UCEED Reservation Policy 2026 (OUT): Category-wise Reservation and Seat Matrix

Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design 2026 ( UCEED )

DeskCalelnderResult - 10 Mar '26 - 31 Jul '26

Sayeba
Sayeba Naushad
Assistant Manager
Updated on Mar 6, 2026 12:57 IST
UCEED Reservation Policy 2026 - The seat allotment of UCEED 2026 will be per the category-wise UCEED 2026 reservation policy. Read here about seats reserved for various categories, eligibility criteria, and other key details. Note that there is no option to change the category later. So, be careful when filling the UCEED 2026 application form.

The seat allotment of UCEED 2026 will be per the category-wise UCEED 2026 reservation policy. Read here about seats reserved for various categories, eligibility criteria, and other key details.

UCEED Reservation Policy 2026 - IIT Bombay has released the reservation policy for UCEED 2026. The reservation policy is outlined in the UCEED 2026 Information Brochure. The candidate can download the brochure from the admission portal - uceed.iitb.ac.in. The candidate must select their category when filling out the UCEED 2026 application formIIT Bombay conducted the UCEED Entrance exam on January 18, 2026. 

UCEED Scorecard is released on March 10, 2026. It can be downloaded till July 31, 2026. UCEED Result 2026 was released on March 06, 2026. Candidates can check the result using their email ID and password. 

Latest Updates:

As per the reservation policy, 10% of seats in each course will be reserved for GEN-EWS candidates. OBC-NCL candidates will have a maximum of 27%. Meanwhile, 15% and 7% of seats will be reserved for the SC and ST categories, respectively. Additionally, a 5% horizontal reservation will be available for PwD candidates. To avail of category-specific reservations, the candidate must meet the applicable criteria, including that of family income. Go through the rest of the article to learn the full details of the UCEED 2026 Exam E reservation policy.

Table of contents
  • UCEED 2026 Reservation Criteria
  • UCEED 2026 Reservation Policy - Eligibility Criteria
  • UCEED Seat Matrix 2026
  • Can I request a change in the UCEED 2026 admission category?
  • UCEED 2026 - Reservation of Seats for Foreign Nationals
  • Schedule for UCEED 2026 Counselling for All categories
  • UCEED 2026 Application Form
  • UCEED 2026 Exam
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UCEED 2026 Reservation Criteria

The category-wise reservation of seats for UCEED 2026 is given in the table below.

Category

Reservation of seats in each course

GEN- EWS

10% 

OBC-NCL

27%

SC

15%

ST

7.50%

PwD

Horizontal reservation: 5%

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   What is UCEED 2026 important dates?
A: 

The important dates of UCEED 2026 cover events like the commencement and deadline to fill out the UCEED application, admit card release and exam date, result date, and seat allotment schedule. This means the important dates will cover all the events starting from the release of admission notification to the completion of the admission process. The candidate can keep track of upcoming events by consulting the important dates.

The important dates for UCEED 2026 have been released by IIT Bombay. IIT Bombay has the authority to change a pre-announced date; so candidates need to stay updated by visiting this space.

Q:   Will there be any supplementary seat allotment rounds for UCEED 2026?
A: 

IIT Bombay may conduct any complementary seat allotment round for UCEED counseling only if there are vacant seats left after the five regular seat allotment rounds. Note that, IIT Bombay will conduct FIVE seat allotment rounds. The seat allotment will be based on the merit rank of the candidate in UCEED 2026 and campus selected at the time of counseling registration. Candidates who qualify in UCEED 2026 exam can participate in counseling.

The counseling for UCEED 2026 will be held as a Joint Seat Allotment process. The participating institutes of UCEED 2026 can participate in counseling.

Q:   What are the documents required to participate in UCEED counseling 2026?
A: 

The candidate needs the following documents to participate in UCEED 2026 counseling.

  • Signed copy of the first page of the completed application form

  • UCEED 2026 scorecard

  • Qualifying exam (Class 12 or equivalent) mark sheet

  • Photo

  • Signature

  • OBC-NCL/ SC/ ST/ PwD certificate (if applicable)

  • OCI/ PIO card (if applicable)

UCEED 2026 Reservation Policy - Eligibility Criteria

The reservation of UCEED 2026 seats will be per the rules prescribed by the Government of India. The categories and the extent of reservation are as follows: 

