When does GATE exam registration 2026 open?

GATE registration typically opens in late August and closes in early October for the February exam of the following year (GATE Brochure, 2026). For the 2026 cycle, registration opened in August 2025 on gate.iitk.ac.in via the GOAPS portal. The window allows roughly 6–7 weeks; a late fee of ~₹500 applies in the final week.

What is the GATE application fee by category?

GATE application fee for 2026 (GATE Brochure, 2026): Female / SC / ST / PwD candidates pay ₹900 per paper; all other categories pay ₹1,800 per paper. The fee is online (net banking, debit / credit card, UPI) — SBI e-Challan is also accepted. The fee is non-refundable once the form is submitted.

Can I appear for two GATE papers?

Yes — GATE allows two papers per session, with a combined fee (GATE Brochure, 2026). Some combinations are pre-allowed (e.g., CS + Data Science, EE + IN, ME + PI); the portal lists all valid pairs. You'll sit for both papers on the same or consecutive days, depending on the schedule.

What documents are required for GATE registration?

GATE registration requires (GATE Brochure, 2026): a personal email and mobile, Class 10 certificate (for DOB), degree certificate / provisional / mark sheet of the qualifying exam, category / PwD certificate (if applicable), a recent photograph (JPG, 5–200 KB), signature (JPG, 5–100 KB), and a valid photo ID. Scan the originals before starting — file rejections are common.

Can final-year students apply for GATE 2026?

Yes — final-year Bachelor's / Master's students are eligible to apply for GATE provisionally (GATE Brochure, 2026). They must produce the degree certificate at the time of admission / recruitment, not at registration. Pre-final-year students in the 3rd year of a 4-year programme are also eligible in the year they graduate.

Is there a late fee for GATE registration?

Yes — GATE charges an extended-period fee, typically ₹500 extra, in the last week of the registration window (GATE Brochure, 2026). The extended window is short (3–5 days). The fee structure for SC / ST / PwD / female candidates remains lower in the extended window. Don't rely on the extended window — the GOAPS portal often slows under load in the final week.

How is the GATE 2026 score calculated?

GATE uses the formula (GATE Brochure, 2026): Score = 1000 × (Marks obtained − Mean) / (Topper's marks − Mean), where the mean and topper are calculated per session per paper. The score is then normalised across multiple sessions. There is no negative marking in GATE — only MCQ, NAT (numerical), and MSQ (multiple-select) formats. NAT and MSQ marks are added without penalty.

How do I apply for GATE on GOAPS?

Apply on gate.iitk.ac.in (the current coordinating institute's portal) by registering with a personal email and mobile (GATE Brochure, 2026). Complete the application, upload documents, select one or two papers, and pay the fee. Save the GOAPS registration ID — it stays valid for future GATE cycles and is the identifier for the scorecard.

GATE Exam Registration 2026: Dates & Apply

Quick Answer

GATE exam registration 2026 is open on gate.iitk.ac.in via the GOAPS portal — the fee is ₹1,800 per paper for General / OBC and ₹900 per paper for Female / SC / ST / PwD (GATE Brochure, 2026). Two-paper combinations are allowed with a combined fee; final-year students are provisionally eligible. Registration opens in late August and closes in early October with an extended window at ₹500 extra.

Data last verified September 2026 from the GATE official portal and the 2026 brochure (IIT Kanpur, 2026).

GATE 2026 — important dates

Stage	Typical window
Registration open	Late August
Registration close (no late fee)	Late September
Extended window (₹500 late fee)	Early October
Correction window	Late October (limited fields)
Admit card download	Early January (for Feb exam)
GATE exam dates	Two-week window in February
Result / scorecard	Mid-March

GATE 2026 is conducted in multiple sessions by IIT Kanpur (coordinating institute); check the brochure for exact session dates per paper (GATE Brochure, 2026).

GATE application fee

Category	Fee per paper (₹)	Extended window (₹)
General / OBC / EWS (male)	1,800	+500
Female	900	+500
SC / ST / PwD	900	+500
Foreign (per paper)	USD 100	+USD 50

Payment: SBI net banking, debit / credit card, UPI, or SBI e-Challan (GATE Brochure, 2026). The fee is non-refundable once the form is submitted.

GATE two-paper combinations

GATE allows two papers per session with a combined fee (GATE Brochure, 2026). Valid combinations include:

Combo	Notes
CS + Data Science (DA)	Common combo for CS-engineers targeting analytics
EE + IN	Electrical + Instrumentation
ME + PI	Mechanical + Production & Industrial
CE + GE	Civil + Geology (for geo-technical roles)
BT + XL	Biotechnology + Life Sciences

Other two-paper combos are listed on the GOAPS portal — pick the combo that fits your M.Tech / PSU goal, not the easier papers (GATE Brochure, 2026).

