CTET February 2026: 25.3 lakh aspirants to compete in CBSE’s teacher eligibility test

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) on February 8. According to the official CBSE update, approximately 25,30,436 candidates have applied for the CTET exam 2026.

The CTET February 2026 recorded a record 25.3 lakh registrations during the 22-day application window from November 27 to December 18, 2025.

This marks a significant increase compared to the previous CTET exams, where 20,25,554 candidates had registered for the July 2024 session and 16,72,748 candidates for the December 2024 session.

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“In the last three days for submitting applications—December 16, 17, and 18, 2025, registrations increased significantly; with 1,93,182, 3,53,218 and 4,14,981 applicants applied on these respective dates,” the official X handle of CBSE.

CTET registrations for February 2026 rose sharply—up 51.3% from December 2024 and 25.4% from July 2024.

CBSE CTET Exam 2026

During the final three days of CTET 2026 registration, applications surged, jumping by 82.8% on December 17 and rising by a further 17.5% on December 18.

The CTET exam 2026 will be conducted on February 8 and will be held in two shifts for aspiring school teachers. The morning session will be held from 9:30 am to 12 pm, and the afternoon session will be held from 2:30 pm to 5 pm.

As per last year's trends, the admit card for the CTE 2026 exam is likely to be released in the first week of February, specifically on February 6.

CTET is a national-level examination conducted to determine the eligibility of candidates for teaching Classes 1 to 8 in central government schools, including Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and other institutions that accept CTET scores.