The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that registration for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will officially begin on January 26 and run through February 28 at all approved Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide, the board confirmed in Lagos on Saturday.
Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar of JAMB, disclosed the timetable while addressing a meeting of education commissioners from across the country ahead of both the UTME and Direct Entry (DE) registration exercises for the 2025 academic cycle.
According to Prof. Oloyede, prospective candidates will be able to begin purchasing application documents, known as ePINs, ahead of the official registration period. He said:
“The sale of UTME application document which is the ePIN, will start earlier than commencement of actual registration which is January 19 to February 26.
Actual UTME registration period is between January 26 to February 28 at all approved CBT Centres.”
He added that the mock UTME selection window will close on February 16, offering candidates the opportunity to participate in preparatory testing before the main examination.
On the Direct Entry front, Prof. Oloyede revealed that the sale of DE application documents and ePIN vending will begin on March 2 and close on April 25, with registration available at JAMB offices and accredited centres.
The registrar emphasised JAMB’s strengthened efforts to ensure the integrity of the registration process. All participating CBT centres will be monitored in real time from the board’s headquarters, he said, warning that:
“Any centre whose registration activities cannot be viewed from the headquarters will not be paid, while such registration may be invalidated.”
He also addressed concerns about unauthorised charges by some centres, clarifying that candidates are not required to pay any additional service charge beyond the registration fees approved by the board.
Responding to worries about distant exam postings, Prof. Oloyede urged early registration, noting that late registration could restrict candidates’ chances of securing their preferred towns.
“The choice of a group of towns implies that candidates can be posted to any of the towns in the chosen group,” he explained.
The registrar also reiterated age eligibility criteria for the examination, stating that only candidates who will be at least 16 years old by September 30, 2026, are generally eligible to apply. Underage applicants, those younger than 16 by that date, will be considered only in rare and exceptional cases, and would undergo a thorough evaluation process before being granted waivers.
Prof. Oloyede further cautioned candidates to be transparent about their previous registration and admission history with JAMB, emphasising that failing to disclose past admissions or undertaking concurrent undergraduate programmes is a criminal offence that will attract sanctions.
