UGC NET December 2026 Application Form: Dates, Fees and the LS & BT Merger

The UGC NET December 2026 application form is live on the National Testing Agency (NTA) portal, and the deadline to submit it without a late fee is 11:50 pm on 28 October 2026. Registration opened on 8 October, and the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test itself is scheduled between 14 and 19 December. Running alongside it is the joint CSIR-UGC NET, which follows a different, longer application window and its own exam dates — and which now carries a merged science paper that changes what biotechnology and life sciences candidates will actually sit for.

Search interest in the exam was visible on Google Trends India, which listed “ugc net” as a trending term on 9 October 2026, with roughly 10,000 approximate searches recorded over the preceding 24 hours at the time the signal was observed. That figure reflects search activity only. It is not website traffic, and it does not confirm any claim about the exam itself.

UGC NET December 2026: the dates that matter

Event	Date or deadline
Online registration begins	8 October 2026
Form submission and fee payment without late fee	28 October 2026, 11:50 pm
Application submission with late fee	29 to 31 October 2026
Fee payment with late fee	31 October 2026, 11:50 pm
Correction window	2 to 4 November 2026, up to 11:50 pm
UGC NET exam dates	14 to 19 December 2026
CSIR-UGC NET exam dates	19, 22 and 27 December 2026

These dates come from NTA announcements reported by The Economic Times and The New Indian Express in the first week of October 2026.

Two exams, two separate deadlines

This is where quick summaries tend to blur things. The UGC NET window opened on 8 October and shuts at 11:50 pm on 28 October, according to the NTA's official release. The CSIR-UGC NET window is a different one: it started on 7 October and stays open until 5 November, also at 11:50 pm. A candidate applying only for CSIR-UGC NET therefore has more breathing room than the 28 October headline suggests. The 28 October cut-off governs the 87-subject UGC NET, which is the route to Junior Research Fellowship, Assistant Professor roles and PhD admissions.

The LS & BT merger, explained

The NTA has folded two previously separate science papers — the Biotechnology Eligibility Test (DBT-BET) and CSIR-NET Life Sciences — into one examination starting with this December 2026 cycle. The combined discipline is now named Life Sciences & Biotechnology (LS & BT).

Two distinctions matter here. This is not a plan for a future cycle; it applies to the exam being conducted this December. And the updated syllabus sits in the CSIR information bulletin, which is where anyone who had been preparing for either paper separately should check the revised topic list and paper pattern rather than continuing with older material.

Fees, age limit and how to apply

The category-wise application fee, as reported by The Economic Times:

• General/Unreserved: ₹1,150
• General-EWS/OBC-NCL: ₹600
• SC/ST/PwD/Third Gender: ₹325
• Late-fee applicants: an additional ₹500

For JRF applicants, the upper age limit is 30 years, measured as on 1 December 2026 — the month in which the exam concludes. Age relaxation applies to eligible categories under the applicable rules, and the category-wise criteria sit in the official notification.

To apply:

1. Open ugcnet.nta.nic.in and select the “UGC-NET Dec 2026 Application Form” link.
2. Register, or log in under “Already Registered Candidates” if you already have an application number.
3. Enter personal and academic details, then upload documents in the prescribed format.
4. Pay the fee online and submit.
5. Save the submitted form and the payment confirmation.

What to verify before 28 October

As of 15 October 2026, the deadline is 13 days away. The practical risks are the last-day rush on the portal and picking the wrong subject under the merged LS & BT discipline. The 29–31 October late-fee window exists as a fallback but adds ₹500, and the 2–4 November correction window is for fixing details already submitted, not for switching exam or subject. Confirm the revised syllabus in the CSIR information bulletin and read the official UGC NET notification before paying.