The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that registration for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will commence on January 26 and end on February 28 nationwide.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this on Saturday in Lagos during a meeting with Commissioners for Education ahead of the 2026 UTME and Direct Entry (DE) exercises.
Oloyede explained that the sale of UTME application documents, known as ePINs, would begin earlier, running from January 19 to February 26, while actual registration would take place between January 26 and February 28 at all approved Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres.
He added that the option to select the mock examination would close on February 16, while the sale of Direct Entry application documents and ePIN vending would commence on March 2 and end on April 25.
According to the registrar, results of underage candidates will only be released after the completion of a comprehensive evaluation process, unlike previous years, to ensure proper assessment of those seeking age waivers.
On monitoring, Oloyede said all CBT centres involved in the registration exercise would be monitored live from JAMB headquarters, warning that centres whose activities could not be viewed would not be paid and such registrations might be invalidated.
He disclosed that 924 CBT centres had been provisionally listed and would still undergo a final test before full accreditation.
Oloyede also clarified that candidates are not required to pay any service charges to CBT centres, stressing that only the registration fees approved by JAMB should be paid.
Addressing concerns over examination postings, he said candidates would not be posted outside the towns selected during registration, advising early registration to avoid limited options.
The registrar further warned candidates to disclose any previous registration or admission history, noting that running more than one undergraduate programme concurrently is a criminal offence.
On eligibility, Oloyede stated that candidates must be at least 16 years old by September 30, 2026, to qualify for admission, adding that underage candidates would only be considered for waivers after passing a rigorous evaluation and meeting strict performance benchmarks.
