For KCET (UGCET) 2026 counselling, KEA's official document list is: the CET-2026 admit card and application printout, Aadhaar card, SSLC (10th) and 2nd PUC (12th) marks cards, the required study certificates, and any caste, income or quota certificates with RD numbers matching the claims in your application — plus one set of photocopies of everything. Results were declared on 6 June 2026, the verification slip was released on 12 June, and Round 1 option entry ran from 20 to 30 June 2026. Only candidates holding a verification slip could enter options. The 2026 rounds are over; for 2027, expect the same document set but check KEA's new bulletin.
This checklist is built entirely from KEA's own 2026 paperwork — the document-verification notification dated 04-05-2026 (No. ED/KEA/ADMN/CR-04/2026) and the official UGCET-2026 e-Information Bulletin — not from coaching-site lists, several of which still carry items KEA never asked for. Tracking the private-college route too? Our COMEDK 2026 counselling update covers it, and the KCET exam page has the broader picture.
How KCET 2026 verification and counselling ran
Document verification for 2026 largely happened before the exam results, through KEA's new online application-cum-verification system. Here is the verified sequence:
- 23–24 Apr 2026 KCET/UGCET 2026 examination held (official)
- 5–15 May 2026 Special-category (NCC/Sports/Defence/CAPF etc.) certificate submission in person at KEA — originals plus two photocopy sets; eligibility lists out from 29-05-2026 (official)
- 11–22 May 2026 In-person document verification at KEA, Malleswaram — only for candidates claiming eligibility clauses A1, B1 or B through O, with slot booking from 7 May (official)
- 21 May 2026 Last date for "Claimed but Not Verified" candidates (Kannada-medium, rural, minority claims) to finish verification at the nearest Government PU college (official)
- 2 Jun 2026 Draft engineering seat matrix and Government notification (No. ED 101 TEC 2026 dated 30-05-2026) published (official)
- 6 Jun 2026 UGCET-2026 results declared; rank portal live (official)
- 12 Jun 2026 Verification-slip download opened on the Candidate Portal (official)
- 20–30 Jun 2026 Round 1 option entry (from 11:30 AM on 20 June to 10 AM on 30 June) (official schedule)
- 6–15 Jul 2026 Mock allotment on 6 July, a window to edit options until 9 July, then the Round 1 allotment on 15 July
- 24 Aug 2026 Round 2 final allotment
- 7 Sep 2026 Round 3 (casual-vacancy) final allotment; remaining seats listed on 8 September
Source: KEA UGCET-2026 page and the linked notifications (rechecked 18-10-2026).
The core document checklist — every candidate
Straight from KEA's verification notification dated 04-05-2026 and Section 13 of the 2026 e-Information Bulletin:
- CET-2026 application printout — everyone. Under the 2026 system it can be printed from the Candidate Portal only after your claims are verified.
- CET-2026 admit card (admission ticket) — everyone.
- Aadhaar card — everyone, as identity proof. The name on Aadhaar must exactly match the SSLC marks card; fix any mismatch in Aadhaar immediately.
- SSLC / 10th standard marks card (original) — base document for every eligibility clause.
- 2nd PUC / 12th standard marks card (original) — base document for every eligibility clause.
- Study certificate — proving 7 years of study in Karnataka including 10th or 12th, countersigned by the BEO/DDPI. The counter-signature is not required for CBSE/CISCE study certificates.
- One set of photocopies of all of the above (the May special-category submission needed two sets).
Source: KEA notification dated 04-05-2026 and UGCET-2026 e-Information Bulletin, Section 13.
What about passport-size photographs?
Photographs are not on KEA's official 2026 verification list — neither in the 04-05-2026 notification nor in Section 13 of the bulletin; checklists that include them copy older, unofficial lists. Colleges may still ask for photos when you report for admission, so keep a few in the folder — but KEA itself does not list them.
Reservation and quota certificates — only if you claimed them
Every certificate below needs an RD number (the Revenue Department number KEA uses to verify it online). Without an RD number, the reservation claim fails.
- Caste / caste-income certificate — in the candidate's own name, issued by the jurisdictional Tahasildar in Karnataka (see form table below). Central-Government OBC certificates and migrant certificates are not valid for KEA admissions.
- SC internal-reservation details (Category-A/B/C) — new for 2026 under G.O. SKE 08 SLP 2024 dated 25-08-2025; SC candidates need a certificate carrying internal-reservation details with an RD number.
- Income certificate — a separate certificate (not the caste-income one) for SC/ST/Category-1 fee exemption, and for the 5% Supernumerary Quota (SNQ): all candidates including General Merit qualify for SNQ tuition-fee-waiver seats in engineering if family income is below Rs 8 lakh. EWS and Arya Vyshya (Form-G) certificates are not accepted for SNQ.
