NID Entrance Exam 2026: Registration (Open), Exam Date (Out), Eligibility, Pattern, Syllabus, Previous Year Papers

Candidates interested in pursuing the B.Des and M.Des programmes at NID should meet the eligibility criteria set by the institute.  The eligibility criteria of NID DAT for B.Des, and M.Des programs ensure that candidates meet the educational qualifications necessary for pursuing design education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. 

NID DAT eligibility criteria for B.Des

BDes NID eligibility criteria have been updated below. 

Educational qualification 

Applicants have to complete their HSC from any stream from a recognised board such as CBSE, IB, ICSE or equivalent. 

Other additional qualifications

• Applicants have to pass a 10+2 pattern from a state or central board such as  recognised by the AIU, or pre university examination under board or university recognised by AIU OR

• Applicants have to complete their HSC from any stream from a recognised board such as CBSE, IB, ICSE or equivalent. 

Age limit

As per the NID DAT age limit, candidates must not be more than 20 years as on the specified date to be eligible for NID admissions.  However, the age relaxation of three will be available for reserved category students and up to 5 years for PwD category. 

NID DAT eligibility criteria for M.Des

Candidates can check the NID eligibility criteria for MDes courses. 

Educational Qualifications

• Candidates need to hold a bachelor's degree of 4 years after 12th standard from a recognised institute or university.

• Students need to pursue a full-time diploma of 4 years duration in design, arts, fine arts, applied arts and architecture. 

• Applicants must pass 3 years of a bachelor's degree in any specialisation from a recognised board

• Students appearing in the final year of the bachelor's exam and not issued the certificate are also eligible. But the candidate should produce their certificate before the specified date mentioned by the authorities. 

Age limit

As per the NID age limit, Candidates belonging to the general and general EWS category born after July 1, 1994, are eligible for the exam. Reserved category candidates will get the age relaxation of three years and five years of age relaxation for PwD category. 

The National Institute of Design has opened the NID DAT 2026 application form on September 11, 2025. Interested candidates can complete NID DAT 2026 registration from the official website - admissions.nid.edu before the last date. Candidates are required to pay the requisite fees to complete the NID DAT registration. 

Checklist of documents required to fill the application form of NID DAT 2026. 

Here is the important list of documents required for filling the NID DAT application form that candidates must keep ready before starting their registration.

• Photograph

• Signature of the candidate

• Category  certificate like EWS certificate, OBC-NCL certificate, Caste certificate for SC, Tribe certificate for ST (if applicable)

• Disability certificate (if applicable)

• First and last page of the passport for foreign/overseas applicants. 

Steps to fill the NID DAT application form 2026

Candidates need to follow these steps to fill out the registration form of NID 2026. 

• Applicants should register or sign up to fill out the application form 

• After registration, log in and fill the NID application form 

• Enter the required information and click the save and exit button. 

• Upload the necessary documents and signature with specified dimensions 

• Pay the NID application fee.

The NID DAT exam pattern 2026 helps the candidates understand the exam modalities. It provides information on the types of questions, section-wise marks distribution, and marking scheme. The NID total marks are 100. Candidates can check the NID DAT test pattern 2026 in the table below.

NID DAT 2026 Exam Pattern for B.Des 

NID B.Des Exam Pattern Marks Distribution (tentative)

NID M.Des Exam Pattern Marks Distribution (tentative)

Candidates who want to crack the NID DAT examination need to take the NID DAT mock test to boost their preparation. By practising the NID DAT 2026 mock test , candidates can familiarise themselves with the exam structure. NID 2026 mock test helps the candidate to understand the actual exam environment. By regular practice with the NID DAT mock test candidates can know time management, how much time they take to solve the question, and areas that need to be focused more. With the help of mock tests of NID DAT 2026, candidates can know their strengths and weaknesses to grasp the section that needs more practice. 

Candidates should follow useful preparation tips to stand out from the rest. Apart from showing dedication and honesty, knowing some practical tips helps them to a great extent in cracking the NID DAT exam. Careers360 gives the best tips on how to crack NID DAT and get admission to a reputed institute.

• Solving NID DAT Sample Papers is one of the best ways to prepare for the NID DAT exam as it gives them an idea of the type of questions that will be asked in the entrance exam. Candidates can also know about the marking scheme of the exam.

• Attempting DAT mock exams helps candidates understand the difficulty level of the exam.

• Reading previous year's NID DAT question papers is a great way to prepare for exams.

