UGC NET December 2026: NTA revises dates, adds Meri Pehchaan login and live photo

The National Testing Agency (NTA) released a revised information bulletin for the UGC NET December 2026 exam on Friday, October 16, 2026, according to education news reports. The revised bulletin lists the computer-based exam on December 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21, 2026, replacing an earlier plan that ran from December 14 to 19 with buffer days after it. It also brings changes to how candidates apply: registration is now through Meri Pehchaan, the government's single sign-on service, and applicants must capture a live photograph while filling in the form. The last date to apply remains October 28, 2026.

UGC NET is the national test that decides who is eligible to teach as an assistant professor in Indian universities and colleges, and it is also used for junior research fellowships and PhD admissions. Many postgraduate students and young researchers plan their year around it. A change in exam dates, even a small one, affects travel plans, leave from jobs and preparation schedules, especially for candidates who also sit other exams in December.

The move from a December 14 to 19 window to December 14 to 18 plus December 21 means candidates should not assume their paper falls inside the original six days. Some reports still carry the older schedule, which can confuse students who rely on coaching sites or social media. The safe approach is to treat the revised bulletin as the current version and to check the exact date of one's own subject when the city slip is released on November 23.

The new login rule is the bigger practical change. Meri Pehchaan is the national single sign-on service that lets a person use one verified identity across several government platforms. Applying through it should reduce duplicate registrations and make it easier to tie an application to a real person. For students, it means one more account to set up correctly before the deadline, and anyone who leaves the form to the last day risks running into login or verification problems.

The live photo requirement is meant to make sure the face on the application matches the person in front of the camera. Reports describing the instructions say the photo should be taken against a white background with most of the face, including the ears, clearly visible, within a small file-size range. Candidates who usually upload an old scanned photograph will need to take a fresh one in good light.

Short-term: Candidates who have not yet applied have about eleven days to set up a Meri Pehchaan login, take a live photo and submit the form before October 28. Those who have already applied should check whether anything in their form needs fixing during the November 2 to 4 correction window.

Long-term: Using a national single sign-on and live photo capture for a large national exam points to tighter identity checks in recruitment and eligibility tests. If it works smoothly here, students should expect similar steps in other NTA exams.

Who is affected: Postgraduate students and research scholars applying for UGC NET, candidates aiming for junior research fellowships and PhD seats, working professionals who need to plan leave for exam days, and coaching institutes adjusting their revision plans.

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