The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially announced the commencement of sales for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) application forms for the 2026/2027 academic session.
The announcement was made via the board’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday night, January 13, 2026. In a statement signed by the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the board noted:“UTME is open to suitably qualified candidates for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions for the 2026/2027 academic session.”
The board provided a specific timeline for candidates to complete their registration and prepare for the exams:
-
E-PIN Vending for UTME: Starts Monday, January 19, 2026, and ends Thursday, February 26, 2026.
-
UTME Registration Period: Runs from Monday, January 26, 2026, to Saturday, February 28, 2026.
-
Optional Mock-UTME: Scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2026.
-
Main UTME Examination: Will take place from Thursday, April 16, to Saturday, April 25, 2026.
-
Direct Entry (DE) Registration: Sales and E-PIN vending will commence on Monday, March 2, 2026, and close on Saturday, April 25, 2026, exclusively at JAMB State and Zonal offices.
JAMB reiterated that candidates must have a National Identification Number (NIN) before they can begin the process.
Regarding age, the board stated:“Only candidates who will not be less than 16 years old by 30th September, 2026 are generally eligible to apply/be considered.”
However, a provision was made for younger, high-performing students:“Candidates less than 16 years old by 30th September, 2026 will have to undergo an intensive evaluation to determine their eligibility for a waiver. Such must have scored not less than 80% in each of UTME/ALEVEL, PUTME, SSCE, and in the exceptional candidate assessment.”
The board added that for these younger applicants, “The UTME results of the underage candidates will be released only at the conclusion of the complete evaluation process.”
Join Informant Online WhatsApp Channel With Link Below: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaihFajBadmT29ufud2
DON’T MISS
