NID Cut Off 2026: Category & Campus-Wise Cut Off Details

Summary: Discover the fundamentals of NID Cut Off Marks: Discover necessary insights and trends for navigating the difficult admissions process and securing a spot. A must-read for all NID 2026 candidates!

The National Institute of Design (NID) is a prestigious design institute in India that offers various undergraduate and postgraduate courses in design.

Download free Study Material for NID 2026 by CreativeEdge

NID has a dedicated admissions process that involves an All India Entrance Exam followed by several rounds of creative and design tests and personal interviews.

Some key points:

• The NID cut off 2026 will be announced after the results and seat-allotment process, typically around May–June 2026.
• You can refer to past years’ cut-off scores to gauge expected ranges. For example, for the B.Des program at NID Ahmedabad in 2025
• The NID Cut Off 2026 can be higher than the previous year due to the increasing competition among aspirants. It depends on several other factors, including the difficulty level of the NID exam, the number of applicants, and the number of seats available.

Candidates must meet the NID 2026 cut off marks for NID 2026 to be eligible for admission into the institute. 

What is NID Cut off 2026 Marks? 

The NID DAT cut off marks 2026 are the minimum qualifying scores set by the National Institute of Design (NID) that candidates must achieve in the DAT Prelims to be shortlisted for the DAT Mains. Similarly, after Mains, a final cut off is released for admission into B.Des and M.Des programs.

Candidates who score valid marks in the exam will be eligible for admission into the institute. 

NID 2026 cut off vary every year and depend on:

• Number of applicants
• Exam difficulty level
• Seat availability at different NID campuses
• Category of the candidate (General, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD)

Note:

1. The Cut Off for NID 2026 will be published on the institute's official website a few weeks before the commencement of the admission process.
2. These are qualifying cut offs, not the final admission cut offs. As per updated NID exam pattern 2026, final selection will depend on Mains (Studio Test + Interview) scores.

Know more: NID Fee Structure for Different Categories

NID DAT Cut Off 2026 [Expected]

Generally, the NID 2026 cut off is released after the declaration of the NID DAT Result 2026. Students will be shortlisted for the DAT mains exam based on the category-wise merit list.

• While preparing the NID B.Des Cut Off 2026 list, 0% weightage will be given to NID DAT prelims, only the score of NID DAT Mains exam will be considered for ranking.

Studio Sensitivity Test	In-Person Sensitivity Test
60%	40%

• For the M.Des program also, 0% weightage of prelims for final selection.  will be given to prelims and 30% to mains score.

Studio Test	Interviews
40%	60%

Check: NID Ahmedabad

NID DAT Prelims Cut Off vs NID DAT Admission Cut Off

Aspect	NID DAT Prelims Cut Off	NID DAT Admission Cut Off
Stage of Exam	Declared after DAT Prelims (CAT + GAT)	Declared after DAT Mains + Final Merit List
Purpose	Minimum marks needed to qualify for DAT Mains (Studio Test + Interview + Portfolio)	Final minimum score needed for admission to NID B.Des / M.Des seats
Components Considered	Based only on Prelims scores (CAT 60% + GAT 40%)	Based only on Mains scores
Category-Wise Variation	Yes, varies for GEN, OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, ST, PwD	Yes, varies by category and campus/course
Usefulness for Aspirants	Helps know if you’re shortlisted for the next stage	Decides if you finally secure a seat in your preferred NID campus
When Released	A few weeks after Prelims results (Feb/March)	After final results and merit list (May/June)

In short:

• Prelims Cut Off = Gateway → allows you to move from Prelims to Mains.
• Admission Cut Off = Final Benchmark → decides if you get into NID and which campus/course you’re allotted.

NID DAT 2025 B.Des Cut Off

Applicants must check the NID DAT 2025 B.Des cut-off data shared in the table below: 

Category	B.Des Cut Off NID
OPEN	48-53
OBC - NCL	43-48
EWS	50-55
ST	40-45
SC	40-45
PWD	40-45

Check: NID Gandhinagar

Download Complete NID Colleges Comparison Chart PDF

NID DAT 2025 M.Des Cut Off

The NID cut off list for NID DAT M.Des 2025 is provided below for candidates reference: 

Institutes	NID M.Des Cut Off
NID Ahmedabad	Open: 96.84 OBC NCL: 79.41 SC: 65.27 ST: 63.49
NID Andhra Pradesh	Open: 94.17 OBC NCL: 71.72 SC: 53.33 ST: 50.51
NID Haryana	Open: 91.15 OBC NCL: 65.82 SC: 46.12 ST: 47.91
NID Madhya Pradesh	Open: 88.16 OBC NCL: 60.95 SC: 50.17 ST: 46.19
NID Assam	Open: 87.10 OBC NCL: 57.17 SC: 45.98

Note: These cut off data for both B.Des and M.Des is expected to change to a certain extent because of the major changes announced in NID 2026 exam pattern.

