NID DAT Merit List 2026 - Release date, Shortlisting, Seat Allotment
National Institute of Design Entrance Exam 2026 ( NID Entrance Exam )
Exam On - 21 Mar '26 - 1 Apr '26
The merit list will be prepared based on the performance of the candidate in DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. The NID DAT 2026 merit list will be used to shortlist candidates for counseling and seat allotment.
The National Institute of Design (NID) will release the merit list of NID DAT 2026 at the time of the declaration of final results for the NID DAT 2026 exam. The final results for the B.Des program will be announced in the second week of May 2026; meanwhile, results for the M.Des program will be announced in the first week of May, 2026. Candidates who are included in the merit list will be eligible to participate in the NID DAT 2026 counseling and admission process. Only such candidates who have appeared in both DAT Prelims and DAT Mains will be included in the NID DAT 2026 merit list. The merit list will be category-specific.
The National Institute of Design has announced the dates for NID DAT Mains for M.Des. The Studio Test will be conducted on March 08, 2026. The NID Interview will be conducted from March 21, 2026, to April 01, 2026. NID Mains Admit card will be released on February 24, 2026.
NID M.Des Prelims result was declared on February 12, 2026. The rechecking window closed on February 14, 2026. The NID Entrance Exam 2026 was held on December 21, 2025. The online application form for NID DAT 2026 is closed.
Latest Update:
- NID DAT 2026 Admission Schedule (OUT)
- Preparation of NID DAT 2026 merit list
- Types of NID DAT 2026 Merit Lists
- Declaration of NID DAT 2026 results
- NID DAT 2026 Counseling
NID DAT 2026 Admission Schedule (OUT)
Check out the dates for NID.
| Event |
B.Des |
M.Des |
|---|---|---|
| Conduct of NID DAT 2026 (Prelims) exam |
December 21, 2025 |
December 21, 2025 |
| Declaration of DAT Prelims Results |
April 07, 2026 |
Feb 12, 2026 |
| Rechecking request for DAT Prelims |
April 07 to 08, 2026 |
Feb 12-14, 2026 |
| Conduct of DAT Mains |
Last week of April 2026 |
March 08, 2026 |
| Declaration of DAT Mains Results |
To be announced |
To be announced |
| Submission of campus preferences |
To be announced |
- |
| Payment of Token Fees & Uploading of Documents |
To be announced |
To be announced |
| Issue of provisional seat allotment letter |
To be announced |
To be announced |
Commonly asked questions
It is not mandatory to take coaching to get a good rank in NID DAT. It is because the entrance exam will test the creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute cannot exactly teach you to be creative or become innovative. Instead, with a little effort these skills can learn these skills yourself. Also, a major thrust of the design aptitude test is to evaluate the drawing skills of the candidate. So, make it a point to work on your design skills, including learning how to draw lines, shadow, figure, gesture, cartoon drawing, etc. When practicing drawing, also keep a tab on the drawing speed, as it will help you complete the paper in the allotted time.
The NID Entrance Exam is considered to be one of the toughest design entrance exam conducted in the country. In NID DAT, more weightage is given to subjective, drawing related questions. Thus, candidates need to be extremely creative and have a clear understanding of their concepts when appearing for the NID exam.
For preparing the final results for the B. Des program, the DAT Prelims will be allocated 40% weightage, while DAT Mains will be given 60%.
During the DAT Mains, which comprises a Studio Test, the candidate is tested hands-on and have to show their drawing abilities, creativity, innovativeness, and material-handling ability.
NID DAT, along with NIFT and UCEED are among the most competitive national-level entrance exams in the country. The fact that there are only 425 seats for the B. Des and 347 seats for the M.Des programme makes it very competitive. But that being said, if the candidate prepares well and with the correct strategy, then the NID DAT exam can be cracked. Among the first things the candidate needs to do is prepare a efficient study timetable get familiar with the syllabus and pattern, and use good books as reference material.
Preparation of NID DAT 2026 merit list
The merit list for NID DAT 2026 will be prepared by giving weightage to DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.
Weightage carried by DAT Prelims and DAT Mains
| Exam Component |
DAT Prelims |
DAT Mains |
|---|---|---|
| Weightage |
40% |
60% |
Also Read:
Types of NID DAT 2026 Merit Lists
There will be two merit lists for NID DAT 2026.
- DAT Prelims merit list - This merit list will be prepared based on the scores of the candidate in the DAT Prelims exam. Candidates included in this merit list will be eligible to appear in DAT Mains. But note that DAT Prelims merit list will not be considered for counseling and seat allotment.
