NID DAT 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/M.Des 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

Payment of non-refundable seat-confirmation fees

The paid token amount will be adjusted against the full fees for the First Semester. The seat Allotment fee is given below.

The token fee for M.Des is given below.

• INR 52,400 (online payment) + convenience fees (as applicable) for General, Gen EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, and PwD candidates
• INR 1,19,665 (online payment) + convenience fees (as applicable) for Overseas candidates

Step 4: Uploading of documents

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

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 5: 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 6: 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.

The shortlisted candidate will have to produce a copy of the following, along with the original documents:

• NID DAT admit card 2026: Prelims and Mains Both 
• Any one valid photo identity (Aadhar Card, Election ID, Driving License, PAN Card, Passport)
• Birth Certificate OR School Leaving Certificate bearing date of birth
• Class 10th Mark-sheet
• Class 12th Mark-sheet (in case hard copy not available, the digital copy of the same duly attested by the School Principal needs to be uploaded
• Self-undertaking signed by the candidate as well as his/her parent, in case of the candidates whose results of Class XII is yet to be declared
• GEN-EWS/OBC-NCL/SC/ST Certificate, if applicable
• Disability Certificate and/or UDID Card, if applicable
• Valid Passport and OCI/PIO Card (if applicable), if applied under the Supernumerary category
• Certificate of Identity issued by the District Magistrate or equivalent authority under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 and/or Identity card issued community from the website transgender.dosje.gov.in, if applied under Third Gender for availing relaxation in application fees.

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

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

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