NID DAT Mains Admit Card 2026 (OUT): M.Des Hall Ticket Link, Reporting Time, B.Des Mains Admit Card

NID Studio Test is said to be the hardest. Here, students are asked to prepare a model using the material given. It checks creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills. 

NID will conduct the 2026 Studio test and Interview for NID DAT Mains exam in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar. Details of the centre will be mentioned in the NID Admit card.

NID Mains Admit card for M.Des will be out on February 24, 2026. This admit card will be for NID Studio Test and Interview.

Yes, you may be disqualified from the NID Admission Process if you do not follow the NID DAT guidelines during the exam.

The guidelines include

• Candidate must not indulge in cheating

• Canddiates must not disturb other candidates

• Carry barred items

• Do not leave the exam hall until the exam is over

Candidate must not under any circumstances wait for the dying hours to download admit card for NID DAT 2026. It is because in the last few hours, there may be a server crash or website slowdown issues due to heavy traffic.

If that happens, you may face difficulty in downloading the hall ticket.

Also, if there is any discrepancy in the admit card, you won't have much time to get it fixed if you don't download it soon after it is released

Minimum qualifying criteria for NID DAT are the minimum marks candidate needs to secure for admission. Category-wise cut-off would be released at the time of counseling and seat allotment. Cut-off would be prepared by considering factors: total number of applicants, merit ranks of applicants in NID DAT, seat intake of applied programme, etc. 

The candidate needs to report for the exam at 8 am. Gates closing time is 9.30 am. 

The B.Des exam will be held from 10 am - 1 pm; meanwhile, the M.Des exam will be held from 10 am - 12.30 am.

The DAT Prelims for the B.Des programme will be conducted in a paper-and-pencil/pen mode. The question paper may  incude both textual and visual questions. Other details like duration of the exam, marking scheme, etc. will be published in the DAT Prelims admit card.

The DAT Prelims exam for the M.Des programme will be conducted offline and include a mix of objective and subjective questions. The paper will have a total of 100 questions.

The B.Des DAT Mains Studio Test will be conducted in the last week of April 2026.

The details pertaining to the exam center reporting time, registration time, and exam timings, etc. will be mentioned on the admit card. 

M.Des DAT Mains 2026 exam will be conducted on March 08, 2026. 

DAT Prelims comprises a Studio Test for the B.Des program. However, PG candidates are also required to take a Personal Interview. 

On the day of the exam, the candidate has to reach the exam center as per the reporting time mentioned in their admit cards. Note that once you reach the exam center, you also need to get registered.

NID Studio Test and Interview will be conducted on different days. NID will conduct Studio Test on March 08, 2026 for M.Des and Interview from March 21, 2026 to April 01, 2026 for M.Des. The Admit card will be the same for both.

On the day of the NID DAT 2026 (Prelims) exam, the candidate needs to bring with them a printout of the NID DAT admit card and an original photo ID proof. 

Ensure that you get it duly signed by the invigilator and with the seal of the exam centre.

This admit card will be useful for the following purposes:

1. In case you want to apply for a recheck of the NID DAT result.
2. Or, download the NID DAT Answer Sheet.

Note that without the duly signed and sealed admit card, candidates will not be able to recheck or download their answer sheets. 

The National Institute of Design (NID) will release the admit cards for the B. Des DAT Mains Studio Test in the second week of April 2026.

The admit cards will be issued to candidates who qualify DAT Prelims exam.

The candidate has to download the admit card from the NID DAT 2026 admission portal - admissions.nid.edu. In the log-in window that opens, fill in your email id and date of birth.

On the day of the NID DAT 2026 Mains exam, the candidate needs to bring along their admit card and a valid photo id proof. The DAT Mains admit card for the M.Des programme will be released in the last week of February 2026.

Cut-off for NID 2026 Entrance exam will be prepared based on factors like total number of applications, seat intake for the applied programme, category under which admission is sought, and merit rank of the applicant in NID DAT 2026. Each of these factors are variables. For example, number of applications may vary from one category to another. Cut-off would also vary. The cut-off represents the minimum marks a candidate needs to secure in his or her category to get admission to the B. Des or M.Des programme.

