The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that registration for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will close on Saturday, February 26, 2026.
In a statement issued by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin, the Board said the sale of e-PINs, which enables candidates to proceed to accredited centres for registration, will end at 12:00 midnight on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
Actual registration for candidates who have already obtained their e-PINs will, however, close on Saturday, February 28, 2026.
As of Tuesday, February 17, 2026, JAMB disclosed that over 1.5 million candidates had successfully registered for the examination.
The Board noted that although it has a daily registration capacity of 100,000 candidates, centres across the country are currently operating at barely 30 per cent of that capacity, indicating that many prospective candidates are yet to take advantage of the registration window.
JAMB stated unequivocally that there will be no extension of the registration deadline. It explained that it operates within a nationally coordinated examination calendar agreed upon by all examination bodies in Nigeria, with its registration period strategically scheduled to allow other bodies to conduct their exercises subsequently.
“Consequently, there is no available window for any extension, even if the Board were inclined to consider one,” the statement said.
The Board advised candidates to obtain their e-PINs before the vending deadline and proceed immediately to accredited centres to complete their registration, warning that last minute rush could result in avoidable challenges.
It stressed that no appeals for extension would be entertained after the deadline.
JAMB added that the proactive notice was to ensure that no candidate genuinely interested in sitting for the 2026 UTME is shut out due to delay or complacency.
