UP Special TET 2026 Notification – Exam Date, Eligibility, Fee, Syllabus

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Background & Overview

In Civil Appeal No. 1385/2025, Anjuman Ishaat-e-Talim Trust vs. State of Maharashtra & Others, the Hon’ble Supreme Court made TET mandatory for all teachers, by order dated 1 September 2025. Following a review petition (Diary No. 53434/2025, UP State vs. Anjuman Ishaat-e-Talim Trust), the Supreme Court’s order dated 29 May 2026 requires all serving teachers to clear this mandatory Teacher Eligibility Test by 31 August 2028. Since a large number of teachers are affected by this order, the Uttar Pradesh Government decided to conduct a Special Teacher Eligibility Test (Special TET) for teachers serving at the Primary and Upper Primary levels.

Separately, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order dated 7 March 2025 in Writ Petition No. 132/2016, Rajnish Kumar Pandey & Others vs. Union of India & Others, the Government also decided to conduct the Special TET for approximately 2,500 Special Teachers/Assistant Teachers (CWSN) at the Primary and Upper Primary levels.

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Important Dates

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Applicability / Eligibility

Teachers serving in the following schools are eligible to apply for the Special TET:

Primary Level (Class 1 to 5)

• All schools run by the State Government
• Local body schools, and those granted affiliation/recognition by the State Government/Basic Shiksha Parishad from time to time
• Schools receiving aid from the State Government
• Special Educators at the Primary level (Class 1 to 5)

Upper Primary Level (Class 6 to 8)

• All schools run by the State Government
• Local body schools, and those granted recognition/affiliation for operation by the State Government/Basic Shiksha Parishad/Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad from time to time
• Schools receiving aid from the State Government
• Special Educators at the Upper Primary level (Class 6 to 8)

Mandatory Eligibility for Serving Teachers

• All teachers serving in Primary-level schools are eligible for the Primary-level Special TET.
• All teachers serving in Upper Primary/Junior High School-level schools are eligible for the Upper Primary-level Special TET.

Mandatory Eligibility for Special Teachers (CWSN)

• Special Educators, Primary level (Class 1–5), CWSN: Special teachers (CWSN) serving on contract/deliverables basis in Primary-level schools are eligible if they have passed Graduation along with an RCI (Rehabilitation Council of India)-recognised D.Ed Special Education or equivalent examination, and mandatorily hold an RCI registration certificate with an active CRR number.
• Special Educators, Upper Primary level (Class 6–8), CWSN: Special teachers (CWSN) serving on contract/deliverables basis in Upper Primary-level schools are eligible if they have passed Graduation along with an RCI-recognised B.Ed Special Education or equivalent examination, and mandatorily hold an RCI registration certificate with an active CRR number.

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Age Limit

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Application Fee

Fee can be paid online via Credit Card, Debit Card, or Net Banking through the payment gateway available on the portal, immediately after registration. Payment is valid only after confirmation is received from the bank. The fee receipt must be preserved after payment. If a candidate completes One Time Registration (OTR) and fee payment but does not complete the application form by the final date, the application will not be considered valid. Fee once deposited for an erroneous application is not refunded under any circumstances, nor adjusted against another application.

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Exam Centre

Exam centres will be determined at district headquarters as required, and a candidate may be allotted any centre. Information about the exam centre’s district will be given 10 days before the exam date, and the specific exam centre information will be given 3 days before the exam, via a link on the Commission’s website from which the admit card can be downloaded. Exam centre, timetable, and roll number information will be provided in due course.

Note: if a candidate appears at a centre or for a subject other than what is mentioned on their admit card, their answer sheet will not be evaluated and their candidature will be cancelled.

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Exam Pattern

• Exam duration: 2 hours 30 minutes (150 minutes)
• All questions are Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), each with four options
• There is no negative marking
• Total number of questions: 150, each carrying 1 mark (total 150 marks)
• The question paper medium is Hindi and English (except for language subjects)

Qualifying Marks

Note on scoring: if the exam is held in a single shift, a candidate’s actual marks are used for the qualifying criteria. If the exam is held in more than one shift due to a high number of applications, as per Government Order No. 6/2024/148/General/47/Ka-4-2024, a Normalization process will be applied for comparative evaluation of scores across shifts, following the procedure prescribed in the Commission’s notice No. Shiksha Sewa Ayog/2018/2025-26, dated 26 February 2026. Only the normalized marks will be valid for the qualifying criteria in that case.

