JAMB Extends Deadline for Candidates to Accept or Reject 2021–2026 Admission Offers

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has extended the deadline for candidates offered admission between 2021 and 2026 to accept or reject their outstanding admission offers.

The deadline, which was initially fixed for Monday, August 31, 2026, has now been moved to Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

JAMB’s Acting Director, Public Affairs and Protocol, Fabian Benjamin, announced the extension in a statement posted on X on Saturday.

The board described the extension as a “final opportunity” for affected candidates to indicate whether they wish to accept or reject their outstanding offers.

“Candidates with pending admission offers who have not yet accepted or rejected (regular or CUIIA) such offers are strongly advised to do so before 30 September 2026,” Benjamin said.

JAMB warned candidates against waiting until the final day, stressing that failure to act within the extended period could affect the status of their admissions.

“Candidates should not wait until the deadline, as failure to take action within the stipulated period will have consequences for the status of such admissions,” the board stated.

What happens after acceptance or rejection

According to JAMB, candidates who accept their admission offers will be able to proceed with printing and obtaining their admission letters.

Those who reject their offers, however, will have their dashboards reverted to “Not Admitted.”

“Those who reject their offers will have their dashboards reverted to ‘Not Admitted’, enabling the Board to update its records and ensure that its admission data accurately reflects the current status of candidates,” JAMB said.

The board also provided guidance for candidates who are no longer studying at the institutions or programmes where their previous admissions were offered.

JAMB said such candidates could accept their outstanding admission and subsequently apply for the appropriate correction or deletion of the admission, where necessary.

“For candidates who are no longer in the institution where the previous admission was offered, or who are currently in a different programme from the one for which the previous admission was offered, such candidates may accept the outstanding admission and subsequently apply for the appropriate correction or deletion of the admission, as the case may be,” the board stated.

It said the procedure would enable it to update the candidates’ admission status and records accordingly.

Candidates pursuing second degree

JAMB also addressed candidates who are currently pursuing a second degree but still have an earlier admission offer that remains unaccepted.

The board said such candidates could reject the previous offer and continue with their current programme.

“Similarly, candidates who are currently pursuing a second degree but still have a previous admission offer that remains unaccepted may go ahead and reject such an offer and continue with their current programme,” it said.

The board further assured candidates who secured admission during the 2026 admission exercise that rejecting an earlier outstanding offer would not affect their new admission.

“Such candidates may reject the previous admission offer, and doing so will have no adverse effect whatsoever on their 2026 admission,” JAMB stated.

No further extension

JAMB said the extension was granted to give affected candidates sufficient time to make a clear decision while enabling the board to maintain accurate national admission records.

However, it warned that September 30, 2026, is the final deadline and there will be no further extension.

“The Board wishes to emphasise that there will be no further opportunity after the expiration of the extended deadline on Wednesday, 30 September 2026,” it warned.

According to JAMB, all outstanding admission offers from 2021 to 2026 that remain neither accepted nor rejected by the deadline will automatically be reverted to “Not Admitted” status.

“At the expiration of the deadline, all outstanding admission offers from 2021 to date that have neither been accepted nor rejected will automatically be reverted to ‘Not Admitted’ status and will remain so on the Board’s records,” the board said.

JAMB therefore urged all affected candidates to take action immediately rather than wait until the deadline.

The board concluded that failure to accept an admission offer within the stipulated period would render the offer invalid.