How to apply for GATE (engineering postgraduate) — complete 2026 guide

For GATE 2024, about 8.26 lakh candidates appeared, with an overall qualifying rate of about 16-18% (the qualifying cutoff varies by paper but is typically 25-35 marks out of 100). The CS paper had 1.41 lakh candidates alone. PSU recruitment offers based on GATE scores typically open March-June each year — each PSU has its own cutoff and interview.

GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is a computer-based national entrance examination jointly conducted by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, and IISc Bangalore, on rotation each year. The organising institute changes annually:

• GATE 2025 — IIT Roorkee
• GATE 2026 — to be confirmed (typically the next IIT in rotation, organising institute announced mid-2025)
• Each year's portal: gate{YEAR}.iit{XYZ}.ac.in or gate.iitb.ac.in/iisc.ac.in/iitm.ac.in

The legal/administrative framework:

• GATE is governed by the National Coordination Board (NCB) for GATE, comprising representatives from all eight IITs/IISc + the Ministry of Education (DHE Section).
• GATE results are accepted by:
  • IITs and IISc — for M.Tech / MS by Research / Direct PhD admission via the Common Offer Acceptance Portal (COAP) at coap.iitb.ac.in.
  • NITs / IIITs / GFTIs — for M.Tech admission via Centralised Counselling for M.Tech (CCMT) at ccmt.admissions.nic.in, run by NIT Raipur (or current organising NIT).
  • 200+ universities — for direct M.Tech admission, each with its own portal.
  • PSUs — BHEL, ONGC, NTPC, IOCL, GAIL, NPCIL, BARC, ECIL, HPCL, BPCL, NLC India, MDL, SAIL, AAI, PowerGrid, NHPC, EIL — as a screening filter, followed by their own personal interview. Each PSU publishes its own notification (typically March-July).
• GATE score is also a recognised credential for stipend during M.Tech (₹12,400 per month for non-sponsored M.Tech in IITs/NITs, paid by the Ministry of Education).

Eligibility — refreshingly minimal:

• B.E. / B.Tech / B.Arch / Integrated dual degree — passed or final-year students (final-year students apply with provisional certificate; admission/PSU joining is conditional on final degree).
• B.Sc Research / M.Sc / MA / MCA / M.Com are eligible for some specific papers (MA, ST, MA-Mathematics, etc.).
• Indian citizen / OCI / Foreign National — separate quota for foreign nationals.
• No upper age limit.
• No attempt limit — you can appear every year.
• Two papers can be attempted in the same cycle, but only with allowed combinations (the GATE brochure publishes the matrix — e.g., CS + DA is allowed; CS + EE is not).

• The notification for the next cycle is published in August-September.
• Visit the organising IIT's GATE portal (announced in advance — for GATE 2026, check gate.iitb.ac.in or the official IIT website).
• Read the Information Brochure (PDF) — eligibility, fee, exam pattern, syllabus, cities, dates, late-fee window.

• Go to the GATE portal → GOAPS (GATE Online Application Processing System) → “Register”.
• Provide: name (as on degree certificate / Class 10), DOB, email, mobile, password.
• GOAPS Enrolment ID is generated — save it (this is your login for all future steps).

• Personal details — auto-pulled from registration; verify.
• Educational qualifications — degree, college, university, year of passing, qualifying marks.
• Paper selection — choose 1 paper (e.g., CS — Computer Science, EC — Electronics, EE — Electrical, ME — Mechanical, CE — Civil, CH — Chemical, etc., 30 papers in total). Optionally choose a 2nd paper from the allowed combination matrix (additional fee).
• Exam city preferences — choose 3 in order. Cities are split by zonal IIT/IISc (Zone 1 — IISc Bangalore, Zone 2 — IIT Bombay, Zone 3 — IIT Delhi, Zone 4 — IIT Guwahati, Zone 5 — IIT Kanpur, Zone 6 — IIT Kharagpur, Zone 7 — IIT Madras, Zone 8 — IIT Roorkee).
• Category — Gen / OBC NCL / SC / ST / EWS / PwBD / Dyslexic.
• Upload documents:
  • Photo (200×260 px, JPEG, 5-200 KB, light background, recent).
  • Signature (150×60 px, JPEG, 5-30 KB, black ink on white).
  • Degree certificate / provisional certificate / final-year certificate from college HoD.
  • Aadhaar / Voter ID / Driving License / Passport / PAN / College ID (one of these as photo identity).
  • Caste / EWS / PwBD certificate if claiming category benefit (Central format with NCL clause for OBC).

