UGC NET Answer Key 2026 (OUT) LIVE: NTA re-exam for English, commerce and sociology; challenge window open

The UGC NET 2026 category wise qualifying marks are as follows:

The colleges that are accepting UGC NET scores are:

1. University of Delhi
2. Jawaharlal Nehru University
3. Banaras Hindu University
4. University of Hyderabad
5. Aligarh Muslim University
6. Jamia Millia Islamia
7. Indira Gandhi National Open University

The details mentioned on the UGC NET 2026 answer key are:

• Name of the exam
• Date of exam
• Subject ID
• The shift of the exam
• Question ID
• Correct option ID

To raise the objections against the UGC NET 2026 answer key, follow the steps given below:

• Go to the official website of UGC NET at ugcnet.nta.nic.in
• On homepage, click on the ‘Challenge regarding Answer Key' link
• Log in using the details, including application number, date of birth (or password), and security pin
• Check the subject-wise question paper, response sheet, and the provisional answer key
• Choose the question ID you wish to challenge & choose correct option ID and then submit the necessary documentary proof
• Pay the fee and submit the objection

Both Paper 1 and Paper 2 award 2 marks for each correct answer. Paper 1 comprises 50 questions, while there is no negative marking for incorrect or unattempted responses in either paper.

As per the NTA notice, students appearing for the UGC NET June 2026 re-exam will not have to pay any additional fees. Moreover, details for the exam centre and city and admit card issuance will be announced separately for affected students.

NTA is conducting a re-exam for UGC NET 2026 June English, sociology, and commerce subjects after students raised factual and spelling errors and alleged that a few questions in the English paper were the same as those from two years ago.

The re-exam dates for UGC NET 2026 for three subjects are shown in the table below.

Candidates can raise challenges against the UGC NET 2026 June answer key on the official website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in, by paying an objection fee of Rs 200 for the challenge.

List of career options after qualifying UGC NET 2026 is mentioned below:

• Assistant Professor in universities and colleges
• Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) for funded research
• PhD admission in universities and higher education institutions
• Research Associate or Research Assistant in academic and research institutes
• Research positions in organisations such as ICMR, ICSSR, IITs and IIMs
• Corporate trainer or Learning and Development (L&D) specialist
• Policy researcher or analyst in think tanks, NGOs and government organisations

To raise the objections against the UGC NET 2026 answer key, follow the steps given below:

• Open the official UGC NET website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in
• On homepage, click on the ‘Challenge regarding Answer Key' link
• Log in using the details, including application number, date of birth (or password), and security pin
• Check the subject-wise question paper, response sheet, and the provisional answer key
• Choose the question ID you wish to challenge & choose correct option ID and then submit the necessary documentary proof
• Pay the fee and submit the objection

Students who find any discrepancy in the UGC NET 2026 provisional answer key for 84 subjects can raise objections till 18 August up to 11 pm on the official website, ugcnet.nta.nic.in.

Candidates appearing for the UGC NET June 2026 re-exam must note the following details given below.

• No additional fee for these candidates.
• Results for the other 84 subjects will be declared as per the schedule
• Allocation of seats for assistant professors will not be reduced.

NTA has also assured students that the UGC NET June 2026 results will not be delayed due to the conduct of the re-exam.

"The number of candidates to be qualified for eligibility for Assistant Professor shall be equal to 6% of the candidates who appeared in the test conducted in June 2026, or the retest, whichever is higher," the NTA said in its official notice.

Affected students will not have to pay any exam fee to appear for the re-test. UGC NET June 2026 test takers can check the exam dates given below.

• English: Sep 9, Shift 1
• Commerce: Sep 9, Shift 2
• Sociology: Sep 10, Shift 1

Candidates can heck the UGC NET cut-off for the Economics subject for JRF, Assistant Professor, and PhD below:

NTA will conduct re-exams for UGC NET 2026 English, commerce, and sociology subjects after test-takers raised concerns over multiple errors in the question papers. The re-exam will be held in September.

NTA announces re-exam dates for UGC NET June 2026 English, commerce, sociology subjects

After the UGC NET answer key challenge window closed. NTA will review the objections through subject experts and prepare the final answer key. The UGC NET result will be declared based on the final key.

