National Aptitude Test in Architecture(NATA)

About the exam

About NATA

Which phase of the NATA exam a candidate sat in 2026 decided which B.Arch seats the score could reach. The Council of Architecture's rules opened the centralised admission rounds run by admission authorities only to Phase 1 scores, which carried a best raw score and a percentile, while Phase 2 produced raw scores for seats still vacant after those rounds. In 2026 the drawing part of the paper was done by hand at the test centre, while the aptitude part was a computer-based adaptive test.

The Council of Architecture (CoA) is a statutory body constituted under the Architects Act, 1972, and it regulates architectural education and the profession across India, as the introduction to the NATA 2026 Information Brochure sets out. The Council introduced NATA in 2006 after requests from schools of architecture for a common entrance test, aiming to spare students separate aptitude tests for different schools, and it has held NATA annually since, according to the Council of Architecture NATA page.

The legal footing is the CoA's Minimum Standards of Architectural Education Regulations, which require a candidate to qualify an aptitude test in architecture before admission to the B.Arch degree, conducted either by the Council, which is NATA, or by the National Testing Agency through JEE. The Council runs the test and issues the score; the brochure says the actual admissions are carried out only by the competent authorities of the states and union territories and by institutions, on a valid NATA score and the eligibility the CoA and those authorities prescribe (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Results for both 2026 phases are out. On 15 September 2026 the NATA website home page carried a notice, updated on 12 August 2026, saying the results of the tests held from 4 April to 13 June (Phase 1) and on 7 and 8 August (Phase 2) have been declared.

At a glance

NATA highlights

Calendar

Important dates

NATA 2026 ran as a string of weekly test days rather than one exam date, and each Friday or Saturday test day had its own registration cut-off and admit-card release day. The Council's schedule of dates for the cycle read as follows.

Nothing for NATA 2027 had appeared by 15 September 2026: no notice, date or brochure on the NATA home page, and none on the CoA's NATA page, which still links the 2026 brochure. The 2026 dates record one cycle, not a forecast of the next.

Who can apply

Eligibility criteria

NATA 2026 kept two questions apart: who may sit the test, and who may be admitted to B.Arch with the score. A candidate could appear if they had passed, or were appearing in, the 10+2 examination with the subjects the brochure lists for B.Arch admission, or a 10+3 diploma examination with Mathematics as a subject (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Admission is the stricter bar. Regulation 4(1) of the CoA (Minimum Standards of Architectural Education) Regulations, 2020, which the brochure reproduces, allows admission to the first year of the 5-year B.Arch through either of two academic routes:

• 10+2 or its equivalent, where Physics and Mathematics are both compulsory and the third subject may be Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, Information Technology, Informatics Practices, Engineering Graphics, Business Studies or a technical vocational subject, passed with an aggregate of at least 45% (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).
• A 10+3 diploma in which Mathematics is compulsory, again with an aggregate of at least 45% (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

That wording of sub-regulation 4(1) was substituted by the Council's 2024 amendment to the Minimum Standards Regulations, notified on 6 July 2024. The 2020 Regulations as first published had set the bar higher: 50% aggregate marks across Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics plus 50% in the 10+2 examination as a whole, or 50% in a diploma with Mathematics.

Reservation is left to the admitting side. The brochure says category reservation follows the prevailing State Government or Union Territory rules, sits with the admission or counselling authority, and is outside the purview of the examination. The brochure states no age limit and no category relaxation in the 45% aggregate (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

A NATA 2026 score by itself opens no door. In the brochure's words, qualifying does not constitute "a right or guarantee" of admission to any architecture course unless the candidate meets every requirement the competent authorities specify under the Council's eligibility criteria (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Step by step

Application process and fee

Registration for NATA 2026 ran only online, on the NATA portal, in three stages: personal details, document upload and fee payment. The email address a candidate entered became the username, the system generated a NATA Unique ID, and the confirmation page produced after payment was the proof of registration. That page did not admit anyone to a test centre; the candidate still had to choose a city and session to generate an appointment card, and only one opportunity was given to correct personal details (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Registration was per test. The brochure allowed one test or at most two in Phase 1, or only one test in Phase 2, in one academic year, and a candidate taking a second test had to generate a new appointment card after the result of the first was published (NATA 2026 Information Brochure). The NATA 2026 schedule of dates adds that candidates who had already attempted Phase 1 were not eligible to take the Phase 2 examination.

Uploads were a recent colour passport-size photograph showing both ears, between 4 KB and 100 KB, and a signature between 1 KB and 30 KB, both as jpg or jpeg files (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

NATA 2026 charged its application fee for each test attempt, at a rate that turned on the candidate's category and on whether they applied from India or from abroad (NATA 2026 fee structure).