• Single paper:
  • Gen / OBC / EWS / others — ₹1,800.
  • SC / ST / PwBD / Female (any category) — ₹900.
• Second paper additional:
  • Gen — ₹1,800.
  • SC/ST/PwBD/Female — ₹900.
• Late fee (if you apply during the late window, typically Oct):
  • Gen — additional ₹500 (so total ₹2,300 for one paper).
  • SC/ST/PwBD/Female — additional ₹500 (so total ₹1,400).
• Modes: net banking, debit/credit card, UPI.
• Successful payment → confirmation page → download payment receipt PDF.

• Preview → Submit. Application form is final. Some fields (paper, category) are not editable later; cities and exam centre may be editable in a brief window.
• Download and print the final application form for your records.

• Released on GOAPS portal in early January.
• Carry to centre: printed admit card + ONE original photo ID (the same one you uploaded).
• Strict rules: no electronics, no calculators (the portal has an in-built virtual calculator), no notes; pen and rough sheet provided.

• 65 questions, 100 marks, 3 hours, computer-based.
• Sections (in one paper):
  • General Aptitude — 10 questions, 15 marks (5×1 + 5×2). Verbal + quantitative.
  • Engineering Mathematics (for engineering papers) — embedded in subject section, ~13 marks.
  • Subject — remaining marks (typically 70-72 marks across 55 questions).
• Question types:
  • MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) — single correct answer; negative marking: -1/3 for 1-mark MCQ, -2/3 for 2-mark MCQ.
  • MSQ (Multiple Select Questions) — one or more correct; no negative marking (must select ALL correct to get full marks).
  • NAT (Numerical Answer Type) — type the numeric answer; no negative marking.
• Virtual calculator is available in the test interface; physical calculators not allowed.
• Held over 2 weekends in February (Feb 1-2 and Feb 8-9 typically) in multiple shifts (forenoon 9:30-12:30 + afternoon 2:30-5:30).

• Provisional answer key is published 5-7 days after exam completion.
• Challenge window — 4-5 days, fee ₹500 per question (refundable if upheld; non-refundable otherwise).
• Final result + GATE Score is announced in mid-March.
• Scorecard can be downloaded from the GOAPS portal — shows raw marks, normalised GATE Score (0-1000), category-wise All-India Rank.
• Validity: 3 years from the date of declaration of result for M.Tech/PhD admission. PSUs typically use only the latest year's score.

• For IIT M.Tech / MS by Research — apply to each IIT separately on its M.Tech portal in March-April; offers go through COAP (Common Offer Acceptance Portal) at coap.iitb.ac.in in May-June where you can accept/reject up to 8 offers from various IITs.
• For NIT / IIIT / GFTI M.Tech — apply on CCMT (Centralised Counselling for M.Tech) at ccmt.admissions.nic.in in April-July.
• For PSU recruitment — each PSU publishes its own notification (e.g., ongcindia.com, ntpccareers.net, bhel.com, iocl.com, bharatpetroleum.in, gailonline.com) typically March-July. Apply separately. PSU shortlists by GATE cutoff + branch + category, then conducts personal interview / GD.

+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| Stage             | Fee (Gen/OBC) | Fee (SC/ST/  | Notes                    |
|                   |               | PwBD/Female) |                          |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| GATE application  | ₹1,800        | ₹900         | Per paper                |
| (regular window)  |               |              |                          |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| GATE application  | ₹2,300        | ₹1,400       | + ₹500 late fee surcharge|
| (late window)     |               |              |                          |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| Second paper      | ₹1,800        | ₹900         | Only allowed combinations|
| (additional)      |               |              | (e.g., CS + DA, EE + IN) |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| Answer key        | ₹500 per      | ₹500 per     | Refunded if challenge    |
| challenge         | challenge     | challenge    | upheld                   |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| COAP registration | NIL           | NIL          | For IIT M.Tech offers    |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| CCMT counselling  | ₹2,000 (Gen)  | ₹1,500 (SC/  | + ₹35,000 partial        |
| (NIT/IIIT)        |               | ST/PwBD)     | admission fee on seat    |
|                   |               |              | acceptance               |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| Eligibility       | B.E./B.Tech/B.Arch (passed or final-year),                |
|                   | B.Sc Research / M.Sc / MCA for specific papers,           |
|                   | M.A. for MA paper. No age limit. No attempt limit.        |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| Cutoff            | Varies by paper. Typical qualifying:                      |
| (qualifying)      | Gen ~25 marks, OBC ~22.5, SC/ST/PwBD ~16.7 (out of 100).  |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+
| Score validity    | 3 years for M.Tech/PhD. PSUs typically use only           |
|                   | latest cycle.                                             |
+-------------------+---------------+--------------+--------------------------+

