NID DAT 2027: Dates, Eligibility & How to Apply

NID DAT 2027: applications are open, and the structure has changed this year

The National Institute of Design — an Institute of National Importance under the NID Act 2014, funded by the Government of India — has published its official admissions handbook for 2027-28, and applications for the Design Aptitude Test (DAT) 2027 are already open at admissions.nid.edu. The deadline is 11:59 PM IST on Monday, 30 November 2026, so this is not a "watch for the notification" situation: the cycle is live.

The big change in 2027 is how NID admits students after Class 12. NID Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Bengaluru no longer take a conventional 4-year B.Des batch — undergraduate entry there is now through a 5.5-year Professional Education Master of Design (Integrated Pathway) with 15 disciplines of 9 seats each, 135 seats in total. The other NIDs (Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam) have their own seat matrices published on their websites or through amendments to the handbook. Separately, the 2.5-year M.Des at the main campuses runs across 22 disciplines in six groups, with candidates allowed to choose up to three disciplines.

Important dates (official, from the handbook)

The dates up to the Prelims results are fixed in the Admissions Handbook 2027-28:

• Applications opened: 10 September 2026
• Last date to apply: 30 November 2026 (11:59 PM IST)
• Window to edit the application form: 1 December (4 PM) to 3 December 2026 (11:59 PM)
• DAT Prelims admit card: 10 December 2026 (4 PM)
• DAT Prelims (both UG and PG): Sunday, 20 December 2026
• One-time window to edit category certificate — M.Des: 15 to 31 January 2027; Integrated M.Des/B.Des: 16 to 28 February 2027
• DAT Prelims result — M.Des: 16 February 2027 (4 PM); Integrated M.Des/B.Des: 16 March 2027 (4 PM)
• Re-totalling of Prelims marks: 16–18 February 2027 (M.Des), 16–17 March 2027 (UG)
• DAT Mains admit card, Mains exam and Mains result: to be announced later on admissions.nid.edu

Who is eligible

Eligibility has two parts — age and qualification — and NID enforces both strictly.

For the Integrated M.Des / B.Des track, you need Class 12 (10+2) in any stream, passed or appearing in 2026-27, with the marksheet submitted by 15 July 2027. There is no minimum percentage, but Class 12 must be passed in the first attempt — a backlog, compartment or supplementary can cancel the admission. General and Gen-EWS candidates must be born on or after 1 July 2006; OBC-NCL, SC and ST candidates on or after 1 July 2003; PwD candidates on or after 1 July 2001. Foreign nationals applying under the overseas (supernumerary) category follow the general age limit.

For the 2.5-year M.Des, you need a bachelor's degree in any specialisation — a 3-year degree qualifies, as does a full-time diploma of at least 4 years' duration in Design, Fine Arts, Applied Arts or Architecture after 12th. Final-year students can apply. General and Gen-EWS candidates must be born on or after 1 July 1995; OBC-NCL, SC and ST on or after 1 July 1992; PwD on or after 1 July 1990.

A note on fee and reservations as per the handbook reading: the application fee is Rs 3,000 for General, Gen-EWS and OBC-NCL candidates; Rs 2,000 for female candidates (except SC, ST and PwD); Rs 1,500 for SC/ST; Rs 500 for PwD and third-gender candidates; and US$125 for overseas candidates. For the M.Des, the fee is charged separately for each discipline you apply to.

How the DAT works

DAT is a two-stage test. DAT Prelims is a pen-and-paper examination with text and visual questions, held in English only, at centres across the country. Shortlisted candidates from the Prelims are called for DAT Mains, which is the stage where the actual design work — studio tests and interviews — happens. Final merit combines both stages, and NID gives weightage to the Mains.

How to apply, step by step

• Read the relevant admission handbook (UG or PG) on admissions.nid.edu before touching the form — the handbook, not a coaching site, is the rulebook.
• Register on the admissions portal with your email ID and mobile number.
• Log in and complete the form: programme and discipline choices, personal, academic and contact details, category, and exam centre preference.
• Upload your photograph, signature and applicable category certificates in the prescribed formats.
• Pay the application fee through the online gateway and submit. The fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.
• Download the admit card from 10 December 2026 (4 PM) and check the centre, reporting time and instructions on it.

One important detail: the edit window (1–3 December) lets you change most fields, but not the programme, name, date of birth, email ID or mobile number. Get those right the first time, because there is no second chance for them.

Documents to keep ready

Class 12 marksheet or proof of appearing; bachelor's degree certificate or provisional/final-year proof for M.Des; caste/category certificate (OBC-NCL, SC, ST, EWS) in the NID-prescribed format; PwD certificate where applicable; a valid passport for overseas-category applicants; and a recent photograph and signature in the specified dimensions.

Common mistakes

Treating "applications open" as "I can fill it in an hour" — the discipline choices for M.Des and the upload formats take time, and the 30 November 2026 deadline is midnight IST with no late window announced. Applying to the old 4-year B.Des at the main campuses, which no longer exists for this cycle. Picking M.Des disciplines you are not genuinely interested in to inflate choices — each discipline at M.Des carries a separate fee. And assuming the age relaxation applies automatically without uploading a valid certificate in the prescribed format: it does not.

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