Exam guide · 05 · Phases & attempts
Two attempts, or one — never both
NATA 2026 runs in two phases, and the choice between them is structural rather than a matter of scheduling. Phase 2 is not a third attempt for people who did badly in Phase 1; it is a first attempt for people who missed Phase 1 entirely, and it returns a weaker instrument.
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
NATA 2026 Phase 2 is held on 7 and 8 August 2026.
7 August is a Friday and carries the afternoon session only. 8 August is a Saturday and carries up to two sessions. Session 1 runs 10:00-13:00; Session 2 runs 13:30-16:30.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Phase 2 is open only to candidates who did not appear in Phase 1.
The brochure is unambiguous: the Council conducts Phase 2 "for candidates who did not appear in Phase-1 but wish to seek admission to the Architecture programme", and "A candidate shall be permitted to appear in only one Phase of NATA 2026." The schedule page repeats it: "Candidates who have already attempted Phase-1 will not be eligible to take the Phase-2 examination."
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Phase 2 allows one attempt only.
Registration permits "one test or maximum of two Tests during Phase-1 OR only one Test during Phase-2 of NATA, in one academic year". There is no second sitting and no best-of-two within Phase 2.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
No Phase 2 registration deadline is officially published. No official document states one as a date.
The brochure sets out the schedule separately — Appendix V says "The detailed date and session-wise schedule ... will be published separately on the official NATA website". The schedule page gives a rolling rule rather than a Phase 2 date, and that rule is not labelled as applying to Phase 2. This is the single most important fact on this page: the deadline you most need is not stated as a date, so it has to be derived and then confirmed in the candidate portal.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
The Council's general rule closes registration at 23:59 on the Monday before a Friday test, and 23:59 on the Tuesday before a Saturday test.
The schedule page Activity Timeline lists "Closing Date Of Online Registration For The Upcoming Weekend Examination — Monday (11:59 pm) / Tuesday (11:59 pm)". The correction window closes one day later (Tuesday / Wednesday), and the admit card is available from that same later day.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Applying that rule to Phase 2 gives Monday 3 August 2026, 23:59 for the 7 August test, and Tuesday 4 August 2026, 23:59 for the 8 August test.
Correction window would then close Tue 4 Aug / Wed 5 Aug, with admit cards from Tue 4 Aug / Wed 5 Aug respectively.
Read this carefully: DERIVED, NOT OFFICIAL. The Activity Timeline is generic and Phase 2 sits in a separate table, so it is not confirmed that the rolling rule governs Phase 2. Treat 3/4 August as the earliest date you should assume, not an officially stated one. Confirm in the candidate portal before relying on it.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Coaching sites are circulating a Phase 2 deadline that is one day too late.
Several publish 'Friday test closes the preceding Tuesday'. The official schedule page says Monday for a Friday test; Tuesday is the CORRECTION window close, which is a different row of the same table. A candidate who plans around the coaching date would find registration already shut.
Read this carefully: Stated here as a correction to third-party error, sourced to the official timeline. The error itself is third-party.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
A Phase 2 scorecard carries a raw score only — no percentile.
"After completion of Phase-2, only Raw scores shall be generated without any Percentile." Percentile requires the full Phase-1 cohort across the 10-week window, which Phase 2 does not have.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
A Phase 2 score is usable only against seats left vacant after CAP counselling closes.
"Eligibility will be restricted to admission against vacant seats in B.Arch. degree program after completion of the Centralized Admission Process (CAP)." This is a materially weaker position than a Phase-1 score, not an equivalent one — the main counselling rounds are over before a Phase 2 score can be used.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Institutions MAY admit on a Phase 2 raw score. They are not required to.
The brochure says admissions against vacant seats "may be made on the basis of the Raw Score obtained either during Phase-1 or Phase-2". "May", not "shall". No official list of states or institutions that accept a Phase 2 score exists in any COA document.
Read this carefully: Do not claim universal acceptance. Whether a given state or institution will use a Phase 2 raw score is not something COA has published.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
The brochure's own definition of a qualifying score arguably cannot be met by a Phase 2 candidate.
§10.1 says no minimum raw score is prescribed, and defines the valid qualifying score as the Final Scorecard showing "the corresponding non-zero Percentile Score". But §3.0 says Phase 2 scorecards carry no percentile at all. Read literally, the two clauses do not compose.
Read this carefully: Two clauses in V2.0 that read differently, flagged rather than resolved. In practice §3.0 plainly intends Phase 2 raw scores to be usable for vacant seats. Raised because a candidate should know the two clauses can be read differently here — not to suggest Phase 2 is void.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
The Phase 2 fee is one unit of the standard per-test fee: Rs 1,750 general/OBC-NCL, Rs 1,250 SC/ST/EWS/PwD, Rs 1,000 transgender, Rs 15,000 outside India.
The fee is charged per test and is non-refundable in all cases. Phase 2 is a single test, so a single unit applies. There is no Phase-2-specific fee table.
Read this carefully: The section heading in V2.0 reads "APPLICATION FEE FOR NATA 2025"; the figures below it are the 2026 figures, so only the heading carries the earlier year.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Results are declared within 7 days of the test date.
The schedule page gives the rule only. No calendar result date has been published for Phase 2.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
The Phase 2 exam is structurally identical to Phase 1. There is no Phase-2-specific difference in the paper.
The Test Center Manual states its rules apply across both phases explicitly. Part A offline 90 min / 80 marks, Part B adaptive CBT 90 min / 120 marks, in the same order, with the same materials rules.
Source · verified 2026-07-16
Phase 2 registration opened on 23 June 2026.
Read this carefully: Third-party claim (collegedunia). nata.in confirms registration HAS started but publishes no opening date. Plausible but not official — do not present as fact.
Sources cited on this page
- 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.
- NATA 2026 Schedule page
Published 2026-07-16
Carries the rolling Activity Timeline. Note this table is generic and is NOT labelled as Phase-1-only; Phase 2 sits in a separate table on the same page. The brochure contains no dates at all.
- 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'.