NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 – NTA will conduct the entrance exam for NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 (or NLEA 2026) around the 1st week of February 2026. The NLEA 2026 exam will include one paper – the General Ability Test (GAT). The paper will be conducted in a computer-based mode.
The candidate can select NLEA 2026 exam centers when filling out the application form.
NLEA 2026 application will open around the 3rd week of November 2025. After regular application closes, the candidate can still apply with a late fee of INR 5000. The window to edit the NLEA application form 2026 will be available once the application closes.
The scores of the NLEA 2026 entrance exam will be used to shortlist candidates for a Studio Test + PI (B.Des) / TAT + PI (B.F.Tec).
Keep reading to learn the full details about the NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026.
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Table of Contents
NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 – Key Highlights
| Particulars | Description |
| Name of the exam | NLEA Admission |
| Conducting Body | NTA |
| Frequency of exam | Annual |
| Number of attempts | NTA hasn’t prescribed any number of attempts. However, the candidate needs to meet age and academic requirements |
| What is NLEA admission 2026? | Under the NLEA scheme, the candidate will be considered for admission directly to the 3rd semester of the B.Des/ B.F.Tech program. |
| Stages of the NLEA 2026 entrance exam | The exam will be conducted in TWO stages: Stage 1 – The candidate must appear in GAT exam Stage 2: B.Des – Shortlisted candidates next appear in a Studio Test + Personal Interview. B.F.Tech – The candidate next appears in a Technical Ability Test (TAT) + Personal Interview |
| NLEA 2026 FINAL result | The final result will be prepared by giving weightage to both Stage 1 and Stage 2. |
| Useful Resources | NIFT 2025 – Prospectus NIFT 2025 – Information Bulletin NIFT 2025 – Admission Guidelines NLEA 2025 Seat Matrix |
| Difference with NIFT 2026 entrance exam | NTA will conducts the NIFT 2026 entrance exam for regular admission. Meaning, candidates who qualify NIFT 2026 will be eligible for admission to the 1st semester. In contrast, NLEA offers direct admission to 3rd semester. |
| NLEA 2025 official website | https://www.nift.ac.in/admission https://exams.nta.ac.in/NIFT/ |
NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 Important Dates
| NLEA Events | Tentative Dates |
| Registration STARTS for NLEA 2026 | 3rd week of November 2026 |
| Last date to apply | 1st week of January 2026 |
| Last date to apply with a late fee of INR 5000 | 2nd week of January 2026 |
| Window to edit the application form | 2nd week of January 2026 |
| Advance City Intimation Slip | To be announced later through the website |
| Admit card download | 3rd week of January 2026 |
| NLEA 2026 entrance exam The paper includes the GAT Test | 1st week of February 2026 |
| Answer Key for GAT Examination only (using registered user ID & password) | February 2026 |
| Result of Entrance Examination | March 2026 |
| Situation Test (Regular) / Studio Test, Personal Interview & documents verification (NLEA) at Test Centres | May 2026 |
| Declaration of Final Result (Online) | June 2026 |
| Seat Allocation | June-July 2026 |
NLEA Application Form 2026
NTA will release the NLEA 2026 application form around the 3rd week of November 2025. The application will be released online at exams.nta.ac.in/NIFT.
The candidate must carefully go through the NLEA 2026 eligibility criteria before applying for NLEA 2026.
Note that admission officials will verify all the data entered by the candidate at the time of NLEA 2026 counseling and seat allotment.
If any fake or incorrect data is found, NTA officials may disqualify the candidate. So, use only genuine and verifiable information.
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How to fill out NLEA 2026 application form
- Online registration – The candidate needs to go to the NIFT admission portal and click on fresh registration. Share your Aadhaar details and then fill in other preliminary information to get registered.
- Login – The candidate needs to log-in to the newly created candidate account and fill in the application form, including contact, academic, and personal details.
- Select test center – The NIFT 2026 exam will be conducted in 85 cities. The candidate needs to select their choice of exam cities in the order of priority.
- Upload documents – The list of document and image specifications are mentioned in the guidelines. Upload the documents following the guidelines.
- Fee payment – Once the application is complete in all respects, pay the application fee to complete the NLEA application process 2026.
NLEA Application Fee 2026
| Category | NIFT 2026 Application Fee (non-refundable) |
| General/OBC (Non-Creamy)/GEN-EWS Category | INR 3,000 |
| SC/ ST/ PwD Category | INR 1,500 |
NLEA Application Form 2026 – Document Checklist
| Document | Size | Format |
| A recent Photograph | 10Kb – 200Kb | jpeg |
| Signature | 4kb – 30kb | jpeg |
NLEA Eligibility Criteria 2026
The eligibility criteria for NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 is given below for the B.Des and M.Des courses.
