NID Counselling 2026 (B.Des & M.Des): Date, Seat Allotment, Seat Confirmation & Admission Process

NID DAT Counselling for B.Des and M.Des involves the following stages.

• Declaration of NID BDes Mains result
• NID counselling registration
• Submission of campus preference dates
• Seat allotment, payment of token fees, and uploading of documents
• Provisional offer letter round 1/2/3
• Payment of remaining semester fees and uploading of documents round 1/2/3
• NID seat allotment - Round 1/2/3

What is the Procedure for NID Counselling 2026?

The following steps explain the Counselling Procedure in detail.

Step 1: Check your Qualifying Status

You must clear the NID DAT exam to attend the NID DAT Counselling. The qualifying status can be checked after logging into the NID DAT result portal. 

Step 2: Submission of Campus Preference (only for B.Des applicants)

B.Des candidates need to submit their choice of campuses. The entries must be in the order of priority. Note that if no options are selected, the candidate may be disqualified. The candidate will be asked to make a campus selection based on:

1. The availability of seats
2. NID DAT merit rank.

Note: M.Des candidates are not required to submit campus preferences.

Step 3: Seat Allocation

NID Seat Allotment will be done keeping the factors like seat intake, merit rank of applicants, campus preferences opted for, and category. Once a seat has been allocated, the candidate has to confirm their seat by:

1. Paying the relevant non-refundable seat-acceptance fee. 
2. Uploading essential documents

a) Payment of non-refundable seat-confirmation fees

• INR 30,000 (online payment) + convenience fees (as applicable) for General, Gen EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, and PwD candidates
• INR 75,000 (online payment) + convenience fees (as applicable) for Overseas candidates

b) Uploading of documents

The following documents are required to be uploaded as a single PDF file with a maximum file size of 10 MB:

• A valid photo ID (Aadhaar Card, Election ID, PAN Card, Driving License, or Passport)
• Birth Certificate OR School Leaving Certificate
• Gen-EWS/ OBC-NCL/ ST/ ST Certificate (if applicable)
• PwD Certificate (if applicable)
• Passport (if applied under the Supernumerary category)
• Class 10 Marksheet
• Class 12 Marksheet

Important Notes:

• If the Class 12 marks sheet has not been issued, a digital copy of the same, duly attested by the school principal, must be uploaded. Candidates whose results are pending must provide a genuine certificate issued by the school principal, explicitly stating the Roll No. and the projected date of the announcement of results.
• For those candidates who finished their Class 12 (or equivalent) final examinations outside of India or from a Board not listed in the Admission Handbook, they must submit an equivalent certificate.
• Candidates who do not pay the non-refundable token fees within the period specified above will have their provisional seat allocations canceled. In order of merit, that seat will be given to the next qualified candidate.
• Candidates who fail to provide the required documents within the designated period, even after paying, will have their provisional seat allocation canceled. The seat will subsequently be assigned in order of merit to the next qualifying candidate.
• Even after the seat confirmation, the candidate will stand a chance to participate in other rounds of counseling for which he/she will have to submit their willingness to do so.

Step 4: Document Verification

All the documents uploaded by the candidates will be cross-checked against the information provided at the time of online registration. If any discrepancy is found, the candidate will be disqualified.

Step 5: Issue of Provisional Offer Letter for Admission

Upon verification of documents, the candidate will be issued Provisional Offer Letters of Admission. The candidate has to next pay the NIDs directly; payment-related information will be communicated to the candidate. The provisional offer letter for B.Des will be issued in the second week of June 2026, while the provisional offer letter for M.Des will be released in the third week of May 2026.

• Payment of fees and uploading of documents: Candidates who are allotted seats have to pay the tuition fee for Semester I and upload the required documents before the last date.
• What happens if the candidate gets shortlisted for two disciplines (M.Des): If the candidate has applied in two disciplines and gets shortlisted in both disciplines, in that case, the candidate is allotted a seat in the discipline marked as first preference.
• Applied for two disciplines but shortlisted for discipline marked as preference 02: In case the candidate has applied for TWO disciplines but is shortlisted only for the discipline marked as preference 02, the candidate will be allotted a seat in the discipline marked as preference 02.
• Applied for two disciplines, and eligible for both disciplines: In case the candidate has applied for TWO disciplines and is eligible for both but gets shortlisted for only the discipline marked as preference 02, then the candidate will be allocated a seat in the discipline marked as preference 02. 

