CTET September 2026 Last Date Today: Apply at ctet.nic.in Before the Window Shuts; Revised Exam Date Next

The Central Board of Secondary Education closes the reopened CTET September 2026 application window today. Candidates who still have not submitted a form for the 22nd edition of the Central Teacher Eligibility Test must complete registration and fee payment at ctet.nic.in before the portal goes offline. There is no indication from the Board that a further extension is on the table.

This is the second bite at the apple for lakhs of teaching aspirants. The original application window ran from May 11 to June 10, 2026, and closed as scheduled. The Board then reopened the online window from August 25 to September 1, 2026, giving fresh candidates a chance to apply and allowing those who missed the earlier deadline to submit their forms. 

Why CBSE reopened the CTET form

The reopening was not routine administrative housekeeping. CBSE reopened the application portal following a Supreme Court judgment emphasising the need to give eligible teachers a reasonable opportunity to fulfil the statutory requirement of obtaining the prescribed Teacher Eligibility Test qualification. 

In practical terms, the court's reasoning turns TET certification from a career upgrade into a job-retention question for a large class of serving and aspiring teachers. That is what pushed CBSE to prise the window back open rather than direct candidates to the next cycle.

The September 6 exam is off. What replaces it?

Here is the part every aspirant is refreshing the site for. CBSE released the notification for the 22nd edition of CTET on May 8, 2026, with the exam originally set for September 6, 2026 across two shifts for Paper I and Paper II. The Board has since postponed the written exam and has not yet announced a revised exam date.The public notice states the revised date will be announced after closure of the portal. 

The portal closes today. That places the announcement window squarely in the coming days, most plausibly on the CTET homepage ticker before any press release goes out.

CTET 2026 apply online: step by step

1. Open ctet.nic.in and find the CTET September 2026 application link on the homepage

2. Complete the registration stage and note down the application number generated

3. Log back in and fill personal details, qualification details and paper selection

4. Upload the photograph and signature in the specified format and file size

5. Pay the fee online through the official payment gateway

6. Download the auto-generated confirmation page and save at least two copies

A word of caution that costs candidates every cycle: the confirmation page is the only proof that a form went through. A completed payment without a generated confirmation page is not a completed application.

CTET September 2026 application fee

GST is levied additionally by the bank where applicable. Verify the figures against the information bulletin on ctet.nic.in before paying.

Who can apply: CTET eligibility 2026 in brief

Eligibility follows National Council for Teacher Education norms. Paper I is for candidates who intend to teach Classes 1 to 5; Paper II is for those targeting Classes 6 to 8. Candidates aiming at both levels may sit for both papers. There is no upper age limit and no cap on the number of attempts.

Exam pattern: what stays unchanged

Both papers carry 150 multiple-choice questions worth 150 marks, run for two and a half hours, and are conducted offline on OMR sheets. There is no negative marking. Paper II is held in the morning shift and Paper I in the afternoon shift on the same exam day.

Paper I covers Child Development and Pedagogy, Language I, Language II, Mathematics and Environmental Studies. Paper II covers Child Development and Pedagogy, Language I, Language II, and then either Mathematics and Science or Social Studies, depending on the candidate's teaching subject.

The validity of the CTET certificate for appointment is lifetime.

Admit card and city slip: don't wait for a fixed date

The admit card release date now depends on the revised examination schedule. Admit cards are usually released close to the exam, and city change requests are not permitted. The city intimation slip typically precedes the admit card by a couple of weeks. Both are downloaded with the application number and date of birth.

What to do in the next 24 hours

If you have not applied: do it now, not tonight. Payment gateway congestion on the final day of a national-scale exam window is predictable and the Board does not treat a failed transaction at 11:52 pm as grounds for relief.

If you have already applied: do nothing. Candidates who successfully submitted their applications during the earlier window do not need to submit a fresh application. A duplicate form creates a reconciliation problem that is yours to solve, not CBSE's.

Follow only official CTET or CBSE channels; CBSE has warned against fake social media handles. The revised exam date will appear at ctet.nic.in first.