Any individual who has passed SSC (Std X) or equivalent examination or above can appear for the NATA exam. A person will be eligible for admission in B.Arch. course, if the candidate qualifies an aptitude test in architecture and secured a minimum of 50% in 10+2 or equivalent examination with Mathematics as one of the subjects. No direct lateral admission is allowed at any year/stage of B.Arch. course based on any qualification. A NATA candidate should be at least 17 years to be eligible to appear in the NATA exam. There is no upper age limit specified for NATA test yet. Students with 10+3 Diploma (in any stream) recognized by Central/ State Governments with 50% aggregate marks and International Baccalaureate Diploma, after 10 years of schooling, with not less than 50% marks in aggregate and with Mathematics as compulsory subject of examination, are also eligible for NATA exam.

NATA Scoring Process
Drawing Test:
Each question in the ‘drawing’ exam is examined by a panel of three examiners independently and the marks are averaged. It may be further subject to moderation.

How the Drawing section is scored?
In the drawing test, the primary emphasis in scoring is measured based on the examinee’s imagination, drawing, and observation skills. Also the examinee’s sense of proportion & perspective is evaluated together with sense for color and composition.

Aesthetic Sensitivity Test:
During the computer based test, with adaptive testing, a candidate is administered a set of questions with a difficulty level that is specifically designed to match the examinee’s ability level. The mathematical process for calculating a score in this situation incorporates the statistical properties of the questions, the examinee’s performance on the questions, and the number of questions that are answered.

How the Aesthetic Sensitivity section is scored?
NATA Aesthetic Sensitivity section is scored in the following ways: The candidate’s score will depend on his / her performance on the questions given and on the number of questions answered in the time allotted.

This section is computer adaptive, meaning that the computer selects questions based on the candidate’s performance on preceding questions (When correct answer is given, next question will be of higher difficulty level whereas, if wrong answer is given next question is of lower difficulty level) and on the requirements of the test design. Test design factors that influence which questions are presented to the candidate include:

The statistical characteristics (including difficulty level) of the questions already answered. The required variety of question types. The appropriate coverage of content.

The final score depends on average difficulty level of all questions and of those questions answered correctly. E.g. person with correct answer for less number of questions of higher difficulty level may score higher marks than someone who answers more number of questions correctly but of lower difficulty level.

Time allotted to answer the question is between 60 and 90 seconds depending upon the question. The time remaining to answer the question is displayed on the screen. The ‘per second’ countdown begins 30 seconds before the allotted time for that question ends. In case no answer is offered till the time ends, the question is skipped and next question appears. There is no NEGATIVE marking in this test.

N.B. REVALUATION IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR EITHER OF THE TESTS.

As per admission guidelines of the Council of Architecture, a candidate should secure at least 40% score in NATA (i.e. 80/200) to be considered eligible for applying to any school/college of architecture in India, for B.Arch. course.

The score cards will be available online at http://www.nata.in, on fourth working day after the test. A candidate can check for his NATA score directly at the website http://www.nata.in using his/her candidate ID. Please note, print out of score card will be considered only for information and reference. However, candidates may use print out of this score card while applying for the admission if the admission authority calls for the same. The admission authority will retrieve and verify original score card directly from NATA server. The score card available on NATA server is valid and no print/hard copy will be considered valid. NATA score reporting is cumulative. The NATA score remains valid for a period of two years from the year in which the applicant appeared for the NATA exam. N.B. The score card are normally available on the dates specified. Occasionally, delay in processing may occur. If a candidate’s score is not available even after 7 days, candidates need to follow the mentioned process given at the website www.nata.in.

Please note that the following changes are effective for NATA test starting from 1st April 2016.

• Starting 1st April 2016 Candidates can attempt NATA for a maximum of 5 (FIVE) TIMES within Two Years from the date of their First attempt.
• The best score out of the number of attempts till date will be the “ VALID SCORE ” ( Maximum of 5 ).
• "Best of 5 attempts” system will be applicable for the NATA test given from 1st April 2016 .
• “ Validity of the “Best score” will be for 2 years from the date of their first attempt in 2016.
• A new NATA Registration form is to be submitted online by the candidate at the NATA website for every attempt and the required Fee to be Paid for Every attempt.
• The mark list will show the “ best marks “ scored by the candidate among all his previous attempts ( Maximum of 5 ) as “VALID SCORE“
• For determining the “ best of 5” for the students who appeared for NATA test before 2016, 5 ( Five ) more attempts will be allowed and their earlier “last valid score” also will be considered for obtaining the Best Score and for such students the validity of their “Valid score” will be 2 years from the date of their First attempt in 2016.
• If any candidate is found registering afresh concealing the earlier appearance (including registered but exam not given cases ) for NATA test, he / she will forfeit his / her candidature and further his / her all previous scores will be cancelled and he / she will be barred from appearing for NATA again.