NATA Exam 2026: Registration, Date, Syllabus, Eligibility, Answer Key, Result, Cutoff

NATA 2026 - The Council of Architecture commenced the NATA 2026 application form on March 9, 2026. The NATA 2026 registration link has been updated on the official website, nata.in. As per the NATA eligibility criteria, those who passed/ are appearing in 10+1/10+2 in PCM subject or 10+3 diploma exam with Mathematics as a compulsory subject will be able to apply for the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA). The NATA 2026 official notification was released online. The NATA 2026 exam will be held from April 4 to June 13, 2026 for phase 1 and for phase 2, the exam will be held on August 7 & 8, 2026. Candidates will have to register during the week preceding the NATA exam date. The authority will release the  NATA 2026 admit card a few days before the test. The exam will be held in online and offline modes.

Candidates who attempt the NATA 2026 phase 1 will not be eligible to attempt phase 2. The NATA exam will be held every Friday and Saturday.  Note that, the best score out of three attempts will be considered before the declaration of results. The score of the NATA test is valid for 2 academic years only. 

Students should go through the NATA syllabus and exam pattern to ace the exam. National Aptitude Test in Architecture will consist of Part A (Drawing and Composition Test) and Part B (MCQ and NCQ). The total duration of the exam will be three hours. Those who clear the test will be able to participate in the NATA 2026 counselling process at individual institutes. Candidates will have to apply to the NATA score-accepting colleges separately. There is no centralised counselling. 

What is NATA?

National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) is an all-India level undergraduate exam held for admission to 5 year B.Arch and B.Planning programmes. It is conducted by the Council of Architecture (COA). The test is conducted in online and offline modes. COA conducts a comprehensive computer-based aptitude test at the Council allotted centres across the country every year. The NATA entrance examination is an aptitude test that assesses a candidate’s ability through a variety of testing formats.