No NATA 2026 fee was refundable, and forms a candidate filed more than once under changed credentials were rejected with the fee kept. A candidate who first opted for a single test could add another later without exceeding two attempts, and payment ran through the electronic payment gateway by debit card, credit card or net banking (NATA 2026 fee structure).

Before the exam

Admit card and exam day

NATA calls its admit card an appointment card, and the card names the allotted test centre, session and appointment number (NATA 2026 Information Brochure). For NATA 2026 the card could be downloaded from Tuesday for a Friday test and from Wednesday for a Saturday test (NATA 2026 schedule of dates).

On test day the NATA 2026 brochure demanded a printout of the downloaded appointment card plus an original photo ID, with Aadhaar, passport, driving licence and voter ID among those it names, and it turned away any candidate whose card showed a mutilated, distorted or soiled photograph or signature (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Appendix I of the brochure set the clock. Candidates reported by 9.00 am for the morning session or 12.30 pm for the afternoon session, and the examination started at 10.00 am or 1.30 pm. The appendix is inconsistent on the last moment to enter: it lists the hall gate closing at 10.00 am (1.30 pm), yet refuses late entry only after 10.15 am (1.45 pm). Nobody could leave before 1.00 pm or 4.30 pm (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Pencils, erasers, sharpeners, dry colours and a scale of up to 15 cm were allowed; mobile phones, Bluetooth devices, calculators, slide rules, log tables and calculator watches were not, and rough sheets were provided and had to be handed back at the end (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

The 2026 brochure also set accommodations for candidates with a government medical certificate diagnosing a specific learning disability (dyslexia), claimed at the time of application. The drawing test allowed 30 minutes of compensatory time and no scribe. The online test allowed no extra time, but candidates with dyslexia or autism could be given a scribe, their own or one provided by the centre, whose qualification had to be lower than the candidate's (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Structure

Exam pattern

The NATA 2026 brochure sets out two parts taken in different modes: a drawing test done on the material provided at the centre, and a computer-based adaptive aptitude test.

The brochure divides Part A into A1 Composition and Colour for 25 marks, A2 Sketching and Composition in black and white for 25 marks, and A3 3D Composition for 30 marks, built using a kit provided at the centre, and gives the medium of the test as English and Hindi (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Part B's split differs within the brochure itself. The pattern section lists 42 MCQs and 8 NCQs, while its section on relaxations for candidates with disabilities refers to 40 MCQs and 10 NCQs (NATA 2026 Information Brochure). The brochure publishes no marks per question for Part B and no negative-marking rule, and it does not explain the adaptive format beyond the time allowed for each question.

What to study

Syllabus

The NATA 2026 brochure has no stand-alone syllabus list; its contents page points the syllabus entry to the description of what each question tests (NATA 2026 Information Brochure). The drawing part asks for:

• A1 Composition and Colour: suitable compositions for given situations, coloured appropriately, including rearranging shapes in a visually appealing way.
• A2 Sketching and Composition (black and white): drawing and visualising a situation involving buildings or their components, people, environment and products, with an understanding of scale, proportion, texture, shade and shadow.
• A3 3D Composition: an interesting three-dimensional composition for a given situation, made with the kit provided.

For Part B, the brochure draws the multiple-choice and no-choice questions from these areas (NATA 2026 Information Brochure):

• Visual reasoning: understanding and reconstructing 2D and 3D compositions.
• Logical derivation: decoding a situation or context and drawing conclusions from minute information hidden in it.
• General knowledge, architecture and design: important buildings, historical progression, innovation in materials and construction technology, and current issues.
• Language interpretation: the meaning of words and sentences, and English grammar.
• Design sensitivity and thinking: observing and analysing people, space, products and environment, semantics and metaphors, and identifying and defining problems.
• Numerical ability: basic mathematics and its link with creative thinking, including unfolding a space using geometry.

The brochure says a candidate's aptitude is assessed using "some or all" of the areas it describes (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

How to prepare

Preparation and books

The NATA 2026 brochure names no books and no sample or practice papers, and the menu of nata.in links none. What the Council does publish is its description of what the test measures: the NATA home page describes a test of innate ability that "cannot be taught, learnt or induced", and the closing page of the NATA 2026 Information Brochure speaks of a sensibility that "cannot be coached into existence, memorised into mastery, or artificially instilled".

