NEST 2026 Application Fees for Unreserved, Reserved and Female Candidates

The NEST 2026 application fees have been announced by the exam conducting body, NISER Bhubaneswar. The NEST application fee amount varies not just for different categories, but for male and female candidates as well. This article by Shiksha brings the details about the NEST 2026 application fee.

NEST 2026 Application Fee

The NEST 2026 application fees have been announced by the exam conducting body, NISER Bhubaneswar. The application for the exam has remained the same as last year. Students planning to apply or appear for the NEST 2026 exam must be aware of the fee amount before applying for it.

The NEST application fee amount varies not just for different categories, but for male and female candidates as well. This article of Shiksha brings the details about the NEST 2026 application fee for male, female, unreserved and reserved category candidates.

NEST 2026 Application Fee for Female Candidates

The NEST 2026 application fee for the female candidates is the same across all categories, which is INR 700. The below table brings the different candidate categories and the fee amount, which is albeit the same.

NEST 2026 Application Fee for Unreserved Category Candidates – Male

The fee for the male category candidates varies for reserved and unreserved categories. The fee amount for each category is given in the below table.

NEST 2026 Application Fee for Reserved Category Candidates – Male

The below table brings the list of reserved category candidates along with the NEST 2026 application fee.

How to Pay NEST 2026 Application Fee

Since the NEST application process is completely online, the fee has to be also paid in online mode. The application fee payment is the last and final step of applying for the exam. The different modes of NEST 2026 application fee payment are given below.

• Credit Card
• Debit Card
• Net Banking
• UPI

Adding to it, NEST authorities have stated, “You may use Mastercard/Visa/RuPay cards or UPI as payment options.”

NEST 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Before filling the NEST application form, students must ensure that they fulfil the eligibility criteria. Otherwise, their candidature may get cancelled at the time of the NEST counselling or admission process.

• Candidates should have cleared Class 12 Board exam or equivalent in 2024 or 2025.
• Those who will be appearing for the Class 12 Board exam or equivalent in 2026, will be eligible for NEST 2026, provided they fulfil other eligibility criteria.
• Candidates must have studied at least three subjects between Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics in Class 11 and Class 12.
• Applicants must secure at least 60 per cent marks in aggregate (or equivalent grade) in the Class 12 examination from any recognised Board in India. For Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Divyangjan or Persons with Disability (PWD) candidates, the minimum requirement is 55 per cent.
• There is no age limit.

Also Read: NEST 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Candidates have to attempt minimum three sections out of four, among Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. Physics and Chemistry are compulsory sections. Biology and Mathematics are optional. One out of the two subjects have to be attempted.

NEST 2026 Application Process

The NEST 2026 application process is completely online. To fill the application form, candidates have to visit the exam website.

• Visit the official website, i.e. nestexam.in
• Click on the tab Register Now or directly click on the link - https://cdn3.digialm.com/EForms/configuredHtml/1834/97119/Registration.html
• Fill up the mandatory fields
• Generate Username and Password
• Login with the registration details
• Fill up the application form and upload documents 
• Pay the application fee
• Once the registration form is submitted then students must take a printout and save it for further usage.

NEST or the National Entrance Screening Test, is conducted every year for all those students who want to get admission to Integrated MSc programmes. There are two institutions where NEST students want to get admission, one is the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, and the second institution is Mumbai University - Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE CEBS).

According to the NEST 2026 exam pattern, it is a computer-based test of three hours duration, scheduled from 2 PM to 5 PM. There are 200 multiple choice questions from Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. Each question carries three marks and there is a negative marking of one mark for each wrong answer. There is no negative marking scheme for unattempted questions.

Read More:

NEST 2026 Subject-wise Syllabus

NEST 2026 Admission Process

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