Boost your NID preparation: NID Online Coaching Classes 2025 by Creative Edge

Previous Year NID DAT Cut Off (UG)

We have complied with the previous year's NID cut off and rank to help you understand the trend. Refer to the below tables for the NID last year cut-offs.

Last Five Years NID Cut Off:

NID 2024 B.Des Cut-Off (Last Admitted Candidate Rank & Score)

NID Campus	Last Admitted Rank	Score
NID Ahmedabad	43	-
NID Andhra Pradesh	233	59.00
NID Haryana	181	61.60
NID Madhya Pradesh	196	61.30
NID Assam	255	60.30

NID 2024 M.Des Cut-Off

• The specific cut-off scores for M.Des programs have not been detailed in available sources. They are generally released at the time of seat allotment.

Category	NID DAT 2023 Prelims Cut Off (Score)
General	61.75 - 64
EWS	59.25 - 61.5
OBC-NCL	51 – 53.5
SC	46
ST	43
PwD	50.5
Overseas	55

Also check: LIfe at NID Bangalore

Step-by-step Guide to Ace NID 2026 in First Attempt!

NID DAT Cut off 2023 (Campus Wise) 

Check out the table below to know the category-wise and college-wise cut-off for NID Exam 2023

Institutes	OPEN	GEN-EWS	OBC-NCL	SC	ST	PWD	Overseas
NID Ahmedabad	65.8	57.4	60.7	58.8	52.8	49.4	51.2
NID Andhra Pradesh	62.2	50.4	55.9	54.1	45.9	41.7	NA
NID Assam	60.3	50	55.1	50.9	45.2	NA	NA
NID Madhya Pradesh	61.3	51.2	56.1	52.8	46	40.6	50
NID Haryana	61.6	52.2	56.7	54.7	45.8	43.3	NE

Know more: Life at NID Vijayawada

NID DAT Cut off Ranks 2023 

Institutes	OPEN	GEN-EWS	OBC-NCL	SC	ST	PWD	Overseas
NID Ahmedabad	47	15	39	21	12	7	20
NID Andhra Pradesh	154	49	117	57	41	21	NA
NID Assam	255	53	139	90	48	NA	NA
NID Madhya Pradesh	196	44	115	70	40	40.6	25
NID Haryana	181	36	103	49	44	43.3	NE

Below is the expected cut-off for various NID courses offered by the institute:

Category	NID Minimum Qualifying Criteria
Open	50
EWS	50
OBC-NCL	45
SC	40
ST	40
PwD	40
Overseas	50

Know more: NID Ahmedabad Courses 

NID DAT Cut-Off 2022

Category	Approximate Cut off of NID
GEN	61.75 - 64
OBC-NCL	51-53.5
SC	46

NID DAT Cut-Off 2021 

Check out the table below to know the category-wise cut-off marks and rank for the B.Des course at NID:

Category	NID Cut off 2021 Prelims Cutoff for B. Des (Score)	NID DAT Prelims Cutoff for B. Des (Rank)
General	64.00	375
General-EWS	40.25	155
OBC-NCL	52.50	323
SC	48.75	224
ST	13.50	125
PwD	18.50	43
Overseas	35.00	81

Also read: NID Ahmedabad Hostel Fee

NID DAT Cut-Off 2021 (Campus-wise)

Check out the table below to know the category-wise and college-wise cut-off for NID DAT Exam:

Institute	NID Cut off Category
	Open	General EWS	OBC-NCL	SC	ST	PwD	Overseas
NID Ahmedabad Cut Off 2021	97.35	63.59	81.80	75.63	42.97	40.15	54.67
NID Andhra Pradesh Cutoff 2021	93.26	56.39	71.89	55.82	43.72	Not Eligible	No Applicant
NID Haryana Cutoff 2021	88.71	60.89	61.41	45.45	40.38	Not Eligible	No Applicant
NID Madhya Pradesh Cutoff 2021	89.80	53.28	62.85	52.48	Not Eligible	Not Eligible	51.96
NID Assam Cutoff 2021	86.87	Not Eligible	55.47	43.95	Not Eligible	Not Eligible	No Applicant

Practice with: NID Mock Test Series by Creative Edge

NID DAT Cut-off 2020 

Go through the table below to know the category-wise cut-off marks of NID DAT 2020 for the B.Des program:

