HAT Test December 2026: Essential Dates and Easy Registration Steps for HAT and USAT

Updated: 14 Nov 20268 min readPakistan, HEC ETC

The HAT test December 2026 is HEC’s last Higher Education Aptitude Test of the year, and registration closes on Sunday 22 November. The test itself is on Sunday 13 December, with results due on 31 December. The Undergraduate Studies Admission Test (USAT) runs to exactly the same timetable this round.

Students often lose time working out which of HEC’s four standard tests they need, which category to pick and how the fee is paid. This guide to the HAT test December 2026 puts the official dates, the categories and the subject weightage in one place, so you can register correctly in one sitting.

HAT test December 2026 and USAT: Round 5 dates

The HAT test December 2026 dates below come from the ETC Test Calendar 2026 (PDF, revised 25 August 2026). The ETC announcements page lists the HAT (MS/MPhil and PhD) and USAT portals as open from 8 to 22 November 2026.

Which HEC test do you need?

HEC’s ETC runs four standard tests, held roughly every quarter, plus recruitment tests for other organisations. Pick the one that matches the programme you are applying to.

Check each university’s admission notice, because universities decide which tests and minimum scores they accept. Final-year computing students should note that HEC’s separate exit exam is different again; see our guide to the NSCT test 2027. Medical and dental applicants take MDCAT instead, covered in our MDCAT admission process article.

HAT categories and paper pattern

The HAT test December 2026 is held in five categories based on your 16-year degree, as in every round. Every category has 100 MCQs in 120 minutes, split across three sections, but the weightage changes by category, according to HEC’s approved content weightages.

The category cannot be changed after you submit, the ETC FAQs say, so choose the one that matches the field of your MS/MPhil or PhD programme. If you are moving into a new field, check with the university which category it expects.

USAT categories and paper pattern

USAT is held in six categories based on your intermediate stream. Each paper has two parts, according to HEC’s USAT content weightages:

• Part I: 75 MCQs in 100 minutes. All categories share 20 verbal reasoning and 25 quantitative reasoning questions, then 30 subject questions.
• Part II: 40 minutes of essay writing, in English or Urdu. You write one argument-based essay (15 marks) and one narrative essay (10 marks), each chosen from three topics.

Download the full weightage sheet from the ETC content page before you prepare, since the subject section differs by stream.

How to register for the HAT test December 2026

1. Create or log in to your profile on the ETC portal using your own CNIC. Candidates under 18 use their NADRA juvenile card or B-Form number. This number cannot be changed later.
2. Enter your name, father’s name and date of birth exactly as they appear on your matriculation certificate, and upload a passport-size photo with a blue or white background.
3. From your dashboard, open the HAT or USAT Round 5 link and choose your category and test city. Neither can be changed after registration.
4. Click “Online Payment” under My Application to generate a consumer number, then pay through any 1Link/1Bill banking app or wallet.
5. Log in again and click “Verify Payment”. Your status should change to “Submitted”.
6. Download your roll number slip from 4 December.

If your HAT test December 2026 application stays at “Pending Payment”, HEC suggests trying another banking app or wallet before the end date. For help, ETC lists its complaint system at onlinehelp.hec.gov.pk and the phone number 051-90408184, and says complaints by email are not entertained. We could not confirm this round’s fee on an official page, so check the amount shown on your dashboard.

Already sat the October HAT or USAT?

The previous round was held on 25 October 2026, after HEC moved the HAT and USAT dates to line up with the Commonwealth Scholarship portal. HEC has published answer keys for the five HAT-MS, five HAT-PhD and six USAT categories from that test, and the calendar puts the result on 16 November 2026.

That result arrives six days before Round 5 registration closes. If your October score already meets the minimum your target university or scholarship asks for, you may not need to sit again. If it falls short, you still have time to register for the HAT test December 2026 sitting on 13 December. Scholarship seekers can also look at our guide to the US Fulbright scholarship for Pakistani students, which has its own testing rules.

HAT and USAT test-day rules

For the HAT test December 2026, the ETC FAQs set out what you must carry and what is banned:

Photocopies or phone images of ID are not accepted. A candidate with an expired CNIC needs the NADRA slip as well as the original expired card. Any banned item found on you is confiscated and treated as an unfair means case, so leave your phone outside or at home.

Other HEC test dates this season

LAW-GAT Round 4 is announced on 15 November, with roll number slips on 11 December. LLB applicants can read our guide to Punjab University LLB admission for how LAT fits into one university’s process.

HAT test December 2026: frequently asked questions

The HAT test December 2026 is the last chance this year to get a fresh score before spring admissions and scholarship rounds. Register early, pick the right category and keep the 19 November complaint cut-off in mind if your payment runs into trouble.