Central Board of Secondary Education has released the official notification for CTET September 2026 Exam on May 11, 2026. As per the notice, CTET 2026 exam for both Paper I and Paper II will be conducted on September 6, 2026, in two shifts. Paper II will be held in the morning shift from 9:30 AM to 12:00 Noon, while Paper I will be conducted in the evening shift from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM. The online application process has started from May 11, 2026, and will continue till June 10, 2026, through the official CTET website. Candidates aspiring to become teachers for Classes 1 to 8 can apply online within the prescribed dates. The exam will be conducted across 132 cities in India in 27 different languages for the convenience of candidates.
Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) is a national-level eligibility exam conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in India. It is designed to assess the teaching aptitude and essential skills required for teaching positions in Classes 1 to 8. CTET consists of two papers-Paper I for primary level (Classes 1-5) and Paper II for upper primary level (Classes 6–8). Qualifying CTET makes candidates eligible to apply for teaching jobs in central government schools, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and many private schools.
You can check out CTET 2026 exam highlights in the table provided below:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| CTET Full Form | Central Teacher Eligibility Test |
| Conducting Body | Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) |
| Exam Level | National |
| Exam Frequency | Twice a year |
| Mode of Exam | Offline - Pen and Paper Based |
| Exam Duration | 150 minutes |
| Language/Medium of Exam | English and Hindi |
| CTET Website | ctet.nic.in |
| Events | Dates (Tentative) |
|---|---|
| CTET Application Form Start Date | May 11, 2026 |
| CTET Last Date to Apply | June 10, 2026 (up to 11:59 PM) |
| Application Fee Submission Last Date | June 10, 2026 (up to 11:59 PM) |
| CTET 2026 Application Form Correction Date | June 15 to June 18, 2026 |
| CTET 2026 Admit Card | 2 days before the exam |
| CTET 2026 Exam Date | September 6, 2026 (Sunday) |
| CTET 2026 Result | October, 2026 (Tentative) |
Central Board of Secondary Education has officially released CTET September 2026 Notification on its CTET website. The notification contains complete details regarding eligibility criteria, exam pattern, syllabus, important dates, application process, and guidelines for candidates appearing in the Central Teacher Eligibility Test. It also provides information about required documents, examination instructions, and other important requirements that candidates must carefully review before submitting the online application form.
CTET 2026 eligibility criteria, including an age limit, educational qualification, and Nationality. Here, you can check your eligibility:
Check out CTET Nationality requirement below:
The Teacher Eligibility Test specifies that the minimum age to apply for the exam is 18, per CTET age limitation. However, there is no upper age limit for taking the exam. According to government regulations, candidates from reserved categories will be eligible for an age relaxation.
The detailed educational qualification is as follows:
To become a Teacher in elementary schools for Classes 1 to 5, you can check out CTET Paper 1 eligibility below in the table:
| Paper | Educational Qualifications |
|---|---|
| CTET Paper 1 | Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marks and passed or appearing in the first year of a 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed). |
| Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 45% marks and passed or appearing in the first year of a 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed), by the NCTE (Recognition Norms and Procedure), Regulations, 2002. | |
| Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marks and passing or appearing in the first year of a 4-year Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed). | |
| Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marks and passed or appearing in the first year of a 2-year Diploma in Education (Special Education). | |
| Graduation with at least 50% marks and a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed). |
You can check out CTET Paper 2 educational qualification requirement below in the table:
| Paper | Educational Qualifications |
|---|---|
| CTET Paper 2 Eligibility Criteria | Graduation and passing or appearing in the first year of a 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed). |
| Graduation with at least 50% marks and passing or appearing in a 1-year Bachelor's in Education (B.Ed). | |
| Graduation with at least 45% marks and passing or appearing in 1-year Bachelor's in Education (B.Ed) by the NCTE (Recognition Norms and Procedure) Regulations issued from time to time in this regard. | |
| Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marks and passed or appearing in the first year of a 4-year Bachelor's in Elementary Education (B.El.Ed). | |
| Senior Secondary (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marks and passed or appearing in the first year of a 4-year B.A./B. Sc. Ed or B.A.Ed./B. Sc. Ed. | |
| Graduation with at least 50% marks and passing or appearing in the 1-year B.Ed. (Special Education). |
CTET 2026 Application Process has started after the release of the notification on May 11, 2026. Candidates must carefully fill CTET online application form and provide all the required documents. The steps to apply online for CTET 2026 are given below:
The detailed application fee for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test 2026 exam is as follows:
| Category | Only Paper- 1 or 2 | Both Paper- 1 & 2 |
|---|---|---|
| General/OBC (NCL) | INR 1,000/- | INR 1,200/- |
| SC/ST/Differently Abled Person | INR 500/- | INR 600/- |
GST as applicable will be charged extra by the Bank.