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Syllabus

Primary Level (Class 1 to 5) – All Subjects Compulsory

Upper Primary Level (Class 6 to 8) – All Subjects Compulsory

The detailed syllabus for both levels is available on the Commission’s website, www.upessc.up.gov.in.

UPESSC Special TET 2026 Written Exam Instructions

• Information on exam date, place, time, and centre, along with roll number and admit card download instructions, will be sent via SMS, email, newspaper, and the website/portal. Candidates must appear only at their allotted centre; no change of centre is permitted under any circumstances.
• Once notified, admit cards can be downloaded from www.upessc.up.gov.in via the “Admit Card Download” button, using the registration number/mobile number and date of birth.
• Entry to the written exam is provisional, based on information provided by the candidate. If a candidate is later found ineligible, or their application should not have been accepted at the initial stage, their candidature will be cancelled.
• Misconduct — including copying, indiscipline, misbehaviour, or undesirable acts in the exam hall — will lead to cancellation of candidature, and may result in debarment from this and future exams/selections.
• Candidates must bring a black ball-point pen and use only that to fill the OMR sheet’s rectangular boxes and circles. Other coloured pens, fountain pens, gel pens, sketch pens, HB pencils, and whitener are prohibited. Once a circle is filled, it cannot be changed; darkening more than one circle for a question means that question is not evaluated.
• Using an eraser, nail, blade, or whitener on the OMR sheet during the exam is prohibited; any such use will lead to cancellation of that OMR sheet.
• Candidates must correctly fill and darken only the relevant circles on the OMR sheet so they can be read by the scanner; evaluation is based solely on properly darkened circles, and the candidate is responsible for any error.
• Divyangjan (disabled) candidates are entitled to a Scribe facility as per Government Orders dated 4 December 2019 and 8 September 2022. The candidate must bring their own scribe and register with full details at the Commission office at least one week before the written exam. Such candidates are given 20 minutes of extra time per hour; no travel allowance is given to the scribe.
• Before appearing for the written exam, candidates must ensure they fulfil the minimum prescribed eligibility for the Special TET.
• No travel allowance is payable for appearing in the exam.

Instructions for Reserved Category Candidates

• Reserved category candidates of Uttar Pradesh must mention their category in the application.
• Candidates claiming more than one reserved category will get only one concession — whichever is more beneficial.
• Reserved category candidates who are not original domiciles of Uttar Pradesh are not entitled to category concessions and will be treated as General category. For women candidates, only a caste certificate issued from the father’s side is valid.
• Caste certificates for reserved categories are valid only on the format prescribed by the Uttar Pradesh Government. A woman candidate’s caste certificate stating she is the wife of a person belonging to the SC/ST/OBC category of UP is not valid.
• Candidates claiming to be dependents of a UP Freedom Fighter must ensure their certificate is on the format attached with the UP Government’s amended Government Order dated 7 April 2015, under the UP Public Services (Reservation for Physically Handicapped, Dependents of Freedom Fighters and Ex-servicemen) Act, 1993.
• Candidates claiming physically handicapped status must ensure their certificate is on the format prescribed by the UP Government.
• The EWS category certificate is valid only if it pertains to the year prior to the year of application, as per Personnel Section office memo No. 1/2019/4/1/2002/Ka-2/19-TC-II, dated 18 February 2019, and must be submitted on the format prescribed by office memo No. 3/2019/4/1/2002/Ka-2/19-TC-II, dated 14 March 2019.

How to Apply for UPESSC Special TET 2026

1. Visit the official website, www.upessc.up.gov.in, and complete One Time Registration (OTR) — mandatory before applying.
2. Fill the registration and application form mandatorily in English, taking care with category, sub-category, date of birth, and gender, as these cannot be changed after final submission.
3. While applying, teachers serving at the Primary/Upper Primary level must mention their eHRMS code; Special Teachers (CWSN) at Primary and Upper Primary level must mention their RCI registration certificate number along with an active CRR number.
4. Upload a scanned signature on a white background in JPG/JPEG format (10 KB–200 KB, 140×110 pixel resolution) and a passport-size photo (30 KB–300 KB, 300–600 pixel resolution).
5. Upload all required certificates/documents in PDF format, sized between 50 KB and 500 KB.
6. Pay the applicable fee online via Credit Card, Debit Card, or Net Banking, on or before 4 October 2026.
7. Use the correction window, open until 8 October 2026, to fix any errors in the submitted application, noting that the fee paid for an erroneous application is not refunded or adjusted elsewhere.