CTET 2026: Notification, Application Form, Exam Date, Pattern, Syllabus, Question Papers & More

CTET full form is Central Teacher Eligibility Test. It is a national-level exam conducted every year to determine the eligibility of candidates to teach Classes 1 to 8 in central government schools such as KVS, NVS, etc. Passing the CTET exam is compulsory for aspirants who want to apply for teacher recruitment in government schools for Classes 1 to 8. 

The Central Board of Secondary Education conducted the CTET exam on February 7 & 8, 2026. The 21st edition of the Central Teacher Eligibility Test was held offline.

No, clearing the CTET exam does not guarantee jobs to candidates. By clearing CTET, candidates only become eligible to apply for teaching jobs in government schools across India. Post exam, all qualifying candidates need to go through the recruitment process of the school in which they apply for a job.

Yes, the CTET form 2026 was released at ctet.nic.in. The last date to apply was December 18.

Candidates can download the CTET notification PDF using the process shared below-

• Visit ctet.nic.in.
• Click on the Information Bulletin link.
• Go through all the details carefully.
• Download the PDF.

Yes. The CTET 2026 notification was released on November 27, 2025. The notification was displayed as a CTET information bulletin at ctet.nic.in. Candidates should visit this page to get the latest updates on the CTET exam - https://www.shiksha.com/sarkari-exams/teaching/articles/ctet-2026-exam-blogId-170985 

The CTET exam fee is different for General and Reserved category candidates. General candidates need to pay INR 1,000 for one paper and INR 1,200 for two papers. Reserved category such as SC, ST, OBC and others need to pay INR 500 for one paper and INR 600 for both papers.

The CTET 2026 exam will be conducted offline. In 2021 and 2022, the exam was held online wherein candidates were required to mark their answers on the computer. Until 2020, the it was held offline.  However, the exam was organised offline again in 2023 and 2024.

The CTET 2026 application form was released at ctet.nic.in. The CTET exam notification and application form were released together on the website of the exam. Candidates can get the CTET application form link here - https://www.shiksha.com/sarkari-exams/teaching/articles/ctet-2026-exam-blogId-170985

The authority offers the CTET application form correction window after the closing of form submission. Candidates can make changes or corrections in the online form by logging in with the required details. 

The CTET qualifying marks are different for different categories. General category candidates need to obtain a minimum of 60 per cent or above marks in the CTET 2025 exam in order to be considered as a CTET pass. The CTET passing marks for OBC/SC/ST category candidates are 55 per cent. Candidates scoring more than or equal to the qualifying marks are considered CTET qualified. Only those candidates are awarded the CTET Certificate those who secure the minimum qualifying marks. However, a higher CTET score is advantageous in the further teacher recruitment process.

The CTET exam process contains the stages shared below-

• Release of notification
• Submission of application form
• CTET admit card
• Conduct of the exam in offline mode
• Provisional answer key
• Declaration of result
• Final answer key
• CTET certificate for qualified candidates

The CTET exam is generally easy to moderate in terms of difficulty level. The difficulty level depends on the nature of the questions asked in the exam. 

Candidates need to choose different language for CTET Language I and Language II sections. The CBSE provides a list of 20 languages from which the candidates can choose the language. 

The CTET question paper contains multiple choice questions- MCQs. There are 150 questions in the exam. The paper carries 150 marks. Candidates need to mark the answers on the OMR Sheet.

The CTET Paper 2 question papers for Maharashtra are the same as for other states in India. To get the CTET question papers for Maharashtra, candidates simply need to download the Marathi language question papers. The language-wise and year-wise CTET previous years papers are available on the CTET website. Moreover, candidates can easily download the CTET question papers on Shiksha page here - https://www.shiksha.com/exams/ctet-exam-question-papers 

CTET admit card is a mandatory document to be carried by candidates to their allotted exam centre on the day of the exam. Candidates not carrying their admit card on exam day will not be allowed to give the paper. Candidates need to carry a valid photo ID card as well on the day of the examination. Valid Photo IDs that can be carried to the CTET exam centre are given below.

• PAN Card
• Aadhar Card
• Voter Identity Card
• Passport
• Driving License

Yes, the CTET 2026 admit card was released. Candidates could download the admit card using the application number and password. The CTET hall ticket download link was activated at ctet.nic.in.

