UP CNET 2026: Exam Date, Registration, Eligibility, Syllabus, Pattern, Result

Yes, the UP Common Nursing Entrance Test (CNET) - 2026 nursing entrance exam will be held on June 6.

It is an offline (Pen & Paper Mode) state-level nursing entrance exam. It will be held for a duration of 140 minutes. The entrance exam grants admission to both the BSc Nursing Course (4 years) and Post Basic BSc Nursing Course (2 Years) programmes. 

The UP CNET BSc nursing application process is being conducted by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University, Uttar Pradesh. The candidate should visit the official website, abvmuup.edu.in. and click on the link for Common Nursing Entrance Test (CNET) 2026.

The UP CNET exam is conducted by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University (ABVMU), UP, Lucknow for admission to the BSc nursing programme. The UP CNET entrance exam has been instituted for candidates aiming to pursue nursing course in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an offline (Pen & Paper Mode) exam which is held once a year. 

A UP CNET application fee of INR 3000 needs to be paid by the Unreserved/Other Backward Classes (UR/OBC) category students. While applicants from Scheduled Cast/Scheduled Tribe/Persons with Disability (SC/ST/PwD) category are required to pay INR 2000.

To pursue the BSc nursing programme a candidate must have passed 10+2 or its equivalent exam. The candidate should have studied Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English in class 12.

Minimum Marks required to apply for the exam are 40% for reserved categories and 45% marks for the general category.

No, the candidates are required to keep all their documents handy during the application filling process so that they can see and fill the asked details in the UP CNET 2026 online application form.

The University can extend the UP CNET 2026 application in case of any technical glitch persist in the application portal. The last date to apply for the exam is May 20. The application correction will start on May 13.

Candidates with minimum age for admission is 17 years on or before 31st December 2025 can apply for the nursing entrance exam. It is mandatory to have passed class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Biology (PCB) taken together. English must be a mandatory subject in Class 12. 45 per cent aggregate marks in PCB for general category candidates, and 40% marks in PCB for reserved category candidates are mandatory. 

Candidate not more than 35 years of age can apply for the UP CNET exam. The minimum age to appear for the CNET nursing exam is 17 years. Age is an important criterion. Candidates must adhere to it while filling the application form. Candidates not fulfilling this criterion but having qualified the exam will not be given admission to the CNET participating institutes.

To pursue the BSc nursing programme a candidate must have passed 10+2 or its equivalent exam. The candidate should have studied Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English in class 12.

Minimum Marks required to apply for the exam are 40% for reserved categories and 45% marks for the general category.

The UP CNET BSc nursing 2026 eligibility criteria is mentioned below: 

1. The applicant must be of minimum 17 years of age on or before 31st December 2026
2. Candidate must have passed (10+2) examination with Physics, Chemistry and Biology (PCB) taken together
3. English must be a passed subject individually from the recognised board in (10+2) examination
4. The SC/ST/OBC category who have obtained 40% marks in (PCB) taken together
5. The applicant must have been declared medically fit by the Medical Board of the Government Medical College or the District CMO 

While filling the UP CNET application form, students must be declared medically fit by the Government Medical College or the District CMO. Without fulfilling this requirement, admission to the BSc nursing institute will not be accepted. In addition, the applicant's minimum age for applying is 17 years on or before 31st December 2026.

To appear for the UP CNET 2026 exam, a candidate must be at least 17 years of age on or before 31st December 2026. Candidates must fulfill the UP CNET 2026 exam eligibility criteria to apply for the exam. In case a candidate is 35 years or above, he/she is also not eligible to apply for the exam. Along with the age criteria, educational qualification holds another important role in being eligible for the exam. A candidate must have passed 10+2 from a recognised government/private board. Mandatory subjects must be Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (PCB) taken together and passed in English individually from any recognised board. 

Candidates applying for the UP CNET exam must fulfill the basic eligibility criteria before applying for the exam. The exam conducting body has mandated the following requirements to be fulfilled to apply for the UP CNET 2026 exam:

1. The candidate must possess Science background in Class 12. 
2. He/she must have passed Physics, Chemistry and Biology (PCB) taken together in class 12. 
3. English must be a mandatory passed language subject in Class 12 from a recognised board/university.
4. Candidate must have obtained a minimum of 45 per cent aggregate marks in PCB and English 
5. For SC/ST/OBC category reserved candidates, minimum 40% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Biology (PCB) taken together are mandatory to apply for the exam

The CNET marking scheme says that the candidate will get +1 mark for choosing the correct answer. There is NO negative marking in the exam. Overall, there will be 120 questions to test the aptitude of aspirants. This makes the question paper of 120 marks. 

The UP CNET question paper will comprise 120 questions of 1 mark each. There will be MCQs with four options each. Candidates will have to choose one correct option among the four given choices. There is no negative marking in the exam.

The UP CNET exam is an offline exam that is conducted by ABVMU, UP, for admission to the BSc nursing course. It is a pen and paper-based exam wherein candidates will get an OMR sheet to answer the questions within the specified time limit. 

The UP CNET making scheme says that a '+1' mark will be awarded to candidates for choosing the correct answer. There is NO negative marking in the exam. Candidates are advised to attempt all the questions without having to worry about the implications of negative marking in the entrance.  

As per the prospectus shared by the conducting body, ABVMU, the passing marks in the CNET exam are: 50th percentile for General, 45th percentile for PwD category, and 40th percentile for the reserved categories such as SC/ST/OBC candidates. 

ABVMU, Lucknow, the conducting body, does not release the UP CNET Syllabus 2026 officially. They recommend that the aspirants prepare the Class 12 syllabus of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English subjects. For the nursing aptitude section, candidates are expected to revise the General knowledge syllabus.  

