
UCEED Reservation Policy 2026: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has released the UCEED reservation policy 2026 on its official website at uceed.iitb.ac.in. The UCEED Reservation Policy 2026 explains how seats are distributed among different categories during BDes admission through UCEED. According to the reservation policy, General-EWS candidates will get a 10% reservation, while OBC-NCL candidates will have a maximum of 27%. Moreover, 5% horizontal reservation is granted to the PwD categories.
Understanding the UCEED Reservation Policy 2026 helps candidates know whether they qualify for reserved seats and what documents they must provide during admission. UCEED Exam will be conducted on 18 January 2025.
UCEED Reservation Policy 2026 aims to maintain an inclusive admission process. This policy applies to all UCEED participating institutes and governs seat distribution based on candidate eligibility and category. Here is an overview of the UCEED Reservation Policy 2026:
| UCEED Reservation Policy 2026 Overview | |
| Particulars | Details |
| Exam Name | UCEED 2026 |
| Reservation Categories | OBC-NCL, SC, ST, EWS, PwD, Open |
| Category Certificate Requirement | Mandatory and must follow official format |
| Certificate Validity | OBC-NCL/EWS certificates must be issued on or after the specified date |
| If Certificate Is Invalid/Not Submitted | Candidate considered under Open category |
| Change of Category After Submission | Not allowed |
| Applicable During | UCEED admission counselling, not during the exam |
The reservation criteria for UCEED 2026 follow the Government of India norms. The category-wise UCEED 2026 Reservation Criteria includes:
| UCEED 2026 Reservation Criteria | |
| Category | Reservation Percentage |
| GEN- EWS | 10% |
| OBC-NCL | 27% |
| SC | 15% |
| ST | 7.50% |
| PwD | Horizontal reservation: 5% |
To avail the benefits of the UCEED 2026 reservation policy, candidates have to provide valid and updated certificates and meet the required eligibility criteria as mentioned by the participating institutes. The eligibility requirements for each category are as follows:
| UCEED 2026 Reservation Policy: Eligibility Criteria | ||
| Category | Eligibility Criteria | Certificate |
| GEN–EWS | Candidates must fulfil eligibility requirements under OM No. 20013/01/2018-BC-II (17 Jan 2019) by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. | EWS certificates must be issued on or after April 1, 2026, under the Govt of India norms. |
| OBC–NCL | Candidates must be listed in the Central List of OBCs (NCBC). State list OBCs who are not listed in the central list are not eligible. | Creamy layer candidates are not eligible for reservation. They are considered under OPEN category. |
| SC | Candidates must belong to a caste mentioned in the Central SC List (Social Justice / NCST websites). | Valid central list certificate required. |
| ST | Candidates must belong to tribes listed in the Central ST List. | Valid central list certificate required. |
| PwD | Minimum 40% disability (locomotor, visual, severe dyslexia, or leprosy-cured). Must be medically fit to pursue the course. | Applies within OPEN, GEN-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, and ST categories. |
The seat matrix for UCEED 2026 includes seats offered by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, and IIITDM Jabalpur. While the exact UCEED Seat Matrix 2026 is not yet announced, it is expected to be the same as the 2025 academic session. Candidates should check the official UCEED admission brochure for the updated seat matrix before applying.
Here are the expected UCEED seat matrix details:
| UCEED Seat Matrix | |||||||||||
| Institute | Open | Open PwD | EWS | EWS PwD | OBC-NCL | OBC-NCL PwD | SC | SC PwD | ST | ST PwD | Total |
| IIT Bombay | 14 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 37 |
| IIT Delhi | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 |
| IIT Guwahati | 22 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 56 |
| IIT Hyderabad | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 30 |
| IIT Indore | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 |
| IIT Roorkee | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 |
| IIITDM Jabalpur | 25 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 66 |
| Total | 94 | 5 | 25 | 2 | 63 | 1 | 34 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 245 |
No, candidates cannot request a change in their reservation category after submitting the UCEED 2026 application form. If seats reserved for SC, ST, EWS, and OBC-NCL categories remain unfilled, these seats will not be transferred to the general or any other category candidates. Once the UCEED application form is submitted, the details become final, and no corrections are allowed in the reservation category.
Candidates who are not Indian citizens by birth (excluding OCI/PIO holders) are categorised as foreign nationals for UCEED 2026.
UCEED 2026 application form will be available online on the official portal. Important points for reserved category candidates:
IIT Bombay will conduct the UCEED 2026 entrance exam on 18 January 2026 for admission to BDes programs. The exam is designed to test candidates’ design aptitude, visualisation, logical reasoning, creativity, and observation skills. UCEED 2026 will have two parts, namely Part A and Part B. Part A will be a CBT test having 57 questions, worth 200 marks. Part B will be an offline test consisting of 2 questions, worth 100 marks.