Exam guide · 06 · Day of the test
What you may bring, and what the centre gives you
The materials rules are unusually austere and they are not negotiable at the gate. Two of them surprise nearly everyone: no instruments at all, and the foam kit for A3 arrives from the invigilator under a code you cannot know beforehand.
Every claim below carries its status. Nothing is asserted without a source, and where the brochure does not state something, or two sections read differently, that is shown rather than resolved.
What the record says
Report by 09:00 for Session 1 or 12:30 for Session 2. Gates close at 10:00 / 13:30.
Gates open 09:15 / 12:45; registration formalities complete by 09:45 / 13:15.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
No entry after 10:15 (Session 1) or 13:45 (Session 2), and no extra time is granted.
No candidate may leave before the session ends (13:00 / 16:30). A 10-minute break between Part A and Part B is permitted, but the candidate may not leave the centre.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Bring: the downloaded original Appointment Card, an original photo ID, pencils, erasers, dry colours, and a scale up to 15 cm.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
No instruments are permitted — no compass, no set squares — and no calculators, phones, or wet media.
Appendix-II states "Don't bring any instruments". Also barred: Bluetooth devices, slide rules, log tables, electronic watches with calculators, and any textual material. Numerical Ability is examined without a calculator.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
The A3 foam kit is supplied at the centre. You do not bring one, and you cannot know its contents in advance.
The question paper carries a KIT CODE (D1, D2, D3...) and the invigilator issues the matching kit: a set of 3D forms made of foam plus a 15cm x 20cm foam base sheet. Glue is provided. The finished model is photographed at the centre in three views and uploaded.
Read this carefully: Consequence worth stating plainly: A3 cannot be rehearsed as an artefact, only as a capability. Anyone selling 'the NATA foam kit' is selling a proxy.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Part B questions appear one after another at 108 seconds each. There is no evidence of a review screen.
The skip-flag-and-return habit that works in JEE does not transfer. Budget the 108 seconds and commit.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Candidates with dyslexia or autism may use a scribe for Part B, and receive 30 extra minutes on the Drawing Test.
No compensatory time is given for Part B, because it is a time-bound adaptive test. No scribe is permitted in Part A. The scribe must hold a lower qualification than the candidate and may only read and type. Requires government medical certification.
Read this carefully: New in V2.0 — absent from V1.0 entirely. Anyone advising from the old brochure will not know these relaxations exist.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Sources cited on this page
- Test Center Manual — NATA 2026
Published 2026-03-11
Explicitly governs both phases: rules apply 'from April 2026 to June 2026 during Phase 1 ... and in August, 2026 during Phase 2'.
- NATA 2026 Information Brochure V2.0
Published 2026-04-10
The current version, and the highest that exists as of 2026-07-16. TRAP: nata.in serves two brochures simultaneously. V2.0 is at Final-NATA-BROCHURE-2026.pdf; the older, more widely-linked nata-brochure-final.pdf still serves the SUPERSEDED V1.0. Both are titled 'NATA BROCHURE 2026 final'. The coa.gov.in copy above is byte-identical to nata.in's current V2.0. Always check the version box at Appendix VI before trusting a downloaded copy.