also make you accustomed to the format of the examination.

As for the habit of practising time management, there may hardly be any more helpful material than sample papers. Solving them regularly will help significantly in mastering problem-solving strategies and pacing.

The NIFT 2026 answer key will tentatively be released in February 2026 by NTA for the objective-based GAT question paper. The answer key released by NIFT contains the official answers. The students can calculate their tentative or probable score once the answer keys are released. The students will also be able to access the OMR answer sheet. The students must note that they are allowed to carry the GAT question paper only after completion of the NIFT entrance exam.

Note: Students who have any doubts or objections against the answer key, OMR answer sheet, or question paper can raise objections/ observations by paying a fee of INR 500 per observation/objection. 

How to Download the NIFT 2026 Answer Key for GAT?

• Students will click on the answer key link after visiting the official website of the university.

• Applicants will then be asked to fill in log-in credentials like roll number, programme choice, question booklet no, DOB, etc.

• Candidates can then successfully download the answer key for NIFT 2026.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will release the NIFT 2026 final results in June 2026. The results will be uploaded online via the official NTA NIFT admissions portal. Note that you will not be receiving a hard copy of the result via mail. Also, know that the scores of the written exam are not utilized in the final admission procedure. Rather, they act as a basis to shortlist candidates for the subsequent stage of the selection process.

How to Check Your NIFT 2026 Result?

To view your results, follow these simple steps:

• Visit the official NIFT result link.
• Enter your application number and date of birth in the login window.
• Once you log in, your NIFT 2026 result will be displayed on the screen.
• Download the result and make sure to take a printout for future reference.

Your NIFT 2026 scorecard will have information like your section-wise score, total score, and qualification status. Those who pass the written exam will be suitable to proceed to the next stage, which covers the Situation Test or Personal Interview.

NIFT 2026 Final Results Announcement

The final results for NIFT 2026 entrance exam will be published soon. The candidates who succeed in the written tests will need to appear in a Situation Test or a Personal Interview as their next selection level. The final marks will be computed based on a certain weightage assigned to the CAT, GAT, and Situation Test/Personal Interview. This blend provides a holistic assessment of the skills and abilities of the candidates.

NIFT 2026 Toppers and Exam Statistics

In addition to the results, NTA is also likely to release a list of the toppers of NIFT 2026. Such a list, if published, will contain essential information like names of the toppers, their application number, and their state of eligibility (domicile). Further, NTA will also release in-depth exam statistics, giving a glimpse into how many candidates applied, appeared for, and were qualified for the NIFT 2026 entrance exam in terms of a gender-wise division.

The NIFT 2026 examination will be conducted in February 2026 for B.Des, M.Des, and other courses. As per student reactions, the past yers' NIFT 2025 GAT question papers for the B.Des and M.Des programs were of moderate difficulty. The CAT section was easy in terms of difficulty level. If you are planning to appear for NIFT 2026, you will be able to check the level of difficulty, types of questions to be expected, topics of emphasis, etc, through a review of the NIFT 2026 paper analysis which will be posted here. 

The counselling process will begin at NIFT 2026 after the declaration of the final results for the year 2026. First, one thing to be mentioned here is that the responsibility of NTA ranges only to organising the NIFT entrance exam 2026 and publishing the results. These are considered for shortlisting the candidates further to take part in the counselling phase. There will be four rounds of seat allocation in the NIFT counselling 2026, followed by a SPOT round for leftover vacancies.

Admissions in all 18 participating colleges of NIFT will be centralised through the counselling process. Only those candidates who have successfully qualified in the entrance examination of NIFT 2026 shall be eligible to join the counselling process. After shortlisting, candidates are supposed to register for choice filling and selection, where choices mean academic program-college combinations. The candidates are supposed to fill in choices in order of priority.

NIFT 2026 Seat Allotment 

The seats will be granted about the preference opted by the candidates and their rank in the NIFT 2026 examination. The candidates shall deposit the seat acceptance fee to confirm their admission within the stipulated period. The seats of the candidates failing to deposit the fee within the scheduled time will be cancelled and offered to the next eligible candidate in order of merit. When the rounds of regular counselling are over, fresh registrations for the SPOT round will be allowed, wherein the seat assignment is on a first-come-first-served basis.

When the results come out, the NIFT will declare the NIFT 2026 cutoff marks for the written exam. The cutoff marks will be different for different categories, and the cutoff marks signify minimum qualifying scores (which can also be called minimum qualifying ranks) for admission purposes. To check if they have cleared the exam, candidates need to log in to the results portal. Qualified candidates will go through the next step of interviews, which could be in the form of a personal interview or a situation test. The cut-off for qualifying for the next step is separate from the final NIFT 2026 cutoff for admission into NIFT. 

Factors Determining NIFT Cutoff 2026

The students appearing for the NIFT entrance exam 2026 must keep a check on different factors. Some of the common factors that are crucial for the NIFT 2026 cutoff are mentioned below for reference.

• The total number of students appearing for the exam in a respective year.

• The total number of seats offered by the NIFT.

• The difficulty level of the question paper and the highest marks obtained by the student.

• Last year's cutoffs of the NIFT.

The students can check the NIFT 2026 cutoff marks and the number of shortlisted candidates for the given course as mentioned below for reference.

After both stages of the selection process are completed, the NIFT 2026 merit list will be compiled by the authority. This list will be based on the scores that candidates achieve in various assessments, including the Creative Ability Test (CAT), General Ability Test (GAT), Situation Test, Group Discussion, and Personal Interview rounds, depending on the specific requirements.

Each of these assessments will carry a specific weightage in the final merit list.

The number of colleges that accept admission through NIFT has been increasing over the years. The students can check the list of different NIFT campuses along with the total number of seats offered for admission to different undergraduate and postgraduate courses as mentioned below for reference.

Listed below are the reserved seats in the National Institute of Fashion Technology for different categories for the  NIFT 2026 entrance exam.