NID DAT 2025 Seat Intake and Reservation Policy: Documents Required, Application Fees

The National Institute of Design is a premier design institute in India, with students from all over the country. Admission to the B.Des and M.Des courses is given based on performance in the NID Design Aptitude Test (NID DAT). However, getting an opportunity to be trained is not only based on NID DAT merit rank but also on the NID DAT seat intake and reservation policy that has been put in place.

The aspirants should be aware of the NID DAT reservation policy because it defines the number of seats reserved under various reservation categories. The distribution of seats is very important for Indian students as well as foreign nationals who intend to get admission to a particular college or university. This blog will discuss the NID DAT 2026 reservation categories, B.Des and M.Des seat matrices, and why it is justified for everyone.

How Does the NID DAT Seat Intake and Reservation Work?

The total intake capacity of the admission through NID DAT and the number of seats reserved also vary depending on the campus and discipline of B.Des and M.Des. Each category is given a certain percentage of the seats so that the candidates from the respective categories are given equal opportunities.

For the B.Des program, NID has five campuses at Ahmedabad, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Assam with different numbers of seats. Similarly, the M.Des program is available in all the NID campuses in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Bengaluru.

Apart from the general categories of seat reservations, there is the NID DAT foreign quota which allows international students to apply for a seat reservation. This assists in developing a pool of students from all over the world in the area of design.

Distribution of Seats Under NID DAT 2026 Reservation Categories

NID also follows the government policies of reservation for different categories to ensure that admission is fair. The seat allocation is as follows:

• General (GEN): Open competition seats
• Economically Weaker Section (GEN-EWS): 10% of seats
• Other Backward Classes (OBC-NCL): 27% of seats
• Scheduled Castes (SC): 15% of seats
• Scheduled Tribes (ST): 7.5% of seats
• Persons with Disabilities (PwD): 5% of seats across all categories
• Foreign Nationals: A separate quota for international applicants

These percentages are used in the NID DAT reservation policy for B.Des and NID DAT reservation policy for M.Des so that all the sections of the society are given an equal chance.

Also Read: List of Footwear Design Courses in India

NID DAT Seat Intake for B.Des and M.Des

The NID DAT seat intake and reservation for B.Des is 425 and it is distributed over the five zones of NID. The total NID DAT seat intake and reservation for M.Des is 347 and it is available in different specializations. It is a versatile model that can be applied in various forms across the campuses based on the available resources and the staff.

To help the aspirants to understand the seat intake and the reservation policy, the following table is given below to show the seat intake and the reservation policy of B.Des and M.Des programs:

NID DAT 2026 Seat Intake and Reservation- B.Des Program

The program wise seat intake of different campuses have been detailed below.

Institute	Total seats	GEN-EWS (10%	OBC-NCL (27%)	Scheduled Caste (15%)	Scheduled Tribe (7.5%)
NID Ahmedabad	125	13	34	19	9
NID Andhra Pradesh	75	8	20	11	6
NID Haryana	75	8	20	11	6
NID Madhya Pradesh	75	8	20	11	6
NID Assam	75	8	20	11	6
Total	525	45	114	63	33

NID DAT Seat Intake and Reservation 2026- M.Des Program

It is to be noted that M.Des programs have discipline-wise seat allocations, therefore, the seat matrix may differ as per the discipline. The number of seats in some of the M.Des disciplines is 12 and in some, it is 19.

Discipline	NID Campus	Seat Intake
Animation Film Design	Ahmedabad	19
Film & Video Communication	Ahmedabad	19
Graphic Design	Ahmedabad	19
Photography Design	Gandhinagar	19

Faculty of Industrial Design 

Discipline	NID Campus	Seat Intake
Ceramic & Glass Design	Ahmedabad	12
Furniture & Interior Design	Ahmedabad	19
Product Design	Ahmedabad	19
Toy & Game Design	Gandhinagar	12
Transportation & Automobile Design	Gandhinagar	19
Universal Design	Bengaluru	19

Faculty of Information Technology-Integrated Programmes

Discipline	NID Campus	Seat Intake
Digital Game Design	Bengaluru	19
Information Design	Bengaluru	19
Interaction Design	Bengaluru	19
New Media Design	Gandhinagar	19

Faculty of Interdisciplinary Design Studies 

Discipline	NID Campus	Seat Intake
Design for Retail Experience	Bengaluru	19
Strategic Design Management	Gandhinagar	19

Faculty of Textile, Apparel and Lifestyle Accessory Design 

Discipline	NID Campus	Seat Intake
Apparel Design	Gandhinagar	19
Lifestyle Accessory Design	Gandhinagar	19
Textile Design	Ahmedabad	19

NID DAT Reservation Policy for Foreign Nationals

The admission process for foreign nationals intending to apply for admission to NID is slightly different from the one mentioned above. There is a separate NID DAT reservation policy for foreign nationals in which a few percentage of seats are reserved for the international students. These are extra seats that are not included in the total number of seats under a given category.

Regarding your category, you have to meet some requirements and present documents proving your foreign citizenship status. You may also have different fee structures as compared to the Indian applicants.

Documents Required for NID DAT Reservation

The ones who wish to apply under the NID DAT 2026 reserved categories must enclose necessary documents while applying. These include:

• Caste certificate (for SC/ST/OBC-NCL candidates) as per the prescribed format issued by the competent authority
• Income certificate for GEN-EWS applicants
• PwD certificate for differently-abled candidates
• Domicile certificate if applicable
• Foreign nationality proof for international applicants

This implies that if the right documents are not produced, you may be locked out of the reserved category.

Also Read: Top 10 Interior Design Schools in India 2026

NID DAT Application Fee for All Categories

The application fee of NID DAT varies for each category of the applicant. From the current information, the approximate fees are as follows:

• General/OBC-NCL/EWS: INR 3,000
• SC/ST/PwD: INR 1,500
• Foreign Nationals: $60 (USD)

The application fee is non-refundable and should be paid online before the deadline of the application submission. Any of you who wants to apply under any of the reserved categories should ensure that you make the right selection in the NID DAT application form.

Final Thoughts

The NID DAT seat intake and reservation policy is aimed at making the institute more diverse. The NID DAT reservation policy for B.Des, NID DAT reservation policy for M.Des, and NID DAT reservation policy for foreign nationals should be understood in terms of the reservation breakdown and documents needed.

You should also be aware of the NID DAT 2026 reservation policy and should apply accordingly. It is therefore necessary to know the NID DAT reservation of seats to avoid any shock during the admission process.

You should know the NID DAT seat intake and reservation policy in advance and prepare well for the exam to get a chance to be a part of one of the most prestigious design institutes in India, NID. Interested ones should visit the official website for the updated information and dates for the application.