GATE 2027 registration is open — DigiLocker first, 27 Sep regular close
GATE 2027 registration is live on IIT Madras’s GOAPS portal. Indian nationals must use a verified DigiLocker account. Regular close without late fee: 27 September 2026. Extended close with late fee: 5 October 2026. Dates on gate2027.iitm.ac.in win if they move again.
GATE 2027 registration — who this is for
IIT Madras is the organising institute. Thirty test papers, including a new Robotics and Automation (RA) paper. Score is typically used for M.Tech / Ph.D. shortlists and some PSU screens. This is not a campus placement drive and not an internship stipend notice.
Skip this if you only want a walk-in job this month. Skip it if you have not checked whether your degree year is eligible in the current information brochure. First- and second-year students on a four-year programme usually wait — read the brochure before you pay. Current internships sit on the internships board; staff vacancies on jobs.
Official dates (liable to change)
| Activity | Date on the IITM site |
|---|---|
| GOAPS portal live | 2 September 2026 |
| Regular registration close (no late fee) | 27 September 2026 |
| Extended registration close (late fee) | 5 October 2026 |
| Application rectification | 14–21 October 2026 |
| City allotment notification | 4 January 2027 |
| Admit card download | TBA |
| Exam (six sessions) | 6, 7, 13, 14, 20 and 21 February 2027 |
| Result | 19 March 2027 |
The dates table on the GATE site has been rewritten more than once this cycle. Screenshot it. Do not trust a coaching poster.
Fee (non-refundable)
| Category | Regular — 1 paper | Regular — 2 papers | Extended — 1 paper | Extended — 2 papers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female / SC / ST / PwD | ₹1,000 | ₹2,000 | ₹1,500 | ₹2,500 |
| All other candidates, including foreign nationals | ₹2,000 | ₹4,000 | ₹2,500 | ₹4,500 |
Source: official application fees. Bank/gateway charges extra. IIT Madras says the fee is not refunded except for proven duplicate transactions. Unpaid accounts are deleted after the portal closes. SC / ST / PwD fee concession needs the category certificate uploaded. OBC-NCL and EWS do not upload a certificate for the fee, per the GATE FAQs.
What actually changed this year
- DigiLocker is mandatory for Indian nationals. Create or update a verified DigiLocker before you open GOAPS. A half-verified account stalls the form.
- New paper: Robotics and Automation (RA). Syllabi were revised; check your paper on the GATE site, not last year’s PDF.
- Two-paper combinations and exam cities were updated in brochure v1.2 (10 August 2026). You pick six cities in the same GATE zone. IIT Madras can still allot a city you did not pick.
- No international centres. Foreign nationals and Indians abroad pay the full fee and sit in India.
- Photo: max 530 × 690 px, 600 KB. Signature: max 580 × 180 px, 300 KB. Use a phone camera ≥5 MP in good light if the portal asks for a live face capture.
How to apply without getting stuck
Apply only through the official portal linked from gate2027.iitm.ac.in. There is no email application and no campus counter. Helpdesk listed on that site: helpdesk@gate.iitm.ac.in / 044-22578200.
- Finish DigiLocker verification first.
- Read the current information brochure (v1.2 or later) for eligibility, two-paper pairs and city list.
- Fill GOAPS, pay, download the confirmation.
- If you already paid and the form is wrong, wait for the 14–21 October rectification window — do not open a second application unless the portal tells you the first is void.
If the site is slow on 27 September, that is expected. Do not pay a third-party “form filling” agent. If you only needed a paid internship this semester, go back to internships. If you needed CAT 2026 (closes 15 September), that is a different form on iimcat.ac.in — we already logged it separately.
Also on Campus Reality: admissions and the jobs board. If a date on this page disagrees with IIT Madras, IIT Madras wins.