🔄 Last verified: 30 September 2026 — RIMCEE late-window dates ✅ CONFIRMED (TOI, edexlive, NTA bulletin reporting). RMS CET and UP Sainik School dates ✅ CONFIRMED from our 27 September verified pieces (two independent sources each). AISSEE 2027 notification 🔶 NOT released — October expectation is pattern-based; exam date 31 January 2027 is ✅ CONFIRMED (tentative) in NTA’s 2026-27 exam calendar.
Tomorrow is 1 October, and if your family is chasing a defence-school seat for 2027-28, this is the busiest application month of the year. Four different entrance exams have forms live or opening right now — run by four different bodies, with four different deadlines. Here is the whole month on one map.
| Exam | Form status tonight | Last date | Written exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| RIMCEE 2026 (RIMC Dehradun, Class 8) | Regular window closed 5 PM today; late-fee window opens tomorrow | 7 Oct 2026 (₹500 late fee) | 6 Dec 2026 |
| RMS CET 2026 (Rashtriya Military Schools, Class 6 & 9) | Open now | 20 Oct 2026 | 13 Dec 2026 |
| UP Sainik School (Lucknow & Gorakhpur, Class 6 & 9) | Open now | 25 Oct 2026 (late window 26–31 Oct) | 20 Dec 2026 |
| AISSEE 2027 (33 Sainik Schools + new schools, Class 6 & 9) | 🔶 Notification not released yet | Expected Oct–Nov 2026 | 31 Jan 2027 (tentative) |
NTA closed the regular RIMCEE 2026 window at 5 PM today — but a late-fee window runs 1–7 October 2026, with an extra ₹500 over the regular fee (₹1,000 General/OBC-NCL/defence wards; ₹750 SC/ST). If the form is ready but the payment slipped, apply tomorrow morning — NTA portals crawl on closing days, and this window also shuts at 5 PM. Stage-I written exam: 6 December 2026. Full timeline: RIMCEE 2026: After the Deadline.
The Rashtriya Military Schools CET — Class 6 and 9 at the five Rashtriya Military Schools — has been open since 23 September and closes 20 October 2026; the written exam is 13 December 2026. It flies under the radar every year because parents fixate on AISSEE, and the Class 6 paper is bilingual (Hindi and English). Verified details: NTA Opens RMS CET 2026 Applications.
The UP Sainik Schools Society’s own entrance — separate from NTA’s AISSEE — closes 25 October 2026 (₹1,000), with a late window (₹2,000 total) from 26 to 31 October. Written exam: 20 December 2026. Applying here doesn’t affect your AISSEE application. Details: UP Sainik School Admission 2027.
The notification every Sainik School parent is waiting for — NTA’s AISSEE 2027 information bulletin — is not out yet. The last three cycles point to October, and tomorrow is 1 October. What we know: the exam is tentatively 31 January 2027 (NTA exam calendar, 16 September 2026), the fee is 🔶 expected at ₹850/₹700 (2026 rates), and the window will likely be short — last year’s was barely three weeks. Keep your documents ready with our AISSEE 2027 application form guide.
exams.nta.nic.in/sainik-school-society every couple of days — the bulletin can drop any morning in October.Which defence-school entrance forms are open in October 2026? Four matter for parents: RIMCEE 2026 (late-fee window 1–7 October), RMS CET 2026 (open till 20 October), UP Sainik School Lucknow and Gorakhpur (open till 25 October), and AISSEE 2027 — notification not released yet but expected in October.
I missed the RIMCEE 2026 deadline today. Can I still apply? Yes. NTA opens a late-fee window from 1 to 7 October 2026 with an extra ₹500 over the regular fee. The Stage-I written exam is on 6 December 2026.
Has the AISSEE 2027 notification been released? No. As of 30 September 2026 the NTA has not released the AISSEE 2027 information bulletin. It is expected in October 2026, and the exam is tentatively dated 31 January 2027 in NTA’s exam calendar.
Can my child apply for both RMS CET and AISSEE 2027? Yes. They are separate exams run by different bodies with months between the written tests (RMS CET on 13 December 2026, AISSEE tentatively 31 January 2027), so one application does not block the other.
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