NATA 2026 Counselling Process: Important Dates, Process & Guidelines

Summary: The National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) 2026 is now over. The counselling procedure for NATA is conducted separately by participating institutes. Let’s discuss various factors associated with the NATA counselling 2026 dates.

NATA will relese the exam cut-off after which you need to apply separately for NATA 2026 counselling procedure at each individual college they desire to study.

This article will give you insights about NATA Admission Process, qualifying marks, documents required, and more.

Download Free Study Material for NATA 2026 by CreativeEdge

When will NATA Counselling Start in 2026?

You must know these dates regarding the NATA 2026 

The counselling dates for NATA 2026 are yet to be announced.

Events	Dates
NATA 2026 exam date	March 1, 2026 to June 2026
Declaration of NATA Result 2026	Phase 1: Fourth week of April 2026 Phase 2: Second week of June 2026 Phase 3: Third week of July 2026
NATA 2026 counselling dates	To be notified

Also Read: NATA Exam Centres List

How to Apply for NATA Counselling 2026?

The NATA participating institutes will start the counselling process only after the declaration of the NATA Result 2026. Those who successfully qualify in the entrance exam are eligible for the counselling stage.

Seats are allotted only for those who visit the counselling center and attend the counselling in a complete manner.

The appear for the Counselling for NATA 2026, you need to follow the steps given below:

Step 1: Online Registration 

• Visit the official website of NATA.
• On the Home page, click on the "NATA Counselling" link.
• Enter required details like your name, application number, date of birth, and password.
• Pay the counselling fee through a credit card/debit card/net abnking/E-challan.

Step 2: Online Choice Filling and Choice Locking 

• After successful registration for counselling, log in to your account.
• Select the college and branch of your choice and then lock it.
• You should ve very careful while choosing the colleges and breaches because the choice, once it gets locked, cannot be changed.
• Make sure to lock your choices before the deadline.

Also check: Top NATA Colleges in 2026

Step 3: Seat Allocation and Document Verification 

• Seat allocation will be done on the basis of your rank & NATA Cut-off, vacancies, and the choice given by you.
• You need to pay the requisite fee to confirm your seat.
• Officials will check all your documents and issue a provisional admission letter after completing the NATA 2026 Counselling process.

Step 4: Report to the Allotted Institute 

• You have to report to the allotted college with all the necessary documents.
• If you fail to report to the college, your seat will get cancelled.

NATA Counselling 2026 Key Points 

The Council of Architecture (COA) doesn't conduct NATA Admission process. It is only responsible for conducting the NATA qualification exam for admission to the B. Arch course.

• Each participating institute of NATA conducts separate counselling sessions.
• To be eligible to participate in the NATA counselling procedure, you must satisfy the NATA Eligibility Criteria of each participating institute.
• Institutes can decide their own counselling norms and the mode and process may vary from one institute to another.
• Apart from the eligibility set by NATA, each institute is free to set its own criteria for admission into Architecture courses.
• Based on NATA scores, there are 477 institutes that offer admission to their B.Arch courses.

NATA Qualifying Marks 2026

Though there is a minimum qualifying mark for the entrance exam.

Check out the table below to know the minimum qualifying marks required to clear the entrance exam.

The NATA 2026 highest marks depend on the difficulty level of the exam. You may want to know about the NATA phase 1 Exam analysis to get an idea about the cutoff. 

The qualifying marks depend on these 2 criteria:

• Part A: A minimum of 20 marks must be secured 
• Part B: A minimum of 30 marks must be secured 

Exam	Overall Minimum Qualifying Marks
NATA	70 out of 200

Documents Required for NATA Counselling 2026

The following are the most important documents that you need to carry to the NATA 2026 Counselling Process without fail. You have to carry the original documents as well as 

• NATA 2026 Admit Card
• NATA Score Card
• Class 10th Mark sheets
• Class 12th Mark sheets
• Category certificate (If applicable)
• Medical Certificate for PwD category
• Residence certificate (If applicable)
• Transfer Certificate (If applicable)

The NATA Phase 1 is over, however NATA conducts exams in 2 phases. You must know a perfect strategy to prepare for NATA phase 2 exam. 

Refer: Download NATA  Answer Key

State-wise Seat Intake for NATA Counselling 2026

There are various NATA Colleges that provide admission to B. Arch courses based on your scores in the National Aptitude Test in Architecture.

Check out the table below to know the state-wise participating institutes along with their seat intake.

S.No	State	Seat Intake
1	Karnataka	896
2	Maharashtra	5167
3	Kerala	707
4	Gujarat	1710
5	West Bengal	88
6	Punjab	70
7	UP	1560
8	MP	330
9	Chhattisgarh	138
10	Goa	140
11	Haryana	610
12	Himachal	40
13	Rajasthan	270
14	Tamil Nadu	3010

University-wise Seat Intake for NATA Counselling 2026

In the table below, we have mentioned University-wise seat intake for B.Arch courses in the NATA counselling 2026.

S. No	University	Seat Intake
1	VIT University	40
2	SRM	80
3	PES	40
4	Christ University, Bangalore	40
5	Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts	85
6	Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi	80
7	KIIT	40
8	Chandigarh University	80

Read more: How to crack NATA exam in 6 months

Conclusion

NATA counselling will start once the results are out for the exam.

You must keep a check on the official NATA website to stay updated with all the latest happenings about the NATA Admission dates

Prepare for NATA Phase 2 with: NATA online coaching