• It is important for students to prepare a well-thought-out study plan and follow it religiously.

• Candidates should also follow the best books for NID DAT preparation. There are many books like the NID DAT book by RS Aggarwal, Design Drawing by Francis D.K. Singh, Robert W. Gill's basic rendering, and NID mock test series, candidates can follow.

The authorities will release the NID DAT 2026 admit card on December 11, 2025. Candidates will be able to download the NID 2026 admit card from the official website through their login. The authorities will issue a separate NID 2026 prelims admit card and NID 2026 mains admit card. 

Students must carry the NID DAT hall ticket to the exam centre. If they fail to bring the admit card, candidates will not be permitted to enter the NID DAT 2026 exam centre. Candidates need to bring any one of the valid documents such as pan card, driving licence, aadhar card, etc along with the admit card.

Steps to download the NID DAT 2026 admit card 

Candidates can access the NID DAT admit card 2026 by following the steps below: 

• Go to the NID official website - admissions.nid.edu

• Click the NID DAT admit card tab on the home page.

• Enter the credentials such as email ID and date of birth, in the login window. 

• Click the submit button and check the details mentioned on the admit card. 

• Take the printout of the downloaded admit card for further reference. 

Last year, the authority did not release the NID DAT answer key for the prelims and mains exam. In case, the answer key for NID DAT 2026 for the prelims exam is released, the details will be updated here. The purpose of the NID DAT exam answer key is to help candidates calculate their probable scores and also to submit any objections they may have with the answers.

Candidates can match their answers with the NID DAT 2026 answer key and follow the same marking scheme as given on the day of the actual examination.

The NID DAT results 2026 for M.Des and B.Des will be declared online on April 7, 2026 for NID DAT prelims and in May 2026 for NID DAT mains. Candidates can check their NID DAT results on the official website, admissions.nid.edu, using their login credentials. 

Only those candidates who are shortlisted from the NID DAT 2026 prelims result will be allowed to appear for the NID DAT 2026 mains exam. The final merit list will be prepared after considering the scores in the prelims and the mains. The NID DAT 2026 prelims score has 40% weight while the NID DAT 2026 mains has 60% weight in the final selection process.

Steps to Check the NID DAT Results 2026

Candidates can check the NID DAT exam results 2026 by using the steps below: 

• Visit the official NID admissions website. 
• Enter the login credentials such as email ID, application number, and date of birth
• Enter the verification code that will be displayed on the screen 
• Candidates need to download the NID DAT results 2026 and take a printout for further reference. 

National Institute of Design will release the NID DAT 2026 cut-off on its official website. The NID DAT cutoff is the minimum score required for candidates to qualify for selection rounds. The NID cutoff 2026 includes the rank and score of the last candidate allotted a seat. 

The cutoff is the minimum score required for candidates to qualify for the next stage. The NID cutoff is prepared by authorities based on various factors such as the availability of the number of seats, the NID DAT exam difficulty, the total number of candidates participating in the exam, and last year's cutoff trends.

 NID Previous Year's Cutoff (2025)

The National Institute of Design will announce the NID 2026 counselling dates on its official website. As per the official notification, the NID counselling dates are in second/third week of June 2026. Candidates who will be shortlisted after the NID DAT final result will be able to complete NID DAT 2026 counselling registration.  Candidates will be able to secure admissions into M.Des and B.Des programmes at NID campuses. Qualified candidates need to follow the steps below during the NID counselling process 2026:

• Candidates who will qualify the NID DAT exam need to register for NID DAT counselling and give their preference of campuses

• Candidates must upload the required documents specified by the NID authorities. 

• The provisional offer letter will be issued based on the merit list, candidates category and seat availability for the eligible candidates.

NID DAT Seat Intake 2026

The tables given below provide the NID DAT seat intake for various campuses for the B.Des programme.

NID B.Des Campus-wise Seat Intake 2026

List of Courses & Colleges Accepting NID Admission Test

List of NIDs in India Offering B.Des

The National Institute of Design released the NID DAT sample question papers at its official website - admissions.nid.edu. Students planning to appear for the NID DAT entrance exam can refer to the DAT Prelims sample test papers for BDes and MDes online. Referring to the NID DAT Prelims sample paper, candidates will come to know about the exam structure, marking scheme and the type of questions asked. Based on the NID DAT sample question paper, the students can prepare the topics accordingly in their study plan.