NIFT Entrance Exam 2026 Registration Opens - Check Exam Date & New Application Fee Structure

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has commenced the registration process for the National Institute of Fashion Technology Entrance Examination (NIFTEE) 2026, offering admission to undergraduate, postgraduate, lateral entry (NLEA), artisan, and PhD programmes. According to the official schedule, the NIFT 2026 entrance exam will be conducted on February 8, 2026, in a hybrid mode, combining a computer-based test (CBT) and a pen-and-paper test (PBT) format.

This year, the NIFT exam will be held across 100 cities, a significant increase from last year’s 82 centres, ensuring wider accessibility for candidates from different regions. The NIFT 2026 application form is now available on the official website - exams.nta.nic.in/niftee/ - and candidates must complete the registration by January 6, 2026. Applicants who fail to meet the deadline will still be able to submit their forms between January 7 and 10, by paying an additional late fee of ₹5,000.

The NTA has also revised the application fee, reducing the charges for candidates appearing in single papers. General category candidates (Open, OBC-NCL, Open-EWS) applying for programmes such as BDes, BFTech, MFM, MDes, MFTech, or PhD will now pay ₹2,000, while SC, ST, and PwD candidates will be required to pay only ₹500.

The National Testing Agency will open the application correction window from January 12 to 14, allowing applicants to rectify errors in their forms. Additionally, the last date to apply for the BDes Artisan Category and PhD programmes is February 28, while NRI, Foreign National, OCI, PIO, and SAARC category candidates can complete their UG and PG registrations until April 30, 2026.

For admission to undergraduate programmes such as BDes and BFTech, candidates will be selected based on their performance in the General Ability Test (GAT) and Creative Ability Test (CAT), followed by a situation test. For postgraduate admissions, the final selection will include a personal interview instead of a situation test. PhD aspirants will have to appear for a written exam, followed by a Research Proposal Presentation and Interview (RPPI) conducted by NIFT.