CUET (UG) questions and answers

Every answer below is one paragraph, complete on its own, and carries the official document and page it was read from. Where NTA has published nothing, the answer says so rather than filling the gap.

How many subjects can you take in CUET UG?

You may take up to 5 subjects, chosen from 37 — 13 languages, 23 domain subjects and 1 General Aptitude Test. You may pick them irrespective of the subjects opted in Class XII, and the fee follows the count: ₹1000 covers up to three papers in the General category, then ₹400 for each additional subject.

Is there negative marking in CUET UG?

Yes. A correct answer is +5, an incorrect one −1, and a question left blank 0. Every question is compulsory and a paper holds 50 questions, so a full paper is 250 marks. Leaving a question blank costs nothing; a wrong guess costs a mark.

What is the age limit for CUET UG?

For the test itself, there is no age limit for the candidates. That is not the whole answer, because the seat is not NTA's to give: candidates must fulfil the age criteria, if any, of the University / Institution they seek admission to. Check the bulletin of the university you are applying to, not just NTA's.

Can you take CUET in a subject you did not study in Class 12?

For registration, yes — the bulletin lets you choose your papers irrespective of the subjects opted in Class XII. Whether that gets you the seat is a different question, and a university one: Candidates may select the subjects based on the eligibility criteria for a programme of a desired university. Some programmes require a specific subject at school; that condition sits in the university's own document, and this site reads it per programme where the mapping states it.

What is the CUET UG syllabus?

There is no single one. Each of the 37 has its own syllabus, published by NTA as a separate document at https://cuet.nta.nic.in/cuetug-2026-syllabus/; the information bulletin prints none of it. No NTA document publishes how many questions come from each unit. Every paper's syllabus is read out unit by unit on the subject pages, with the document and page beside each unit.

How is the CUET score calculated across shifts?

CUET runs in Multiple shifts, depending on the number of candidates and subject choices, so raw marks are not comparable between them. NTA equates them by the Equi-percentile method, worked out by a committee headed by a Senior Professor from the Indian Statistical Institute Delhi, with Senior Professors from IIT Delhi and the University of Delhi. Two results follow: the highest raw score in every session becomes percentile 100 for that session, while the lowest raw scores in different sessions get different percentiles, because the percentile depends on how many candidates took that session. The worked procedure is on the normalization page.

Can you challenge the CUET answer key?

Yes, during the window NTA opens, at ₹200 per question challenged, non-refundable, paid online, and challenges without justification or evidence, and challenges filed anywhere but the prescribed link, are not considered. NTA's decision on the challenges is final, and candidates are not informed individually of the outcome; what you see instead is the final key, and the result is compiled on the final answer key, declared after the subject experts have examined every challenge. The key is likely to be displayed for two to three days, so the window is short.

Can the CUET result be re-checked or re-evaluated?

No — there is no re-evaluation and no re-checking of the result, and no correspondence about it is entertained. No grievance about an answer key is entertained once the result is declared either, which makes the challenge window the only opportunity to correct anything at all.

How long is a CUET score valid?

A CUET score is valid for admission to the academic year 2026-27 only. It does not carry forward to a later cycle.

When does the CUET admit card come out?

The bulletin sets no date: it prints To be announced later on the website, and the date of downloading the Admit Card is announced on the NTA website. The card is downloaded by the candidate from https://cuet.nta.nic.in, and Admit Cards are not sent by post. Anyone publishing an admit card date before NTA does is guessing.

How many exam cities can you choose in CUET?

You may select up to a maximum of four cities, in order of preference, and the choice is limited to the State of your present address or the State of your permanent address. NTA allots in order of preference where it can, but a different city can be allotted for administrative or logistic reasons, and the decision of NTA regarding allotment of the City or Centre is final.

What do you need to carry to the CUET exam centre?

You may carry the printed Admit Card with the Self Declaration filled in, a transparent ball point pen, an additional photograph, and an original photo ID. The photo ID may be any one of: School Identity Card, PAN card, Passport, Aadhaar Card with photograph, e-Aadhaar with photograph, Class 12 Board Admit Card with photograph, or Bank Passbook with photograph. Note that reporting at the centre after the gate closing time means you are not permitted to appear, and in no case is a duplicate Admit Card issued at the examination centre.

Is there a central CUET counselling?

No — NTA has no role in the preparation of the merit list, and each university declares its own counselling and admission schedule, and its own merit list, after NTA declares the result. For every admission procedure and query, refer to the website of the university you applied to for all admission-related procedures and queries. There is no single CUET counselling portal, date or merit list, and a site publishing one has invented it.

Does a good CUET score guarantee admission?

No — merely appearing in CUET (UG) 2026 confers no right to admission to the university a candidate wants, and Mere appearance in CUET (UG) 2026 does not entitle a candidate to be considered for admission unless the programme-wise eligibility of the university is fulfilled. What decides the seat is the admission criteria, eligibility, rank in the merit list, medical fitness, verification of original documents, and any other criterion the university prescribes. The score is an input to somebody else's decision, which is why what a score closed last year is a more useful question than what a score is "good".

Can you apply for CUET offline?

No. Online only, through the NTA website, and no document, the Confirmation Page included, is to be sent to NTA by post, fax, WhatsApp, email or by hand. Multiple application forms from one candidate are not accepted and lead to cancellation of the result, so a second attempt at the form is not a fix for a mistake in the first.

Does NTA refund the CUET fee?

No. No request for refund of fee once paid is entertained by NTA under any circumstances. The one exception is mechanical rather than discretionary: where a failed payment led to a duplicate, the bulletin says such payments are reconciled after the final result and refunded.