TCS NQT 2026: Sections, Fees, Dates and a 4-Week Preparation Plan

The TCS iON National Qualifier Test (NQT) is a test many freshers in India take. This guide sets out what TCS iON itself says about it: the variants, what each section covers, who can sit it, what it costs and how the score is used. Then it gives a four-week plan that maps the Cognitive and IT sections to free practice on this site.

Everything about the test comes from TCS iON's own NQT page, checked on 3 October 2026. Where that page doesn't say something, such as the number of questions, this guide says so instead of repeating a guess.

What is the TCS iON NQT?

It is a national test run by TCS iON, part of Tata Consultancy Services. You buy a test, sit it at a TCS iON centre, and get a score you can show to employers.

Three points from TCS iON's page decide how to use it:

• It is held only in test centres. TCS iON says the NQT is conducted "ONLY In-Centre mode" at its authorised exam centres across India. The test is in English only.
• It doesn't get you interviews by itself. TCS iON says it will not arrange job interviews. Your score is shared only with companies you have applied to, and only when they ask for it. You still have to apply for jobs yourself.
• Your best score is what employers see. You can buy the test again to improve your score, and only your best score appears on the scorecard. Scores from before the March 2024 cycle don't count towards your best score, because the format changed. A score stays valid for two years from the date the result is published, and there is no cut-off score or pass or fail.

Which NQT variant should you take?

TCS iON's page lists four main variants. The fees below are the prices it showed on 3 October 2026, each listed against a higher crossed-out price.

The page also lists two bundles with a preparation pack, Cognitive with Prep Pack at ₹999 and IT with Prep Pack at ₹2,298, and a separate psychometric test at ₹399. The free practice linked in this guide covers the Cognitive topics.

If you aren't sure, start with the variant that matches the jobs you will apply for. A software role is likely to value the IT variant, because it adds programming to the cognitive sections.

What does each Cognitive section cover?

These are TCS iON's own descriptions, followed by what to practise.

Numerical ability

TCS iON: this section "assesses number system, arithmetic, elementary statistics, data interpretation."

Practise percentages, ratios, averages, profit and loss, time and work, speed and distance, simple statistics (mean, median, mode) and reading tables and charts. Learn the formulas from the quantitative aptitude formulas guide, keep the one-page formula sheet next to you, and time yourself on the percentage, profit and loss practice set.

Reasoning ability

TCS iON: this section assesses "identifying words and numeric patterns, problem-solving, figural and factual analysis, decision-making, propositional reasoning and visual-spatial reasoning."

That covers series, coding-decoding, puzzles and seating arrangements, statements and conclusions, syllogisms, and figure-based questions such as mirror images and pattern completion. The logical reasoning practice set has 40 questions of these kinds with worked answers.

Verbal ability

TCS iON: this section "assesses English grammar, appropriate usage of the same, and reading comprehension."

Practise grammar and usage questions (error spotting, fill in the blanks, sentence correction) and reading passages with questions. One habit that helps: read one short article a day and summarise it in two sentences.

Who can take it, and what are the rules?

From TCS iON's page:

• Who can apply: pre-final or final year students of any stream or degree, students passing between 2022 and 2028 who are looking for a job, and working professionals with up to two years of experience (the page's FAQ says less than two years).
• Age: a minimum of 17 and a maximum of 30 years.
• Marking: there is no negative marking.
• Where: only at TCS iON authorised exam centres across India, in English only.
• Retakes: you can buy the test again to improve your score; only your best score is shown.
• Score validity: two years from the date the result is published.

Because there is no negative marking, answer every question, even when you have to guess.

Dates. When we checked on 3 October 2026, the page listed the next test on 19 October 2026, with applications closing on 7 October 2026. Applications for each cycle close 10 to 15 days before its first exam date, so check the page for the current dates before you plan around one.

How to register. On the NQT page, choose a variant and select "Buy Now" or "Activate Now", log in to the TCS iON Digital Learning Hub (or sign up) and fill in your details. With "Buy Now" you then pay; "Activate Now" takes a licence code instead. TCS iON issues the hall ticket only after a successful purchase, and emails it two days before the test.

What the page doesn't publish. TCS iON's NQT page doesn't give the number of questions or the time for each section. Patterns you see elsewhere online may be out of date or describe a different test, so rely on the instructions you get after registering.

A four-week preparation plan

Four weeks of daily practice gives you time to cover every Cognitive section. Plan on about two hours a day; on weekends, take one timed set and review every mistake.

1. Week 1: Numerical ability

   7 days

   Learn the formulas for percentages, ratios, averages, profit and loss, interest, time and work, and speed and distance from the formulas guide. Each day, solve 20 questions on one topic without a calculator, then redo the ones you got wrong. Use the percentage, profit and loss practice set as a timed test at the end of the week.

2. Week 2: Reasoning ability

   7 days

   Work through the logical reasoning practice set, one question type a day: series, coding-decoding, blood relations and directions, seating arrangements, syllogisms, then clocks and calendars. For every miss, write down the step you skipped. That list is your revision for week 4.

3. Week 3: Verbal ability, and programming for the IT variant

   7 days

   Spend 30 minutes a day on grammar and usage questions and one reading comprehension passage. If you are taking the IT variant, spend the rest of the time on programming: the core patterns in the DSA patterns cheat sheet and the top array interview questions, writing each solution without looking.

4. Week 4: Timed practice and test-day preparation

   7 days

   Take a mixed, timed set every day: numerical, reasoning and verbal together. Because there is no negative marking, practise leaving no question blank. Revise your list of mistakes from weeks 1 and 2, and keep the formula sheet for the last two days.

If you're taking the IT variant

TCS iON describes the IT variant as assessing "Cognitive and advanced IT Programming", but its page doesn't list the languages or topics for the programming part. Check the instructions you get after registering.

Until then, prepare the fundamentals most programming tests draw on: arrays and strings, hashing, two pointers, sliding window, stacks and queues, recursion and basic sorting. Practise writing code in a plain editor without autocomplete. The DSA patterns cheat sheet has a template and practice problems for each pattern.

On test day

• Carry your hall ticket and whatever identification it asks for, and reach the centre early.
• Answer every question: with no negative marking, a blank is the only certain zero.
• If a question takes more than about a minute and a half, mark your best guess and move on.
• Check the timing rules in your hall ticket instructions before the test, so you know how the time is split.

After the test

Your score stays valid for two years, and TCS iON shares it only with companies you have applied to, when they ask. So keep applying: TCS iON does not arrange interviews. Each company runs its own selection after this, often including interviews.

Prepare for those with the HR interview questions for freshers, and use the 90-day placement preparation roadmap to plan everything else around your test date.