NATA: National Aptitude test in Architecture

NATA is the Council of Architecture’s aptitude test used in one route to B.Arch admission in India. The latest cycle in the official material reviewed here is 2026. Its dates, fee table, attempt rules and examination design are therefore historical facts, not promises about a future cycle. No 2027 schedule or brochure was located in the checked official NATA and CoA material as of 28 October 2026. Students planning a later intake should use this page for the decision framework, then replace cycle details only after CoA publishes that year’s rules.

What NATA does

NATA assesses aptitude relevant to architecture and can be used as the qualifying test for B.Arch admission where the responsible authority accepts it. It is conducted by the Council of Architecture. The 2026 brochure also recognises the NTA/JEE route as an alternative aptitude-test route. These are separate examinations: NATA registration does not register a student for JEE Main Paper 2A, and a JEE application does not register a student for NATA.

The test is one part of an admission decision. A NATA score does not itself allocate a college seat or guarantee admission. A state, Union Territory, or institution sets its own application process, eligibility checks, merit calculation, reservation rules and seat allocation. Before spending time or money on a test, a student should identify the actual B.Arch programme and its admission authority, then verify which aptitude test that authority accepts for the relevant year.

The distinction matters because a college’s approval status, its presence in a directory, and its accepted admission route answer different questions. The Council’s 2026-27 approved undergraduate institution list is useful for checking whether an institution and B.Arch programme appear in that official approval list. It does not, by itself, establish whether that institution uses NATA, JEE Main Paper 2A, a state process, or a combination. Confirm the route in the current institution or state prospectus.

Who should consider the test

Consider NATA if you are exploring B.Arch programmes whose current admission authority accepts the score and you can meet that authority’s educational requirements. Do not decide eligibility from a NATA appearance rule alone. The 2026 brochure has one rule for appearing in the test and a separate rule for admission to the B.Arch degree.

For NATA 2026 appearance, the brochure allowed candidates who had passed or were appearing in 10+2 with the subjects specified in its eligibility section, or candidates who had passed or were appearing in a 10+3 diploma with Mathematics. The B.Arch admission requirement described in the same brochure was narrower: the 10+2 route required Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects, one additional subject from the specified list, and at least 45% aggregate marks; the diploma route required Mathematics and at least 45% aggregate marks. The prospectus and relevant authority’s rules still control the admission decision, including applicable reservation or state-specific provisions. A candidate who can sit NATA should not assume that this alone makes them eligible for every B.Arch seat.

This page does not infer an age limit or a general age relaxation. The reviewed source packet does not establish a universal age rule that should be applied to every authority and programme. Check the current official brochure and the prospectus for the institutions or state where you intend to apply. If your qualification is international, unusual, or still in progress, obtain a written clarification from the responsible admission authority rather than relying on a general summary.

The 2026 examination at a glance

The 2026 brochure divided the examination into two parts, each lasting 90 minutes, for a total of 200 marks. Part A was an offline drawing and composition component with three questions worth 80 marks in total. Part B was an online adaptive component with 50 questions, comprising 42 multiple-choice questions and 8 numerical-answer questions, for 120 marks. These figures describe NATA 2026 only; they should not be carried forward to a later cycle without a new brochure.

Part A included composition and colour, black-and-white sketching or composition, and three-dimensional composition. Part B covered visual reasoning, logical derivation, general knowledge related to architecture and design, language interpretation, design sensitivity and thinking, and numerical ability. This mix means preparation should include both visual making and timed reasoning. A learner who practices only drawing may leave the online component underprepared; a learner who studies only objective questions will not rehearse the drawing tasks.

The source material identifies the overall marks and question composition. It should not be used to invent a universal mark-per-question rule or a negative-marking formula. Unless a current official notice states otherwise, do not assume that every item carries equal weight or that an incorrect response deducts a fixed amount. Read the current instructions for the exact test session and follow the on-screen or printed directions.

Attempts, results and what a score means

In 2026, a candidate could take one or at most two tests in Phase 1. Phase 2 was for candidates who had not appeared in Phase 1, with one Phase-2 test. A candidate could appear in only one phase. Phase 1 results included raw marks and a percentile after all Phase-1 sessions; for a candidate with two Phase-1 attempts, the best raw score informed the percentile. Phase 2 supplied a raw score only. The 2026 brochure stated that no minimum raw score was prescribed, while the qualifying-score criterion required a non-zero percentile for a Phase-1 scorecard. It also said that the 2026 score was valid for the 2026-27 academic session.

Those statements should be read together, not reduced to “a particular score guarantees admission.” A qualifying scorecard can make a candidate eligible to be considered under a route, but the state or institution can apply its own selection process and seat availability. A raw mark, percentile, rank, and admission cutoff are not interchangeable measures. Use the exact measure named in the applicable prospectus, and check whether it refers to the same year, programme, category, round, and applicant pool as any comparison you are considering.

