CTET Exam 2026: Application Date, pattern, Eligibility, Syllabus

CBSE will conduct the CTET 2026 Exam in January 2026. The candidates who are waiting for this CTET 2026 exam date want to know about the exam date, eligibility, exam fees, syllabus, and exam pattern. CTET, Central Teacher Eligibility test, is the national level test for which lakhs of candidates are waiting. This test will be conducted by the CBSE board to recruit primary and elementary-level teachers. This entrance exam will be conducted in two papers, Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 will conduct for Primary teachers, and Paper 2 will conduct for secondary teachers.

Those candidates who want to get a teacher's job in CBSE should apply for this CTET 2026 exam and qualify it. For this, it is suggested that candidates meet their eligibility, check CTET 2026 details completely, prepare for this exam according to the latest pattern and syllabus, and clear it. To make it easier for you, here we are going to tell you all things related to the CTET exam, including CTET exam eligibility, exam date, exam pattern for Paper 1 and Paper 2, etc.

CTET Exam 2026

CTET is the Central Teacher eligibility test conducted by CBSE. It is the national level entrance test that is conducted annually to select the deserving candidates for teacher posts. CTET exam is conducted for candidates,who want to get teachers jobs in various CBSE schools such as NVS, KVS, etc.

There are two exams conducted in CTET 2026, Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 is conducted for those who are applying for the Primary teacher posts for Class 1 -5. The Paper 2 will conduct for candidates who are applying for elementary teacher posts for Class 6 -8). If you also want to apply for the CTET exam, then you should meet your eligibility and apply for it before the last CTET 2026 Registration date

CTET Exam 2026 Overview

Particular	Details
Exam Name	Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET)
CTET Full Form	Central Teacher Eligibility Test
Exam Level	National-Level Teacher Eligibility Exam
Conducting Body	Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
Exam Purpose	Teacher eligibility for Classes I to VIII
Exam Frequency	Conducted in multiple sessions as notified
CTET 2026 Sessions	February 2026 & September 2026
Exam Mode	Offline / Pen-and-Paper Based
Papers	Paper 1 & Paper 2
Paper 1	For candidates intending to teach Classes I to V
Paper 2	For candidates intending to teach Classes VI to VIII
Both Papers	Candidates who want eligibility for Classes I to VIII can appear for both
Exam Duration	2 Hours 30 Minutes per paper
Question Type	Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
Negative Marking	No negative marking
Main Subjects – Paper 1	Child Development & Pedagogy, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Language I, Language II
Main Subjects – Paper 2	Child Development & Pedagogy, Language I, Language II, Mathematics & Science OR Social Studies/Social Science
Eligibility	Depends on the prescribed teacher-education qualifications and applicable rules
Certificate Purpose	Qualifying CTET is an eligibility requirement for relevant teaching recruitment; it does not itself guarantee appointment
Official Website	CTET official website

CTET 2026 Exam Pattern

CBSE will soon release the CTET 2026 Exam pattern and help candidates start their exam preparation accordingly. Candidates should be familiar with the exam pattern to know the number of questions, type of questions, total marks, minimum marks, maximum marks, mode of exam, marks distribution, and other important details. Let us check CTET 2026 details on the CTET exam pattern given below for both paper 1 and paper 2

Paper 1 exam pattern

The duration of Paper 1 is 2 hours and 30 minutes

Sections	No. of Questions	Max. Marks
Child Development and Pedagogy	30	30
Language I	30	30
Language II	30	30
Mathematics	30	30
Environmental Studies	30	30

Paper 2 exam pattern

The duration of Paper 2 is 2 hours and 30 minutes

Sections	No. of Questions	Max. Marks
Child Development and Pedagogy	30	30
Language I	30	30
Language II	30	30
Mathematics and Science (for Mathematics and Science teacher) or Social Studies/Social Science (for Social Studies/Social Science teacher)	60	60

CTET Exam Eligibility

Candidates should fulfill the CTET exam eligibility criteria given below to become eligible for it. It consists of the age limit and educational qualification for Paper 1 and Paper 2

Educational Qualification

Here are the educational qualifications that candidates should meet according to the CTET 2026 paper for which they apply

For paper 1

The applicants must have passed the senior secondary exam with a minimum of 50% marks or appearing.
The applicants must have also qualified for 2-year D.EI.Ed Exam with a minimum of 45% marks or appearing.
The applicants must have also qualified for 4-year B.EI.Ed Exam with a minimum of 45% marks or appearing.

For paper 2

The applicants must have accomplished their bachelor’s degree in any subject from a recognized university.
The applicants who have cleared or appearing in the B.Ed programme with minimum 50% marks are also qualified to apply.
The applicants who have cleared or appearing in B.A.Ed/B.Sc.Ed or B.A/B.Sc.Ed. with minimum 50% marks are also eligible to apply.

CTET 2026 Exam Dates

CTET 2026 exam will be scheduled to be conducted in January 2026. Along with this exam date, candidates should know about all other important CTET 2026 dates and stay updated on the schedule. The exact exam schedule will soon be released by the authority. So, let us have a look at the table below to learn the CTET 2026 date.

Exam Name	Exam Dates
CTET Notification 2026	-
CTET Application Form 2026	18 December 2025
CTET Correction Date	23 to 26 December 2025
CTET Exam Date 2026	08 February, 2026

Top CTET Colleges

There are many top CTET Colleges in India that accept CTET scores with CTET 2026 cut-off marks. If you are going to sit for this exam, then you should know about the best colleges.

Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
Delhi University, New Delhi
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi
Lovely Professional University, Punjab
Christ University, Bangalore
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Regional Institute of Education (RIE), Ajmer

CTET Exam Fee

The authority has set some CTET Exam fees for the candidates. It varies according to the category of candidates. This fee also varies for paper and paper 2 for which you apply. You need to pay this fee through online payment modes, like credit card, debit card, net banking, etc, to submit your application and become eligible for this exam

Category	Fee for One Paper (in INR)	Fee for Two Papers (in INR)
General/OBC	1,000	1,200
SC/ST/Differently Abled Person	500	600

CTET Exam Syllabus

The candidates must follow themselves for the CTET exam according to the paper 1 and paper 2 syllabus, to ensure proper CTET preparation. Let us tell you the CTET Exam syllabus in detail given below.