GATE 2027 registration extended: no late fee until 5 October
IIT Madras has pushed the regular GATE 2027 registration deadline from 27 September to 5 October. The late-fee window now closes on 12 October. DigiLocker-based registration remains mandatory for Indian nationals.
IIT Madras, which is organising GATE 2027, has extended regular registration, citing a large number of requests. Students who had not finished their application by the original 27 September deadline now have another week without paying extra.
The new dates
| Stage | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Regular registration (no late fee) | 5 October 2026 |
| Extended registration (with late fee) | 12 October 2026 |
| Admit card | 4 January 2027 |
| Exam days | 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21 February 2027 |
What is different this year
- DigiLocker is compulsory for Indian applicants. The application runs through a verified DigiLocker account, and IIT Madras has told candidates not to delete that account after applying — all future communication will be tied to it.
- The regular fee is ₹1,000 per paper for women, SC, ST and PwD candidates and ₹2,000 per paper for everyone else.
- There are 30 papers, including a new Robotics and Automation paper, and the syllabi have been revised. Question papers are in English only.
Why not wait till the last day
The DigiLocker step is where most applications stall — a name mismatch between Aadhaar and your mark sheets, or an unverified account, can take days to fix. Use the extra week to get verification done first, then fill the form. GATE scores are used for MTech and PhD admission at IITs, NITs and IISc, and by public-sector companies for recruitment.
CareerBox News Desk — reporting on the registration extension announced by IIT Madras, the organising institute for GATE 2027. Official portal: gate2027.iitm.ac.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.