UNEB extends candidate registration deadline for 2026 national examinations

29 May 2026, 12:44 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Executive Director of the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), Dan Odongo, has briefed the media on the ongoing registration of candidates for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).

Speaking at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, Odongo announced that the normal registration period for all candidates has been extended to July 30, 2026, to accommodate newly accredited examination centres.

He added that there will be an additional one-month period for late registration, which will attract surcharges.

“The registration of the 2026 candidates for PLE, UCE, and UACE is ongoing. For privately sponsored candidates, the registration fees remain UGX 34,000 for PLE, UGX 164,000 for UCE, and UGX 186,000 for UACE. Late registration, attracting a surcharge of 100% for UCE and 50% for UACE candidates, will run from July 1 to July 31, 2026. There will be no further registration after that,” he emphasized.

According to Odongo, the government will continue paying registration fees for candidates sponsored under the Universal Primary Education (UPE), Universal Secondary Education (USE), and Universal Post O-Level Education and Training (UPOLET) programs.

He advised heads of examination centres to ensure that only eligible candidates are registered within the normal registration period and warned against registering candidates who are not beneficiaries of the government programs.

“Before registering candidates, headteachers and parents should agree on the correct spelling and order of names. The names should match those on birth certificates or NIRA forms submitted by parents,” he said.

Odongo further explained that candidates are required to register for a minimum of eight and a maximum of nine subjects. He added that continuous assessment and project scores will be mandatory for certification.

“Only candidates who sat PLE in 2022 or earlier and passed will be allowed to register for UCE 2026,” he added.

The Board also emphasized that only candidates who qualified for a certificate will be allowed to register for UACE. Candidates with foreign academic results must first have them equated by UNEB before registration.

After receiving equated results, candidates will be issued unique codes to enable electronic registration. This process also applies to adult candidates and those who have legally changed their names.

UNEB also warned heads of centres against charging unauthorized fees in the name of UNEB registration.

“According to the UNEB Act, Cap 259, Section 33, it is an offence to charge fees not prescribed by UNEB and refer to them as UNEB fees. Such an offence attracts a penalty of 200 currency points, equivalent to UGX 40 million, or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both,” Odongo warned.

Candidates can check their registration status by typing their full index number and sending it to 6600.

The Board also reminded learners, parents, and school administrators that the use of erasable pens during UNEB examinations is prohibited.

So far, more than 680,000 candidates have registered for PLE, over 290,000 for UCE, and more than 100,000 for UACE. UNEB is targeting more than 800,000 candidates this year.