Where it is held

Exam centres

For NATA 2026, candidates named a preferred city or region and test date while registering, and the Council allotted the centre and session as far as possible to those preferences, with its decision binding. The brochure's Appendix IV groups its probable test cities under each state, gives Puducherry and Port Blair a union territories row of their own, and has Dubai as its only international centre (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

The brochure calls these cities probable or tentative, with final retention of a city depending on availability and requests. A candidate who applied for an international city got no choice of test centre there and could not pick an international city as a second or third choice, and a foreign centre was subject to enough candidates applying (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

After the exam

Answer key

A NATA 2026 candidate got a number back, not a marked paper. The brochure's post-test document is a Statement of Marks carrying the raw score, issued after every attempt, and it sets out no process for seeing the questions again or disputing how a response was scored (NATA 2026 Information Brochure). The NATA 2026 schedule of dates put each result within 7 days from the date of the test.

Anyone wanting to query a result had little time. NATA 2026 records were due to be weeded out 90 days after results were declared, and the brochure turns away any request for information made later than that (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Scores

Result and scorecard

NATA 2026 produced two kinds of score document, both downloaded from the candidate's login. Each attempt earned a Statement of Marks with its raw score. The phase then ended in a Final Scorecard: for Phase 1, the best raw score from the permitted attempts and a percentile calculated after all Phase 1 sessions were over, relative to the entire population of examinees; for Phase 2, a raw score only, with no percentile (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

A valid NATA 2025 score stayed usable for the 2026-2027 academic session for candidates who had not taken admission in 2025-2026, and the brochure sets out what happened when such a candidate also sat NATA 2026.

Those rows come from version 2.0 of the brochure, the file linked from the nata.in menu and from the Council's NATA page. An earlier version 1.0, still hosted on nata.in, gave a single Phase 1 attempt the same outcome as two: the best of the 2026 scores, with the 2025 score rendered invalid (NATA 2026 brochure, version 1.0).

A 2025 score was invalid for anyone who had secured admission with it, and a candidate who did not qualify in NATA 2025 had to sit NATA 2026 afresh. The brochure gives the NATA 2026 score's validity as the 2026-2027 academic session and says nothing about any later session (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Scores you need

Cutoff

The NATA 2026 brochure states that no minimum raw score is prescribed for qualifying, and it treats the Final Scorecard's best raw score with a corresponding non-zero percentile as the valid qualifying score (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

Any seat-level cut-off falls out of the admission authorities' merit lists, which the brochure lets them draw up state by state on either the best raw score or the percentile, under their own admission rules (NATA 2026 Information Brochure). Kerala's KEAM 2026 Prospectus, for one, gives the NATA score and qualifying-examination marks equal weight in its architecture rank list.

Getting a seat

Counselling and seat allotment

The Council of Architecture allots no B.Arch seats, and its 2026 brochure says it will not be a party to any dispute arising in the admission process through NATA 2026. The phase a candidate sat decides the queue: Phase 1 scores serve the Centralized Admission Process (CAP) rounds run by admission authorities, and Phase 2 raw scores serve seats still vacant at institution level after all CAP rounds, where admission may use the raw score from either phase (NATA 2026 Information Brochure).

In Kerala and Karnataka, the state authorities collect the scores themselves. Kerala's Commissioner for Entrance Examinations requires architecture applicants to upload their NATA score sheet with the qualifying-examination mark list (KEAM 2026 Prospectus), and the Karnataka Examinations Authority's KEA UGCET 2026 page carries a link for UGCET 2026 candidates to fill in their NATA marks, dated 26 May 2026.

Where it is accepted

Participating institutes

The NATA 2026 brochure stops short of naming the colleges that take the score. It describes NATA as the qualifier aptitude test for B.Arch programmes offered by universities and institutions in the country, subject to the eligibility criteria the Council prescribes (NATA 2026 Information Brochure). For the approved colleges themselves, the Council's CoA Architectural Institutions page links a List of Approved Institutions 2026-27 (UG), beside a Verify NATA Score link.

Get help

Contact

NATA 2026 support runs through a helpdesk ticketing system at help.nata-app.org. The NATA contact page asks students to check the knowledge base first, then register on the helpdesk and raise a ticket quoting their NATA application number, and says tickets are answered in 1 working day, with telephone support only when a ticket goes unanswered in that time or in an absolute emergency.

Beside the ticket route, the NATA contact page prints the helpdesk email, support@nata-app.org, and the Council's postal address at India Habitat Centre, Core 6A, 1st Floor, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003. It says students may call the helpdesk numbers "mentioned below", yet shows none; the three numbers, 8956617577, 8956617578 and 8956617579, are printed in the help desk section of the NATA 2026 Information Brochure.

Source

Official links

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Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Exact exam dates, registration windows, number of phases/sessions, qualifying marks, cutoffs, answer keys and results are per-cycle. Anything per-cycle here is stated for the cycle it names and is taken from the conducting body's own notification; confirm it on the official website before acting on it. Expertie does not conduct any exam, process applications or charge fees.

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