Program	NID Cut off 2020 - Open	OBC-NCL	SC	ST	PwD	Supernumerary
Bachelor of Design, Ahmedabad	96.21	82.11	83.40	79.41	55.26	51.86
Graduate Diploma Program in Design, Bhopal	81.27	63.38	58.68	40.86	NE/NA	--
Graduate Diploma Program in Design, Vijayawada	88.40	71.42	60.35	47.99	NE/NA	--
Graduate Diploma Program in Design, Kurukshetra	85.82	61.79	62.77	50.27	NE/NA	--
Graduate Diploma Program in Design, Jorhat	70.58	59.29	42.30	43.44	NE/NA	--

Kow more: NID 2025 Marking Scheme

NID DAT Cut-Off 2019 

The table below shows the Cut off of NID exam 2019 for B.Des/GDPD courses:

Programs/Category	General Category	OBC-NCL Category	SC Category	ST Category	PH (horizontal-all categories)
(excluding PH)	(excluding PH)	(excluding PH)	(excluding PH)	(excluding PH)	-
Bachelor of Design (B. Des)	55.76	51.63	50.04	50.23	46.76

NID DAT Cut-Off 2018 

The National Institute of Design has released the cut-off for the NID DAT exam on the official website.

Check out the table below to know the category-wise cut-off marks for the B.Des program:

Programme/ Category	General	General –PH	OBC-NCL	OBC-NCL-PH	SC	SC-PH	ST
Bachelor of Design (B.Des)	59.65	51.75	52.70	40.55	50.10	31.25	47.45

Refer: Important questions for NID General Aptitude Test

Test Your NID Prep Status - Attempt NID Mocks Today!

Previous Year NID DAT Cut-Off (PG)

We have compiled the previous year's cut-off for the postgraduate courses.

NID DAT Cut-Off 2020 

The table below shows the category-wise cut-off marks for the National Institute of Design entrance exam:

M.Des: Discipline/Category	General	OBC-NCL	PH	SC	ST
Animation Film Design	66.10	54.60	30.80	59.20	55.90
Apparel Design	57.40	45.60	50.00	49.20	50.00
Ceramic & Glass Design	54.60	38.30	No Applicant	44.50	No Applicant
Design for Retail Experience	62.00	48.60	30.60	53.10	49.70
Digital Game Design	61.40	38.60	37.10	43.90	42.80
Film & Video Communication	61.80	47.20	32.70	47.80	48.60
Furniture Design	61.20	51.00	53.50	54.10	48.40
Graphic Design	69.70	60.00	36.90	57.60	60.30
Information Design	67.50	57.90	35.50	45.50	47.80
Interaction Design	67.50	57.90	35.50	58.60	58.10
Lifestyle Accessory Design	60.00	49.20	39.50	50.80	50.90
New Media Design	60.00	31.10	52.40	46.50	36.30
Photography Design	58.70	42.00	32.70	49.50	50.30
Product Design	70.00	62.80	42.50	61.50	57.00
Strategic Design Management	63.80	49.60	30.60	54.80	57.40
Textile Design	58.40	46.20	25.00	45.90	50.00
Toy and Game Design	57.00	29.70	No Applicant	37.50	52.30
Transportation & Automobile Design	66.40	60.60	40.50	60.80	51.60
Universal Design	61.30	52.00	52.10	37.50	44.60

Also Check: NID Exam Syllabus

NID DAT Cut-off 2019 

Check out the table below to know the NID DAT Cut off 2019 for the M.Des program:

M.Des: Discipline/Category	General	General – PH	OBC – NCL	OBC-NCL-PH	SC
Animation Film Design	59.85	No Applicant	53.65	25.3	53.85
Apparel Design	50.8	27.2	46.8	No Applicant	42.25
Ceramic & Glass Design	48.85	No Applicant	18.2	No Applicant	45.15
Design for Retail Experience	55.25	27.2	52.3	No Applicant	46.2
Digital Game Design	48.7	No Applicant	35.85	No Applicant	44.05
Film & Video Communication	54.8	No Applicant	47.6	No Applicant	50.3
Furniture Design	58.45	57.45	50.3	No Applicant	45.4
Graphic Design	62.4	38.6	59.15	25.3	58.05
Information Design	59.15	35.05	47.15	No Applicant	46.5
Interaction Design	62.05	35.05	54	44.85	57
Lifestyle Accessory Design	55.45	45.15	46.8	No Applicant	41.35
New Media Design	58.7	No Applicant	34.6	No Applicant	46
Photography Design	52.6	No Applicant	40.35	24.95	45.7
Product Design	64.9	38.6	59.15	No Applicant	58.1
Strategic Design Management	60.7	No Applicant	52.45	No Applicant	52.7
Textile Design	53.05	34.2	43.5	No Applicant	42.1
Toy and Game Design	48.6	No Applicant	45.3	No Applicant	30.25
Transportation & Automobile Design	61.35	No Applicant	56.75	No Applicant	56.3
Universal Design	58.5	40.1	49.85	No Applicant	44.65