• Photo / signature wrong format. GOAPS is strict — JPEG only, exact pixel dimensions, exact file size band. Use online image compressors to fit. Wrong format triggers the most common upload rejection.
• Payment failure but fee deducted. Wait 24-48 hours; most cases auto-resolve and status updates. If unresolved, raise a ticket on GOAPS with payment reference; do not re-pay (creates duplicate). Refund of duplicate takes 60-90 days.
• Paper combination not allowed for second paper. Check the allowed-combinations matrix in the brochure carefully. Eg., CS + DA allowed; CS + EE not. The system blocks invalid combos but some unusual cross-disciplinary pairs trip up applicants.
• Final-year B.Tech provisional letter wrong format. Must be on college letterhead, signed by HoD or Principal, mentioning expected year of completion. Generic college bonafide is rejected.
• OBC NCL certificate in state-format (without “non-creamy layer” clause) — rejected. Get Central format from Tahsildar.
• EWS certificate must be on Form-2 under EWS Reservation Order 2019, valid for the financial year of application.
• PwBD certificate must be on RPwD Act 2016 Form V/VI/VII with UDID number.
• Centre full — Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi centres fill quickly. Apply early; if stuck with a far-off centre, the brief centre-change window opens in November-December.
• Result delayed for a specific candidate — very rare in GATE (the process is highly automated), but if the candidate's biometric/identity verification raises a flag at the centre, the result is withheld pending resolution.
• Score unexpectedly low vs raw marks — GATE uses a normalisation formula across multiple shifts (since the same paper is conducted in 2-4 shifts on different days, with slightly different difficulty). Normalisation can push your score up or down vs raw. Formula is published in the brochure.

• For GATE 2026, the helpdesk number + email will be on the organising IIT's GATE portal (e.g., gate2026.iit{XYZ}.ac.in/contact-us).
• Past helpdesks:
  • GATE 2025 (IIT Roorkee): helpdesk@gate2025.iitr.ac.in
  • GATE 2024 (IISc Bangalore): helpdesk@gate2024.iisc.ac.in
  • GATE 2023 (IIT Kanpur): helpdesk@gate.iitk.ac.in
• Best for application-stage tech issues, document upload, payment reversal.

• Each Zonal IIT/IISc handles candidate-side queries for its zone (Bangalore zone — IISc; Western zone — IIT Bombay; Northern zone — IIT Delhi; etc.).
• Listed on the GATE portal under “Zonal Coordinators”.
• Useful for centre-allotment issues, admit card download problems, post-exam queries specific to your zone.

• NCB is the apex body — comprised of representatives from all 8 IITs/IISc + MoE.
• Not directly reachable but escalated cases from organising IIT go to NCB chairperson.

• https://pgportal.gov.in → Ministry “Education” → “Department of Higher Education” → “GATE” or the relevant IIT.
• 30-day SLA.
• Useful for the rare cases where the IIT's helpdesk is unresponsive.

This is the legal lever. Every IIT, IISc Bangalore, every NIT/IIIT, and every public-sector PSU is a “public authority” under §2(h) of the RTI Act 2005. The PIO of each IIT and IISc is listed on the institute's official website under “RTI”. For GATE-specific queries, the PIO of the organising IIT for that year is the right addressee; for older years, the PIO of the IIT that organised that year.

RTI helps here when:

• Your answer-key challenge was rejected without specific reasoning — RTI to PIO of the organising IIT for the subject expert's note on your specific challenge along with the supporting reference (textbook / journal / standard).
• You want a copy of your response sheet post-result. The Supreme Court in CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011) 8 SCC 497 held an evaluated response sheet is “information” under §2(f) of the RTI Act. IITs comply on this for GATE response sheets within 30-60 days, on payment of per-page fee.
• Your GATE Score / All-India Rank seems off vs your raw marks — RTI for the shift-wise normalisation values for your paper (mean, standard deviation, normalisation constants) for that year.
• You want to know the vacancy + cutoff for a specific IIT M.Tech or PSU recruitment — RTI to PIO IIT / PIO PSU. PSUs publish these but only after the recruitment is complete; RTI accelerates.
• Your biometric mismatch flagged your result — RTI to PIO organising IIT for the biometric verification log at your test centre.
• You suspect a discrepancy in your PSU shortlisting (your GATE score is above the published cutoff but you weren't called for interview) — RTI to PIO of the PSU for: category-wise cutoff for that recruitment year + branch-wise shortlist details + the decision-making file for shortlisting.

