Category: Education (Entrance Exams & Cut-offs)
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will hold the 22nd edition of the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) on 12 and 13 December 2026. The exam was first fixed for 6 September 2026, but CBSE rescheduled it after reopening applications following a Supreme Court review judgment on TET for teachers. The revised dates were confirmed in a CBSE public notice dated 14 September 2026.
Candidates will get their exam city and allotted date 15 days before the exam, and the admit card two days before the exam, on the official portal ctet.nic.in.
Key dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Original exam date | 6 September 2026 (postponed) |
| Applications reopened | 25 August to 1 September 2026 |
| Revised exam date notice | 14 September 2026 |
| Exam city and allotted date | About 15 days before the exam (around 27–28 November 2026) |
| Admit card | Two days before the exam (10 December 2026) |
| Exam | 12 (Saturday) and 13 (Sunday) December 2026 |
Exam pattern
CTET is held in two papers, each of 150 multiple-choice questions for 150 marks, to be answered in two and a half hours. There is no negative marking.
- Paper I is for teachers of Classes 1 to 5 (primary stage).
- Paper II is for teachers of Classes 6 to 8 (elementary stage).
- Candidates can appear for one or both papers.
- As per the information bulletin, Paper II is held in the morning shift (9:30 AM to 12:00 noon) and Paper I in the afternoon shift (2:30 PM to 5:00 PM). The December notice does not repeat the shift timings, so candidates should go by what their admit card says.
To qualify, general-category candidates need 60% marks (90 out of 150). For reserved categories (SC, ST, OBC and differently-abled candidates), the qualifying mark is 55% (82 out of 150), as per CBSE rules.
What to do now
- Check your exam city around 27–28 November. Log in to ctet.nic.in and open the candidate login. The portal will show your exam city and whether your exam is on 12 or 13 December.
- Download the admit card on 10 December. It carries your centre address, roll number and instructions. Carry a printed copy with an original photo ID.
- Reach the centre early. Reporting time is 7:30 AM for the morning shift and 12:30 PM for the afternoon shift, with admit card checking from 9:00 AM and 2:00 PM respectively.
- Revise the syllabus. Both papers test child development and pedagogy, language, mathematics, environmental studies (Paper I) or the subject chosen (Paper II), with questions based on the NCERT syllabus for Classes 1 to 8.
CTET is the national benchmark for teaching eligibility in central government schools such as Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas, and many state governments and private schools also accept it. The certificate is valid for life.
Source: CBSE public notice dated 14 September 2026 on ctet.nic.in; Testbook, CareerGhar, Career Power and AglaSem reports on the CTET December 2026 schedule, November 2026. Verify all dates on the official website before the exam.
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