UGC NET Dec 2025 LIVE: NET exam starts at 9 am on December 31; exam-day guidelines, latest updates

UGC NET Exam 2025-26: The National Testing Agency (NTA) will administer the UGC NET exam 2025 on December 31, January 2, January 3, January 5, January 6, and January 7. The UGC NET exam 2025 is going to be administered in two shifts; the shift timings are: shift 1 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and shift 2 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

The minimum qualifying percentage for the general category is 40%, and for the reserved category, it is 35% for both papers. The JRF cut-off is a bit higher than that of the assistant professor. Moreover, the cut-off also differs as per the difficulty level of the exam.

If candidates face any problems with the UGC NET exam, they can contact the NTA office via phone at 011-40759000, 011-69227700 or email at ugcnet@nta.ac.in.

UGC NET Exam Pattern 2025

In order to guide their study strategy, candidates can refer to the UGC NET exam pattern. The pattern of the UGC NET exam for applicants is shown in the table below.

Documents to carry at the UGC NET 2025 Exam Centre

The documents candidates need to carry inside the UGC NET 2025 examination centre are as follows:

• Printed copy of the admit card.
• One passport-size photograph (same as uploaded in the application form) to be pasted on the attendance sheet.
• One original, valid and non-expired photo identity proof: PAN card, driving licence, passport, Aadhaar card (with photograph).
• If the name has changed due to marriage or legal reasons, the relevant supporting document such as a marriage certificate, legal name change document.
• PwD, PwBD certificate issued by the competent authority, if claiming relaxation under the PwD, PwBD category.

UGC NET 2025: Minimum qualifying criteria

The minimum qualifying criteria for the UGC NET exam 2025.

• Six per cent of the applicants who will sit the exam for both papers—Paper I and Paper II—will be shortlisted, based on the UGC NET exam results for 2025.
• The entire number of seats will be distributed among different categories by the Government of India's reservation system.
• To be eligible for UGC NET 'JRF and Eligibility for Assistant Professor' and 'Assistant Professor' (belonging to Non-Creamy Layer, PwD, and Transgender), a candidate must receive at least 40% of the total points in both papers taken together for the General category and 35% of the total points for SC, ST, and OBC.