Aspirants can check the last year's December cycle cutoff scores for commerce are:

• JRF: 218
• Assistant Professor: 186
• Phd admission: 158

• Expert verification: Designated subject matter experts will examine the challenges submitted by candidates.
• Answer key revision: If a challenge is found correct, the provisional answer key will be revised.
• Response evaluation: Candidates’ responses will be evaluated using the revised final answer key.
• Result preparation: The revised key will be used to prepare and declare the result.
• Final key publication: The revised final answer key will be published on the official website before the results.
• Fee refund: The processing fee will be refunded for every challenge that is accepted.
• No individual communication: Candidates will not receive separate communication about the

Candidates who find any discrepancy in the UGC NET 2026 answer key can raise objections by August 18. To challenge an answer, candidates are required to pay a non-refundable fee of Rs 200 per question. The NTA will review all the challenges submitted and, if found valid, revise the answer key before releasing the final UGC NET answer key.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has also uploaded the UGC NET response sheet and question paper along with the provisional answer key on the official website, ugcnet.nta.nic.in. Candidates can access their recorded responses by logging in with their credentials.

Candidates can use the UGC NET answer key to estimate their scores by following the official marking scheme. Both Paper 1 and Paper 2 award 2 marks for each correct answer. Paper 1 comprises 50 questions, while there is no negative marking for incorrect or unattempted responses in either paper.

Here are the UGC NET 2026 category wise qualifying marks:

UGC NET answer key release date trends

To calculate the UGC NET 2026 scores, candidates will have to follow the formula mentioned below:

• Total Marks Obtained = Number of correct answers x Marks allotted for each correct question

As per the UGC NET minimum marks, the qualifying percentage for general category candidates is 40 percent, and 35 percent for reserved categories. This is only the minimum eligibility criterion. The actual subject-wise cut-offs for JRF, assistant professor and PhD admissions are calculated separately.

The list of details mentioned on the UGC NET 2026 answer key below:

• Name of the exam
• Date of exam
• Subject ID
• The shift of the exam
• Question ID
• Correct option ID

The UGC NET June 2026 answer key challenge process will be conducted online only. NTA has said that challenges sent through email, fax, letter or any other mode will not be accepted. Candidates must submit their objections through the official website and pay the Rs 200 processing fee for each question challenged within the deadline.

UGC NET June 2026 candidates can now challenge the provisional answer keys for 84 subjects. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has opened the answer key challenge window from August 16 to August 18, 2026, up to 11.59 PM. Candidates will have to pay Rs 200 for each question challenged. The fee will be refunded if the challenge is accepted.

NTA has clarified that candidates do not need to submit the same UGC NET June 2026 answer key challenge more than once. If a challenge is found correct by the subject experts, the resulting correction will be applied uniformly to all candidates appearing for that subject. The processing fee will also be refunded for every accepted challenge.

NTA has formed a committee to examine complaints about various errors reported in the UGC NET question papers for English, Commerce and Sociology. Based on the committee’s recommendations, NTA will issue a separate public notice for these three subjects later today.

As per the official notice, candidates' challenges will be reviewed by the designated subject matter experts. If a challenge is found to be valid, the provisional answer key will be revised, and candidates' responses will be evaluated using the revised final answer key for result preparation and declaration.

Individual decisions on specific challenges will not be communicated separately to aspirants. However, the revised final answer key will be published on the official website before the results are declared. The processing fee will be refunded for each challenge that is accepted.

The colleges that are accepting UGC NET scores are:

1. University of Delhi
2. Jawaharlal Nehru University
3. Banaras Hindu University
4. University of Hyderabad
5. Aligarh Muslim University
6. Jamia Millia Islamia
7. Indira Gandhi National Open University

The career options for UGC NET qualified applicants are:

1. Assistant Professor in universities and colleges
2. Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) for funded research
3. PhD admission in universities and higher education institutions
4. Research Associate or Research Assistant in academic and research institutes
5. Research positions in organisations such as ICMR, ICSSR, IITs and IIMs
6. Corporate trainer or Learning and Development (L&D) specialist
7. Policy researcher or analyst in think tanks, NGOs and government organisations

The official notice reads, "The payment of the processing fee may be made through Debit Card, Credit Card or Net Banking up to 18 August 2026 (11:59 P.M.). No challenge will be entertained without receipt of the processing fee. Challenges will be accepted only through the official website during the challenge window."

As per the official notice, the key terms applicants should note are:

• Applicants can submit challenges only through the online portal within the specified window and must pay the prescribed fee. Challenges sent through email, fax, letter or any other mode, or those submitted without the required fee, will not be accepted.
• If a challenge is accepted by the subject experts, the correction will be applied to all applicants appearing for that subject. Applicants do not need to submit the same challenge multiple times.
• A processing fee of Rs 200 per question will be refunded in full for every challenge accepted by the expert panel.
• The answer key finalised after reviewing all challenges will be considered final. No further challenges or grievances regarding the answer key will be accepted after the challenge window closes or the result is declared.

