NIFT Entrance Exam MFTech Centres 2026: Check State wise Test Centres List

On the day of the NIFT exam, candidates must bring the following items with them NIFT 2026 admit card, a valid photo id proof, HB Pencil, eraser, sharpener, and dry colours.

Items that are not allowed inside the exam venue are water bottle, papers, notes, Books, calculator, electronic gadgets, mobile phone, bag, handbagand correction marker/ white fluid.

The GAT paper for all the B.Des and M.Des courses will be conducted from 9 am - 11 am (tentatively). Meanwhile, the GAT written exam for B.F.Tech, M.F.Tech, and M.F.M. courses are expected to be conducted from 9 am - 12 noon.

Candidates needed to report to the NIFT 2026 exam centre at least an hour in advance.

Note that the CAT paper for the B. Des and M.Des courses will be held from 2.30 pm - 5.30 pm.

The purpose of reporting early is to complete admission formalities, including registration, frisking, verifying the identity of the candidate, etc. Note that the exam timings and reporting time for the NIFT exam will be mentioned in the admit card.

Admit card for NIFT will contain the important guidelines that candidates need to follow at the NIFT exam centre. 

• Candidate needs to report at the NIFT 2026 exam centre one hour before the commencement of the exam. 
• Candidate can't leave the exam hall until the exam ends.
• Entry to the exam centre will only be allowed when the candidate produces their id card and a valid photo id proof.
• The candidate must refrain from adopting unfair means inside the exam hall, including cheating, etc.
• For the CAT the candidate will have to bring along stationery items like blue or black ballpoint pen, HB pencils, eraser, sharpener and dry colours.

No, candidates are not allowed with an option to change their NIFT exam centre once the admit cards for the Situation Test have been released. So, it is recommended that the candidate takes care when booking a centre. Considering exam centres will be allocated on a first-come, first served basis, it is also advisable to book slots as soon as the slot booking window opens. The admit card for the NIFT Situation Test will be issued soon after the slot booking process is over. The admit card will be issued to all candidates who have qualified in the written exam.

The Situation Test/ Personal Interview (PI) are the 2nd stage of the NIFT 2026 entrance exam. Candidates were shortlisted for the Situation Test/ PI based on the NIFT 2026 written exam scores.

Note that if the candidate fails to qualify for the 2nd stage, he or she is not considered for admission to various design courses offered by the NIFTs.

The only exception is B.F.Tech program, where the merit list for admission will be prepared solely on the basis of GAT scores.

In the case of other courses, the merit list will be prepared by giving weightage to the written exams and Situation Test/ PI.

The NIFT exam is among the competitive and is also considered among the toughest. So, it is recommended that the candidate starts their exam preparation early. NIFT exam has various components like written exam and Situation Test /Personal Interview. Candidates seeking admission to the B. Des and M.Des courses need to prepare for both the CAT and GAT. The CAT is a drawing-based exam. Now unless the candidate is already well-versed, the exam will be very difficult. So, start early. The same goes for the GAT.

The exam timings for NIFT 2026 exam are given in table below.

Programmes	Test	Examination Time
Bachelor of Design	GAT	10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
	CAT	03:00 PM to 06:00 PM
Bachelor of Design (NLEA)	GAT	10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Bachelor of Fashion Technology	GAT	10:00 AM to 01:00 PM
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (NLEA)	GAT	10:00 AM to 01:00 PM
Bachelor of Fashion Technology and Bachelor of Design	GAT	10:00 AM to 01:00 PM
	CAT	03:00 PM to 06:00 PM
Master of Design	GAT	10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
	CAT	03:00 PM to 06:00 PM
Master of Fashion Management	GAT	10:00 AM to 01:00 PM
Master of Fashion Management and Master of Design	GAT	10:00 AM to 01:00 PM
	CAT	03:00 PM to 06:00 PM
Master of Fashion Technology	GAT	10:00 AM to 01:00 PM

 

NIFT Lateral Entry Admission (NLEA) provides an opportunity to candidates who have completed their Diploma in relevant or related fields of Design & Technology for direct admission to the third semester of UG programmes of NIFT. 

Eligible candidates have to appear in the NIFT 2026 entrance exam to get lateral admission. Admission under lateral entry scheme will be strictly on merit of NIFT 2026 exam, which will include written examination, studio test/ technology aptitude test, and a personal interview. 

Candidates selected through lateral entry will join the regular UG students of NIFT in their second year. 

The seat intake under this scheme will be displayed on the website prior to seat allocation.

NIFT Situation Test will be conducted in an offline mode at the various NIFT campuses. Considering there are 19 NIFTs, the candidate will be able to select any of these institutes to appear in the Situation Test. The window to select test centres for the Situation Test will be announced soon after the declaration of NIFT results for the written exam. Test centres for the Situation Test will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. So, candidates need to book their slots as soon as possible. Note that if seats in a particular centre (or institute) fill out, the candidate will not be able to be offered slots for that institute.

The GAT paper for all the B.Des and M.Des courses will be conducted from 9 am - 11 am (tentatively). Meanwhile, the GAT written exam for B.F.Tech, M.F.Tech, and M.F.M. courses are expected to be conducted from 9 am - 12 noon.

Candidates needed to report to the NIFT 2026 exam centre at least an hour in advance.

Note that the CAT paper for the B. Des and M.Des courses will be held from 2.30 pm - 5.30 pm.

The purpose of reporting early is to complete admission formalities, including registration, frisking, verifying the identity of the candidate, etc. Note that the exam timings and reporting time for the NIFT exam will be mentioned in the admit card.

The National Instituite of Fashion Technology will release the NIFT 2026 at the time of seat allotment and counseling.

The cut-offs will be available institute and category-wise for all the program at nift.admissions.nic.in.

The cut-offs will be prepared by considering factors like the seat intake, the merit rank of candidates, admission category, etc. Note that if the seat intake is increase the cut-off would likely go down and vice versa.

The cut-offs are available for the following titles:

• Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT UG Counselling 2026
• Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT UG (Lateral Entry) Counselling 2026
• Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT PG Counselling 2026

To download the cut-offs, visit: https://nift.admissions.nic.in/or-cr/

For NIFT Preparation, candidates need to solve 30-40 sample papers in 6 months. When the exams are very near, one sample paper should be solved daily.