NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 – Registration, Exam Date, Admission Process, Seat Matrix, Pattern

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NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2025
NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2025

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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NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 – Key Highlights

ParticularsDescription
Name of the examNLEA Admission
Conducting BodyNTA
Frequency of examAnnual
Number of attemptsNTA 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 examThe 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 resultThe final result will be prepared by giving weightage to both Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Useful ResourcesNIFT 2025 – Prospectus

NIFT 2025 – Information Bulletin

NIFT 2025 – Admission Guidelines

NLEA 2025 Seat Matrix
Difference with NIFT 2026 entrance examNTA 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 websitehttps://www.nift.ac.in/admission
https://exams.nta.ac.in/NIFT/ 

NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2026 Important Dates

NLEA EventsTentative Dates
Registration STARTS for NLEA 20263rd week of November 2026
Last date to apply1st week of January 2026
Last date to apply with a late fee of INR 50002nd week of January 2026
Window to edit the application form2nd week of January 2026
Advance City Intimation Slip To be announced later through the website
Admit card download3rd 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 ExaminationMarch 2026
Situation Test (Regular) / Studio Test, Personal Interview & documents verification (NLEA) at Test CentresMay 2026
Declaration of Final Result (Online) June 2026
Seat AllocationJune-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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Upload documents – The list of document and image specifications are mentioned in the guidelines. Upload the documents following the guidelines. 
  5. 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

CategoryNIFT 2026 Application Fee (non-refundable)
General/OBC (Non-Creamy)/GEN-EWS CategoryINR 3,000
SC/ ST/ PwD CategoryINR 1,500

NLEA Application Form 2026 – Document Checklist

DocumentSizeFormat
A recent Photograph10Kb – 200Kbjpeg
Signature4kb – 30kbjpeg

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

ProgramNLEA 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

TestWeightageTimelinesVenue
GAT40Exam 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 Test40May 2026
PersonalInterview20
Verification ofdocuments/eligibility

NLEA Exam Pattern 2026 – B.F.Tech

TestWeightageTimelinesVenue
GAT40Exam 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)40May 2026
PersonalInterview20
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.StateCity
1Andaman & Nicobar IslandsPort Blair
2Andhra PradeshKurnool
3Andhra PradeshVijayawada
4Andhra PradeshVisakhapatnam
5Andhra PradeshRajahmundry
6Andhra PradeshTirupathi
7Arunachal PradeshNaharlagun
8AssamGuwahati
9BiharMuzaffarpur
10BiharPatna
11ChandigarhChandigarh/Mohali
12ChhattisgarhRaipur
13ChhattisgarhJagdalpur
14Dadra & Nagar HaveliSilvassa
15DelhiDelhi NCR
16GoaMapusa
17GujaratAhmedabad/ Gandhinagar
18GujaratRajkot
19GujaratSurat
20GujaratAnand
21GujaratGandhinagar
22GujaratMehsana
23HaryanaHisar
24HaryanaKurukshetra
25Himachal PradeshBilaspur Hp
26Himachal PradeshKangra
27Jammu And KashmirJammu
28Jammu And KashmirSrinagar
29JharkhandDhanbad
30JharkhandRanchi
31KarnatakaBengaluru
32KarnatakaMysuru (Mysore)
33KarnatakaMangalore (Mangalore)
34KeralaErnakulam
35KeralaKannur
36KeralaKozhikode
37KeralaKollam
38KeralaKottayam
39KeralaThiruvananthapuram
40KeralaThrissur
41LadakhLeh / Kargil
42LakshadweepKavaratti
43Madhya PradeshBhopal
44Madhya PradeshJabalpur
45Madhya PradeshGwalior
46Madhya PradeshSatna
47Madhya PradeshUjjain
48MaharashtraMumbai / Thane
49MaharashtraNagpur
50MaharashtraPune
51MaharashtraChhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar
52MaharashtraAmravati
53MaharashtraKolhapur
54MaharashtraNanded
55ManipurImphal
56MeghalayaShillong
57MizoramAizawl
58NagalandKohima
59OdishaBerhampur-Ganjam
60OdishaBhubaneswar
61PuducherryPondicherry
62PunjabLudhiana
63RajasthanJaipur
64RajasthanJodhpur
65RajasthanUdaipur
66SikkimGangtok
67Tamil NaduChennai
68Tamil NaduCoimbatore
69Tamil NaduMadurai
70Tamil NaduSalem
71Tamil NaduTiruchirappalli
72Tamil NaduVellore
73TelanganaHyderabad
74TripuraAgartala
75Uttar PradeshMeerut
76Uttar PradeshMuzaffarnagar
77Uttar PradeshKanpur
78Uttar PradeshLucknow
79Uttar PradeshVaranasi
80UttarakhandDehradun
81UttarakhandHaldwani
82West BengalKolkata

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

ProgramsTOTALG. TOTAL
Open/OBC/EWSSCSTNRI
Bachelor Programmes – Bachelor of Design (B.Des)
Fashion Design (FD)53192451
Leather Design (LD)31091537
Accessory Design (AD)9293940117
Textile Design (TD)15334937134
Knitwear Design (KD)16191844
Fashion Communication (FC)36322162
Bachelor Programme – Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech.)
Apparel Production (AP)128675059304
Total164154217214749

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