BCBR exam dates 2026

Updated 16 October 2026

I took every date below from the BCBR course announcement page on SWAYAM–NPTEL, where ICMR–NIE posts them. Not from third-party sites, because two dates they still show were changed months ago.

Confirmed means ICMR–NIE has posted the registration notice for that sitting. Calendar only means the date is on the 2026 calendar it published on 16 September 2025 and nothing since has confirmed it. The calendar has been wrong three times this year, so treat those as provisional. There are no exams in January, February, June or October 2026.

How to register for the BCBR exam

This is the full process. It is not hard, but people miss the last date, so read it once.

1. Enrol in the course on SWAYAM–NPTEL. Enrolment is open all year. The course is self-paced, so there is no deadline for enrolling or for the assignments.
2. Finish all 23 assignments with 50% or more. Only then you can register. If even one assignment is below 50%, the registration page shows “No Enrolled Courses Available to Register”. If you see this, check your assignments first.
3. Keep checking the announcement page. ICMR–NIE posts the registration link there for each exam. You can see this page only after you enrol.
4. Register before the last date. Registration closes about 2-4 weeks before the exam. In 2026 it was 16 to 31 days before: 3 August for the 23 August paper, 3 September for the 27 September paper after an extension from 27 August, and 30 October for the 15 November paper. Late registration is not accepted, so don’t leave it for the last day.
5. Choose your exam centre carefully. After the last date you cannot cancel, change the date, change the centre or get a refund. And you can register for only one exam at a time.
6. Do the compulsory mock on the exam software. NPTEL gives a last date for it, a few days before the exam. For the 23 August paper it was 20 August. This is their practice run on the real exam screen, separate from the mock test in BCBR Buddy.
7. Check your email for the hall ticket. It comes a few days before the exam. The August 2026 paper ran 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, in the forenoon session. Carry a valid government photo ID.

Once you register, put your exam date in BCBR Buddy. It tells you how many questions to do each day.

After the exam

Results come within a month. The 23 August results were published on 2 September. A score of 50% or more earns an e-verifiable certificate, downloaded from NPTEL’s portal.

The announcement page is visible only after you enrol in the course on SWAYAM–NPTEL, and every notice on it says the same thing: keep checking it regularly. That is the best advice on this page. I last checked it on 16 October 2026, and I update this page from it. I am not affiliated with ICMR–NIE or NPTEL.

Plan from the registration last date

The date that really matters is the registration last date, because that is when you have to commit. If you are not sure you will be ready, decide then, not in the week before the exam. Enter your exam date in BCBR Buddy and it tells you how many questions to do each day.