The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has added more time for schools to register learners for the 2026 Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE).
UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo says the extension will allow newly accredited exam centres to complete registration.
Normal registration will now close on 30 June 2026 instead of the earlier date. Late registration will then run from 1 July to 31 July 2026. After 31 July, no more candidates will be accepted. Late registration comes with extra costs.
PLE candidates will pay double the normal fee, while UCE and UACE candidates will pay an extra 50 percent.
Odongo is urging head teachers to register early to avoid last-minute delays and congestion. He also reminded schools and parents to make sure learners’ names are written exactly as they appear on birth certificates or National ID records from NIRA before registration is done.
Government will continue to pay exam fees for learners under UPE, USE and UPOLET programmes.
Privately sponsored candidates will pay the same fees as before: 34,000 shillings for PLE, 164,000 shillings for UCE, and 186,000 shillings for UACE.
This year’s UCE candidates are the third group sitting exams under the Competency Based Curriculum. Each candidate must register for at least eight subjects and not more than nine. Continuous Assessment scores and project marks will also count towards certification.
To qualify for UCE 2026, a candidate must have sat PLE in 2022 or earlier, passed with grades one to four or equivalent, and completed four years of lower secondary school.
Odongo warned that candidates whose Continuous Assessment scores are already with UNEB should not change their names or optional subjects when registering for Senior Four.
UACE 2026 will be the first exam for learners moving from the competency-based system at lower secondary into the aligned Advanced Level curriculum.
Only students who got UCE certificates in 2024 or earlier with grades one to four under the old system, or Result One under CBC, can register. They must also have completed two years of A-Level. Repeaters who sat UACE in 2025 or earlier will not do a transitional paper because the National Curriculum Development Centre says the content has not changed.
Candidates with foreign results must first have them equated with UNEB before they can register. UNEB will then give them electronic registration codes.
The Board has also warned schools against adding unauthorized fees and calling them UNEB charges. Offenders risk fines of up to 40 million shillings, up to 10 years in prison, or both.
Heads of centres must not misuse registration money or register private candidates as government-sponsored learners.
By law, every exam centre must display the candidate register on the school noticeboard at least 60 days before exams start. Candidates, parents and school administrators should check all details including names, dates of birth, gender, photos and subjects.
Parents and candidates can also confirm registration by sending the full index number to 6600 through SMS.