NIFT NLEA Eligibility Criteria 2026
| Program | NLEA 2026 Eligibility Criteria |
| Bachelor of Design (B.Des) | Passed Secondary School Examination/10th AND Passed 3 or 4-year diploma recognized by AICTE/AIU/ UGC or a State Board of Technical Education in courses related to Fashion / Apparel / Textile and Accessories / Home Science/ Handloom Technology / Products / Visual Communication / Graphic Design / Industrial Design / Interior Design / Multimedia Design / Apparel Technology / Leather/ Fine arts. OR Passed Senior Secondary /12th recognized by AIU. AND Students who have completed the 2-year regular UG Diploma Programme at NIFT after passing the Senior Secondary Examination/ 12th standard. |
| Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech) | Passed Secondary School Examination/10th AND Passed 3- or 4-year diploma recognized by AICTE/AIU/UGC or a State Board of Technical Education in courses related toFashion/Apparel/Textile/Home Science/Handloom Technology. OR Passed Senior Secondary/12th standard recognized by AIU with Mathematics. AND Students who have completed 2 years UG Diploma Program at NIFT after passing Senior Secondary Examination/ 12th Standard |
NLEA Exam Pattern 2026
The exam pattern for the NLEA 2026 exam will be outlined in the NIFT NTA information Bulletin 2026.
The exam pattern provides insights into the NLEA 2026 question paper, for instance the exam type, types of questions asked, weightage, and test timings.
Note that the NLEA 2026 question paper will include a General Ability Test (GAT).
Candidates who qualify in the GAT exam will be shortlisted for the next stage of the admission process.
NLEA Exam Pattern 2026 – B.Des
| Test | Weightage | Timelines | Venue |
| GAT | 40 | Exam date – 1st week of Feb Timings: 9- 11 am | Test centers will be allotted per the choices selected by the candidate when filling the form. |
| Studio Test | 40 | May 2026 | |
| PersonalInterview | 20 | ||
| Verification ofdocuments/eligibility | – |
NLEA Exam Pattern 2026 – B.F.Tech
| Test | Weightage | Timelines | Venue |
| GAT | 40 | Exam date – 1st week of Feb Timings: 9- 11 am | Test centers will be allotted per the choices selected by the candidate when filling the form. |
| Technical Ability Test (TAT) | 40 | May 2026 | |
| PersonalInterview | 20 | ||
| Verification ofdocuments/eligibility | – |
NLEA Exam Center 2026
The candidate will have to select exam centres when applying for NLEA 2026.
The list of NIFT 2026 exam centres will be published in the NIFT 2026 information brochure. The list includes the name of 85 cities where the exam will be conducted.
Select your preferred cities in the order of priority.
| S. No. | State | City | |
| 1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Port Blair | |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | Kurnool | |
| 3 | Andhra Pradesh | Vijayawada | |
| 4 | Andhra Pradesh | Visakhapatnam | |
| 5 | Andhra Pradesh | Rajahmundry | |
| 6 | Andhra Pradesh | Tirupathi | |
| 7 | Arunachal Pradesh | Naharlagun | |
| 8 | Assam | Guwahati | |
| 9 | Bihar | Muzaffarpur | |
| 10 | Bihar | Patna | |
| 11 | Chandigarh | Chandigarh/Mohali | |
| 12 | Chhattisgarh | Raipur | |
| 13 | Chhattisgarh | Jagdalpur | |
| 14 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | Silvassa | |
| 15 | Delhi | Delhi NCR | |
| 16 | Goa | Mapusa | |
| 17 | Gujarat | Ahmedabad/ Gandhinagar | |
| 18 | Gujarat | Rajkot | |
| 19 | Gujarat | Surat | |
| 20 | Gujarat | Anand | |
| 21 | Gujarat | Gandhinagar | |
| 22 | Gujarat | Mehsana | |
| 23 | Haryana | Hisar | |
| 24 | Haryana | Kurukshetra | |
| 25 | Himachal Pradesh | Bilaspur Hp | |
| 26 | Himachal Pradesh | Kangra | |
| 27 | Jammu And Kashmir | Jammu | |
| 28 | Jammu And Kashmir | Srinagar | |
