NEST 2026 Application Fee: The NEST 2026 application process will start on January 5, 2026, at 10 AM on the official NEST exam website — nestexam.in. Candidates filling out the form must know the application fee as per their respective category and follow the correct steps to avoid any problems during the application process.
To help candidates with this, this SciAstra article provides details about the NEST 2026 application fees for the General, SC, ST, and OBC categories.
NEST 2026 Overview
The National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) is a national-level entrance exam conducted for admission to 5-year integrated MSc courses offered by NISER Bhubaneswar and the University of Mumbai – DAE CEBS, Mumbai.
All aspirants who wish to apply for NEST 2026 can check the exam overview below to get all the important details about it.
Features | Details |
Exam Name | National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) |
Exam Conducting Body |
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Exam Level | Undergraduate Level |
Courses Offered |
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Exam Mode | Online (Computer-Based Test) |
Exam Frequency | Once a year |
Registration Fee |
Note: The registration fees are subject to change. |
Type of Question | Multiple Choice Question (80 questions) |
Marking Scheme | +3 marks for each correct answer -1 mark for each incorrect answer |
Official Website |
NEST 2026 Application Fees
The NEST 2026 application form will be available online from January 5, 2026, at nestexam.in. The last date to fill out the application form and pay the application fee is April 6, 2026.
The NEST 2026 application fees differ for male and female candidates. The fees for unreserved male candidates and those belonging to SC, ST, EWS, and OBC categories are mentioned below.
NEST 2026 Application Fees (Category-Wise) | |
Category | NEST 2026 Application Fee |
Male candidates of unreserved (general) category | INR 1,400 |
Male candidates of OBC category | INR 1,400 |
Female candidates (all categories) | INR 700 |
Candidates of Unreserved-Ecomically Weaker Section (UN-EWS) (both males and females) | INR 700 |
Candidates of SC and ST categories (both males and females) | INR 700 |
Candidates of Divayngjan category (both males and females) | INR 700 |
NEST 2026 Application Fees: Payment Method
As the entire application process for NEST 2026 is online, candidates will be able to submit the NEST 2026 application fee only through debit card, credit card, or net banking.
To pay the fees, they can use debit or credit cards of Mastercard, Visa, RuPay, or UPI.
To pay the NEST 2026 application fee, candidates need to follow these steps:
Go to the official NEST 2026 website — nestexam.in.
Click on “New Registration” and fill in the required details to create a candidate registration account.
You will receive login details via email and SMS.
Go to the “Login” option and log in using the provided credentials.
Fill out the application form.
Upload your passport-size photograph and scanned signature.
Pay the application fee using a debit card, credit card, or UPI.
Save and submit the form.
Download the confirmation page as a PDF.
Also Read:
NEST 2026 Application Fee: Refund Policy
The application fee for NEST 2026 is non-refundable. Once you submit the fee, it will not be refunded under any circumstances, even if you do not appear for the exam.
NEST 2026 Dates
Check out all the important dates related to the NEST 2026 application process and other events:
NEST 2026 Exam Schedule | |
Events | Date |
NEST 2026 Application Starts | January 5, 2026 (10 AM) |
NEST 2026 Application Closes | April 6, 2026 (11:30 PM) |
NEST 2026 Application Correction Window | April 13, 2026 (10 AM) to April 14, 2026 (10 AM) |
NEST 2026 Mock Test Release | To be announced |
NEST 2026 Admit Card | May 15, 2026 (10 AM onwards) |
NEST 2026 Exam Date | June 6, 2026 (2 PM to 5 PM) |
NEST 2026 Answer Key Release | To be announced |
NEST 2026 Answer Key Challenging Date | To be announced |
NEST 2026 Result | To be announced |
NEST 2026 Date to Download Scorecard | To be announced |
NEST 2026 Application Correction
Once the NEST 2026 application process is over, NISER Bhubaneswar will allow candidates to correct details in their application form through the correction window facility. To access this facility, candidates will need to visit the official exam website and log in to their candidate account.
The NEST 2026 application correction window will tentatively open in the third week of April 2026 on nestexam.in.
During this period, candidates will be able to edit the following details in their application form:
Details allowed to be edited in NEST 2026 Application Form | |
Personal Details |
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Present Address-related Details |
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Details of Guardians |
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Educational Details for 10th |
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Educational Details for 12th |
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Uploaded Documents |
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Conclusion
It is imperative for a candidate to understand the application fee of NEST 2026 and the requirements related to the application fee in order to smoothly proceed with the application form filling process. It is the responsibility of the candidates to pay the application fee as per the category and via the approved online methods and fill the form before the deadline ends. The application fee is non-refundable; therefore, the candidates are advised to carefully scrutinize all the requirements before the final form filling procedure.
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