CTET admit card 2026 will be available for download at the official website. You can download CTET 2026 admit card by following these steps-
Download CTET 2026 September Admit Card (Link Active Soon)
CTET 2026 city intimation slip will be released for the candidates. You can check your exam city by the following steps-
Download CTET 2026 City Intimation Slip (Link Active Soon)
CTET Exam Pattern 2026 is divided into two parts- Paper 1 and Paper 2. If you wish to become a Teacher for Classes 1-V, then you will have to appear for CTET Paper 1 only. However, if you wish to become a Teacher for Classes VI-VIII, then you will have to appear for CTET Paper 2 only. You need to clear both papers if you aspire to teach Classes I-VIII. Candidates can refer to CTET Exam Pattern given below:
| Particulars | CTET Paper 1 | CTET Paper 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of subjects | 5 | 4 |
| Subject name |
|
|
| Exam duration | 2.5 hours (150 minutes) | 2.5 hours (150 minutes) |
| No. of questions | 150 | 150 |
| Type of questions | MCQs | MCQs |
| Total marks | 150 | 150 |
| Marking scheme | +1 for a correct answer and 0 for an incorrect answer | +1 for a correct answer and 0 for an incorrect answer |
| Language of paper | English and Hindi | English and Hindi |
CTET 2026 syllabus for Paper 1 and Paper 2 is mentioned below:
The syllabus of Paper 1 of CTET exam has the following Topics:
The syllabus for the Child Development and Pedagogy of CTET exam is as follows:
There are 30 questions on it. One mark is awarded for each right response. The syllabus for the Language-I of CTET exam is as follows:
The syllabus for Language–II of CTET exam is as follows:
The syllabus for the Mathematics of CTET exam is as follows:
The syllabus for the Environmental Studies of CTET exam is as follows:
The syllabus for Paper 2 of CTET exam is as follows:
The syllabus for the Child Development and Pedagogy of CTET exam is as follows:
The syllabus for the Language-I of CTET exam is as follows:
CTET Language-II Syllabus
The syllabus for the Language II of CTET exam is as follows:
The syllabus for the Mathematics and Science or Social Studies of CTET exam is as follows:
Check CTET 2026 Preparation Tips Here
CTET 2026 Exam Centre are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis, subject to capacity availability in the city of the exam. The list of CTET 2026 Exam Centers is as follows:
| City Code | State | City |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Andaman & Nicobar | Port Blair |
| 102 | Andhra Pradesh | Guntur |
| 103 | Andhra Pradesh | Tirupati |
| 104 | Andhra Pradesh | Vijayawada |
| 105 | Andhra Pradesh | Visakhapatnam |
| 106 | Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
| 107 | Assam | Dibrugarh |
| 108 | Assam | Guwahati |
| 109 | Assam | Silchar |
| 110 | Bihar | Begusarai |
| 111 | Bihar | Bhagalpur |
| 112 | Bihar | Bhojpur (Ara) |
| 113 | Bihar | Darbhanga |
| 114 | Bihar | Gaya |
| 115 | Bihar | Gopalganj |
| 116 | Bihar | Madhubani |
| 117 | Bihar | Muzaffarpur |
| 118 | Bihar | Nalanda |
| 119 | Bihar | Patna |
| 120 | Bihar | Purnia |
| 121 | Bihar | Rohtas |
| 122 | Bihar | Saharsa |
| 123 | Bihar | Samastipur |
| 124 | Bihar | Saran |
| 125 | Bihar | Vaishali (Hajipur) |
| 126 | Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
| 127 | Chhattisgarh | Bhilai/Durg |
| 128 | Chhattisgarh | Bilaspur |
| 129 | Chhattisgarh | Raipur |
| 130 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | Dadra & Nagar Haveli |
| 131 | Daman & Diu | Daman |
| 132 | Delhi | Delhi |
| 137 | Goa | Panaji |
| 138 | Gujarat | Ahmedabad |
| 139 | Gujarat | Rajkot |
