Public universities in Nigeria must finish all 2026/2027 admissions by October 31, 2026. That’s 21 days from today, October 10.
JAMB didn’t move the date, even though the CAPS portal went down for a while before it came back on September 28. If a public university has offered you admission, go and accept it on CAPS now. No dulling. And if you have no offer yet, there’s a section further down for you.
Important dates for the JAMB 2026 admission deadline
| Who | Last date to finish admissions |
|---|---|
| Public universities | Saturday, October 31, 2026 |
| Private universities | Monday, November 30, 2026 |
| Polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education | Thursday, December 31, 2026 |
Still holding an old offer from 2021 to 2025 that you never accepted or rejected? JAMB moved that deadline from September 30 to November 30, 2026. So the September date is no longer the one to follow.
An offer made outside CAPS is not a valid admission, so don’t accept one.
What the October 31 deadline means for you
Once the date passes, any school that hasn’t finished its admissions loses access to candidates for this session. JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said this at the 2026 admissions policy meeting. He also approved four weeks for candidates to accept an offer, and an offer that isn’t accepted in that time can be withdrawn.
JAMB hasn’t announced a separate last day for candidates to accept 2026 offers, so treat October 31 as your last day. Don’t sit on the four weeks either. Accept early. And since October 31 falls on a Saturday, Friday, October 30 is your last weekday to sort it out.
How to accept your admission on JAMB CAPS
- Open efacility.jamb.gov.ng and log in with the email and password you used when you registered for UTME. Your registration number alone won’t log you in.
- Click “Check Admission Status”, select 2026 as the exam year, type your registration number, then click “Access my CAPS”.
- Click “Admission Status” on the left side.
- If the school has made you an offer, you’ll see “Accept Admission” and “Reject Admission”. Click Accept, then Confirm.
- Your status should now read “Admission Accepted”. Print your admission letter next, in colour, because the school will ask for it during screening.
On a phone, the left menu may be hidden. Switch your browser to Desktop site (in Chrome, tap the three dots, then Desktop site) and it will show. Some candidates also accept by SMS: send your registration number, a space, then ACCEPT to 55019 or 66019 from the phone number you registered with. Make sure the offer is showing on CAPS before you try that.
Accepting or rejecting is final. You can’t reverse it, so be sure of the school and course before you click.
What each status on JAMB CAPS means
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Admission Offered | The offer is ready for you | Accept or reject now |
| Admission in Progress | The school has sent your name to JAMB for final approval | Wait |
| Recommended | The school wants you, and JAMB is checking your O’Level result and cut-off | Wait for the final confirmation |
| Not Admitted | No offer yet, or a requirement isn’t met | Check again in a few days |
| Admission Accepted | You’ve confirmed the offer | Print your admission letter |
Why your JAMB CAPS admission is not showing
- Your O’Level result isn’t uploaded to your JAMB profile. Without it, CAPS may not process your admission. If you wrote NECO this year, JAMB has asked you to upload and verify the result without delay.
- The school hasn’t sent its list to JAMB yet. Its own portal can say you’re admitted while CAPS still says “Not Admitted”. Give it a little time.
- Wrong login details.
What to do if you have no admission offer yet
Public universities still have until October 31 to put you on CAPS. Private universities have until November 30, and polytechnics and colleges of education until December 31. So October 31 isn’t the end of the road for everybody.
- Log into CAPS every few days, and make sure your O’Level result is uploaded.
- The minimum score for universities this year is 150. Check yours against it.
- Schools with later dates are still an option. Read the difference between a university, polytechnic and college of education first, then see the 10 universities that got the most UTME applications in 2026 and their cut off marks.
- Pay nobody for an admission that isn’t on CAPS.
If the whole process still confuses you, this post on how university admission works in Nigeria, from JAMB registration to CAPS goes through it from the start.
What to do after you accept your admission on CAPS
Accepting on CAPS isn’t the same as paying the school’s acceptance fee. Follow the school’s own payment steps after that.
If you also have an older offer you never accepted, and now have a 2026 offer, you can reject the old one without affecting your 2026 admission.
Worried about fees? Compare the NELFUND student loan and scholarships, and check the undergraduate scholarships that run every year. More news like this is under Education News.
