CTET September 2026 Notification — Exam Date, Eligibility & Apply

Quick summary. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released the CTET September 2026 notification on 11 May 2026. Exam date: 6 September 2026 (Sunday). Online application closes 10 June 2026. Correction window: 15–18 June 2026. Paper I (Classes 1–5) is held 2 PM–4:30 PM and Paper II (Classes 6–8) from 9:30 AM–12 noon at over 130 cities across India. Apply at ctet.nic.in.

The Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) is the mandatory qualifying exam for anyone who wants to become a teacher in Classes 1 to 8 at central government schools — KVS (Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan), NVS (Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti), ERDO schools, Tibetan Schools and any central / UT-administered school. The CTET certificate is also accepted by most state governments and private schools for their TET-equivalent recruitment.

For 2026, CBSE has departed from the long-standing December + July twice-a-year pattern: the second cycle has been moved to September 2026 instead of July, primarily to align with the academic calendar and avoid clashing with state-level TETs that crowd the July window. CTET certificate now has lifetime validity (changed from the earlier 7-year rule in 2021), so a single qualified attempt is enough — you don’t need to keep re-taking it for renewal.

CTET September 2026 at a glance

What are the important dates for CTET September 2026?

Dates are from the official CBSE CTET notification dated 11 May 2026. The correction window (15–18 June) is the only opportunity to fix mistakes in name, photo, signature or category — corrections after that window are not accepted.

What is the CTET 2026 exam pattern?

CTET has two independent papers. You can attempt either or both, depending on which level you want to teach.

Paper I — Classes 1 to 5 (Primary Teacher)

Paper II — Classes 6 to 8 (Upper Primary Teacher)

• Mode: Offline OMR — pen & paper.
• Marking: +1 for each correct answer.
• Negative marking: None (so attempt every question).
• Qualifying marks: 60% (90 / 150) for General; 55% (82 / 150) relaxation for SC/ST/OBC/PwD/Ex-Servicemen in states that allow it.

What is the CTET 2026 syllabus?

The syllabus is heavily focused on pedagogy and child psychology (40% of the paper) rather than subject knowledge alone. Most candidates with strong subject knowledge but no teaching background fail because they underestimate this.

Common to both papers — Child Development and Pedagogy (30 marks)

• Concept of development & relationship with learning
• Piaget, Kohlberg, Vygotsky theories
• Inclusive education — gifted, learning disabilities, children from disadvantaged backgrounds
• Assessment for learning (continuous and comprehensive evaluation)
• Multilingualism in the classroom
• NEP 2020 implications for school education

Paper I – Mathematics (Class 1–5 NCERT level)

• Geometry, shapes, spatial understanding
• Numbers, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
• Measurement, weight, time, volume
• Data handling, patterns
• Pedagogy: nature of mathematics, place of maths in the curriculum, language of maths, evaluation through formal and informal methods

Paper I – EVS

• Family and friends, food, shelter, water, travel, things we make and do
• Pedagogy: concept and scope of EVS, integrated EVS, learning principles, presentation, practical work, discussion, CCE

Paper II – Mathematics & Science (Class 6–8)

• Maths: number system, algebra, geometry, mensuration, data handling
• Science: food, materials, world of living, moving things people and ideas, how things work, natural phenomena, natural resources

Paper II – Social Studies (Class 6–8)

• History: when, where, how — the earliest societies; the first farmers and herders; political developments; culture and science
• Geography: planet earth, globe, environment, our country India, water, agriculture
• Social and Political Life: diversity, government, local self-government, making a living, democracy

Language I & II

• Reading comprehension (unseen prose / poem passages)
• Pedagogy of language development
• Learning and acquisition
• Role of grammar in learning a language
• Challenges of teaching language in a diverse classroom

The big mistake. Candidates spend 80% of their prep time on subject content (which is largely Class 8 level) and 20% on pedagogy. The actual marks distribution is the opposite — child psychology and pedagogy together carry 60+ marks across both papers. Flip your prep ratio.

Who can apply for CTET 2026?

