The Karnataka Examination Authority conducts the Karnataka Common Entrance Test every year to provide admission for professional undergraduate courses, every year thousands of students across the state participate in it.
If you are one among the individuals who want to get admission for the UG Engineering, Pharmacy, Agriculture, Veterinary, etc, programmes in academic year 2026-27 at any institution of Karnataka, you have to participate in KCET 2026.
Here, we have discussed everything about the Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2026. Read this article thoroughly to check the admission process, important dates, eligibility criteria, application fee, exam pattern and much more.
KCET 2026 Overview
The KCET is key to get entry for UG professional courses in government and private institutions of Karnataka. For the year 2026, it will take place as per schedule. Refer to the table below for an overview of this entrance exam.
| Exam Name | Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) 2026 |
| Conducting Authority | Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) |
| Exam Level | State Level |
| Courses Offered | Engineering, Pharmacy, Agriculture, Veterinary, Architecture |
| Exam Mode | Offline (Pen & Paper Based) |
| Exam Frequency | Once a Year |
| Medium of Exam | English & Kannada |
| Type of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) |
| Total Subjects | Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics / Biology |
| Official Website | cetonline.karnataka.gov.in |
Important Dates
The KEA has announced the important dates for the KCET 2026. The schedule for this entrance exam is announced with the release of the notification brochure. Go through the table below for the full timeline.
| Event | Tentative Date |
| Notification Release | January 17, 2026 |
| Application Form Start | January 17, 2026 |
| Last Date to Apply | February 2026 |
| Last Date for Fee Payment | February 2026 |
| Application Correction Window | March 2026 |
| Admit Card Release | April 2026 |
| Kannada Language Test | April 22, 2026 (Horanadu & Gadinadu Candidates) |
| Entrance Examination | April 23 & 24, 2026 |
| Provisional Answer Key | April / May 2026 |
| Result Declaration | May 2026 |
| Counselling & Seat Allotment | June – July 2026 |
Admission Process
The process of admission for the various undergraduate professional courses in Karnataka for academic year 2026-27 consists multiple stages, which are:
- Submission of the application form
- Downloading of admit card
- Participating in the examination
- Checking of result
- Registration for counselling
- Option entry and seat allotment
- Downloading of admission letter
- Reporting at the allotted college for admission formalities
Exam Schedule
| April 23, 2026 | Physics Exam | Morning Session |
| April 23, 2026 | Chemistry Exam | Afternoon Session |
| April 24, 2026 | Mathematics Exam | Morning Session |
| April 24, 2026 | Biology Exam | Afternoon Session |
Offered Courses
The KEA offers admission in different institutions of the Karnataka through the KCET 2026 for following courses:
- B.Tech:
- Computer Science & Engineering
- Information Science & Engineering
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Artificial Intelligence & Data Science
- Electronics & Communication Engineering
- Electrical & Electronics Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering
- Biotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
- Industrial Engineering & Management
- Aerospace Engineering
- Automobile Engineering
- Mechatronics Engineering
- B.Pharm
- B.Sc (Agriculture)
- B.Sc (Horticulture)
- B.Sc (Forestry)
- B.Sc (Sericulture)
- B.V.Sc & A.H. (Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry)
- B.Sc (Allied Health Sciences)
- B.Arch
Eligibility Criteria
To apply for the KCET 2026, it is mandatory that you meet the eligibility criteria. Go through the listed points to check if you are eligible.
- You are an Indian citizen and live in Karnataka, and
- You have passed the 2nd PUC exam from the school recognised by the KSEAB or CBSE with PCB or PCM stream.
Notes:
- Students who are going to participate in the qualifying exam in the year 2026 are also eligible to participate in KCET 2026.
- The minimum requirement in the qualifying examination for the unreserved candidate is 50% as aggregate, the same for the reserve aspirants is only 45%.
- The age of candidates should not be below 17 years as of December 31, 2026; there is no upper age limit to participate in this entrance examination.
Application Fee
In order to apply for the KCET 2026, the payment of the application fee is mandatory. Refer to the table below to check what you have to deposit.
| Category | Gender | |
| Male | Female | |
| UR & OBC | ₹500 | ₹250 |
| SC, ST & Category-1 | ₹250 | ₹250 |
Ensure that you deposit the application fee for the KCET 2026 by the due date, it can be paid using the debit card, credit card, NET banking or UPI.
Exam Pattern
The Karnataka Examination Authority will conduct the Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2026 in offline mode, in which there will be 60 objective-type questions from each subject: Physics, Chemistry and Biology or Mathematics.
Each question carries a weightage of 1 mark, and no mark will be deducted. To touch the maximum number of questions in each paper, each student will get a time duration of 80 minutes. The medium of the exam in English and Kannada.
How to Apply?
In order to apply for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2026, please go through the step-by-step instructions available below.
- Go to the official website of the Karnataka Examination Authority at https://cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/.
- Find and click on the ‘UGCET – 2026’ option and get redirected to another page.
- Tap on the ‘New Registration’ option and get redirected to the registration page.
- Login with your email address and password to access the application form dashboard.
- Fill in your application form by providing all the details and uploading the documents with photograph and signature.
- Pay the application fee using one of the provided payment gateway, and click on the Submit button to apply for the KCET 2026.
After submission of the Karnataka Common Entrance Test 2026, make sure you take a print out confirmation page for further reference.