| 140 | Gujarat | Surat |
| 141 | Gujarat | Vadodara |
| 142 | Haryana | Ambala |
| 143 | Haryana | Faridabad |
| 144 | Haryana | Gurugram |
| 145 | Haryana | Hissar |
| 146 | Haryana | Karnal |
| 147 | Haryana | Kurukshetra |
| 148 | Himachal Pradesh | Hamirpur |
| 149 | Himachal Pradesh | Kangra |
| 150 | Himachal Pradesh | Shimla |
| 151 | Jammu & Kashmir | Jammu |
| 152 | Jammu & Kashmir | Srinagar |
| 153 | Jharkhand | Bokaro |
| 154 | Jharkhand | Dhanbad |
| 155 | Jharkhand | Hazaribagh |
| 156 | Jharkhand | Jamshedpur |
| 157 | Jharkhand | Ranchi |
| 158 | Karnataka | Bengaluru |
| 159 | Karnataka | Hubli |
| 160 | Kerala | Ernakulam |
| 161 | Kerala | Kozhikode |
| 162 | Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 163 | Ladakh | Kargil |
| 164 | Ladakh | Leh |
| 165 | Lakshadweep | Kavarati |
| 166 | Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal |
| 167 | Madhya Pradesh | Gwalior |
| 168 | Madhya Pradesh | Indore |
| 169 | Madhya Pradesh | Jabalpur |
| 170 | Maharashtra | Amravati |
| 171 | Maharashtra | Aurangabad |
| 172 | Maharashtra | Mumbai |
| 173 | Maharashtra | Nagpur |
| 174 | Maharashtra | Nashik |
| 175 | Maharashtra | Pune |
| 176 | Maharashtra | Solapur |
| 177 | Manipur | Imphal |
| 178 | Meghalaya | Shillong |
| 179 | Mizoram | Aizawl |
| 180 | Nagaland | Kohima |
| 181 | Odisha | Bhubaneswar |
| 182 | Odisha | Sambalpur |
| 183 | Puducherry | Puducherry |
| 184 | Punjab | Amritsar |
| 185 | Punjab | Bhatinda |
| 186 | Punjab | Jalandhar |
| 187 | Rajasthan | Ajmer |
| 188 | Rajasthan | Alwar |
| 189 | Rajasthan | Bikaner |
| 190 | Rajasthan | Jaipur |
| 191 | Rajasthan | Jodhpur |
| 192 | Rajasthan | Kota |
| 193 | Rajasthan | Udaipur |
| 194 | Sikkim | Gangtok |
| 195 | Tamil Nadu | Chennai |
| 196 | Tamil Nadu | Coimbatore |
| 197 | Tamil Nadu | Madurai |
| 198 | Telangana | Hyderabad |
| 199 | Telangana | Warangal |
| 200 | Tripura | Agartala |
| 201 | Uttar Pradesh | Agra |
| 202 | Uttar Pradesh | Aligarh |
| 203 | Uttar Pradesh | Ambedkar Nagar |
| 204 | Uttar Pradesh | Ayodhya(Faizabad) |
| 205 | Uttar Pradesh | Bareilly |
| 206 | Uttar Pradesh | Bijnor |
| 207 | Uttar Pradesh | Deoria |
| 208 | Uttar Pradesh | Etawah |
| 209 | Uttar Pradesh | Ghaziabad |
| 210 | Uttar Pradesh | Ghazipur |
| 211 | Uttar Pradesh | Gonda |
| 212 | Uttar Pradesh | Gorakhpur |
| 213 | Uttar Pradesh | Jaunpur |
| 214 | Uttar Pradesh | Jhansi |
| 215 | Uttar Pradesh | Kanpur |
| 216 | Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow |
| 217 | Uttar Pradesh | Mainpuri |
| 218 | Uttar Pradesh | Mathura |
| 219 | Uttar Pradesh | Mau |
| 220 | Uttar Pradesh | Meerut |
| 221 | Uttar Pradesh | Moradabad |
| 222 | Uttar Pradesh | Noida/Greater Noida |
| 223 | Uttar Pradesh | Pratapgarh |
| 224 | Uttar Pradesh | Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
| 225 | Uttar Pradesh | Raebareli |
| 226 | Uttar Pradesh | Saharanpur |
| 227 | Uttar Pradesh | Shahjahanpur |
| 228 | Uttar Pradesh | Sitapur |
| 229 | Uttar Pradesh | Sultanpur |
| 230 | Uttar Pradesh | Varanasi |
| 231 | Uttarakhand | Dehradun |
| 232 | Uttarakhand | Haldwani |
| 233 | Uttarakhand | Haridwar |
| 234 | Uttarakhand | Udham Singh Nagar |
| 235 | West Bengal | Kolkata |
| 236 | West Bengal | Siliguri |
CBSE rwill eleases the provisional answer key and CTET OMR sheet on its website. Candidates can also object to the answer key. Following are the steps to download CTET September 2026 Answer Key and raise an objection:
CBSE will release a notice regarding CTET Calculation and OMR sheet. Candidates wishing to obtain their OMR sheet must pay a fee of INR 500/- and submit a request to CBSE.
