Important
ZNO is no longer held. It was last run in its full format in 2021. Since 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion made the multi-day paper exam unsafe, the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment (UCEQA) has run the National Multi-subject Test (NMT) instead, and NMT is the admission test for 2026. If you are applying to a Ukrainian university, prepare for NMT, not ZNO.
Overview
ZNO (zovnishnie nezalezhne otsiniuvannia, External Independent Testing) was Ukraine's standardised exam for school leavers and the main route into higher education. It was run by UCEQA and its regional centres.
ZNO began as a pilot in 2004 with about 4,500 participants in five large cities, was formally launched in 2006 with about 41,000 participants, and by 2008 was required for admission to all higher education. From 2015 to 2019 it was also combined with the state final attestation (DPA) that pupils took at the end of school.
UCEQA introduced NMT in 2022, describing it as new in format and partly in content. Its director, Tetiana Vakulenko, said in May 2026 that a return to classic ZNO is unlikely even after the war: the plan is a model between NMT and ZNO, and if changes can start in 2026 it could launch by 2028.
Exam pattern
ZNO was paper-based and each subject was sat in a separate session on its own day, with breaks between subjects.
Candidates took three to five subjects: Ukrainian language and literature was compulsory, plus subjects chosen for the programmes they were applying to.
Tasks included open-ended responses and problems that required worked solutions, not only multiple choice.
Results were reported on a 100 to 200 point scale used in university admission.
How it compares with NMT
| Feature | ZNO (to 2021) | NMT (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Paper-based | Computer-based, in temporary exam centres in Ukraine and abroad |
| Schedule | One subject per session, on separate days | All four subjects in one day, in two 120-minute sessions |
| Subjects | 3 to 5, with Ukrainian language and literature compulsory | 4: Ukrainian language, mathematics and history of Ukraine, plus one elective |
| Task types | Included open and extended answers | No extended-answer tasks |
| Score scale | 100 to 200 | 100 to 200 |
For 2026, the NMT electives were Ukrainian literature, a foreign language (English, German, French or Spanish), biology, chemistry, physics and geography. The main NMT sessions ran from 20 May to 25 June 2026, with extra sessions on 17 to 24 July 2026 for candidates who missed the main session for a documented reason.
Is ZNO still held?
No. The full ZNO was last held in 2021. Since 2022 the National Multi-subject Test (NMT) has been used for university admission in Ukraine, including in 2026.
Will ZNO come back after the war?
UCEQA's director said in May 2026 that the likely next step is a format between NMT and ZNO, keeping computer testing but adding open and essay-type tasks again, possibly from 2028 if changes start in 2026. This is a plan, not a decision in force.
Are old ZNO papers useful for NMT?
Parts of them can help, because NMT covers similar school subjects, but NMT has no extended-answer tasks and a different subject structure, so practise with the NMT format as well.