However, if there is a vacancy in the discipline marked as Preference 01, then by default, the candidate will be upgraded to the discipline marked as Preference 01. Also, the previous allotment is canceled (Preference 02), and the vacant seat is allocated to the candidate next in the order of merit.

Also Read:

Candidates must have following documents to apply for NID DAT counselling 2026.

• Class 10 mark sheet
• Class 12 mark sheet
• Graduation mark sheet and pass certificate
• NID DAT 2026 scorecard
• NID DAT admit card 2026: Prelims and Mains Both 
• A valid photo ID (Aadhaar Card, Election ID, PAN Card, Driving License, or Passport)
• Birth Certificate OR School Leaving Certificate
• Gen-EWS/ OBC-NCL/ ST/ ST Certificate (if applicable)
• PwD Certificate (if applicable)
• Passport (if applied under the Supernumerary category)

NID DAT 2026 counselling dates for the participating universities will be announced after the declaration of results.

The National Institute of Design declares seat allotment based on the following parameters:

• NID DAT 2026 merit rank 
• Seat intake for the applied program at NIDs
• Preference of discipline selected by the candidate at the time of filling out the NID DAT 2026 counselling form.
• Category of the candidate

NID DAT 2026 - Institute-wise Reservation of seats for B.Des

The following table shows seat intakes in different disciplines: 

NID DAT 2026 - Institute-wise seat intake for M.Des

The following table shows seat intakes in different disciplines: 

NID M.Des Seat Intake

NID DAT 2026 Seat Confirmation Fees for M.Des (Expected)

The candidate has to pay the following tuition fees to confirm their seats:

• INR 2,28,500/- (includes a non-refundable Token Fee of INR 30,000/) + Convenience Charges (as applicable) for GEN, GEN-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD candidates;
• USD 2,910 (includes a non-refundable Token Fee of INR 75,000/) + Convenience Charges (as applicable) for Overseas candidates from SAARC & African Countries, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam;
• USD 6,410 (which includes a non-refundable Token Fee of INR 75,000/) + Convenience Charges (as applicable) for Overseas candidates from the Rest of the World.

Shortlisted candidates seeking admission to the B.Des program have to select campus preferences. The window to submit campus preferences will open soon after the DAT Mains results are declared.

• The candidate will be prompted to submit campus preferences after logging into the result portal. Preferences have to be entered in order of priority. The candidate is also allowed to edit their preferences before the last date.
• It is mandatory to select campus preferences.
• If the candidate does not submit any preferences, he or she will be disqualified and not considered for admission to the B.Des program. Seats that are left vacant in a counseling round will be offered to the next candidate in the order of merit in subsequent seat-allotment rounds.

NID B.Des and M.Des Non-refundable Token Fee

The National Institute of Design will declare NID DAT Result 2026 for B.Des and M.Des. NID DAT (Prelims) B.Des Result 2026 is expected to be out in the first week of April 2026 and the rechecking window is also expected to open in the first week of April 2026. The admit card for the NID DAT Mains B.Des exam is scheduled to be out in the second week of April 2026. NID DAT (Mains) B.Des Result 2026 will be tentatively out in the third week of May 2026, and the rechecking window will open on the same day. 

NID DAT (Prelims) M.Des Result 2026 is scheduled to be out in the third week of February 2026, and the rechecking window will open in the third week of February 2026. NID DAT (Mains) 2026 is to be tentatively out in the first week of May 2026, and the rechecking window is also expected to open on the same day.

Shortlisting of candidates for DAT Mains

Candidates will be shortlisted for the DAT Mains based on their scores in the DAT Prelims 2026.

Statement of Purpose and Portfolio Review

• Candidates appearing in the DAT Mains exam have to upload a Statement of Purpose (SoP) and Portfolio.
• The window for uploading the SoP and Portfolio will be notified by the National Institute of Design through its result portal. Candidates will also be informed through their registered e-mail IDs. 
• Separate SoPs and Portfolios for each discipline - If the candidate was shortlisted for multiple disciplines, then he/she had to upload separate SoPs and Portfolios for each discipline. 

NID DAT Mains 2026 - Format of Statement of Purpose (SoP) and Portfolio

The format of the NID DAT Mains 2026 is

Weightage of NID B.Des Final Result

Check out the weightage of NID B.Des.

Weightage of NID M.Des Final Result

Check out the NID M.Des result.

Read More:

• NID Studio Test: Previous years' questions for PG admissions

• Tips to prepare for NID Design Aptitude Test

Candidates can check important FAQs related to the NID DAT 2026 counselling below.