JAMB 2026 Registration Guidelines: Eligibility, Fees, Requirements and Application Process

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released comprehensive guidelines governing participation in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) admissions. These guidelines cover eligibility criteria, registration procedures, fees, biometric requirements, examination dates, and critical rules candidates must strictly observe.

This article presents a clear and detailed breakdown of everything candidates need to know to successfully register and participate in JAMB 2026.

Who Is Eligible to Apply for JAMB 2026?

Age Requirement

Candidates must be at least 16 years old by 30 September 2026 to be eligible for admission.

Candidates who will be below 16 years by the stated date may only be considered under a special waiver process. Such candidates must score not less than 80% in each of the following:

• UTME or A-Level

• Post-UTME

• SSCE

• Exceptional candidate assessment

For underage candidates, UTME results will only be released after the completion of the full evaluation process.

Biodata Integrity and NIMC Regulations

Once a candidate completes JAMB 2026 registration using biodata supplied by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), no further biodata changes will be allowed by JAMB for the 2026 admission year.

Where NIMC updates a candidate’s data after registration, such changes will only reflect on JAMB records if the candidate undergoes a re-query process using TEMPL or QURING during the 2026 registration. Any replaced information will be tracked and displayed as a footnote on the candidate’s profile and slips.

JAMB 2026 Registration Fees and e-PIN Categories

JAMB will continue its cashless registration system, with all third-party charges centrally collected and remitted weekly.

e-PIN Categories

• Direct Entry (DE): ₦5,700

• UTME (without Mock): ₦7,200

• UTME (with Mock): ₦8,700

Fee Breakdown

• UTME/DE application fee: ₦3,500

• Reading text: ₦1,000

• CBT registration service charge: ₦700

• CBT UTME service charge: ₦1,500

• Bank charges: ₦500

• CBT Mock-UTME charge: ₦1,500

Candidates must select the correct e-PIN type at the point of purchase. All fees are non-refundable.

JAMB 2026 Registration Periods

UTME Registration

• Registration window: Monday, 26 January – Saturday, 28 February 2026

• e-PIN vending: Monday, 19 January – Thursday, 26 February 2026

• UTME registration closes on Saturday, 28 February 2026

Candidates must have a valid and functional personal email address before starting registration.

Direct Entry (DE)

• Sale of DE forms and e-PIN: Monday, 2 March – Saturday, 25 April 2026

• Submission: Strictly at JAMB State and Zonal Offices

Biometric Integrity and Anti-Impersonation Rules

Candidates must ensure that only their own ten fingers are captured individually during registration.
Use of multiple NINs, double registration, impersonation, or identity manipulation is strictly prohibited and attracts severe sanctions.

Only candidates whose biometric verification is successful on exam day will be allowed to sit for UTME or Mock-UTME.

IBASS: Eligibility Checker for Courses and Institutions

Candidates are required to access the Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System (IBASS) by scanning the official QR codes to confirm:

• Course requirements

• Subject combinations

• Institutional eligibility

Admission Requirements

UTME Requirements

• Minimum of five (5) O’Level credit passes, including English, in not more than two sittings

• Mathematics is compulsory for Science, Technology, and Social Science courses

• ND/NCE holders require four (4) relevant credits

Direct Entry (DE) Requirements

• Minimum of five (5) O’Level credits

• At least two Principal or Advanced Level passes

Accepted DE qualifications include:

• First Degree (Nigeria and foreign universities)

• ND, HND, NCE

• IJMB, JUPEB, NABTEB A-Level

• Cambridge A-Level, International Baccalaureate

• University Diploma and approved foundation programmes

All awarding bodies must verify results directly with JAMB before registration is completed.

Critical Direct Entry Rules

• No DE registration with awaiting results

• DE candidates must upload A-Level and O-Level results at registration

• Results must be verified by awarding institutions on JAMB’s platform

• Statement of Results is valid for three years (NCE: one year)

• Upgrade from UTME to DE is allowed only where A-Level results were pending at UTME registration

Important Registration Rules Candidates Must Note

• Multiple registrations are prohibited

• Registration is allowed only at JAMB-accredited CBT centres

• No proxy (parents, guardians, agents) may access a candidate’s profile

• Candidates must disclose any previous admission or matriculation

• False declaration invalidates registration

Choice of Institutions

A candidate’s first choice may be any of the following:

• University

• Polytechnic / Monotechnic

• College of Education

• Nigerian Defence Academy

• Nigeria Police Academy

Step-by-Step Guide to JAMB 2026 Registration

Step 1: Create a JAMB Profile Code

• Send: NIN 00123456789 to 55019 or 66019

• Profile Code is sent to the same phone number

• The SIM used must remain active; change of SIM is not allowed

Step 2: Purchase the e-PIN

• Present Profile Code at approved outlets (banks, NIPOST, MMOs, MFBs)

• e-PIN is sent directly via SMS

Step 3: Register at an Accredited CBT Centre

• Present Profile Code and e-PIN

• Biometric capture (all ten fingers) and photograph are compulsory

• Group or school-based registration is not allowed

Fixing Errors and Support

• Retrieve Profile Code: Send RESEND to 55019 or 66019

• Reset Password: Send PASSWORD [email protected]

• Complaints must be lodged through JAMB Online Ticketing System

Foreign UTME Centres

JAMB conducts UTME registration and examinations in:
Abidjan, Accra, Banjul, Beau, Cotonou, Jeddah, Johannesburg, London, Malabo, and Ouagadougou.

• Registration fee: $30 (or local equivalent)

Candidates with Disabilities and Biometric Challenges

• PWDs must indicate their condition during registration

• Blind, deaf, and wheelchair-bound candidates receive full fee refunds

• Candidates with biometric abnormalities can only register and sit exams at JAMB Headquarters, Abuja

JAMB 2026 Examination Dates

• UTME: Thursday, 16 April – Saturday, 25 April 2026

• Mock-UTME (optional): Saturday, 28 March 2026

Candidates will only be posted to the examination town chosen at registration.

General Examination Rules

• Registration fees are non-refundable

• Prescribed reading text: “The Lekki Headmaster” by Kabir Alabi Garba

• No phones, watches, earphones, or electronic devices allowed in exam halls

• Exam malpractice is a criminal offence

Valid Admission Warning

All valid admissions must be processed through JAMB CAPS and printed from the e-Facility portal.
Any admission offer not issued by JAMB is illegal, null, and void, and will not be recognised by the Board.