CTET 2026: Notification, Exam Date, Syllabus, Result

CTET — the Central Teacher Eligibility Test — is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) as an eligibility test for teaching posts. The 22nd edition of CTET, originally scheduled for 6 September 2026, will be held on 12 and 13 December 2026.

Paper I for candidates who intend to teach classes I to V, and Paper II for classes VI to VIII. A candidate who intends to teach at both levels must sit both papers. Conducted in 27 languages across 132 cities.

CTET exam pattern

Paper I — for classes I to V (Primary Stage)

Duration: two and a half hours.

Paper II — for classes VI to VIII (Elementary Stage)

Duration: two and a half hours.

All questions are multiple choice with four alternatives, of which one is most appropriate. Each carries one mark. No. Every question carries one mark and there is no negative marking.

Qualifying marks

A candidate scoring 60% or more is considered TET pass, under NCTE Notification No. 76-4/2010/NCTE/Acad dated 11 February 2011. School managements may give concessions to SC, ST, OBC and differently abled candidates in line with their own reservation policy.

Validity of the certificate

The CTET qualifying certificate is valid for life, for all categories. There is no limit on the number of attempts, and a candidate who has already qualified may sit again to improve their score.

CTET qualifies you to apply — it does not appoint you

The Information Bulletin is explicit: qualifying CTET does not confer a right to recruitment or employment. It is one of the eligibility criteria for appointment. Schools are directed to give weightage to the CTET score during recruitment, but the vacancy itself is filled through a separate process run by the school or its management.

What this qualification is for

Schools of the Central Government — KVS, NVS, Central Tibetan Schools and others — and schools under the administrative control of the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and the NCT of Delhi. Unaided private schools may also choose to consider CTET.

What is next

The 22nd edition of CTET will be held on 12 and 13 December 2026. The examination city and date allotted to each candidate will be made available on the CTET portal 15 days before the examination, and the admit card two days before it.

CTET Eligibility

CTET eligibility criteria are set out in the official information bulletin.

Minimum educational qualification

The minimum qualifications for appearing in CTET are those notified by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). CBSE does not restate them in the Information Bulletin — it directs candidates to ncte.gov.in to confirm their eligibility, and holds the candidate personally responsible for applying only if eligible.

The qualification rules that apply

The Information Bulletin points to three sources: the NCTE Regulations on minimum qualifications for persons to be recruited as teachers, the recruitment rules laid down by the appropriate government where the school is situated, and the recruitment rules of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan or Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.

CBSE does not verify eligibility before the examination. A candidate who applies without holding the required qualification is personally responsible, and the candidature can be cancelled at any stage.

Structure of the examination

Paper I for candidates who intend to teach classes I to V, and Paper II for classes VI to VIII. A candidate who intends to teach at both levels must sit both papers.

CTET qualifies you to apply — it does not appoint you

The Information Bulletin is explicit: qualifying CTET does not confer a right to recruitment or employment. It is one of the eligibility criteria for appointment. Schools are directed to give weightage to the CTET score during recruitment, but the vacancy itself is filled through a separate process run by the school or its management.

CTET Application Form

CTET applications are submitted online only, through ctet.nic.in or cbse.gov.in.

Important dates — CTET 22nd edition (December 2026)

Application fee

You cannot choose your exam city

This is the change that catches most applicants. There is no provision to select an examination city in the online application. CBSE allots the city on a random basis, and states that a request to change the allotted city will not be accepted for any reason whatsoever. Plan travel around that, not around a preferred centre.

The correction window is narrow, and the city is excluded from it

Corrections were open from 15 to 18 June 2026, and again from 7 to 10 September 2026 after applications were re-opened; CBSE states no corrections will be allowed after 10 September 2026 under any circumstances. Name, parents’ names, date of birth, category, differently abled category, the paper opted, the Paper II subject, the languages opted and the correspondence address can be corrected. The examination city cannot. Particulars also cannot be edited once the fee has been submitted, until the window opens.

CTET Vacancy

Official CTET notifications are below. The notification is the only binding source for vacancies, eligibility, dates and fees — anything else, including this site, is a summary of it.

What is not on this page yet

Vacancy counts, application dates, fees, age limits and the exam pattern for CTET are not published here yet. We add those only once they have been read out of the official notification for the cycle in question, because a figure carried over from a previous year is worse than no figure at all. Until then, this page carries the material we can stand behind: the official documents below.