The exam difficulty level depends on the preparation of the candidate. On a general note, most of the aspirants in the past who appeared for the exam have rated UP CNET as an exam of 'Medium' level. The question paper is primarily curated from the Class 12th syllabus of the physics, chemistry, and biology sections.  

The UP CNET post-basic nursing exam will comprise three sections. In the first section, topics such as Medical Surgical Nursing, Community Health Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Child Health Nursing, and Midwifery & Gynecological Nursing. 

UP CNET valid photo ID proofs, such as Aadhar Card, PAN Card, Driving License, Passport, are allowed along with the admit card at the test centre for the purpose of verification. Carry one of these IDs to present at the entry gate. 

The CNET admit card will be released around 10 days before the exam date. It will be released in online mode in PDF format. Candidates are advised to keep it safe till the counselling process. 

UP CNET admit card contains details such as candidate's name, test centre address, DOB, reporting time, exam day instructions, roll number, subject, exam date and time.  

The UP CNET admit card will be released on the official website. ABVMU will inform candidates about this and will not be sending the hall ticket via email or post. Candidate will have to visit the portal and provide login details to download the PDF document and keep it printout for the exam day. 

UP CNET BSc nursing test centre list is displayed for the candidates when they fill the application form. It is one of the crucial steps to choose the CNET test centre city to appear in the exam. Generally, all the test cities will be located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Candidates can choose anyone of the test cities among several choices which falls in their vicinity.

The UP CNET 2026 official notification is expected to be released in March 2026. The CNET application process, exam pattern, syllabus, important dates, counselling process, reservation criteria, and participating colleges.

No, there are no UP CNET test centres in the Delhi NCR or Mumbai region. This is a state-level exam which is held to offer admission in nursing colleges of UP, therefore the exam cities are also assigned in the popular cities in the state. 

The UP CNET test centre request for change will not be entertained by ABVMU, the official conducting body. Once allocated on the admit card, the examination centre address will not be altered. Pick and choose the test city carefully at the time of filling the application form.  

Some of the books to refer to for the CNET Exam preparation are: Nursing Entrance Exam Guide by Arihant Experts, UPCNET BSc Nursing Entrance Exam Book by  P.K. Panwar, UPCNET 3.0 B.Sc Nursing Entrance Exam Practice Set by Test Prep Publication.

Nothing is impossible if you decide to do so. Yes, three months of preparation are enough for the CNET exam preparation. The focus must be on solving as many MCQs from all five subjects as possible. Refer to the previous year papers. Make notes while learning the concepts. Revise and review your performance by appearing for the mock tests. Do not give up in the process! Be consistent in your CNET preparation.  

Generally, 1 Lacs to 1.5 Lacs aspirants appear for the UP CNET exam in general every year. Last year, Around 1.30 Lacs candidates registered for the CNET exam, as against 117,000 candidates who appeared for the BSc nursing entrance.

To prepare for the UP CNET exam, candidates are expected to practice the mock tests and previous year question papers. There are good preparation books that carry model test papers. 

The UP CNET counselling cutoff is impacted by the following factors as mentioned below: 

1.       Number of applicants

2.       Seat availability

3.       Exam difficulty

4.       Reservation policies

UP CNET 2026 final answer will be released along with the result on the result day itself at the official website. Candidates will be allowed to download the UP CNET 2026 final answer key from the official website.

The UP CNET result will be released in online mode on the date announced by ABVMU on the official website. Candidates will be able to download the merit list, and a scorecard will also be issued through the official admission portal. 

The UP CNET provisional answer key was released on May 26, 2025, on abvmucet25.co.in and later the final answer key was released along with the result on the same day. Candidates can refer to both to validate their answers. 

Yes, the CNET expected cutoff is based on the exam analysis and the question paper solved by the experts. However, the actual cutoff is shared by the conducting body to help candidates know their qualifying status for counselling.  

CNET nursing expected cutoff 2025 will be released by the experts of the top coaching institutes. Candidates who appear for the exam generally remain anxious about analyzing and assessing their performance. The expected cutoff scores help candidates ascertain their predictive scores in the entrance exam and also gives an overview about their expected ranks.

Some of the top private institutes participating in the UP CNET counselling process for BSc nursing admission are: 

1. Sahara College of Nursing, Lucknow
2. Mayo College of Nursing
3. Nightingale Institute of Nursing, Noida
4. Vivekananda College of Nursing, Lucknow
5. Krishna Institute of Nursing Science

The UP CNET seat matrix for each round of counselling will be released stage by stage before each round of counselling. Candidates will be able to download the CNET seat matrix 2026 either from the official website or through this page of Shiksha.com. The CNET seat matrix will help candidates know the course and college availability as per the rank secured.

Candidate has to pay INR 500/- as Counselling Registration Fee (NON-Refundable) and INR 5000/- as Counselling Security Fee through online mode. The CNET Counselling Security Fee amount is refundable after the entire counselling process concludes. In case, does not report to the allotted college for document verification and to complete the admission process within the specified date and time, then his/her counselling security fee will be forfeited.

Yes, candidates who have qualified the ABVMU CNET 2025 exam must participate in the counselling process. The BSc nursing college will be allotted on the basis of the seats available in the targeted institute and the rank secured in the entrance exam. Those candidates who did not apply for the counselling will not get admission to the UP CNET nursing participating institutes this year. They will have to appear again for the exam in the upcoming academic session.

The CNET BSc nursing counselling for admission to the BSc nursing four-year programme will tentatively begin in June 2026. There will be three rounds of counselling to fill the vacant seats. Candidates will have to participate in the CNET counselling by paying a counselling registration fee. The CNET exam is expected to be held in May 2026, and the results of the BSc nursing exam will be declared almost a week later. Only those candidates who appeared for the entrance exam will be able to participate in the CNET counselling.