The CTET 2026 exam was conducted on February 7 and 8. The Board released the time table for the exam as given below:

The CTET pre-admit card 2026 was released on January 23. Candidates need to download the pre-admit card or CTET city intimation slip 2026 using the application number, date of birth and security pin. The CTET pre-admit card is like an exam city intimation slip that contains only the name of allotted exam city. The name and address of exam centre were intimated through the CTET admit card 2026. 

Candidates who get more than 60 per cent marks in the CTET are good scorers. Those who manage to get over 130 marks are considered as high scorers in the Central Teaching Eligibility Test.

Yes, the CTET 2026 paper analysis is available here. Shiksha.com reached out to the candidates who appeared for the exam to provide the real-time exam analysis and review. The overall as well as section-wise CTET paper analysis is shared here based on the candidates' feedback who appeared for the examination - https://www.shiksha.com/exams/ctet-exam-analysis

The CTET qualifying marks for females in Bihar are the same as those in other states. Moreover, the CTET passing marks are same for both male and female candidates. Have a look at the CTET qualifying marks for all genders and states below:

Yes, the CBSE released the CTET answer key for both Paper 1 and Paper 2 on March 12. The provisional answer key is released on the registered accounts of candidates containing the question paper attempted by a candidate along with the correct answer.

Candidates can use the provisional CTET answer key to predict the number of questions marked correctly. However, the CTET final answer key will be released as a PDF for all Sets of question paper for Paper 1 and 2. 

Candidates can raise objections against the CTET provisional answer key using the process shared below-

• Visit ctet.nic.in.
• Click on the answer key challenge link.
• Login using the roll number and date of birth.
• Select the question to be challenged.
• Click on the challenge button.
• Enter the answer link.
• Select the correct answer option.
• Click on the update link.
• Pay INR 1000 per challenge fee.
• Submit and save the page.

There is no provision for re-evaluation of the CTET answer key. The CBSE does not offer the facility for re-checking of the CTET answer sheets. Candidates must answer the questions carefully.

Yes. The CTET result 2026 was released on the official website as a login link. The direct result link is provided on this page. The CBSE CTET result displays the marks obtained by candidates in each section as well as overal marks. The qualifying status of the CTET exam will also be mentioned on the result page. Candidates qualifying the CTET exam will be awarded the eligibility certificate. The CTET certificate will be available on DigiLocker.

You can get the CTET old marksheet or duplicate CTET marksheet and certificate by visiting the official website of the exam. Follow the steps given below to get the previous years marksheets or certificates:

• Visit the official website - ctet.nic.in.
• Go to the 'Duplicate Marksheet & Certificate' link under e-Services.
• Click on the link given under '2011 to 2016' or '2018 & onwards'.
• Login using the registered mobile or Aadhaar number.
• Click on the Get Issued Documents link.
• Select CBSE >>> Teacher Eligibility Test Mark-sheet or Certificate.
• Enter the Roll Number and Year of passing.
• Click on get document link.

The CTET exam is valid for life time. Earlier, the CTET eligibility Certificate was valid for a period of seven years starting from the date of declaration of result. However, the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and CBSE officially extended the CTET passing Certificate validity to lifetime. Candidates need to fulfil the age limit criteria fixed by the respective teacher recruiting body such as NVS, KVS or others. Therefore, candidates can apply for the teaching jobs after qualifying the Central Teacher Eligibility Test CTET however, they must fall within the age limit defined by the respective agency.

CTET exam is of 2 hours 30 minutes duration for each paper. The CTET exam is conducted in two shifts. The CTET Shift 1 starts from 9:30 am to 12 noon and Shift 2 is from 2:30 pm to 5:00 pm.

The CTET question paper contains multiple choice questions- MCQs. There are 150 questions in the exam. The paper carries 150 marks. Candidates need to mark the answers on the OMR Sheet.

Candidates can attempt the CTET mock test by visiting the Shiksha.com website. The CTET mock tests are available for free here. The CTET mock test cannot be downloaded, however, can be attempted online. The Shiksha-curated mock tests are available separately for Paper 1 and Paper 2. Candidates can practice these mock tests without any difficulty.