| 29 | Jharkhand | Dhanbad | |
| 30 | Jharkhand | Ranchi | |
| 31 | Karnataka | Bengaluru | |
| 32 | Karnataka | Mysuru (Mysore) | |
| 33 | Karnataka | Mangalore (Mangalore) | |
| 34 | Kerala | Ernakulam | |
| 35 | Kerala | Kannur | |
| 36 | Kerala | Kozhikode | |
| 37 | Kerala | Kollam | |
| 38 | Kerala | Kottayam | |
| 39 | Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram | |
| 40 | Kerala | Thrissur | |
| 41 | Ladakh | Leh / Kargil | |
| 42 | Lakshadweep | Kavaratti | |
| 43 | Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal | |
| 44 | Madhya Pradesh | Jabalpur | |
| 45 | Madhya Pradesh | Gwalior | |
| 46 | Madhya Pradesh | Satna | |
| 47 | Madhya Pradesh | Ujjain | |
| 48 | Maharashtra | Mumbai / Thane | |
| 49 | Maharashtra | Nagpur | |
| 50 | Maharashtra | Pune | |
| 51 | Maharashtra | Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar | |
| 52 | Maharashtra | Amravati | |
| 53 | Maharashtra | Kolhapur | |
| 54 | Maharashtra | Nanded | |
| 55 | Manipur | Imphal | |
| 56 | Meghalaya | Shillong | |
| 57 | Mizoram | Aizawl | |
| 58 | Nagaland | Kohima | |
| 59 | Odisha | Berhampur-Ganjam | |
| 60 | Odisha | Bhubaneswar | |
| 61 | Puducherry | Pondicherry | |
| 62 | Punjab | Ludhiana | |
| 63 | Rajasthan | Jaipur | |
| 64 | Rajasthan | Jodhpur | |
| 65 | Rajasthan | Udaipur | |
| 66 | Sikkim | Gangtok | |
| 67 | Tamil Nadu | Chennai | |
| 68 | Tamil Nadu | Coimbatore | |
| 69 | Tamil Nadu | Madurai | |
| 70 | Tamil Nadu | Salem | |
| 71 | Tamil Nadu | Tiruchirappalli | |
| 72 | Tamil Nadu | Vellore | |
| 73 | Telangana | Hyderabad | |
| 74 | Tripura | Agartala | |
| 75 | Uttar Pradesh | Meerut | |
| 76 | Uttar Pradesh | Muzaffarnagar | |
| 77 | Uttar Pradesh | Kanpur | |
| 78 | Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow | |
| 79 | Uttar Pradesh | Varanasi | |
| 80 | Uttarakhand | Dehradun | |
| 81 | Uttarakhand | Haldwani | |
| 82 | West Bengal | Kolkata | |
NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 – Result
NTA will declare the NLEA 2026 written exam results in March 2026.
The results will be declared online and has to be checked by entering one’s application number and date of birth.
The scores of the NLEA 2026 entrance exam will be used to shortlist candidates for the Studio Test and PI (B.Des)/ TAT and PI (B.F.Tech).
The FINAL result of NLEA 2026 will be prepared by giving weightage to each of the exam components.
The NLEA 2026 merit rank will be used for the counseling and seat allotment process.
NIFT 2026 – NLEA Counseling
The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIF) will conduct counseling and seat allotment for NLEA 2026 soon after the final results are declared.
Candidates will be shortlisted for counseling based on their NLEA merit rank 2026.
As part of the counseling process, candidates will have to get registered and select campus in the order of priority.
The NLEA 2026 seat allotment will be based on:
- NLEA 2026 merit rank of the candidate
- Seat available for the applied program
- Admission Category
NLEA 2026 Seat Intake
| Programs | TOTAL | G. TOTAL | |||
| Open/OBC/EWS | SC | ST | NRI | ||
| Bachelor Programmes – Bachelor of Design (B.Des) | |||||
| Fashion Design (FD) | 5 | 3 | 19 | 24 | 51 |
| Leather Design (LD) | 3 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 37 |
| Accessory Design (AD) | 9 | 29 | 39 | 40 | 117 |
| Textile Design (TD) | 15 | 33 | 49 | 37 | 134 |
| Knitwear Design (KD) | 1 | 6 | 19 | 18 | 44 |
| Fashion Communication (FC) | 3 | 6 | 32 | 21 | 62 |
| Bachelor Programme – Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech.) | |||||
| Apparel Production (AP) | 128 | 67 | 50 | 59 | 304 |
| Total | 164 | 154 | 217 | 214 | 749 |
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