Eligibility for Paper I (Class 1–5 teaching)

• Senior Secondary (Class 12) with at least 50% marks AND passing / appearing in the final year of a 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed), OR
• Senior Secondary (Class 12) with at least 45% marks + a 2-year D.El.Ed as per NCTE 2002 norms, OR
• Senior Secondary (Class 12) with at least 50% marks + passing / appearing in the final year of a 4-year Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed), OR
• Senior Secondary (Class 12) with at least 50% marks + a 2-year Diploma in Education (Special Education), OR
• Graduation + a 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (whatever the name).

Eligibility for Paper II (Class 6–8 teaching)

• Graduation + B.Ed (passed or appearing in final year), OR
• Graduation with at least 50% + 1-year B.Ed (NCTE-recognised), OR
• Senior Secondary with at least 50% + 4-year B.A./B.Sc. Ed. or B.A. Ed./B.Sc. Ed., OR
• Graduation with at least 50% + B.Ed (Special Education).

Relaxation: 5% marks in qualifying exam for SC, ST, OBC (NCL), PwD, Ex-Servicemen (as per state TET norms).

Age: No upper age limit for appearing in CTET. There’s a minimum implied age of 17 (since you need Class 12 passed).

Nationality: Indian citizen.

What is the CTET 2026 application fee?

Payment mode: Debit / Credit card / Net banking / UPI through SBI MOPS. No offline mode (no bank challan). Refund: Non-refundable, even if your application is rejected.

How to apply for CTET September 2026 online — step by step

1. Visit ctet.nic.in.
2. Click on “Apply for CTET September 2026”.
3. Click “New Registration” — fill basic details, generate application number + password.
4. Login and complete the form: personal details, address, qualification, language preference, city preference (4 choices), paper selection (Paper I / II / Both).
5. Upload at the listed sizes:
   • Photo: 10–100 KB, JPG, recent passport-style with white background, 3.5 × 4.5 cm.
   • Signature: 3–30 KB, JPG, in black ink on white paper.
6. Pay the fee via UPI / card / netbanking.
7. Final submit → download the confirmation page and keep a printed copy.

Important. Use the correction window of 15–18 June 2026 to fix any errors. After 18 June, no corrections — not even at the exam centre, not at result release.

What documents should you carry to the CTET exam?

Items NOT allowed: phones, smartwatches, calculators, geometry boxes, bags, wallets, books, study material, food, ear-pods, any electronic gadget. Most CTET centres have no locker facility — leave valuables at home or with a relative outside.

How to prepare for CTET — practical tips

A realistic 90-day plan (from now until exam day)

1. Days 1–15 — Read the full CBSE Information Bulletin. Pick the right paper(s). Buy 2 standard pedagogy books (NCERT Pedagogy of Mathematics for Paper I; Pedagogy of EVS for Paper I; Disha / Arihant CTET books for Paper II). Download NCERT Class 6–8 textbooks (free at ncert.nic.in).
2. Days 16–45 — Cover all 5 sections topic-wise. Spend 40% of time on Child Development & Pedagogy — this is your highest-ROI section.
3. Days 46–75 — Solve all previous-year papers from 2017 onwards (free PDFs on ctet.nic.in). Maintain an error notebook.
4. Days 76–88 — Take 1 full-length timed mock every 2 days. Simulate the 2:30 hrs sitting at home, including bubbling the OMR sheet.
5. Last 2 days — Revision-only, no new topics. Visit the exam centre to check route.

Free resources

• Previous-year papers (2017 onwards): ctet.nic.in/notice-board
• NCERT textbooks (Class 1–8): ncert.nic.in
• CTET pedagogy notes: Adda247 free PDFs, Gradeup CTET capsules, BYJU’s CTET YouTube playlist
• Mock tests: Testbook free CTET mocks, Adda247 weekly all-India mock

Pro tip. OMR practice is non-negotiable. Many candidates lose 10–15 marks not because they didn’t know the answer but because they bubbled rows wrong, or didn’t finish marking in time. Practice bubbling 150 questions in 2:20 hours — leaving 10 minutes purely for OMR cross-check.

Frequently asked questions

Official links

Disclaimer. SarkariBaba is an independent information publisher. We are not affiliated with CBSE or the CTET examination authority. Information here is collated from the official CTET September 2026 information bulletin. Always verify dates and eligibility from the official portal before applying.