CBSE will declare the result for Central Teacher Eligibility Test for September 2026 exam soon on its official website. Candidates can check their CTET Result 2026 by logging in with their roll numbers.
CBSE has decided the minimum qualifying marks for the General and SC/ST/OBC/PwD categories. Minimum qualifying marks are CTET Cutoff marks. You can check out the qualifying marks and qualifying percentage below in the table:
CTET Minimum Qualifying Marks for OBC/SC/ST categories
| Category | Qualifying Marks | Qualifying Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| General | 90 | 60 |
| SC/ ST/ OBC/ PWD | 82 | 55 |
You can check out the list of recommended CTET exam preparation books with their publishers below:
| Books | Publishers |
|---|---|
| Child Development and Pedagogy | Arihant Publication |
| Success Master CTET Paper 1 | Arihant Publication |
| CTET & TETs Bhasha Hindi | Arihant Publication |
| CTET and TETs English Language and Pedagogy | Arihant Publication |
| Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive exam s, Edition 7 | R S Aggarwal |
| Environmental Studies (EVS) Exam Goalpost for CTET & TETs | Wiley Publication |
| Child Development and Pedagogy for CTET & TETs | Arihant Publication |
| CTET & TETs Bhasha Hindi | Arihant Publication |
| CTET and TETs English Language and Pedagogy | Arihant Publication |
| Success Master CTET (Social Science /Studies) | Arihant Publication |
Candidates can check CTET Exam Preparation Tips below:
Candidates can attempt the previous year's CTET papers for practice. Below is the table.
| Year | CTET Previous Year Paper PDF |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Download PDF |
| 2023 | Download PDF |
| 2022 | Download PDF |
| 2021 | Download PDF |
Earlier, CTET certificate was valid for 7 years from the date of issue. On June 03, 2021, Ministry of Education approved the validity of CTET Certificate from 7 years to a lifetime with effect from 2011. The Ministry has asked the respective State/UT to revalidate/issue the certificates to those whose 7 years of certificate validity has expired or elapsed.
CTET Salary is given to Teachers appointed with CTET scores, which vary depending on their position and qualifications. You can expect a pay scale of CTET-qualified teachers between INR 9,300/- to INR 34,800/-. The in-hand salary can go up to INR 48,000/- per month.
If you pass CTET test, you can have a good Teaching career. Check out the following highlights to know about careers after CTET:
Ques. Can I apply for both Paper I and Paper II?
Ans. Yes, candidates can apply for both Paper I and Paper II if they wish to teach both primary and upper primary levels. The application fee will be higher in this case.
Ques. Is CTET required for private schools?
Ans. While CTET is mandatory for teaching posts in Central Government schools like KVS, NVS, and others, it is not compulsory for private schools. However, many private schools prefer CTET-qualified candidates.
Ques. Can I correct my CTET application form after submission?
Ans. No, once CTET application form is submitted, candidates cannot make any changes. However, CBSE may provide a correction window, which will be announced on the official website.
Ques. Will CTET 2026 exam be held online or offline?
Ans. CTET is typically conducted as a pen-and-paper-based exam (offline mode). The question paper consists of multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
Ques. Will there be any interviews after CTET exam?
Ans. CTET is only an eligibility test. After qualifying, the recruitment process for teaching positions in various schools may include interviews, depending on the specific school’s recruitment procedure.
Ques. How do I prepare for CTET exam?
Ans. To prepare for CTET, candidates should study the syllabus thoroughly, practice the previous year’s question papers, and take mock tests. It is also essential to stay updated with any changes in the syllabus or exam pattern.
Ques. What is the validity of CTET certificate?
Ans. CTET certificate is valid for lifetime from the date of the result declaration. Candidates can apply for teaching positions in Central Government schools within this validity period
Ques. Is Social Science compulsory for CTET Paper 2?
Ans. No, Social Science is not compulsory for CTET Paper 2 unless you want to become a Social Science teacher. If you want to become a Mathematics or Science teacher, you can opt for either of those subjects instead of Social Science.
Ques. What ID proofs are accepted with CTET admit card 2026?
Ans. Along with CTET admit card 2026, candidates must carry a valid photo ID such as Aadhaar card, voter ID, PAN card, passport, or driving license for verification at the exam centre.
Ques. Can I edit/correct my CTET application form if I made a mistake?
Ans. You can make corrections in your CTET application form by visiting the website - ctet.nic.in. You need to enter login credentials to the login page, and then you can edit the application form.
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