Know more: Short tricks to crack the NID interview on the first attempt

NID DAT Cut-Off 2018 

Go through the table below to know the NID Cut-off 2018 for the M.Des program:

M.Des: Discipline/Category	General	OBC-NCL	PwD	Supernumerary	SC	ST
Animation Film Design	62.82	57.15	48.50	No Applicant	Non-eligible candidate	61.65
Apparel Design	53.60	50.00	40.15	No Applicant	44.38	50.33
Ceramic & Glass Design	55.23	51.00	Non-eligible candidate	No Applicant	47.38	50.75
Design for Retail Experience	62.23	56.15	No Applicant	No Applicant	54.50	55.45
Digital Game Design	63.58	57.88	No Applicant	No Applicant	55.93	54.35
Film & Video Communication	60.03	54.45	Non-eligible candidate	56.25	52.45	Non-eligible candidate
Furniture Design	58.98	54.60	50.73	No Applicant	56.08	47.48
Graphic Design	60.70	57.08	53.98	No Applicant	48.95	Non-eligible candidate
Information Design	66.18	62.43	Non-eligible candidate	Non-eligible candidate	57.85	Non-eligible candidate
Interaction Design	58.88	53.15	Non-eligible candidate	49.30	51.93	51.08
Lifestyle Accessory Design	61.70	56.18	No Applicant	50.30	51.85	54.10
New Media Design	54.90	52.18	No Applicant	No Applicant	48.43	47.10
Photography Design	53.95	Non-eligible candidate	46.95	No Applicant	50.03	46.90
Product Design	66.23	60.98	55.45	No Applicant	60.18	57.65
Strategic Design Management	58.55	56.20	47.50	No Applicant	53.68	55.40
Textile Design	57.25	52.55	Non-eligible candidate	54.35	51.85	54.78
Toy and Game Design	59.00	53.95	No Applicant	No Applicant	55.75	Non-eligible candidate
Transportation & Automobile Design	66.58	61.95	59.90	55.53	58.70	Non-eligible candidate
Universal Design	62.03	60.48	No Applicant	No Applicant	51.23	56.23

Refer: Important creative ability questions for the NID exam

NID DAT Marks Relaxation for Reserved Category 

Check out the table below to know the percentage of relaxation provided to the reserved category:

Categories	OBC-NCL	SC	ST	PH
Relaxation	10% less than a Cutoff score of the General Category	20% less than a Cutoff score of the General Category	20% less than a Cutoff score of the General Category	30% less than a Cutoff score of the General Category

Access Original NID Previous Year Question Papers (with Answer Keys) 

Understanding the NID Admission Process 2025

The NID admission process is rigorous, designed to identify candidates with a strong creative aptitude and the potential to excel in the design domain. It encompasses:

1. NID DAT Prelims: A written test assessing the candidate's design aptitude, creativity, and visual skills.
2. NID DAT Mains: Candidates shortlisted from the prelims undergo a series of practical tests, including hands-on design tasks, to evaluate their problem-solving and creative execution abilities.
3. Personal Interview: A panel of experts interacts with the candidates to understand their motivation, passion for design, and readiness for the design industry.

Impact of NID Exam Analysis on Cut Off for NID Exam 

The NID 2025 Cut Off Marks are significantly influenced by the evolving patterns and difficulty levels observed in the Design Aptitude Test (DAT) conducted by the National Institute of Design. A concise analysis of these trends is crucial for aspirants to understand how to better prepare and what to expect in terms of cut-off marks.

Also Read: NID Exam Pattern

Insights from NID DAT Analysis

• Creativity and Problem-Solving: The DAT Prelims and Mains focus on assessing candidates' creativity, problem-solving skills, and general awareness. Practicing with the NID Previous Year Question Paper helps candidates understand this emphasis on innovative thinking and practical application, which in turn impacts cut-off trends, as higher scores are likely required in these areas.
• Objective and Subjective Balance: The Prelims test both general knowledge and creative execution, while the Mains emphasize hands-on design tasks. Success in these areas suggests a need for a balanced preparation strategy focusing on both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

Conclusion

The NID BDES Cut off 2025 are projected to rise due to intensified competition. Admission into the National Institute of Design's undergraduate and postgraduate courses hinges on surpassing these cut-offs, determined by performance in the All India Entrance Exam, creative tests, and interviews.

With NID B.Des expected cut-offs ranging from 40-55 and M.Des varying by campus, aspirants must aim for high scores to secure a seat. The trend indicates a competitive admission landscape, urging candidates to leverage preparatory resources effectively, including NID sample papers, to strengthen their preparation.