Applicants can raise challenges against any question from 16 to 18 August 2026, up to 11 pm. Candidates need to pay a Rs. 200 per question challenged (refundable in full for accepted challenges).

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued the UGC NET June 2026 provisional answer key on the official website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in

The UGC NET exam was conducted on June 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, and a retest on July 5, 2026 by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The objections raised by the applicants against the provisional answer key will be reviewed by a panel of subject experts.

Candidates will soon be able to challenge the UGC NET June 2026 answer key by paying an objection fee of Rs 200.

The UGC NET cut off for the economics subject for JRF, Assistant Professor, and PhD are:

The top research opportunities for JRF candidates are as follows:

• Science and Technology
• Engineering
• Social Sciences
• Humanities
• Commerce and Management
• Environmental Studies

To download the UGC NET 2026 answer key, applicants can use the following credentials:

• Application number
• Password or date of birth
• Security PIN

The details mentioned in the UGC NET 2026 answer key are:

1. Name of the exam
2. Date of the exam
3. Subject ID
4. The shift of the exam
5. Question ID
6. Correct option ID

To download the UGC NET answer key 2026, follow the steps mentioned below:

• Go to the official website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in.
• On the homepage, click on “UGC NET June 2026 Answer Key / Challenge Window.”
• A new window will open.
• Enter login details such as application number and password or date of birth.
• Press the submit icon.
• UGC NET June 2026 provisional answer key and response sheet will appear on the screen.
• Check answers and raise objections if found.

Most central, state, deemed, and many private universities admit PhD candidates on the basis of UGC NET scores. Some of the popular universities are:

• University of Delhi
• Jawaharlal Nehru University
• Banaras Hindu University
• University of Hyderabad
• Aligarh Muslim University
• Jamia Millia Islamia
• Indira Gandhi National Open University

• Visit the official UGC NET website
• On homepage, click on the "UGC NET June 2026 Provisional Answer Key" or "Answer Key Challenge" link
• Log in using your application number, date of birth/password and security pin
• Click on the submit button
• The answer key, question paper and your recorded responses will be displayed on the screen
• Download the answer key PDF and compare your responses to estimate your score
• If required, raise objections online within the given deadline by paying the prescribed fee per question.

To calculate the scores follow the formula given below:

Total Marks Obtained = Number of correct answers x Marks allotted for each correct question

The reservation of seats are as follows:

• SC: 15%
• ST: 7.5%
• OBC NCL: 27%
• General- EWS: 10%
• 5% of the seats in the above-mentioned categories for PwBD with 40% or more disability

To access and download the answer key, candidates are required to enter the details given below:

• Application number
• Date of birth
• password
• Captcha code

The information listed in the UGC NET June answer key 2026 is mentioned below for candidates' reference:

• Name of the exam
• Subject ID
• Question ID
• Date of UGC NET 2025 exam
• Correct option ID
• The shift of the UGC NET 2025 exam

Check the last year's December cycle cutoff scores for commerce are:

• JRF: 218
• Assistant Professor: 186
• Phd admission: 158

Candidates can check the factors determining the UGC NET cut-off 2026 mentioned below:

• The number of candidates who appeared in the exam.
• The difficulty level of the UGC NET 2026 question paper.
• Previous year UGC NET cut off trends.

Check the UGC NET commerce cut off of December 2025 session for JRF, assistant professor and PhD  below:

Check the UGC NET cut-off for the Economics subject for JRF, Assistant Professor, and PhD below:

The name of colleges who are accepting UGC NET scores are:

• University of Delhi
• Jawaharlal Nehru University
• Banaras Hindu University
• University of Hyderabad
• Aligarh Muslim University
• Jamia Millia Islamia
• Indira Gandhi National Open University

The marking scheme are as follows:

The UGC NET 2026 provisional answer key will be issued on the NTA's official website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in.

• Go to the official website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in.
• On the homepage, click on “UGC NET June 2026 Answer Key / Challenge Window.”
• A new window will open.
• Enter login details such as application number and password or date of birth.
• Press the submit icon.
• UGC NET June 2026 provisional answer key and response sheet will appear on the screen.
• Check answers and raise objections if found.

As per the marking scheme, there is no negative marking for incorrect response, and candidates will be awarded 2 marks for each correct answer.

The NTA conducted the UGC NET June 2026 examination in a computer-based mode.

Candidates who appeared for the UGC NET 2026 June examination, will be able to download the provisional answer key on the NTA's official website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will announce the University Grants Commission - National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) 2026 June provisional answer key and response sheet tomorrow, August 16.