[UPDATE] NDA 2 2026 Exam Date & Admit Card — 394 Posts

Who was eligible for NDA & NA (II) 2026

Note on "appearing" candidates: UPSC allows candidates still writing Class 12 to sit the exam, but you must produce proof of passing by the date specified in the notification. Failing the board exam later cancels your candidature even if you clear the written and the SSB.

Where the 394 seats actually go

Selected candidates join the 158th NDA Course and the 120th Indian Naval Academy Course, both commencing 1 July 2027.

Worth understanding: the Army takes more than half the intake, but the Air Force's 120 seats are contested by a much smaller eligible pool, because Physics and Mathematics in Class 12 are compulsory for that wing. Your realistic odds depend far more on which wing you qualify for than on the headline 394.

Selection Process & Exam Pattern

1. Written Examination — 13 September 2026 (900 marks)
2. SSB Interview / Services Selection Board — a five-day process worth 900 marks
3. Medical examination by a Board of Service Medical Officers
4. Final merit = written marks + SSB marks (900 + 900 = 1800)

Written paper structure

• Both papers are objective, in the morning and afternoon sessions of the same day. Your reporting time and session timings are printed on your e-Admit Card — go by that, not by last year's schedule.
• Negative marking: one-third of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong answer.
• The General Ability Test is worth twice Mathematics. Candidates routinely over-prepare Maths and lose the exam in GAT.
• The written stage and the SSB carry equal weight — 900 marks each. Clearing the written exam is only half the selection.

Applications are closed — here is what to do instead

The NDA & NA (II) 2026 application window ran from 20 May to 9 June 2026 and cannot be reopened. If you applied, your remaining actions are:

1. Download the e-Admit Card from upsc.gov.in. Use the link titled "Admit Card for National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (II), 2026" and log in with your Registration ID or Roll Number plus your date of birth.
2. Check every field on it the day you download it — name, photograph, date of birth, exam centre, subjects. UPSC gives a window to report discrepancies, and that window closes well before exam day.
3. Print it on A4 paper in colour and keep a spare copy. A phone screen is not accepted at the gate.
4. Carry the printed admit card plus one original photo ID whose number matches the one you entered while registering.
5. Reach the centre early. UPSC closes entry gates strictly ahead of the start time and makes no exception for traffic.

What not to carry

Mobile phones, smart watches, Bluetooth devices, calculators and any electronic item are barred inside the hall, and UPSC provides no safe storage. Take a simple black ballpoint pen and nothing else.

If you missed this cycle

NDA & NA (I) 2027 is the next opportunity, notified by UPSC around December, with the exam in April. Check your date of birth against that cycle's window before assuming you are still eligible — the NDA age band is narrow and most candidates get only three or four attempts in total.