See the dedicated guide: RTI in 12 simple steps — for first-time filers and How to challenge exam result / get revaluation — complete 2026 guide.

RTI does NOT help here when:

• You want IIT to change your answer-key decision — RTI gets you the file noting; it doesn't override the subject expert. The only further remedy is a writ to the relevant High Court (rarely successful).
• You want IIT to disclose the question paper before exam — denied under §8(1)(d) (commercial confidence + examination integrity).
• You ask for all candidates' marks / response sheets — broad, fishing requests are denied as “disproportionate diversion of resources” under §7(9). Ask for your own + the published cutoff.
• You want to reduce the M.Tech fee at IITs — fees are set by the IIT Senate; RTI gets you the fee structure and basis, but does not lower it.
• You want a PSU to interview you despite being below the cutoff — RTI cannot mandate inclusion; the PSU's recruitment rules are final.
• You want to change your branch / paper post-application — system-level lock; RTI can't unlock it. Reapply in the next cycle.

For sibling guides, see How to apply for CUET-UG — complete 2026 guide and How to apply for RRB Railway Recruitment — complete 2026 guide.

Q. I'm in final year of B.Tech — can I apply for GATE?
Yes. GATE explicitly allows final-year students. You apply with your provisional certificate / final-year letter from your college HoD. Your GATE score is valid for 3 years. For M.Tech/PSU joining, you must produce the final degree certificate by the cut-off date of admission.

Q. Can I apply for two papers in GATE?
Yes — but only in allowed combinations (e.g., CS + Data Science and AI is allowed; CS + Civil is not). The brochure publishes the matrix. Pay double the fee. You write both papers — they must be from different days/shifts. Useful for cross-disciplinary candidates and PSU options.

Q. What's the difference between AIR and GATE Score?
Raw marks are out of 100. GATE Score is normalised (0-1000) using a published formula that accounts for shift-wise difficulty differences. All-India Rank (AIR) is your rank in your paper (Gen + reserved combined for each paper). PSUs use raw marks (with category-wise cutoff); IITs use GATE Score. Both are on your scorecard.

Q. Is there a sectional cutoff in GATE?
No. Only an overall qualifying cutoff for your paper (e.g., 25 marks Gen for CS in 2025). You can score 0 in General Aptitude and still qualify if your subject score is high enough.

Q. My GATE score is 580; is that good enough for IIT Bombay M.Tech CS?
Depends on the year and category. For 2025, IIT Bombay CS M.Tech Gen closing GATE Score was around 750+ (AIR ~600-800). 580 places you around AIR 4,000-5,000 — competitive for second-tier IITs (Patna, Bhilai, Dhanwad, Tirupati, Indore) and top NITs (Trichy, Warangal, Surathkal, Calicut). For PSUs, 580 makes the cutoff for many (ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, NPCIL) but not the top ones (IOCL, OIL, GAIL).

Q. Can I use GATE 2024 score for ONGC 2026 recruitment?
Most PSUs accept the latest GATE score only (i.e., the most recent year's). A few PSUs (NPCIL, BARC) accept up to 2-year-old scores. Always check the PSU notification.

Q. Can foreign students appear for GATE?
Yes. Foreign nationals from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE, Singapore can appear at designated international centres. Application fee is in USD (typically $100). Same paper, same exam.

Q. I qualify for OBC NCL but my certificate is from 2023. Is it valid?
OBC NCL certificates must be issued within the financial year of application (April-March). A 2023 certificate is invalid for GATE 2026. Get a fresh one from your Tahsildar before applying. Same for EWS.

• How to apply for CUET-UG — complete 2026 guide
• How to apply for RRB Railway Recruitment — complete 2026 guide
• How to apply for State PSC civil services — complete 2026 guide
• How to challenge exam result / get revaluation — complete 2026 guide
• RTI in 12 simple steps — for first-time filers
• All Indian government helplines — one master directory
• RTI forms + state-wise fee chart

Last reviewed: 26 April 2026 by RTI Wiki editorial team. GATE organising institute, fee, and cutoffs change every cycle — verify current values on the official GATE portal of the organising IIT or write to admin@bighelpers.in if you spot a stale figure.