The application process for NID 2026 / 2027 is online and starts in October every year.

The National Institute of Design has released NID Application form on 11 September 2025. The last date of application form submission is 01, December 2025. To apply, please visit www.admissions.nid.edu

Step-by-step application process:

Visit the Official Website: Go to the NID admissions website, admissions.nid.edu.

Register: Find the ‘Sign-up’ or ‘New Registration’ link and create your login credentials using your mobile number and email ID.

Log in and Complete Application: Log in with the received credentials and carefully fill out the online application form with your personal, educational, and contact information.

Upload Documents: Upload scanned copies of your photograph, signature, and any required category or academic certificates, ensuring they meet the format and size specifications.

Pay the Application Fee: Proceed to pay the application fee using online payment methods such as a credit/debit card, net banking, or UPI.

Submit and Save: Review all the information you’ve entered and submit the application. Save and download the confirmation page for future reference.

For B.Des. (Bachelor of Design)
The entrance test happens in two stages:

1. DAT Prelims – This is the first round.
– It’s a pen-and-paper test held across India (in English).
– It checks your basic design aptitude, problem-solving, creativity and observation through both written and visual questions.
– Everyone writes the same paper on the same day.
-Your Prelims marks are only used to shortlist you for the next stage; they don’t count towards the final score.

2. DAT Mains – This is the second round.
-Only about 1.5 times the total number of seats in each category are invited for this stage.
– It includes two parts:
– A Studio Sensitivity Test (hands-on, practical tasks).
– An In-Person Sensitivity Test (face-to-face evaluation).
Your final rank is based on:
 60% from the Studio Sensitivity Test.
 40% from the In-Person Sensitivity Test.
 Everything is conducted in English.

For M.Des. (Master of Design)
This also has two stages, but with slightly different rules:
1. DAT Prelims – The first round.
– A written test (in English) that mixes text and visual questions to judge your design thinking.
– You apply to one faculty stream (like Industrial Design, Communication Design, Textile/Apparel, IT Integrated Design, or Interdisciplinary Design Studies) and can choose up to two disciplines within that stream.
– Everyone in the same stream writes the same paper.
– Prelims marks are only for shortlisting; they’re not added to the final score.
2. DAT Mains – The second round.
– About 4.5 times the total number of seats in each category are called for this stage.
– It has two parts:
A Studio Test (practical tasks related to your stream).
An Interview (discipline-specific, face-to-face).
Your final rank is based on:
– 40% from the Studio Test.
– 60% from the Interview.
Everything is conducted in English.

This means for both B.Des. and M.Des., you first clear a written screening test (Prelims) and then go through a more hands-on/practical and face-to-face evaluation (Mains). Only your Mains marks decide your final admission.

Following are the basic skills NID is testing for :

• Sequential drawing, Manipulation of 2D shapes, Everyday scientific & mechanical concepts, Spatial sense, Analytical & logical reasoning
• Aesthetic Sense,Visual Analogies,Color Psychology & Theory
• The questions on General Knowledge & Awareness will be based on topics such as Current Affairs,Culture, Literature, History, Geography, Economics, Politics, Technology etc.
• Basic knowledge of Sentence structure, English Grammar, basic Algebra, Geometry & Arithmetic

DAT (Prelims) will be conducted in the following 16 cities in India :

• Ahmedabad
• Bengaluru
• Bhopal
• Chandigarh
• Chennai
• Dehradun
• Guwahati
• Hyderabad
• Jaipur
• Johrat
• kochi
• Kolkata
• Lucknow
• Mumbai
• Nagpur
• New Delhi
• Patna

DAT (Mains) are conducted on the NID campuses

B.Des. (Bachelor of Design)
• The handbook explains that admission is based on merit lists prepared category-wise after the DAT Mains.
• It does not give a fixed cut-off mark in advance.
• Instead, candidates are shortlisted for DAT Mains at 1.5 times the number of available seats in each category based on their DAT Prelims score.
• Final admission is then purely on the scores obtained in DAT Mains (60% Studio Sensitivity Test + 40% In-Person Sensitivity Test).
• The handbook states that “Obtaining a rank in the merit list does NOT guarantee admission to the programme of your choice”.
(So, there is no pre-announced passing score for B.Des.; it depends on that year’s performance and category.)

M.Des. (Master of Design)
• Candidates are shortlisted for DAT Mains at 4.5 times the number of seats in each category per discipline, based on DAT Prelims score.
• Final admission is based on DAT Mains (40% Studio Test + 60% Interview).
• Minimum Qualifying Criteria (final result) are explicitly given:
Category Minimum qualifying score
Open / GEN-EWS / Overseas  – 45%
OBC-NCL – 40%
SC / ST / PwD – 35%
(This means you must at least meet these percentage thresholds in the final result to be considered for admission.)
In short:
• For B.Des., there’s no fixed cut-off published; only relative shortlisting and merit lists.
• For M.Des., you must score at least 45% (Open/GEN-EWS/Overseas), 40% (OBC-NCL), or 35% (SC/ST/PwD) in the final result to be eligible.