Is the NID Studio Exam tough?

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.

What is the weightage of the NID 2027 Interview?

NID Studio Test for M.Des carries 40% of wieghtage and Interview carries 60% wieghtage. More emphasis is given on the interview by NID.

Is there negative marking in NID Studio Test?

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.

Which are the best books for NID Entrance Exam?

To give oneself a higher chance of securing a good rank in NID DAT, it is important to use good-quality books a reference material. Here are some of the best books recommended by experts and previous rank holders to prepare for the NID DAT exam. NID (B. Des. ). Entrance Books and Test Series by AFAINDIA Basic Rendering by Robert W. Gill Design drawing by Francis D. K. Ching NIFT/NID/IIFT Entrance Exam Guide by RPH Editorial Board

At what time do I need to report for NID DAT 2026 exam?

The reporting time for the DAT Prelims exam will be mentioned on the NID DAT 2026 admit card. Arrive at the exam center on time according to the reporting time. Please note that latecomers will not be permitted inside the NID DAT 2026 exam center. The gates at the exam center will close half an hour before the exam. The expected timing of NID DAT 2026 is: Event B.Des (Expected) M.Des (Expected) NID DAT (2025) Prelims date First week of January 2026 First week of January 2026 Reporting Time 8 AM 8 AM Gate closing time 9.30 AM 9.30 AM Time of the exam 10 AM - 1 PM (Part I + Part II) 10 AM - 12.30 PM (Part I + Part II)

When will NID release result for B.Des 2026?

NID released the result for B.Des on April 02, 2026. The result was released on the website of NID.

How to secure admission at NID?

Admission to the NIDs is conducted through the NID Entrance Examination. The NID exam has two stages - the candidate first appears in the DAT Prelims. Scores of the NID DAT Prelims are used to then shortlist candidates for DAT Mains. The final merit list for NID DAT 2026 will be prepared by giving weightage to Mains.

I have my college exams on the day of NID Interview 2026, what should I do?

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 with the interview.

Will there be any rechecking window for NID Entrance Exam?

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.

When will NID 2026 Mains Admit Card release for M.Des?

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

Will NID 2026 studio test and personal interview be conducted on the same day?

NID Studio Test and Interview were conducted on different days. NID conducted Studio Test on March 08, 2026 for M.Des and Interview from March 21, 2026 to April 01, 2026 for M.Des.

Is the NID DAT exam very difficult to crack?

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.

Is NID 2026 B.Des Admit Card for In Person Sensitivity Test released?

Yes, the Admit card for B.Des In Person Sensitivity Test for 2026 has been released. It was released on April 23, 2026.

When will NID 2026 DAT cutoff be released?

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.

How to crack NID DAT without coaching?

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 yourself learn these skills yourself. Also, a major thrust of the design aptitide 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 line, 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.

When will the NID DAT 2027 Prelims exam be conducted?

The National Institute of Design (NID) will conduct the DAT Prelims exam in the third week of December 2026. B.Des exam will be held around 10 am - 1 pm. The candidates will be required to report for the exam at 8 am. Gates' closing time will be 9.30 am. DAT Prelims for the B.Des programme will be conducted in a paper-and-pencil/pen mode.

When will the application forms for NID 2026 be released?

NID application form 2026 opened on September 11, 2025. The application form opens online at the NID admission portal -admissions.nid.edu. Candidates who meet the program-specific eligibility criteria may apply before the last date. The NID application form is for admission to the B. Des and M.Des courses offered by participating colleges. The last date to apply for NID DAT 2026 was December 01, 2025.

NID Exam Dates 2026 (OUT): Check B.Des/M.Des Prelims and Mains Schedule Here

Q: Is there negative marking in NID DAT Prelims?

There is no negative marking in NID DAT Prelims. So, the candidate may attempt all the questions. If the wrong answer is selected, the candidate won't be penalized. However, if the correct answer option is selected, the candidate may get some free marks. Note that the DAT Prelims exam will be conducted in an OMR-based mode. The candidate will need a blue/black ball-point pen for filling the OMR sheet.

Updated on Jun 30, 2026 16:46 IST

By Sayeba Naushad, Assistant Manager

NID Exam Important Dates 2026 - NID UG and PG 2026 exam dates are announced at admissions.nid.edu/. The National Institute of Design has issued the official NID 2026 notification, which provides candidates with the application and exam dates.

