CUET-UG 2026: 96.6% of Candidates Allotted Preferred City; Re-allocation Window Opens for Remaining Candidates

CUET-UG 2026: 96.6% of Candidates Allotted Preferred City; Re-allocation Window Opens for Remaining Candidates The National Testing Agency (NTA) is administering the Common University Entrance Test for Undergraduate Programmes (CUET-UG) 2026 — among the largest computer-based examinations conducted globally. Of the 15,68,866 candidates registered, 96.6% have been allotted one of their preferred cities and 79% have been allotted their first choice of city. The remaining 3.4% of candidates, who could not be accommodated within their selected preferences due to capacity constraints in high-demand locations, can now choose from vacant slots in alternate cities through a re- allocation window opened today on a first-come-first-serve basis at https://cuet.nta.nic.in.

CUET-UG 2026 has been structured to give candidates flexibility to choose up to five subjects each. This has generated an aggregate of approximately 67,56,321 test instances, with candidates opting for an average of 4.31 subjects. The subject selection patterns reflect a high degree of variability — 12,906 distinct subject combinations have been recorded across the candidate pool. To accommodate this scale and diversity while preserving examination integrity, the test is being conducted across 35 shifts

The distribution of candidates by number of subjects opted is as follows:

Approximately 6,74,352 registrations — about 43% of total candidates — originate from just three states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Delhi. These three states alone account for 29,93,554 effective test instances across 9,922 subject combinations. The available computer-based testing (CBT) infrastructure in these states, while substantial, is finite, and concentrated demand in specific cities has placed significant pressure on existing test centres.