National Institute of Design Design Aptitude Test
National Institute of Design Design Aptitude Test

NID DAT Exam 2026: Notification, Date, Registration, Admit Card, Pattern & Syllabus

NID DAT 2026: NID has commenced the application process for the NID DAT Entrance exams for Prelims from September 11, 2026. The detailed schedule has been released on the official website - admissions.nid.edu.

NID Exam 2026: The National Institute of Design (NID) released the official notification regarding the NID session of 2026-27 on its official website. The examination body conducts the NID DAT (Design Aptitude Test) prelims and Mains exam for admission into Bachelor of Design (B.Des) and Master of Design (M.Des) programmes. The registration process for the B.Des and M.Des program has started from September 11, 2025 and the last date to register is December 1, 2025. NID will conduct Design Aptitute Test (DAT) Prelims on December 21, 2025.

The examination conducting body started the admission process for the NID DAT exam 2026 on September 11, and will be ending on December 1, 2026, (11:59 pm). The application edit window will open from December 02, 2025 to December 04, 2025. Candidates should fill out their applications by entering their details within the specified time from the official website - admissions.nid.edu. 

Respective officials releases the NID DAT admit card 2026 for prelims and mains exams on the official website. Candidates can download their hall tickets by entering the necessary login credentials.

Latest Updates: 

  • NID DAT registration process started from September 11, 2025 and the last date to register is December 1, 2025.
  • NID DAT prelims will be conducted on December 21, 2025.

NID DAT 2026 Exam Dates

Candidates can check the tentative schedule for the NID DAT exam in the table below -

 

Admission Stages

For B.Des

For M.Des

1

Accepting Application Forms online

September 11, 2025

September 11, 2025

2

Last date for submitting online applications

December 1, 2025 (11:59 PM) 

December 1, 2025 (11:59 PM) 

3

Window to edit the application 

December 2, 2025 to December 4, 2025 

December 2, 2025 to December 4, 2025 

4

Download admit card for DAT Prelims

December 11, 2025 

December 11, 2025 

5

DAT Prelims exam 

December 21, 2025

December 21, 2025

6

DAT Prelims result 

April 7, 2026 

February 17, 2026 

7

Rechecking request for DAT Prelims

April 7, 2026 to April 8, 2026 

February 17, 2026 to February 18, 2026 

8

Download admit card for DAT Mains

April 2026

February 2026 

9

DAT Mains exam

April 2026

March 2026

10

DAT Mains result

May 2026

May 2026

11

Window for submission of Campus preference

May 2026

-

12

Rechecking request for DAT Mains

May 2026

May 2026

13

Seat allotment, payment of token fees & uploading of documents

May 2026

May 2026 - June 2026

14

Provisional offer letter

June 2026

June 2026

15

Payment of remaining semester fees

June 2026

To Be Announced Later 

16

Subsequent round of seat allotment 

To be announced later

To be announced later

17

Physical verification of documents at the respective NIDs

To be announced later by the respective NIDs

-

NID DAT 2026 Application Form

The NID Design Aptitude Test 2026-2027 application form is now available on the official website - admissions.nid.edu. Candidates need to upload the necessary documents in the given format at the time of registration. 

NID DAT Exam 2026 - How to apply?

Candidates can follow the steps that are provided below to know how to fill out the NID DAT application form 2026 online. 

Step 1: Go to the official website - admissions.nid.edu

Step 2: Click on the direct link to register for the NID DAT exam 2026 available on the screen

Step 3: Register using the necessary details as asked

Step 4: Login using the newly created credentials and complete the application form by entering the personal and professional details

Step 5: Upload the documents and make the payment of the application fee 

Step 6: Print out the application confirmation page for future use 

The examination conducting body will release the NID DAT admit cards 2026 for prelims and mains exams on its official website. Once released, candidates who registered for the NID DAT entrance exam will be able to download their hall tickets by entering their necessary login details. 

Candidates who are interested in applying for the B.Des and M.Des must fulfil the eligibility criteria of both age and educational qualification available on the information bulletin for the NID DAT exam 2026. Check the NID DAT Eligibility Criteria 2026 in the given table below:

The Design Aptitude Test will be conducted in two stages mentioned below - 

Stage 1 - Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Prelims

The DAT Prelims exam is a paper-and-pencil/pen test conducted at the same time on the same day across all the test centres. The question paper will be in English language only. Shortlisted candidates will be eligible to appear for the DAT Mains exam on the specified date.  

Stage 2 - Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Mains

Candidates who qualified for the DAT prelims exam will be able to appear for the NID Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Mains exam. The exam will consist of tests in multiple formats such as in studio step-up. The questions paper for the NID DAT Mains exam 2026 will be in English language only.  

Candidates are required to appear for the NID DAT prelims and mains exams in order to be considered for the merit list. The NID DAT result 2026 will be made on the basis of scores obtained by the candidates in DAT prelims. Qualified candidates in the prelims exams will get to appear for the DAT mains exam. The final common merit lists will be generated category wise and as per the merit, based on the sum total of the weighted scores secured by the candidate i.e., DAT Prelims, and DAT Mains.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the official website of NID exam 2026?

The official website of NID DAT exam 2026 is admissions.nid.edu.

When will NID DAT notification 2026 be released?

The NID DAT notification 2026 has been released on September 11, 2025, at admissions.nid.edu.

Who is eligible for NID DAT 2026?

Candidates must have passed their 10+2 examinations from recognsied board. They must meet the age limit criteria as mentioned in the official notification.

How many times is the NID exam conducted in a year?

NID DAT exam is conducted by the National Institute of Design once a year.

From where i can download the NID DAT admit card 2026?

Once released, registered candidates can download the NID Design Aptitude Test admit cards 2026 from the official website - admissions.nid.edu.

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