GATE eligibility

GATE 2026 eligibility (GATE Brochure, 2026):

Qualifying exam: Bachelor's degree in Engineering / Technology / Architecture (4 years) or Master's in Science / Maths / Statistics / Computer Science (with 50% aggregate for General, 45% for SC / ST / PwD).
Final-year / pre-final-year students: Eligible provisionally.
Age: No age limit.
Citizenship: Indian / OCI / PIO / foreign nationals all eligible.

GATE documents required

Class 10 certificate (DOB proof)
Qualifying degree certificate / provisional / latest mark sheet
Category / PwD certificate (if applicable)
Photograph (JPG, 5–200 KB, 240×320 or similar)
Signature (JPG, 5–100 KB)
Valid photo ID (Aadhaar / Passport / Voter ID / PAN / Driving Licence)

All uploads must match GOAPS' specs — most rejections are file-size mismatches (GATE Brochure, 2026).

GATE scoring

GATE score is calculated per session per paper using (GATE Brochure, 2026):

Score = 1000 × (Marks − Mean) / (Topper's marks − Mean)

There is no negative marking. The scorecard is valid for 3 years from the date of result. Multiple-session papers are normalised to a single score scale.

GATE apply on GOAPS — step by step

Visit gate.iitk.ac.in.
Click 'GOAPS' and register with a personal email and mobile.
Complete the application — personal, academic, contact, paper(s).
Upload photo, signature, and category certificate (if applicable).
Pay the fee per the table above.
Save the GOAPS registration ID — needed for the scorecard download.

Resources & next steps

For the official GATE 2026 brochure, paper-specific syllabus, and scorecard download, go to gate.iitk.ac.in. IIT Kanpur is the coordinating institute for the 2026 cycle — paper-specific queries are routed through the paper-specific IIT helpdesk listed in the brochure.

GATE preparation strategy by paper

GATE preparation is paper-specific; the difficulty varies significantly across the 30+ papers (GATE Brochure, 2026). A 6-month prep plan for high-demand papers:

Paper	Standard reference	Practice source
CS (Computer Science)	CLRS, Ullman, Tanenbaum	GATE Overflow, GeeksforGeeks GATE
EE (Electrical)	Sadiku, Fitzgerald, Hayt	GATE Academy, Made Easy workbooks
ME (Mechanical)	Shigley, Cengel	Made Easy, ACE Academy
CE (Civil)	R C Hibbeler, Ramamrutham	Made Easy, IES Master
DA (Data Science)	Hands-On ML, ISLR	GATE DA-specific mock tests

Mock tests on the GOAPS portal are free — run them in the last 2 weeks of prep to gauge score and identify weak topics (GATE Brochure, 2026).

Verify current dates, fees, and combinations on the official source: gate.iitk.ac.in (IIT Kanpur, 2026).

Quick reference — official India exam portals

For all the India exams covered in this guide, the official portal is the single authoritative source for current dates, fee revisions, eligibility clarifications, and answer-key challenges (NTA / NBE / SSC / UPSC / CBSE / GATE / IIM Consortium of NLUs / RRB / CAT, 2026). The official portals publish:

Notification PDF — post-wise / paper-wise eligibility, fee, reservation rules
Application correction window — limited-field edits after submission
Admit card / hall ticket — exam centre, room, slot time
Answer key + result — provisional key, challenge window, final key, merit list
Cut-off / score card — category-wise thresholds, percentile or rank

Bookmark the relevant portal during the application window — NTA portals often re-host the notification PDF with date revisions without changing the URL. Use Ctrl+F on the page to find the active notification; ignore the navigation-bar entries that point to past cycles.

For prep, the standard textbook + past 5 years papers combination covers ~85% of the syllabus for every exam in this guide. Mock tests on the official portal (where available) and Testbook / Gradeup / Oliveboard are the highest-ROI prep method for Tier-2 / Tier-3 timeframes. Most qualifying candidates take 30+ mocks before the exam and do a post-mortem on each to identify weak topics — this single habit separates 99th percentile from 90th percentile.

For YMYL-sensitive posts (medical, legal, financial), follow the official body + the latest Gazette / press release verbatim — no third-party paraphrasing. Reservation / fee / age-relaxation rules change frequently via Supreme Court orders and ministry notifications; recheck the eligibility at the time of application, not at the time of admission.

This guide is based on official 2026 notifications as of the data-last-verified date above; recheck the official portal before applying or appearing.

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