- Final merit list - The final merit list will be prepared based on the performance of the candidate in the DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. Consequently, if a candidate fails to appear in DAT Mains, he or she will not be included in the final merit list. The allotment of seats to B.Des and M.Des courses will be based on the respective merit lists.
Both the DAT Prelims and Final Merit lists will be prepared category-wise - General, General-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD, and Overseas.
Commonly asked questions
Admission to the NIDs is conducted through the NID Entrance Examination. The NID exam has two stages - the candidate first appears in the that Prelims. Scores of the that Prelims are used to then shortlist candidates for that Mains. The final merit list for NID DAT 2026 will be prepared by giving weightage to that Prelims and that Mains. Note that the National Institute of Design hasn't yet released the weightage for the that Prelims and that Mains.
The NID DAT 2026 (Prelims) exam will be on December 21, 2025. Meanwhile, the DAT exams for the M.Des programme will be conducted tentatively in March, whereas DAT Mains for the B. Des programme will be conducted in April 2026.
As per NID DAT exam pattern, the design entrance test is conducted in two stages: NID Prelims and NID Mains.
To prepare for the B. Des and M.Des programme, candidates need to follow these tips.
- Follow NID syllabus
- Get familiar with the exam pattern, including the types of questions asked, section-wise and topic-wise weightage, mode of exam, marking scheme, etc.
- Prepare a study plan taking into account time left for the exam.
- Practice mock tests and solve previous year's papers.
A candidate would ideally need around 6 months or so to prepare for the NID DAT exam. He can take up to 3 months if his fundamentals are strong.
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Declaration of NID DAT 2026 results
The results for DAT Prelims will be announced separately for B.Des and M.Des.
DAT Prelims results for the M.Des program will be announced on February 17, 2026. This will be followed by the declaration of results for B.Des program on April 1, 2026.
Candidates who qualify in DAT Prelims next have to appear in DAT Mains.
In case any candidate has any doubts regarding their results can also request for re-check.
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NID DAT 2026 Counseling
Candidates who are included in the final merit list can participate in the counseling process.
As part of the counseling process, B.Des candidates will have to submit campus preferences. However, M.Des candidates don’t have to select any campuses.
The allotment of seats will be made based on the merit rank of the candidate in NID DAT 2026. Candidates who are allotted seats will have to pay the token fees and upload relevant documents to confirm their seats.
News & Updates
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a month ago
If there were any clashes of the interview dates with the college/ university exam, then candidates could inform the NID before February 23, 2026. Candidates needed to attach a copy of the timetable attested by the principal and a letter from the principal confirming that the examination dates clash
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
NID will not release any Answer Key for B.Des or M.Des programme. It opens a rechecking window with the result.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, NID has a rechecking Window for the NID Result. This window will check whether all answers are checked or not, and whether the total is correct.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
NID will release the result for B.Des on April 07, 2026. The result be released on the website of NID.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
NID Studio Test for M.Des carries 40% of wieghtage and Interview carries 60% wieghtage. More emphasis is given on the interview by NID.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
No, there is no negative marking in the NID Studio Test. Candidates will be evaluated based on their thinking and creative skills. Studio Test will carry 40% of the total Marks for the NID Mains Exam.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, NID Studio Exam is a bit tough because it will check your creativity and imagination. You can learn some formulas here and apply them to get the answer. The main objective is to evaluate technical skills and critical thinking skills. So, it is said to be a bit tough.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
It is not at all necessary to take coaching to get a good rank in NID Entrance Exam. It is because the entrance exam will test creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute can't teach you to be creative or become innovative. But you can take coaching classes f
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
National Institute of Design (NID) will release the NID DAT 2026 admission cut-off for the B.Des and M.Des programmes at the time of seat allotment, around May-June 2026. The cut-off will be released as the rank and score of the last candidate admitted to the M.Des program.
NID DAT cut-off for B.Des
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
NID DAT, along with NIFT and UCEED are among the most competitive national-level entrance exams in the country. The fact that there are only 425 seats for the B. Des and 347 seats for the M.Des programme makes it very competitive. But that being said, if the candidate prepares well and with the corr
S
Contributor-Level 10
Sayeba Naushad is a commerce postgraduate from Banaras Hindu University. She has over five years of experience in content writing and editing. She has a nose for current events in design field. At Shiksha.com, she s
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