JAMB UTME

Overview

The UTME is the matriculation examination run by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for entry to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria. JAMB's legal mandate covers conducting the matriculation exam and placing suitably qualified candidates in institutions, taking into account vacancies, each institution's approved guidelines and the candidate's stated choices.

Who can apply

The FAQ on the JAMB site sets the age rule as 16 years by 30 September of the application year (for the 2025 cycle). Younger candidates can only take a trial mock exam, except exceptional students who meet an 80% score condition across the UTME, SSCE and Post-UTME and a special exam. JAMB's 2026 policy meeting confirmed that the minimum age for admission to tertiary institutions remains sixteen.

Direct Entry (DE) is a separate application route with its own application documents. DE applicants give details of the previous school, course, awarding institution and year of graduation.

Exam pattern

Registration is done at JAMB-approved Computer-Based Testing (CBT) centres, and candidates choose their UTME subjects and exam towns at registration. Subjects depend on the course you choose. JAMB's IBASS Eligibility Checker lists the programmes at each institution and the UTME subject combination each course needs, and JAMB advises every candidate to check this before applying.

Marking and results

For 2026, JAMB's policy meeting approved these minimum tolerable admission scores:

Important dates

JAMB's FAQ page, written for the 2025 cycle, gave sales of UTME application documents from 3 February to 8 March 2025, and DE documents from 8 March to 7 April 2025. Dates change every year, so check the JAMB site for the current calendar.

Fees

For the 2025 UTME and DE application, JAMB listed four options: UTME with mock, N8,700; UTME without mock, N7,200; Direct Entry, N5,700; and a trial mock exam for underage candidates, N3,500. Registration is cashless. Candidates from the eight foreign registration cities (Abidjan, Accra, Banjul, Beau, Cotonou, Jeddah, Johannesburg and London) paid $50 or the local equivalent.

How to apply

1. Generate a profile code by sending the word NIN, a space, and your 11-digit National Identification Number by SMS to 55019 or 66019.

2. Pay for the application document using the profile code to get an e-PIN by text message.

3. Go in person to a JAMB-accredited CBT centre with your profile code and e-PIN. Your photograph and all ten fingerprints are captured, and a registration slip is printed after biometric confirmation.

4. At registration, supply your choice of institutions and courses, a working personal email address, your O'Level results or upload pin if available, your UTME subjects and your preferred exam towns for the optional mock and the UTME.

Each candidate must use a unique mobile number and may register only once. Candidates who are awaiting results must upload them on the JAMB portal when available. Candidates with disabilities should say so at registration so they are assigned to special-attention centres.

After the exam

Many institutions run their own screening after the UTME. See the Post-UTME page.

Preparation tips

• Check your course's subject combination on IBASS before registering, before you pay for the application document.

• Practise on a computer, since registration and testing happen at CBT centres.

• Keep your profile code, e-PIN and registered phone number safe; do not share them with a centre.