- Rural study certificate — 1st to 10th standard, 10 complete years, BEO-countersigned. General Merit rural claimants must also produce an NCLC (non-creamy-layer certificate) from the Tahasildar, with RD number.
- Kannada-medium study certificate — 1st to 10th standard, 10 full years, BEO/DDPI-countersigned, for the Kannada-medium quota.
- Article 371(j) Kalyana-Karnataka certificate — Annexure-A with RD number, from the concerned Assistant Commissioner.
- Parent's certificates — study/domicile/employment/hometown certificates for parent-based eligibility clauses (b through o); the exact document depends on your clause as listed in the bulletin.
| Form | Category | Issued by |
|---|---|---|
| Form D | SC / ST | Jurisdictional Tahasildar (Karnataka) |
| Form E | Category-1 | Jurisdictional Tahasildar (Karnataka) |
| Form F | 2A / 2B / 3A / 3B | Jurisdictional Tahasildar (Karnataka) |
Source: UGCET-2026 e-Information Bulletin, Section 13 (pages 49–53).
One relief for engineering aspirants: the bulletin states that Linguistic-Minority, Religious-Minority and NRI-Ward reservations apply only to Medical/Dental — not to engineering — so those certificate sets can be ignored entirely.
What changed in 2026
KEA moved to an online application-cum-verification flow in 2026:
- SATS auto-verification: school-study, Kannada-medium and rural claims were checked automatically against the SATS database; caste, income, 371(j) and NCLC certificates were verified through the Revenue Department web service using the RD number entered in the application.
- Claims Certificate: each claim prints a status — "Claimed & Verified", "Claimed but Not Verified" or "Not Claimed". Clause-a candidates (the default: 7 years' study in Karnataka) whose record shows "Successfully Verified" need no physical verification at all and simply download the verification slip after results.
- Candidate Portal: receipt, admit card and verification slip are all downloaded from one login.
- Aadhaar name match: the candidate's name on Aadhaar must match the SSLC marks card.
Only candidates who claimed clauses A1, B1 or B through O had to book a slot and appear at KEA in Malleswaram between 11 and 22 May 2026 — nobody could appear on a candidate's behalf. "Claimed but Not Verified" candidates got a final chance at the nearest Government PU college until 21 May 2026. In 2025 KEA also opened a post-result catch-up verification. For 2027, don't count on one; finish verification in the main windows.
Source: e-Bulletin "What is new in this year?" (pages 5–6), KEA notification dated 04-05-2026 and notification dated 18-05-2026.
The verification slip — your ticket to option entry
KEA's 04-05-2026 notification is unambiguous: "Only those candidates who appear for the verification of documents and get eligibility will be allowed to enter their options for online seat allotment of CET-2026." The e-bulletin repeats it: "Only upon possessing of verification slip, candidate will be allowed to enter the options."
The slip becomes downloadable on the Candidate Portal after results. Results came on 6 June 2026; KEA enabled the verification-slip download on 12 June 2026. Keep the slip safe even after allotment — KEA will not accept a seat surrender or cancellation unless you hand back the original admission order, the original bank challan and the original verification slip. In 2026, seat allotment ran in three rounds: first, second, and third/casual-vacancy.
Reporting to the college, and planning for 2027
The document folder is needed once more after allotment. KEA's 2026 seat-allotment brochure told Choice 1 candidates to report to the allotted college with all original documents and two sets of photocopies. The college verifies them, confirms your photo by face recognition and completes admission with an OTP sent to your mobile. Keep your registered phone with you.
Preparing for the 2027 cycle? The document list above is a good starting point, but KEA publishes a new bulletin each year. Expect the application and verification steps to begin early in the year, and get any caste, income or study certificates with RD numbers well before then. To build your college list, start with our guides to engineering colleges in Bangalore and the best engineering colleges in Bangalore, or read how to choose a college after 12th. KEA's helpline is 080-23460460 (e-mail: keauthority-ka@nic.in).
Sources
- KEA notification No. ED/KEA/ADMN/CR-04/2026, "Document verification – CET-2026", dated 04-05-2026
- UGCET-2026 e-Information Bulletin (English), hosted 17-01-2026 — Sections 13, 19 and "What is new in this year?"
- KEA notification dated 18-05-2026 — last-chance verification for "Claimed but Not Verified" candidates
- KEA notification No. ED/KEA/SPL-CAT/2026 dated 20-04-2026 — special-category certificate submission
- Draft engineering seat matrix 2026 and Government notification No. ED 101 TEC 2026 dated 30-05-2026 (posted 02-06-2026)
- Official KEA UGCET-2026 page (results links dated 06-06-2026; rechecked 18-10-2026)
- KEA UGCET-2025 notice of 30-06-2025 (prior-year verification-slip timing reference)