NID Provisional Offer letter has been released. NID B.Des counselling Round 1 began from June 09, 2026. The result for NID DAT Entrance Exam for B.Des Mains was released on May 26, 2026.

Latest Updates:

NID released Provisional Offer Letter for B.Des Round 1; Download Now

NID DAT 2026 M.Des seat allotment and fee payment process ended on May 07, 2026. NID M.Des Final Result was released on April 23, 2026.

Table of contents

NID Entrance Exam 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule
NID DAT 2026 Counselling Date
NID DAT 2026 Result Date
NID DAT 2026 Admit Card
NID DAT 2026 Exam Dates
NID DAT 2026 Answer Key Dates
NID DAT 2026 Application Date
NID DAT Important Dates 2026 - FAQs

NID Entrance Exam 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule

Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of NID Entrance Exam 2026 exam

Dates	Past Exam Dates
16 Jun ' 26 - 18 Jun ' 26	NID B.Des Provisional Offer Letter of Round 01
09 Jun ' 26 - 11 Jun ' 26	NID B.Des Seat Allotment Round 1
Jun ' 26	NID M.Des Provisional Offer Letter: Round 2
View More Past Events (22)

NID DAT 2026 Counselling Date

NID started the counselling for B.Des in online mode from June 09, 2026. NID counselling procedure includes Seat Allotment, payment of token fee and document uploading, which began from June 09, 2026.

Counselling Event	Date
Seat Allotment, Payment of Token Fees & Uploading of Documents	June 09, 2026
Provisional Offer Letter	June 16, 2026
Payment of Remaining Semester Fees	Second week of June 2026
Subsequent Round of Seat Allotment	To be announced later
Physical Verification of Documents at respective NIDs	To be announced later

Counselling Dates for NID M.Des

The counselling for M.Des is ongoing. Check the details in the table.

Counselling Event	Dates
Seat Allotment, Payment of Token Fees & Uploading of Documents	April 23, 2026 to May 07, 2026
Provisional Offer Letter	May 21, 2026
Payment of Remaining Semester Fees	To be announced later
Subsequent Round of Seat Allotment	To be announced later

Also Read:

NID DAT 2026 Result Date

NID B.Des Mains result is declared. Candidates can download the result now, using their Email IDs and Password. The result is available on the NID website. Candidates who will qualify the NID Prelims for B.Des will be eligible for the next round, Studio Test. Studio Test is a part of the NID Mains Exam. NID DAT (Prelims) B.Des result 2026 was declared on April 02, 2026.

Final result for M.Des was released on April 23, 2026.

Rechecking Window for Result

National Institute of Design has an option for rechecking the result. Candidates can opt for rechecking of their result through the NID Login Portal. The rechecking window for B.Des was open from April 02, 2026 to April 04, 2026, 11:59 PM.

NID B.Des Final Result Dates

Particulars	Dates
Declaration of Result	May 26, 2026
NID DAT Studio Sensitivity test Rechecking Window	May 26, 2026 to May 28, 2026
Uploading of Documents and Final Submission of Institute Preference	From the date of the announcement of result to May 31, 2026 (midnight)
Round-01 Seat Allotment, Confirmation of Seat and Payment of Token Amount	4 pm, Tuesday, 09 June 2026 to 11 June 2026 (midnight)
Provisional Offer Letter of Round 01 of Seat Allotment	Between June 16 to 18, 2026

NID Result for B.Des Prelims

Event	Dates
DAT Prelims Exam	December 21, 2025
DAT Prelims Result	April 02, 2026
Rechecking Request for DAT Prelims	April 02, 2026 to April 04, 2026

NID Result for M.Des Prelims

NID Prelims Result for M.Des was out on February 12, 2026, for all the candidates who took the exam.

Event	Dates
DAT Prelims Exam	December 21, 2025
DAT Prelims Result	February 12, 2026
Rechecking Request for DAT Prelims	February 12, 2026 to February 14, 2026
NID Final Result	April 23, 2026
NID Rechecking Window	April 23, 2026 to April 25, 2026

Also Read:

What is a Good Score in NID DAT 2026?

NID DAT 2026 Admit Card

The admit card for NID DAT B.Des and M.Des is issued twice, once at the time of NID Prelims and next at the time of NID Mains. The NID Mains Hall ticket is issued on admissions.nid.edu. Application ID and Date of Birth are required to download the NID Admit card.

