DCET important dates
Last checked against the official KEA site: September 2026
DCET 2026 seat allotment and admissions have officially concluded. Below is the completed timeline KEA followed this year for lateral entry into 2nd-year engineering programs across Karnataka.
🏁 DCET 2026 Admissions Concluded
Round 1 and Round 2 seat allotments for diploma lateral entry have concluded, and admitted students have reported to their respective engineering colleges. 2027 aspirants can refer to the schedule below for the standard annual pattern.
DCET 2026: stage by stage
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Application window | March 17 – April 10, 2026 |
| Admit card released | May 12, 2026 |
| Exam conducted | May 23, 2026 |
| Provisional answer key released | May 26, 2026 |
| Revised/final answer key released | June 2, 2026 |
| Result & rank cards published | June 14, 2026 |
| Document verification & choice filling | July 5–18, 2026 |
| Round 1 seat allotment | July 27, 2026 |
| Round 2 seat allotment | August 14, 2026 |
| Final reporting deadline | August 21, 2026 |
DCET 2026 offered more than 17,000 lateral entry seats. Unfilled casual vacancies are reported locally to respective VTU affiliated colleges.
Typical yearly rhythm
- Application window opens: mid-March, often with an extension into early-to-mid April
- Admit card released: two to three weeks before the exam
- Exam conducted: late May
- Provisional answer key: within days of the exam; revised/final key roughly a week later
- Result: within three to four weeks of the exam
- Counselling: begins within two to three weeks of the result, with round 1 allotment typically by late July