UCEED 2026 Eligibility Criteria - Check Age Limit, Marks Required, No of Attempts, Important Factor

UCEED 2026 Eligibility Criteria

UCEED 2026 eligibility criteria are prescribed by IIT Bombay. Candidates willing to apply for the UCEED 2026 exam must ensure that they meet all the requirements as specified. Registration will be cancelled if the authorities find that you have not fulfilled all the criteria. To complete the UCEED 2026 application form, you need to consider the following: Qualifying Examination, Age Limit, Minimum Marks Required, and Number of Attempts. Meeting the eligibility criteria is assumed to be the minimum required for admission to the B.Des program at any of the participating universities. The UCEED 2026 exam is scheduled for January 18, 2026. Read further to know more about the UCEED 2026 eligibility criteria, including the number of attempts and the age limit.

Detailed UCEED Eligibility Criteria 2026

IIT Bombay has published the official brochure for UCEED 2026 on the official website, uceed.iitb.ac.in. The official brochure contains the eligibility criteria for the UCEED 2026 exam. Aspirants seeking admission to the B.Des program offered by IITs through the entrance test need to meet specific eligibility criteria set by the conducting body.

Qualifying Exam

• Qualifying Examination
  • Candidates must have passed the Class 12th or equivalent examination in 2025.
  • Candidates must have appeared in the Class 12th or equivalent examination for the first time in 2026.
• Streams Allowed
  • Candidates from any stream - Science, Commerce, Arts and Humanities are eligible.
• Ineligible Candidates
  • Candidates who have appeared in the Class 12th examination in 2023 or before are not eligible for UCEED 2026.
• Accepted Examinations
  • Final 10+2 examinations from any recognised Central or State Board;
  • Intermediate or Pre-University examinations conducted by a recognised Board/ University;
  • Examinations from the Joint Services Wing of the National Defence Academy, a two-year course;
  • Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling with at least five subjects.
  • Any other public/board/university examinations in India or in foreign countries that is considered to be equivalent by the AIU.
  • H.S.C. vocational examinations
  • GCE Advanced Level (London, Cambridge, or Sri Lanka)
  • Cambridge University High School Certificate or International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Number of Attempts

Candidates can attempt the UCEED 2026 exams only two times. Till now, this eligibility criterion has not been changed for the 2026 exam. It is expected that still candidates will be allowed to take the test a maximum number of two times, and these two attempts should be availed in consecutive years. Secondly, the score of the UCEED exam remains valid only for one year.

Age Limit

Students belonging to the OPEN/ EWS/ OBC-NCL categories must have been born on or after October 1, 2000. Candidates belonging to the SC/ST/PwD categories will get an age relaxation of five years and thus, they must be born on or after October 1, 1995. For admission to UCEED colleges, applicants need to fulfil the eligibility criteria for the UCCED 2026 exam.

Note: In case a candidate is found to have furnished wrong information, the Admitting Institute has the authority to cancel the admission, at any time.

University-Specific Eligibility Criteria for B.Des Course Through UCEED 2026

Aside from the qualifying criteria listed above, the UCEED 2026 participating colleges have their own eligibility criteria, mentioned below:

• Candidates from the Science Stream who have completed Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics may apply to all of the UCEED participating institutes.

• Candidates from any other stream (Science without Mathematics or Physics or Chemistry, Commerce, and Arts & Humanities) may apply to IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, and IIT Hyderabad.

• Only students having Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics/Biology as 10+2 subjects are eligible for admission to BDes at IIITDM Jabalpur.

• Students with a 10+2 in Arts or Humanities are not eligible to apply for BDes admissions at IIITDM Jabalpur.

List of Qualifying Examination for UCEED 2026 Exam

Candidates appearing for the UCEED 2026 exam must have appeared for the following qualifying examinations.

Indian Nationals:

• The final examination of the 10+2 system is organised by a recognised Central or State Board recognised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
• The Final examination of the two-year course of the Joint Services Wing of the National Defence Academy.
• Senior Secondary School Examination organised by the National Institute of Open Schooling with a minimum of 5 subjects.
• Intermediate or two-year Pre-University examination organised by a recognised Board or University by the Association of Indian Universities(AIU).
• H.S.C. vocational examination.
• A Diploma recognised by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) or a State Board of Technical Education of at least 3 years duration

Foreign Nationals:

• Any Public School, Board or University examination in India or in a foreign country is recognised as equivalent to the 10+2 system by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
• General Certificate Education (GCE) examination (London, Cambridge or Sri Lanka) at the Advanced (A) Level.
• High School Certificate Examination of the Cambridge University or International Baccalaureate Diploma of the International Baccalaureate Office, Geneva.

Note: 

• Candidates who passed their 10+2 (or equivalent) exam from abroad or from a Board not specified in the above-mentioned list. Such candidates will have to be provided with a certificate from the Association of Indian Universities to the effect that the examination they have passed is equivalent to the Class 12 examination.
• In case the 10+2 exam is not a public exam, then the candidate will have to clear at least one public (Board or Pre-University) exam earlier.

UCEED 2026 Reservation Criteria

The table below shows the reservation of seats in UCEED 2026 by category:

Note: Reservations of 5% for PwD applicants will be horizontal. Candidates with benchmark impairments as defined by the RPwD Act 2016 are eligible for this category of reservation. Unfilled PwD seats will be reallocated to the appropriate category.