NTA opens RMS CET 2026 applications for Class VI and IX; exam on 13 December

NEW DELHI: Parents hoping to get a child into one of the five Rashtriya Military Schools next April now have a four-week window. The National Testing Agency has opened online applications for the Rashtriya Military School Common Entrance Test (RMS CET) 2026, which fills Class VI and Class IX seats for the 2027-28 academic year.

The NTA public notice, dated 23 September and posted on its notice board on 24 September, says the form can be submitted on exams.nta.nic.in/rmscet until 5 PM on 20 October 2026. The fee must go through by 11:50 PM the same day. A late window runs from 21 October to 5 PM on 25 October with an extra Rs 500, and the late fee itself can be paid until 11:50 PM on 25 October.

The written test is on Sunday, 13 December 2026. It is a pen and paper OMR exam with multiple choice questions, held in 63 cities listed in the information bulletin. Applicants can pick up to four cities in order of preference.

Who can apply, and what it costs

For Class VI, the child must be between 10 and 13 years old on 31 March 2027, which means born between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2017, both dates included. For Class IX, the age band is 13 to 16, covering births between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2014. Wards of armed forces personnel killed in action get six months of relaxation on the upper age limit.

A Class VI applicant must have passed Class V, or be studying in it and pass before admission. A Class IX applicant must have passed Class VIII from a government or recognised school. The bulletin is strict on proof of age: only a birth certificate issued by a Municipal Corporation or an authorised local government body will be accepted. Certificates from a Gram Panchayat will not.

The fee is Rs 1,000 for General, OBC and OBC (NCL) candidates and Rs 750 for SC and ST candidates and wards of personnel killed in action. Payment is online only, by card, net banking or UPI.

How the seats are split

The schools are at Chail in Himachal Pradesh, Ajmer and Dholpur in Rajasthan, and Belgaum and Bengaluru in Karnataka. They are English medium, run by the Ministry of Defence, and admit boarders only. There are no day scholars.

Under the bulletin, 70 per cent of seats go to wards of JCOs and other ranks of the Army, Air Force and Navy, serving or retired, 20 per cent to wards of officers, and 10 per cent to civilians. Seats left vacant in the officers' share can pass to civilians in the same year. Within each group, 27 per cent is reserved for OBC (NCL), 15 per cent for SC and 7.5 per cent for ST. Fifty seats, with no more than 15 in any single school, are set aside for wards of personnel killed in action. Girls get 10 per cent of Class VI seats or 30 seats across all five schools, whichever is lower, and 10 per cent of Class IX seats.

What the paper looks like

The Class VI paper carries 50 questions each in English, Intelligence, Mathematics, and General Knowledge and Current Affairs. English must be cleared with 35 per cent but does not count towards the merit list. The other three sections need 40 per cent each. The paper is bilingual, in English and Hindi, and pitched at Class V level.

Class IX candidates take two 100-mark papers. Paper 1 covers English, Hindi and Social Science. Paper 2 covers Mathematics and Science. Each needs 50 per cent, the paper is set in English only, and the standard is Class VIII. Both classes get two and a half hours.

Clearing the written test only opens the next door. Shortlisted children go through a medical examination at a nominated military hospital and an interview at one of the schools, worth 20 marks for Class VI and 50 marks for Class IX. The final merit list adds written and interview marks for medically fit candidates.

The bulletin's timeline puts city intimation slips in the last week of November, admit cards five to seven days before the exam, the Stage-1 result in January 2027, medicals and interviews in February and March, and joining on 1 April 2027. NTA's helpline numbers are 011-40759000 and 011-69227700, and queries can be sent to rmscet@nta.gov.in.