The National Institute of Design (NID) conducted the DAT Prelims exam on December 21, 2025.

The B.Des exam was held around 10 am - 1 pm; meanwhile, the M.Des exam was 10 am - 12.30 am. The candidates were required to report for the exam at 8 am. Gates' closing time was 9.30 am. 

DAT Prelims for the B.Des programme was conducted in a paper-and-pencil/pen mode. 

The National Institute of Design (NID) released the NID DAT 2026 admit card for DAT Prelims on December 11, 2025. Admit cards were issued only to successfully registered candidates.

To download the admit card, Candidates were required to log in to the portal using their email ID and date of birth. 

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. 

NID DAT 2026 (Prelims) admit card was released on December 11, 2025.

Admit card was released as a downloadable PDF. This means you could download it as many times as you want. The only thing is to make sure you download it early, as you may face issues closer to the exam.

To download the admit card, log in to the hall ticket download portal using your email ID and date of birth. 

There is no negative marking in NID DAT 2026 exam. The candidate is recommended to go through the detailed exam pattern to get insights into the question paper structure, including types of questions asked, sections, etc. The DAT Prelims exam for the B. Des programme has two parts. Part I will include 22 objective-type questions, whereas Part II will include 4 subjective-type questions. Objective-type questions carry 1-2 marks, while subjective-type questions carry 15-20 marks. The total marks for the NID DAT Prelims will be 100 marks.

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 programme will be released separately.

Cut-off will be released by considering factors like the number of applicants, seat intake, and category. Candidates who meet the cut-off for their category in their chosen programme will get admission.

The final results of NID DAT is prepared by giving weightage to DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.

In case of the B.Des program, the DAT Prelims carries 40% weightage, while DAT Mains carries 60% weightage. 

Meanwhile for the M.Des programme, DAT Prelims carries 30% weightage, while DAT Mains carries 70% weightage. Note that DAT Mains for M.Des contains to sub-components - Studio Test and Interview.

Candidates who qualify DAT Prelims has to mandatorily appear in the DAT Mains. Or else, the candidate is not considered for admission.

The National Institute of Design (NID)  released admit cards for DAT Prelims on December 11, 2025. Meanwhile, the DAT Prelims exam was conducted on December 21, 2025.

Admit cards for the DAT Mains will be released later.

The candidate must carefully preserve the admit cards for the DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. It is because the admit cards will be required at the time of seat allotment and admission.

Also, note that the window to download the admit card will only be open for a limited period of time.

The candidate needs to report for the exam at 8 am. Gates closing time is 9.30 am. 

The B.Des exam will be held from 10 am - 1 pm; meanwhile, the M.Des exam will be held from 10 am - 12.30 am.

The DAT Prelims for the B.Des programme will be conducted in a paper-and-pencil/pen mode. The question paper may  incude both textual and visual questions. Other details like duration of the exam, marking scheme, etc. will be published in the DAT Prelims admit card.

The DAT Prelims exam for the M.Des programme will be conducted offline and include a mix of objective and subjective questions. The paper will have a total of 100 questions.

Candidates need around 6 months to prepare for NID DAT Exam. In this time, focus should be on preparing syllabus given by NID. Candidates should make a plan and divide syllabus to study. 

NID officials will consider the Merit list of that Prelims to shortlist candidates for DAT Mains. The number of candidates shortlisted will be no less than three times in each category. The National Institute of Design will prepare merit lists for GENERAL, GENERAL-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD & OVERSEAS categories. In the scenario where two or more candidates score the same marks in the DAT Prelims, then a tiebreak policy will be applied to decide the merit rank.

