The National Testing Agency (NTA) closes registration for UGC NET December 2026 at 11:50 pm on 28 October, and the queue is still long. Of 5,50,048 candidates registered by 25 October, only 3,73,419 had completed the form and paid. Another 1,36,993 had uploaded neither a photograph nor a signature and had not paid, while 31,580 had uploaded the documents but stopped before payment.
That leaves about 1.69 lakh applications stuck at some stage with a day to go. NTA has asked applicants not to wait for the final hours, when payment gateways carry their heaviest load. The window opened on 8 October and has run for three weeks.
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A Late Window And A Correction Window Follow
Missing the 28 October cut-off is not the end of the road, but it costs more. NTA has scheduled a late submission window from 29 to 31 October with an additional Rs 500 fee charged on top of the category fee. A correction window for application particulars runs from 2 to 4 November, and the Information Bulletin is explicit that no changes are permitted after a form is finally submitted.
The exam fee is unchanged by category: Rs 1,150 for General and Unreserved, Rs 600 for General-EWS and OBC-NCL, and Rs 325 for SC, ST, Third Gender and PwD or PwBD applicants, with service charges extra. A form counts as submitted only when the transaction clears before 11:50 pm on 28 October; a completed form without a successful payment is not a valid application.
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What The 25 October Numbers Actually Show
The shape of the rush is the interesting part. On 22 October NTA reported 2.18 lakh registrations across the two December NETs together, UGC NET and Joint CSIR UGC NET, a figure carried by The Indian Express and India Today. Three days later the UGC NET count alone stood at 5,50,048. Even allowing for the different scopes, more than half the final tally arrived after 22 October.
The unfinished forms cluster around the same two steps. NTA made a live photograph mandatory, captured through a device camera or a phone via QR code, with the face at least 80 per cent of the frame, ears visible, no mask and a light background. Applicants who cannot clear that step never reach fee payment, which explains the 1,36,993 forms with no photograph, signature or fee on 25 October.
The Exam: 87 Subjects, 300 Marks, Six Days
The December cycle will be held in computer based test mode across 87 subjects. Paper I carries 50 questions and Paper II 100, taken as a single test of 180 minutes with no break between sections and a combined maximum of 300 marks. NTA plans one shift per subject, and will apply equi-percentile normalisation only if a subject is split across shifts.
Qualification is decided on aggregate marks, not the percentile on the score card. General and General-EWS candidates need 40 per cent, or 120 of 300, to clear the first threshold, while reserved category candidates need 35 per cent, or 105. The percentile decides nothing further; the subject-wise and category-wise cut-off in marks does. The test covers three eligibility streams: JRF with Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor with PhD admission, and PhD admission alone.
NTA Redrew The Calendar Two Days Before The Deadline
On 26 October NTA issued a revised examination calendar for December 2026 to April 2027, citing administrative reasons. It lists UGC NET for 14 to 18 December and 21 December, and Joint CSIR UGC NET for 19, 22 and 27 December. Admit cards are due on 7 December and exam city information on 23 November. NTA has marked every date tentative.
The overlap matters for the smaller group that applied for both NETs. A candidate sitting UGC NET across five consecutive days has to confirm the allotted shift before committing to a CSIR NET paper on 19 or 22 December, because the two calendars run in parallel.
What To Watch, And One Editorial Read
The deeper story is friction, not the deadline. A 5.50 lakh queue holding 1.69 lakh unfinished forms after three weeks points to the live photograph and the two-step payment as the binding constraints, not a shortage of intent. The Rs 500 late window then turns a hard cut-off into a two-tier one: candidates who can pay get three more days, and those who cannot lose the cycle.
What to watch next: the closing figure after 31 October, the correction window from 2 to 4 November, exam city intimation on 23 November and the admit card on 7 December. Candidates should retain the confirmation page generated after payment, since that is the proof NTA accepts if a dispute arises.