The hall ticket for the In-Person Sensitivity Test was out for B.Des 2026 on April 23, 2026. NID B.Des Mains Admit card for Studio Sensitivity Test was out on April 09, 2026.

NID DAT Mains M.Des Admit Card issued by the National Institute of Design on February 24, 2026 for Mains exam.

NID DAT 2026 Exam Dates

The National Institute of Design conducts the NID DAT entrance exam in two stages: NID DAT Prelims and NID DAT Mains. NID DAT Stage 1 includes the DAT Prelims. Candidates who get shortlisted for NID DAT Stage 2 will have to appear in DAT Mains. The DAT Mains exam for the B.Des program will be conducted in the last week of April 2026.

NID DAT 2026 Important Dates - B.Des

The schedule for NID DAT B.Des 2026 is given below.

NID DAT B.Des Admission Stage

Timeline

DAT Prelims Exam

December 21, 2025

DAT Mains Exam

Studio Sensitivity Test (Test I)

In-Person Sensitivity Test (Test II)

Sunday, April 19, 2026

May 11 and May 17, 2026

NID DAT 2026 Important Dates - M.Des

The dates for NID DAT M.Des are:

Admission Stage	Timeline
DAT Prelims Exam	December 21, 2025
DAT Mains Exam Studio Test	March 08, 2026
DAT Mains Exam Personal Interview	March 21, 2026 to April 21, 2026

Schedule for NID DAT M.Des Studio Test 2026

NID Mains Exam for M.Des was conducted on March 08, 2026 at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar.

Faculty Stream	Discipline	Date	Test Centre City for Studio Test
Industrial Design (ID)	- Ceramic & Glass Design	March 08, 2026	Ahmedabad
	- Furniture & Interior Design
	- Product Design - Toy & Game Design
	- Transportation & Automobile Design - Universal Design
	- Animation Film Design
Communication Design	- Film & Video Communication
	- Graphic Design
	- Photography Design
Interdisciplinary Design Studies (IDDS)	- Design for Retail Experience	March 08, 2026	Bengaluru
Interdisciplinary Design Studies (IDDS)	- Strategic Design Management
IT-Integrated Design (ITID)	Digital Game Design Information Design Interaction Design
IT-Integrated Design (ITID)	New Media Design
Textile, Apparel and Lifestyle Accessory Design (TALAD)	Apparel Design Lifestyle Accessory Design Textile Design	March 08, 2026	Gandhinagar

Schedule for NID DAT M.Des Interview 2026

Check out the schedule for M.Des Mains.

Faculty Stream	Discipline	Date of the Interviews	Test Centre City for Interviews
Industrial Design (ID)	Ceramic & Glass Design	21- 23 March 2026	Ahmedabad
	Toy & Game Design	21- 23 March 2026
	Furniture & Interior Design Product Design Transportation & Automobile Design	21 – 25 March 2026
Interdisciplinary Design Studies (IDDS)	Design for Retail Experience Strategic Design Management	21 – 25 March 2026	Bengaluru
Textile, Apparel, and Lifestyle Accessory Design (TALAD)	Lifestyle Accessory Design	21 – 24 March 2026	Gandhinagar
Textile, Apparel, and Lifestyle Accessory Design (TALAD)	Apparel Design	21- 25 March 2026	Gandhinagar
Communication Design (CD)	Photography Design	27- 30 March 2026	Ahmedabad
	Animation Film Design Film & Video Communication	27- 31 March 2026
	Graphic Design	27 March – 01 April 2026
IT-Integrated Design (ITID)	Digital Game Design Information Design New Media Design	27- 31 March 2026	Bengaluru
IT-Integrated Design (ITID)	Interaction Design	27 March – 01 April 2026	Bengaluru

Also Read:

NID DAT 2026 Answer Key Dates

The National Institute of Design does not release any official Answer Key for the NID Prelims or Mains Entrance Exam. NID DAT question booklet and NID Answer key will not be available even upon request by the candidates. NID DAT answer sheets will be available for six months after the announcement of the final NID result.

