TCS NQT 2027: Eligibility, Exam Pattern, Salary and Dates
TCS NQT is TCS's free entry-level hiring test for engineering, MCA and M.Sc freshers. The 2026 drive has closed; recent drives opened in February or March.
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TCS NQT (National Qualifier Test) is TCS's own hiring test for engineering, MCA and M.Sc freshers. Your score decides whether you are interviewed for a Ninja, Digital or Prime role. The TCS hiring drive is free: TCS says it never asks candidates for money at any stage.
Status on 30 October 2026: the 2026 drive (batches 2024, 2025 and 2026) is closed. TCS has not announced the next engineering drive yet. The last three drives opened in February or March, with tests from March or April, so expect the next one in early 2027. We update this page when TCS opens it.
TCS NQT at a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Run by | TCS Talent Acquisition; the test is conducted by TCS iON |
| Who can apply | Engineering, MCA and M.Sc/M.S. freshers from the batches named in each drive |
| Fee | Free (the TCS hiring drive) |
| Test | 190 minutes, in person at a TCS iON centre |
| Roles | Ninja, Digital and Prime |
| 2026 drive | Registration 18 February to 20 March 2026, tests from 10 March 2026 |
| Next drive | Not announced yet; recent drives opened in February or March |
| Official page | tcs.com: TCS All India NQT Hiring |
Two different things are called "NQT"
The TCS NQT hiring drive is the free route into TCS. You register on the TCS NextStep portal under the "IT" category and click "Apply For Drive", which TCS says is mandatory. Non-engineering graduates (BA, BCom, BSc, BBA) go through the separate TCS BPS hiring route instead.
The TCS iON NQT is a paid scorecard test that other companies also accept. On 30 October 2026 the iON page listed NQT-Cognitive at ₹599 and NQT-IT at ₹999, with tests every 2 to 4 weeks and a scorecard valid for 2 years. The 2-year validity you see quoted online comes from this paid product; TCS gives no validity period for the free hiring-drive score.
Eligibility in the 2026 drive
- Degrees: B.E., B.Tech, M.E., M.Tech, MCA, M.Sc or M.S. in any specialisation from AICTE or UGC recognised institutions.
- Batches: 2024, 2025 and 2026 in one combined drive. The 2024 and 2025 drives each took only their own graduating batch.
- Marks: at least 60% or equivalent CGPA in Class 10, Class 12, diploma (if any), graduation and PG (if any), all subjects included. TCS converts CGPA to percentage as CGPA × 10; for your own university's formula use our CGPA to percentage converter.
- No pending backlog when you sit the selection process.
- Course completed within its normal duration; total academic gap of at most 24 months, declared.
- Full-time courses only; part-time and correspondence degrees are not accepted.
- Age 18 to 28, with up to 2 years of work experience.
- If you already hold a TCS offer, you cannot apply to the off-campus drive.
TCS NQT exam pattern
The pattern has been the same in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 drives.
| Section | Minutes |
|---|---|
| Part A: Foundation | 75 |
| Numerical ability | 25 |
| Verbal ability | 25 |
| Reasoning ability | 25 |
| Part B: Advanced | 115 |
| Advanced quantitative and reasoning ability | 25 |
| Advanced coding | 90 |
| Total | 190 |
TCS's rule is simple: the Advanced section is mandatory if you want a Digital or Prime interview. Your test performance decides which interview you get; the final offer depends on the whole selection process. TCS does not publish cut-off scores for any category.
Ninja, Digital and Prime salary
These are the figures TCS published for its 2026 drive (UG = graduates, PG = postgraduates, per year).
| Role | 0 to 1 year experience | 1 to 2 years |
|---|---|---|
| Prime | UG ₹9.09–9.30 LPA, PG ₹11.59–11.80 LPA | UG ₹9.45–9.66 LPA, PG ₹12.05–12.26 LPA |
| Digital | UG ₹7.09–7.30 LPA, PG ₹7.39–7.60 LPA | UG ₹7.50–7.72 LPA, PG ₹7.82–8.04 LPA |
| Ninja | Minimum ₹3.4 LPA (UG), ₹3.6 LPA (PG) | |
In the 2024 and 2025 drives TCS gave fixed figures: Ninja ₹3.36 LPA (UG), Digital ₹7 LPA, Prime ₹9 LPA (UG) and ₹11.5 LPA (PG). For the 2026 drive TCS said it was focusing on Prime and Digital, with Ninja offers based on performance. See what these packages pay each month after PF and tax: TCS Ninja in-hand salary, TCS Digital and TCS Prime.
Past TCS NQT drives
| Drive | Registration | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (batches 2024, 2025, 2026) | 18 February to 20 March 2026 | From 10 March 2026 |
| 2025 (batch 2025) | Open by February 2025, closed 23 March 2025 | From 15 March 2025 |
| 2024 (batch 2024) | Open by March 2024, closed 25 April 2024 (extended from 10 April) | From 26 April 2024 |
What changed in 2026: one drive covered three batches, pay was given as ranges split by experience, and the up-to-2-years work experience rule was no longer limited to postgraduates.
How to prepare
Practise timed aptitude for the Foundation section and two to three coding problems a day for the 90-minute coding part. TCS asks easy-to-medium array, string and math problems more than advanced data structures. Our TCS coding questions on FleetCode and the latest TCS openings are good places to start.
More hiring tests and contests: hackathons and hiring challenges.
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Azhar Khan is the founder of Talentd, and a Sr. FullStack Engineer, currently working for USA Fintech company. Passionate about helping people find their dream jobs and grow their careers.