  • General Category – Economically Weaker Section (GEN-EWS):
    • Reservation: 10% of seats in every course.
    • Eligibility: Only applicable to General category candidates who meet the conditions outlined in OM No. 20013/01/2018-BC-II (dated January 17, 2019) by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
    • Certificate Validity: EWS certificates must be issued on or after April 1, 2026, and the criteria are as per prevailing Government of India norms.
  • Other Backward Classes – Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL):
    • Reservation: 27% of seats in every course.
    • Eligibility: Candidates must be listed in the current updated central list of OBCs available at NCBC. Candidates in the state list but not in the central list are not eligible for the reservation.
    • Note: Candidates belonging to the creamy layer are not eligible for OBC-NCL benefits and will compete for OPEN category seats. Candidates belonging to the creamy layer of OBC are NOT entitled to the reservation. Such candidates are treated as belonging to the general (GEN), i.e. unreserved category, and they will be eligible only for the OPEN seats.
  • Scheduled Caste (SC):
    • Reservation: 15% of seats in every course.
    • Eligibility: Only candidates belonging to castes listed in the respective central list (available on Social Justice and NCST) will benefit from this reservation.
  • Scheduled Tribe (ST):
    • Reservation: 7.5% of seats in every course.
    • Eligibility: Benefits apply only to candidates from tribes listed in the corresponding central lists.
  • Persons with Disability (PwD):
    • Reservation: 5% of seats are reserved within the OPEN, GEN-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, and ST categories.
    • Eligibility: Candidates must have at least 40% impairment (locomotor, visual, or severe dyslexia) or be leprosy-cured and otherwise fit to pursue the courses.
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UCEED Seat Matrix 2026

The seat matrix for UCEED 2026 is expected to be the same as 2025:

Institute Open Open PwD EWS EWS PwD OBC-NCL OBC-NCL PwD SC SC PwD ST ST PwD Total
IIT Bombay 14 0 4 1 9 0 5 1 3 0 37
IIT Delhi 8 1 2 0 5 0 3 0 1 0 20
IIT Guwahati 22 1 6 0 15 0 7 1 3 1 56
IIT Hyderabad 11 1 3 0 8 0 4 1 2 0 30
IIT Indore 6 1 2 0 4 0 2 0 1 0 16
IIT Roorkee 8 0 2 0 4 1 3 0 2 0 20
IIITDM Jabalpur 25 1 6 1 18 0 10 0 4 1 66
Total 94 5 25 2 63 1 34 3 16 2 245
Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   What are the documents required to participate in UCEED counseling 2026?
A: 

The candidate needs the following documents to participate in UCEED 2026 counseling.

  • Signed copy of the first page of the completed application form

  • UCEED 2026 scorecard

  • Qualifying exam (Class 12 or equivalent) mark sheet

  • Photo

  • Signature

  • OBC-NCL/ SC/ ST/ PwD certificate (if applicable)

  • OCI/ PIO card (if applicable)

Q:   When will UCEED 2026 Round 1 begin?
A: 

UCEED Counselling Round 1 will begin on April 21, 2026. The seat acceptance fee must be paid by April 29, 2026, 6 PM.

Q:   Can I participate in counseling if I have not been assigned a merit rank in UCEED 2026?
A: 

No, you cannot participate if you have not been given a merit rank in the UCEED 2026.

Counseling process for UCEED 2026 will be conducted as a Joint Seat Allotment process. To participate in the counseling, the candidate must have qualified for the UCEED 2026 and assigned a merit rank in the UCEED exam. If the candidate doesn't have a merit rank, he or she is not eligible to participate the counseling-cum-seat allotment process.

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Can I request a change in the UCEED 2026 admission category?

The candidate must note that once a category has been selected, requests for a change in category will not be entertained.

Also, if SC, ST, EWS, and OBC-NCL category seats remain vacant, such seats will NOT be allotted to candidates belonging to other categories.

Admission officials will verify the category documents furnished by the candidate, and if any anomaly is found, the candidature of the candidate will be canceled.

So, be careful when selecting your admission category.

UCEED 2026 - Reservation of Seats for Foreign Nationals

  • Candidates who are not Indian citizens (by birth or naturalized) (but not OCI/PIO candidates) will fall under the foreign national category.
  • Foreign nationals will be allotted supernumerary seats. 
  • The supernumerary seats will have a cap of 10% of the total seats in every course. 
  • Foreign nationals can’t opt for GEN-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, and PwD categories / sub-categories.
  • To be considered for UCEED 2026 seat allocation, foreign nationals must have an All India Rank (AIR) and meet all the eligibility requirements- similar to open-category candidates. 
  • The counseling-cum-seat allotment for foreign nationals will be conducted after the seat allotment process for Indian nationals (in the same round).