The NID DAT 2026 admit card will carry the following like the application number, Candidate's name, Roll number, Date of birth, Name of the course applied for admission, Reporting time for exam, Date of exam, Exam duration, GATE closing time, Test center code, NID DAT test centre address, Photograph, and Signature. Additionally, it will also contain the Dos and Donts for candidates inside the exam venue. On the day of the NID DAT exam, the candidate needs to report at the exam center as per the reporting time mentioned on the admit card. Candidates arriving at the exam after the exam has commence may not be allowed entry inside the exam venue.

The Personal Interview is an component of the NID admission process as it carries around 30 percentage weightage. Candidates who are shortlisted for that Mains has to appear in the Personal Interview along with the Studio Test. Here are some of the important tips to prepare for the interview. Read up on the Fashion Industry don't given one liner answers. You can elaborate a bit without being verbose. The first impression does make a difference, so take note. Don't try to mislead and waste time of the interviewer. This way you have more to lose than gain. If you have made a list of commonly asked questions and prepared for them, you might be at an advantage. Improve your communication skills. Get creative Measure your words carefully. Carry a positive body language.

The NID that exam is conducted in two stages - that Prelims and that Mains. Candidates who qualify that Prelims has to next appear in that Mains. The shortlisting for that Mains is done on the basis of scores obtained by candidates in the that Prelims exam. The that Prelims scorecard, along with section-wise scores, also contains the qualifying status of the candidate. Candidates who status says "qualified" can appear in that Mains.

NID DAT 2026 (Mains) exam for the B. Des programme will be held in the last week of April 2026. The timings for the DAT Mains exam will be mentioned in the NID DAT 2026 admit card. Candidates need to reach the DAT Mains exam centre as per the timings given in the admit card. 

The National Institute of Design (NID) will release the admit cards for the B. Des DAT Mains Studio Test in the second week of April 2026.

The admit cards will be issued to candidates who qualify DAT Prelims exam.

The candidate has to download the admit card from the NID DAT 2026 admission portal - admissions.nid.edu. In the log-in window that opens, fill in your email id and date of birth.

On the day of the NID DAT 2026 Mains exam, the candidate needs to bring along their admit card and a valid photo id proof. The DAT Mains admit card for the M.Des programme will be released in the last week of February 2026.

Candidates can download NID DAT admit card 2026 from the website of National Institute of Design by providing their registered email ID and date of birth. 

1. Click on NID that admit card link 

2. You will be redirected to a login window 

3. Enter your registered email ID and date of birth 

4. On login, the admit card will be displayed on the screen

5. Download the NID hall ticket and take a printout.

Aadhaar is one of the valid photo id proofs that candidates can produce as identity proof. But exam officials will also accept other government ids like Driving License, Passport, etc. The list of acceptable ids will be mentioned on the NID DAT 2026 admit card. The security personal at the NID DAT exam center will verify the documents before allowing the candidate entry inside the exam center. Any candidate who fails to produce the admit card and id proof will not be allowed to take the DAT Prelims exam.

The National Institute of Design (NID) is conducting the DAT Prelims exam in a center-based mode across 17 cities in India.

The National Institute of Design (NID) will conduct the DAT Mains exam separately for the B. Des and M.Des programs.

The M.Des DAT Mains will be held in the last week of March 2026. The National Institute of Design will release the detailed program-wise schedule for the Studio Test and Personal Interview on its admission portal.

The DAT Mains exam for the B. Des program will be conducted from April to May 2026. The DAT Mains exam for the B. Des program comprises a Studio Test.

Meanwhile, the DAT Mains for the M.Des programme comprises a Studio Test and Interview.

The final results of NID DAT 2026 will be declared by considering the performance of the candidate in the DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. 

The multiple benefits of solving sample papers to prepare for the NID DAT entrance exam. A few of them are illustrated below. By solving sample papers, the candidate will be able to have a clear picture regarding the types of questions asked, difficulty level of the exam, topic-wise number of questions asked, etc. The sample papers are a great tool of develop problem-solving skills. The candidate therefore needs to solve various types of questions, and not stick to one particular type. Another skill that can be developed is time management skills. Sample papers will also help the candidate identify weak areas and work on them. It is recommended that the candidate makes it a point to solve sample papers after completing a topic.