The official schedule said that results would be declared within seven days of the test. This was a timetable statement for the 2026 cycle. Candidates should use their scorecard and the official portal for the actual result and should not rely on an old schedule to plan a future cycle. Keep the scorecard, application record and any correction confirmation; the admission authority may ask for them separately from the NATA portal.

Dates and the 2026 registration rhythm

NATA 2026 registration opened on 9 March. Phase 1 ran from 4 April through 13 June on scheduled Fridays and Saturdays. Phase 2 was scheduled for 7 and 8 August. Registration operated on a rolling weekend basis: the published calendar set a Monday 11:59 p.m. close for an upcoming Friday test and Tuesday 11:59 p.m. close for an upcoming Saturday test. The corresponding correction window ended Tuesday for Friday candidates and Wednesday for Saturday candidates. These were cycle-specific portal rules, not a single universal deadline.

For a past cycle, the useful lesson is procedural: select the actual test date first and then read the portal’s deadline and correction window for that date. A rolling calendar can close earlier than a broad “last date” remembered from a previous weekend. Save the application confirmation and check that the selected session, centre and uploaded information match the intended booking. Do not assume an edit remains possible after the stated correction window.

The dates above are all historical as of 28 October 2026. The checked official material had not announced a 2027 schedule. A student planning a future intake should check the official schedule page and brochure again when released, because phase structure, weekend availability and deadlines may change. Until then, putting an unannounced date into a calendar or article would create false precision.

Fees and budget planning

The 2026 fee page listed a non-refundable fee per test attempt: ₹1,750 for candidates in India under General/OBC-NCL, ₹1,250 for SC/ST/EWS/PwD, ₹1,000 for transgender candidates, and ₹15,000 for candidates outside India. The fee was per attempt, so the cost of two tests depended on the candidate’s category and location. These are 2026 application fees, not tuition, counselling charges, studio costs, or the total cost of a B.Arch degree.

Before paying in a future year, confirm the current fee table, category mapping, payment modes and refund policy on the official NATA portal. Also budget separately for state or institution application charges and document requirements. A student comparing routes should not treat one exam’s fee as the total admissions cost. Since the 2026 application fee is not current future-cycle guidance, this article does not present it as a live amount.

Admission routes and a concrete state example

The 2026 Kerala CEE prospectus provides a useful example of why the admission authority matters. For its B.Arch merit process, the prospectus assigned equal weight to the NATA score and the grade or marks in the qualifying examination. A separate 2026 CEE notice required applicants to appear for and qualify in NATA by 30 June 2026. This is a Kerala-specific, historical example. It is not a national formula, and it should not be assumed to apply in another state or a later year.

The broader workflow is: verify the aptitude test accepted by the relevant authority; meet both test and degree-admission eligibility; apply through the authority’s own portal; submit the documents and score it requests; and follow its merit list, choice-filling, verification, fee and reporting instructions. A NATA application alone does not complete these steps. A student may need to apply separately to a state authority and to particular institutions, depending on the route.

JEE Main Paper 2A is a distinct NTA examination for B.Arch. The 2026 JEE bulletin identifies it as Paper 2A. It should be researched and registered for separately. Its existence does not prove that a specific college accepts NATA, just as a college’s acceptance of NATA does not mean that it uses JoSAA or a central JEE counselling process. Follow the competent authority’s current instructions for the exact programme.

A practical decision checklist

Before choosing an exam, write down the target B.Arch programmes and the authority that admits students to each one. For each route, verify the current qualifying-test options, the separate education and subject requirements, the merit formula, reservation and domicile rules, the application deadline, and whether you must register with a state or institutional portal in addition to the exam. Check that the source is for the current intake and B.Arch, rather than another architecture-related course or an older brochure.

Next, compare your preparation needs with the actual test format. For the 2026 NATA pattern, students needed to practise both the offline composition tasks and the online reasoning domains. If taking more than one attempt was permitted, consider whether a second fee and additional preparation time have a plausible benefit for you. Do not rely on a second attempt to repair an application or eligibility problem at the admission authority.

Finally, track documents and dates in separate lists: exam registration, correction window, admit card, test session, result, state or institutional application, counselling or selection, and reporting. Use official notices for each. A published test result is not the same as a state merit list or seat offer, and a past-year schedule is not a substitute for a newly announced one.

Source and scope notes

The cycle-specific details in this overview come from the NATA 2026 information brochure, the NATA 2026 schedule, and the NATA fee page. The admission boundary and approved-institution lookup are described by the Council of Architecture and its 2026-27 approved UG list. The state example comes from the KEAM 2026 prospectus and CEE Kerala NATA notice; the separate exam distinction is supported by the JEE Main 2026 bulletin.

CoA materials cited different approximate counts of approved architecture institutions, and neither count establishes a NATA acceptance roster. This overview therefore avoids a total. The source check was bounded to these official materials; it was not an exhaustive audit of every B.Arch college’s admission route. Recheck the source responsible for your specific programme before acting.