Schedule for UCEED 2026 Counselling for All categories

Candidates who have cleared the cutoff will be called for the UCEED Seat Allotment from April 21, 2026 onwards. Before this, to participate in the counseeling, they need to fill the B.Des Application form for UCEED Counselling. It will open on March 14, 2026. The application portal will be closed on April 10, 2026 (Friday), at 5:30 PM.

Check out the categories for UCEED Seat Allotment.

Seat Allotment Round Date of Announcement Payment of Seat Acceptance Fees Withdrawal of seat / exit from seat allocation process
Start Date End Date / Time Start Date End Date / Time
I April 21, 2026 April 21, 2026 April 29, 2026;
6:00 PM
April 30, 2026 May 11, 2026;
6:00 PM
II May 19, 2026 May 19, 2026 May 27, 2026;
6:00 PM
May 28, 2026 June 09, 2026;
6:00 PM
III June 10, 2026 June 10, 2026 June 14, 2026;
6:00 PM
June 15, 2026 June 19, 2026;
6:00 PM
IV June 24, 2026 June 24, 2026 June 28, 2026;
6:00 PM
June 29, 2026 July 01, 2026;
6:00 PM
V July 03, 2026 July 03, 2026 July 09, 2026;
6:00 PM
   

UCEED 2026 Application Form

The application form for UCEED 2026 is closed now. It was open from October 1, 2025 to October 31, 2025. The candidate could also apply with a late fee of INR 500 till November 7, 2025. The UCEED 2026 application fee was INR 4000 (SC, ST, PwD, and women candidates must pay only INR 2000).

To fill out the UCEED application form 2026, the candidate must get registered, and fill in personal, academic, and contact details. Next, select three exam centers in a priority, and upload documents. Finally, pay the application fee to complete the process. The UCEED 2026 application is for admission to the B.Des program, which has an intake capacity of 245 seats (expected). 

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IIT Bombay conducted the UCEED 2026 exam on January 18, 2026. The exam had TWO parts. Part A was a computer-based exam that included 57 questions carrying 200 marks. Meanwhile, Part B was held offline and included two questions of 100 marks. Part B answer booklets will be evaluated only if the candidate meets the Part B UCEED 2026 cut-off.

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Sayeba Naushad
Assistant Manager

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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Answered 2 weeks ago

Yes, the UCEED Result is not out now. It was showing 502 Bad Gateway initially, due to heavy traffic on the website.

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

To fill the Common application form for B.Des released by IIT Bombay,  

  • Digital copies of relevant supporting documents, and the signed copy of the completed application form. 
  • Supporting documents required for the application are digital copies of photograph, signature, UCEED Score Card, qualifying e

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

The qualifying cut-off for UCEED 2026 will be prepared based on the following formulae:  𝜇 + (𝜎⁄2) = 𝛿, where 𝜇 and 𝜎 are the average marks and standard deviation of distribution of marks obtained by all the candidates in Part-A of UCEED 2026. 

  • 𝜇, 𝜎, and 𝛿 will be rounded-off to two decimal p

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

UCEED 2026 question paper will have two parts, Part A and Part B. Part B answer booklet will be checked only if a candidate qualifies Part A or meets cut-off. The qualifying cut-off for Part A will be determined by admission committee. It will be used to shortlist candidates for Part A. All candidat

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

Yes, UCEED Cutoff will be round specific. It will be released separately for each round of seat allotment. Candidates who meet cut-off criteria in their categories will be considered for admission to the B. Des programme.

Cut-off for each round will be different for various categories like OPEN, OBC-

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

The closing rank for IIT Hyderabad was 43. So, if you secure a merit rank of 100 in the UCEED 2026 exam, you chances of admission to the B. Des will be very low. To have a good chance of admission into the institute, you must target a UCEED merit rank within the top 40. However, note that if you bel

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

Admission cutoff for UCEED 2026 is the minimum marks a candidate needs to secure in their category for admission to B.Des programme.

Candidates who meet cutoff criteria will be considered for admission. If the candidate fails to meet the cutoff, he or she will not be considered for admission. Admissi

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

If you have biology as a subject in 10+2, then you can apply for B.Des programme at IIITDM Jabalpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore.

To apply at IIITDM, you need to have Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics/Biology subjects in 10+2.

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

No, you cannot apply for B.Des programme at IIT Roorkee even if you have cleared the UCEED Entrance Exam because Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics are compulsory subjects in 10+2. But you can apply for B.Des programme at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore.

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

To be eligible to apply for B.Des programme through UCEED, candidates should have Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as subjects in 10+2. 

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10