IMU-CET is the entrance exam for almost every route to becoming a merchant navy officer in India — not only at the six Indian Maritime University campuses, but at private and affiliated institutes too. Miss the exam and you wait a year. This page explains who needs it, what it takes, and what you can still do if the date has passed.
The mistake that costs a year. Most people believe IMU-CET applies only to IMU's own campuses. It does not. Under DG Shipping Training Circular 12 of 2020, DGS-regulated maritime training institutes admit on IMU-CET rank — so for DNS, B.Sc Nautical Science and B.Tech Marine Engineering you need an IMU-CET rank whether you are applying to an IMU campus, an affiliated institute, or a private DGS-approved institute.
It depends entirely on which route you are taking.
| Course | IMU-CET | Entry |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma in Nautical Science (DNS) | Required | 10+2 PCM |
| B.Sc Nautical Science | Required | 10+2 PCM |
| B.Tech Marine Engineering | Required | 10+2 PCM |
| General Purpose Rating | Not required | 10th pass |
| Maritime Catering (CCMC) | Not required | 10th pass |
| Graduate Marine Engineering (GME) | Not required | Mechanical engineering degree |
| BBA Maritime Logistics | Not required | 10+2, 50% aggregate |
The officer routes need it. The ratings routes do not. That single distinction decides what a candidate who has missed the exam should do next, and it is covered in the section below.
DNS at affiliated institutes is sponsored-candidate only. IMU's prospectus states that DNS admission at affiliated institutes is open to candidates sponsored by a ship-owning or ship-managing company who have qualified in IMU-CET. If you are not sponsored, the DNS route at an affiliated institute is not open to you, however well you score.
IMU has not announced the 2027 dates. What follows is the 2026 cycle as published, which is the best guide available to when the 2027 window will fall. Do not plan around the expected column until IMU confirms it.
| Stage | 2026, as published | 2027, expected |
|---|---|---|
| Online registration opens | 5 February 2026 | Around February |
| Registration closes | 24 April 2026 | Around April |
| IMU-CET | 24 May 2026, 11am–2pm | Around May |
| Session begins | 1 August 2026 | Around August |
| BBA registration closes | 17 June 2026 | Around June |
One thing worth knowing about the February intake: IMU's 2026-27 prospectus states that the February 2027 DNS batch has no separate entrance test — candidates for it had to sit IMU-CET 2026. If you are reading this hoping to join that batch, the entrance test for it has already happened.
For B.Sc Nautical Science, B.Tech Marine Engineering and DNS:
SC and ST candidates receive a 5% relaxation in the PCM requirement. The English requirement is not relaxed.
As published for the 2026 cycle, measured on 1 August 2026:
| Category | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| General | 25 | 27 |
| OBC (NCL) | 28 | 30 |
| SC / ST | 30 | 32 |
At IMU campuses: Scheduled Caste 15%, Scheduled Tribe 7.5%, OBC (NCL) 27%, General-EWS 10%. Separate seats are allocated for candidates from the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, the eight North-Eastern states including Sikkim, and Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
NCC certificate holders receive an incentive on the admission score: 5% of maximum marks for a C certificate, 3% for B, 2% for A.
The negative marking matters more than most candidates expect. At 0.25 per wrong answer, four wrong guesses cancel a correct one, so answering everything is not a strategy.
MBA and M.Tech candidates sit a different paper of 120 questions.
IMU's published fees for its own campuses, 2026-27:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| B.Tech, B.Sc Nautical Science, DNS — annual, residential | ₹2,75,000 |
| Counselling fee | ₹10,000 (₹9,000 refunded if no seat is allotted) |
| Programme fee on seat confirmation | ₹30,000, non-refundable |
| Caution deposit | ₹30,000, refundable |
Fees at private and affiliated institutes are set by those institutes and are not part of IMU's published schedule. They vary considerably. You can see every DG Shipping approved institute and what each is approved to teach.
Get your medical checked before you spend anything. Candidates rejected on medical grounds are not refunded the non-refundable fees. A colour vision problem you did not know about can end the application after you have paid.
Medical fitness must meet DG Shipping standards and be certified by a DG Shipping approved doctor, under the Merchant Shipping (Medical Examination) Rules, 2000.
For Nautical Science the published standard is unaided distance vision of 6/6 in the better eye and 6/9 in the other, with normal colour vision tested by Ishihara. Marine Engineering has its own vision standard.
IMU also advises candidates for seagoing programmes to hold a passport, with the name matching the Class 10 certificate exactly.
This is the most common situation we are asked about, and the answer is not "wait a year" for everyone.
You cannot join DNS, B.Sc Nautical Science or B.Tech Marine Engineering without an IMU-CET rank, at any institute, however much any agent tells you otherwise. If someone offers you an officer-track seat without IMU-CET, that is the clearest warning sign there is.
You can still go to sea. These routes do not require IMU-CET:
And if you are set on the officer route, the honest answer is to prepare properly for the next cycle rather than pay someone who claims a shortcut. There isn't one.
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Free, and we do not charge seafarers or students for anything. Your number is used for this alert only.Source: Indian Maritime University Prospectus 2026-27, and DG Shipping Training Circular 12 of 2020. The 2026 dates and fees are as published by IMU for that cycle. The 2027 cycle has not been announced — this page will be updated when it is. Fees at private institutes are set by those institutes and are not covered by IMU's schedule.