The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has extended the normal registration deadline for candidates intending to sit for the 2026 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations.

In a statement issued on May 28, 2026, UNEB Executive Director Dan N. Odongo said normal registration will now close on June 30, 2026, instead of the earlier deadline, to accommodate newly accredited examination centres.

“Normal registration has been extended to 30th June, 2026 to accommodate the new centres that have just been accredited,” the statement reads.

UNEB announced that late registration will begin on July 1 and end on July 31, 2026. Candidates registering during the late period will pay surcharges of 100 percent for PLE and 50 percent for both UCE and UACE.

The examinations body warned that there will be no further registration after July 31, 2026, urging schools and examination centres to complete the process early to avoid last-minute congestion.

Registration Fees

UNEB said government will continue paying registration fees for candidates under the Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE) and Universal Post O-Level Education and Training (UPOLET) programmes.

Privately sponsored candidates will pay the following fees:

PLE — UGX 34,000

UCE — UGX 164,000

UACE — UGX 186,000

Candidates registering during the late period will pay increased fees due to the surcharge.

New CBC Requirements for UCE Candidates

UNEB revealed that the 2026 UCE candidates are the third cohort under the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC). Candidates are required to register for a minimum of eight and a maximum of nine subjects.

The board also emphasized that Continuous Assessment (CA) scores and project scores will be mandatory for certification.

Only candidates who sat PLE in 2022 or earlier and obtained Division 1, 2, 3 or 4, or equivalent grades, will qualify for UCE registration. Candidates must also have completed four years of lower secondary education.

UNEB further warned candidates against changing names or optional subjects in Senior Four after Continuous Assessment scores have already been submitted.

UACE Candidates to Sit Aligned Curriculum Assessments

For UACE, UNEB said this year’s candidates are the first pioneers of Competency Based Assessment (CBA) at Advanced Level following the CBC transition at lower secondary.

Candidates eligible for UACE registration must have obtained UCE results in 2024 or earlier with Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 under the old curriculum or Result 1 under the CBC system.

UNEB also clarified that UACE repeaters who sat examinations in 2025 or earlier will not be required to sit transitional examinations because the content framework of the aligned curriculum has not changed.

Foreign Candidates and Name Changes

Candidates with foreign academic results must first have their marks equated by UNEB before registration. UNEB said such candidates, including adults and those who legally changed names, will receive unique electronic registration codes after verification.

The board added that schools can amend candidate biodata such as gender and date of birth free of charge during the normal registration period. Any changes after June 30 will attract a fee of UGX 50,000.

Warning Against Illegal Charges and Fraud

UNEB warned school heads and examination centre administrators against charging unauthorized fees and referring to them as “UNEB fees.”

The board said offenders risk penalties including fines of up to UGX 40 million, or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, or both, withdrawal of examination centre status and de-registration for teachers found guilty.

Government-aided schools were also warned against registering privately sponsored students as government-sponsored candidates, describing the practice as fraudulent and punishable under the law.

SMS Registration Verification 

UNEB announced that parents and candidates will be able to verify registration status using SMS by sending the candidate’s full index number to 6600.

The board urged parents, guardians and candidates to carefully verify biodata details including names, date of birth, gender, photographs and subject combinations before signing registration slips.

UNEB also reminded candidates that the use of erasable pens during national examinations remains prohibited.

School administrators, parents and candidates are therefore advised to complete registration early to avoid late penalties and last-minute challenges.