Key points

  • Booking for October 2026 opens at 3pm BST on 20 July 2026 and closes at 6pm BST on 28 September 2026, and the tests take place from 12 to 16 October.
  • Most Oxford and Cambridge applicants must sit in October, apart from a few official exceptions, and the January window is 4 to 8 January 2027.
  • Bursary and access-arrangement deadlines come before the booking deadline, so apply for those first and book once you have a decision.

October 2026: every date

For the October 2026 sitting, you can already create a UAT-UK account and apply for access arrangements or a bursary. Test booking opens at 3pm BST on 20 July. Results are released through your UAT-UK account on 16 November 2026.

Here is the full list, in order.

  • 1 June 2026: UAT-UK accounts, October bursaries and access-arrangement requests opened.
  • 20 July 2026, 3pm BST: October test booking opens.
  • 14 September 2026, 6pm BST: October access-arrangement request deadline.
  • 21 September 2026, 6pm BST: October bursary request deadline.
  • 28 September 2026, 6pm BST: October booking closes.
  • 12–16 October 2026: October ESAT, TMUA and TARA test window.
  • 16 November 2026: October results released through UAT-UK accounts.

January 2027: every date

If your courses let you use the January sitting, these are the dates. Check whether each time is given in BST or GMT.

  • 5 October 2026, 3pm BST: January access-arrangement and bursary applications reopen.
  • 26 October 2026, 3pm GMT: January test booking opens.
  • 7 December 2026, 6pm GMT: January access-arrangement request deadline.
  • 14 December 2026, 6pm GMT: January bursary request deadline.
  • 21 December 2026, 6pm GMT: January booking closes.
  • 4–8 January 2027: January test window.
  • 8 February 2027: January results scheduled.

Which sitting you can use

UAT-UK says most applicants to Cambridge and Oxford must sit their test in October. Oxford is more specific for its standard undergraduate courses: if you're applying by the 15 October UCAS deadline and need ESAT, TMUA or TARA, you must take the October sitting. You can only sit a test once in an admissions cycle, so January can't be a second try after October.

The exceptions are narrow. Mature applicants to Cambridge who apply to a mature college with a January admissions deadline may use January. Applicants to Oxford's Astrophoria Foundation Year, which has a January deadline, may use either sitting.

If you're applying to other universities, you can usually choose October or January, and UAT-UK says neither sitting gives you an advantage. Requirements can differ by course and by university, so go by what your course page says.

Apply for a bursary before you pay

If you're an eligible UK candidate, you can apply for a bursary that covers the full test fee. Apply first, wait for approval, then book. UAT-UK can't refund you if you pay before your bursary is confirmed.

A bursary application can take up to five working days to assess, so don't leave it until the afternoon of the deadline. The fee for the 2027-entry cycle is £78 in the UK and Republic of Ireland and £133 elsewhere. That's the official registration cost, separate from any preparation you choose to pay for. Noetra has no part in registration or bursary decisions, so apply through your UAT-UK account using the current bursary guidance.

Ask for access arrangements before you book

If you need access arrangements, request them before you book. UAT-UK can't add arrangements to an appointment you've already booked, and it can't make adjustments when you arrive at the test centre. You may need to send supporting documents, and UAT-UK suggests allowing up to ten working days for your request to be reviewed. The access-arrangement deadlines are earlier than the booking deadlines.

Treat the deadline as the last possible date and apply well before it. If you need a separate room, a reader or a recorder, fewer centres and appointments may be able to offer it, so applying early leaves you more choice. When your decision arrives, follow the booking instructions in it. If you've been given extra time or rest breaks you may be able to book online, while some other arrangements need help from customer services.

How booking works

Registering happens in two stages. First you create a UAT-UK account and fill in the details it asks for. Then you use the Pearson booking system to choose the test, date, time and test centre. Your test is only booked once you've finished the second stage and checked the confirmation.

Book early if it matters where or when you sit, because UAT-UK warns that preferred appointments fill up. Before you confirm, check your personal details are spelt correctly, that you've picked the right test and, for ESAT, the right modules. You can't change your ESAT modules at the test centre. UAT-UK says changing them means cancelling and rebooking, which depends on what appointments are left.

Planning your preparation from the test date

Once you know your date, count back from it. Sit one full timed paper near the start of your preparation, not at the end. After that, keep one slot a week for timed work, one for your weak areas and one for going back over mistakes. From about four weeks before the test, practise the whole session: three 40-minute modules if you're a typical ESAT candidate, both 75-minute TMUA papers, or all three 40-minute TARA modules.

Keep the last week light enough that schoolwork, sleep and travel aren't disrupted. Knowing your repeated mistakes, your flagging rule and when to move on helps more than a big pile of last-minute questions. The free paper on this site for each test is one original paper for the first module; it doesn't predict an official score.

Before test day

Read the official test-day page and your booking confirmation well before your appointment. Check the photo ID rules, your arrival time, the centre details and how you'll get there while there's still time to sort out a problem. Try the Pearson test software with the official sample material on a computer, as UAT-UK recommends, so you know how to move around it and where the accessibility features are.

If you're sitting in China, Hong Kong or Macau, each test has its own restricted dates within the window. For October 2026 these are 12–13 October for ESAT, 14 October for TARA and 15–16 October for TMUA. Everywhere else, all three tests are available across the whole window. Check UAT-UK again close to booking in case the guidance changes.

Your checklist

These dates were checked against UAT-UK and Oxford guidance on 10 July 2026. If anything has changed since, the official links below are the ones to follow. Noetra can help you prepare, but it can't register you, choose your modules or confirm what a university requires.

  • Open each course page and confirm whether you need a test. For ESAT, write down the exact modules.
  • Decide whether you need a bursary or access arrangements, and apply early.
  • Put the booking opening time and the closing deadline in your calendar.
  • Book through the Pearson system once any bursary or access decision has arrived, and check your confirmation.
  • Sit one timed paper so your preparation starts from what you actually got wrong.

Questions students ask

When does booking open for the October 2026 ESAT, TMUA and TARA?
Booking opens at 3pm BST on 20 July 2026 and closes at 6pm BST on 28 September 2026.
Can I sit a UAT-UK test in both October and January?
No. UAT-UK only lets you sit a test once in an admissions cycle. Most Oxford and Cambridge applicants must sit in October, apart from a few official exceptions.
When are the October 2026 UAT-UK tests?
The test window is 12–16 October 2026. Candidates in China, Hong Kong and Macau have restricted dates for each test within that window.
Should I book before I hear about access arrangements or a bursary?
No. UAT-UK asks you to apply and get a decision before you book. It can't refund a fee paid before your bursary is approved, and it can't add arrangements to a booking you've already made.

Official sources

Current details were checked against these primary sources on the date shown above.