The answer sheets will be available on request, only after the admissions process is complete. No request for answer sheets during the admissions process will be entertained.
Any candidate who wants his/her answer sheet for the admission cycle 2026-27 will have pay of Rs.1000/- separately per exam and also submit the admit card duly attested by the Invigilator with the seal of the Test Centre.
The answer sheet will be provided to the candidate within 15-20 days after receiving the payment.

NID DAT 2026 Application Date

NID DAT UG 2026 registration is closed. NID DAT application form 2026 was available online. The application form for NID DAT 2026 was open till December 01, 2025. Students must make sure to keep the required documents ready before filling out the application form. The NID 2026 application form-filling process included steps like registration, uploading of documents, and payment of fees.

The NID DAT Application opens in the second week of September. The registration form for NID DAT B.Des and M.Des form can be filled in online mode only.

NID DAT correction window

NID also opens the NID Correction Window for the Application form. Candidates are given the option to edit the application form. The Application correction window for 2026 was open from December 01, 2025 to December 04, 2025.

The DAT Mains result for B.Des will be declared in the third week of May 2026 and for M.Des will be announced tentatively in the first week of May 2026.

NID DAT Important Dates 2026 - FAQs

Go through the frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the NID DAT important dates below.

Q: When will NID release Answer Key for NID Prelims 2026?

NID will not release any Answer Key for B.Des or M.Des programme. It opens a rechecking window with the result.

Q: What are the design courses offered through NID DAT 2026 exam?

The NIDs offer a full-time B.Des programme of 4-year duration, and a full-time M.Des programme of two-and-half years duration.

The institute, in addition, also offers a PhD program. The programme can be pursed full-time or part-time.

Admission to the design courses at the NID is conducted through a Design Aptitude Test (DAT). The exam comprise DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.

The final result or merit list is prepared by giving weightage to DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.

Q: Is there negative marking in NID DAT Prelims?

There is no negative marking in NID DAT Prelims.

So, the candidate may attempt all the questions. If the wrong answer is selected, the candidate won't be penalized. However, if the correct answer option is selected, the candidate may get some free marks.

Note that the DAT Prelims exam will be conducted in an OMR-based mode. The candidate will need a blue/black ball-point pen for filling the OMR sheet.

Q: Do I need to carry my own stationery for NID DAT (Prelims)?

The NID DAT exam will be conducted in an OMR-based (offline mode). Note that exam officials will not provide any stationery inside the exam hall.

So, you need to bring the following items with you: A blue/black ball-point pen (for filling the OMR sheet), scissor, glue stick, lead pencil (of varying grades), colors (such as oil pastels/color pencils/sketch pens, etc.) eraser, sharpeners, ruler etc. for the purpose of examination.

If any of you are wondering, exam offials will also not arrange for refreshments for the candidates.

Check here the detailed NID DAT Prelims exam day guidelines.

Q: How can I improve my sketching skills for NID DAT?

If you want to get a good rank in NID DAT, sketching is very important. Practice live sketching daily. Sketch daily objects. Sketch from the previous year question paper.

Q: I have passed senior secondary exam from NIOS. Am I eligible for NID DAT 2027?

If you have passed senior secondary exam from National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) with minimum five subjects, then you are eligible for NID DAT. The National Institute of Design recognizes boards like CBSE, IB, ICSE, or equivalent.

The candidate must make sure that they meet the eligibility criteria before filling out the NID DAT 2027 application form.

Q: What information can be edited in submitted application form when NID DAT 2026 application edit window opens?

The application edit window for NID DAT 2026 was open from December 02, 2025 to December 04, 2025 for UG and PG programmes.

Using the application edit window, the candidate were able to edit details like their address, applied category, exam centre, etc.

However, the candidate could not change the Programme Applied for, Name of the Candidate, Date of Birth, Registered Mobile Number, and Registered Email ID.

Also, if the candidate changes their applied category, the applicable application fees have to be paid by the candidate. Further, no refund of fees will be made in case of any category change.

Q: What is the NID DAT Prelims exam?

NID DAT Prelims is the 1st step of the two-step NID admissions process. DAT Prelims comprises a written exam that candidates need to clear in order to be eligible for DAT Mains.

Q: What is the application fee for NID DAT?

The application fee of NID DAT for the B. Des for General, General-EWS, OBC-NCL candidates is INR 3,000. SC, ST, PwD candidates only ned to pay INR 1,500.

Q: What is the minimum qualifying criteria for NID 2026 admissions?

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.