NTA Opens RMS CET 2026 Applications: Class 6 & 9 Military School Admissions Begin

🔄 Last verified: 27 September 2026 — ✅ CONFIRMED: NTA opened RMS CET 2026 applications on 23 September 2026. Last date 20 October 2026 (5:00 PM), fee deadline 11:50 PM the same day, late window 21–25 October 2026. Exam: 13 December 2026 (Sunday), pen-and-paper OMR, 63 cities. Fees: ₹1,000 (General/OBC), ₹750 (SC/ST/KIA). Two independent news sources report identical details.

For parents eyeing a defence-school seat for their child, this is genuinely good news — and it landed quietly. On 23 September 2026, the National Testing Agency opened applications for the Rashtriya Military School Common Entrance Test (RMS CET) 2026 for admission to Class VI and Class IX in the five Rashtriya Military Schools for the 2027-28 academic session.

If AISSEE 2027 is your main target, think of RMS CET as a serious parallel shot, not a distraction. Same audience, same exam style, similar syllabus DNA — and a three-week application window you should not sleep through.

The dates that matter

Who can apply

• Class VI: aged 10–13 years as on 31 March 2027 (born between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2017, both dates inclusive).
• Class IX: aged 13–16 years as on 31 March 2027 (born between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2014, both dates inclusive).
• Class VI candidates should have passed or be studying in Class V; Class IX candidates should have passed or be studying in Class VIII at a recognised school. Instruction medium is English, so comfort with English matters.

The fee structure

General, OBC and OBC-NCL candidates pay ₹1,000; SC, ST and wards of armed forces personnel killed in action pay ₹750. Fee is paid online by credit/debit card, net banking or UPI.

The five schools

Chail (Shimla Hills, Himachal Pradesh), Ajmer and Dholpur (Rajasthan), and Belgaum and Bengaluru (Karnataka). These are residential, English-medium schools run by the Ministry of Defence for Classes VI to XII — and founding members of the Indian Public Schools’ Conference.

What to do next

Apply on the official portal — not on aggregator sites that just link to it. Keep scanned copies of the birth certificate, photograph, signature and category documents ready in the prescribed formats before you start the form, because the medical-examination hospital you select during registration cannot be changed later. And do not wait for 20 October: NTA portals get congested in the last 48 hours.

One last thing — AISSEE 2027 (31 January 2027, per the NTA exam calendar) remains a separate exam with its own notification, which is still awaited. RMS CET and AISSEE are both defence-school routes, but you must apply for each separately.

Frequently asked questions

Is RMS CET 2026 the same as AISSEE 2027? No. RMS CET is the entrance for the five Rashtriya Military Schools; AISSEE is for the Sainik Schools. Both are conducted by NTA for the Ministry of Defence, but they are separate exams with separate applications, fees and timelines.

What is the last date to apply for RMS CET 2026? 20 October 2026 up to 5:00 PM, with fee payment accepted till 11:50 PM the same night. A late window runs 21–25 October 2026 with an additional ₹500 late fee.

When is the RMS CET 2026 exam? Sunday, 13 December 2026 — a pen-and-paper OMR test with MCQs, held across 63 Indian cities.

What is the RMS CET 2026 application fee? ₹1,000 for General/OBC/OBC-NCL candidates and ₹750 for SC/ST candidates and wards of armed forces personnel killed in action, payable online.

Sources

• Jagran Josh — RMS CET 2026 Class 6, 9 Registrations Commence at exams.nta.nic.in
• Careers360 — RMS CET 2026 registration begins for Class 6, 9 admissions at military schools
• Career India — RMS CET 2026 Registration Begins at exams.nta.nic.in: Apply Now