Matric final exam timetable 2026.

Every Grade 12 NSC paper, date and start time, from 13 October to 26 November 2026, taken from the official Department of Basic Education timetable.

Right now

The matric exams are running.

The last papers are written on Thursday 26 November 2026.

22days until the last paper

Verified against the official DBE NSC timetable, February 2026

Published · Updated by NavyBlue Editorial Team

Key matric exam dates 2026

The dates for the subjects most learners write. Find your subject here, then check the full timetable below for the rest.

SubjectPaperDateStarts
English Home LanguagePaper 1Wednesday 28 October09:00
English Home LanguagePaper 2Thursday 19 November09:00
English Home LanguagePaper 3Thursday 15 October09:00
English First Additional LanguagePaper 1Wednesday 28 October09:00
English First Additional LanguagePaper 2Thursday 19 November09:00
English First Additional LanguagePaper 3Thursday 15 October09:00
Afrikaans Home LanguagePaper 1Wednesday 11 November09:00
Afrikaans Home LanguagePaper 2Friday 20 November09:00
Afrikaans Home LanguagePaper 3Tuesday 20 October09:00
Afrikaans First Additional LanguagePaper 1Wednesday 11 November09:00
Afrikaans First Additional LanguagePaper 2Friday 20 November09:00
Afrikaans First Additional LanguagePaper 3Tuesday 20 October09:00
MathematicsPaper 1Practise this paper Friday 23 October09:00
MathematicsPaper 2Practise this paper Monday 26 October09:00
Mathematical LiteracyPaper 1Friday 23 October09:00
Mathematical LiteracyPaper 2Monday 26 October09:00
Physical SciencesPaper 1Practise this paper Friday 30 October09:00
Physical SciencesPaper 2Practise this paper Monday 2 November09:00
Life SciencesPaper 1Friday 13 November09:00
Life SciencesPaper 2Monday 16 November09:00
AccountingPaper 1Thursday 22 October09:00
AccountingPaper 2Wednesday 28 October14:00
Business StudiesPaper 1Wednesday 11 November14:00
Business StudiesPaper 2Wednesday 18 November09:00
EconomicsPaper 1Friday 16 October09:00
EconomicsPaper 2Friday 20 November14:00
GeographyPaper 1Thursday 29 October09:00
GeographyPaper 2Thursday 12 November09:00
HistoryPaper 1Tuesday 20 October14:00
HistoryPaper 2Thursday 19 November14:00
Agricultural SciencesPaper 1Monday 19 October14:00
Agricultural SciencesPaper 2Tuesday 17 November14:00
TourismPaperFriday 30 October14:00

Before the written papers

If you take Life Orientation, Performing Arts, or Visual Arts and Design, your matric exams start well before the main timetable does.

  • Pledge Signing

    Friday 9 October 2026

  • Life Orientation (LO CAT) (2½hrs)

    Tuesday 1 September 2026

  • Life Orientation (LO CAT) (2½hrs) Rewrite

    Monday 12 October 2026

  • Performing Arts Practical

    3 August to 9 October 2026

  • Visual Arts and Design Practical

    14 September to 13 October 2026

Full matric final exam timetable 2026, week by week

October/November 2026, the Grade 12 NSC finals. Morning papers start at 09:00 and afternoon papers at 14:00. Times are the official start times, so be at your desk before then.

Subjects shown as links have past papers and memos you can download, so you can go from the date you write to the papers you should be practising.

Week 1: 13 to 16 October

13 October

Tuesday

09:00

  • Computer Applications Tech P1 Practical (3hrs)

14:00

  • Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu HL P1 (2hrs),
  • FAL P1 (2hrs), SAL P1 (2hrs) Hebrew SAL P1 (2hrs)
  • German HL, FAL, SAL P1 (2hrs)

14 October

Wednesday

09:00

  • Information Technology P1 Practical (3hrs)

14:00

  • Arabic, French, Italian, Mandarin, Modern Greek,
  • Serbian, Spanish SAL P1 (2hrs), Latin SAL P1 (3hrs)
  • Portuguese HL, FAL, SAL P1 (2hrs)

15 October

Thursday

09:00

14:00

  • Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu HL P2 (2½hrs),
  • FAL P2 (2hrs), SAL P2 (2hrs) Hebrew SAL P2 (2hrs)
  • German HL P2 (2½hrs), FAL P2 (2hrs), SAL P2 (2hrs)

16 October

Friday

09:00

  • Economics P1 (2hrs)
  • Mechanical Technology (3hrs)

14:00

  • Design P1 (3hrs)

Week 2: 19 to 23 October

19 October

Monday

09:00

  • isiZulu, isiXhosa, siSwati, isiNdebele HL P3 (3hrs),
  • FAL P3 (2½hrs), SAL P3 (2½hrs)

14:00

  • Agricultural Sciences P1 (2½hrs)

20 October

Tuesday

09:00

  • Afrikaans HL P3 (3hrs)
  • Afrikaans FAL P3 (2½hrs)
  • Afrikaans SAL P3 (2½hrs)

14:00

  • History P1 (3hrs)
  • Maritime Economics (3hrs)

21 October

Wednesday

09:00

  • Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Xitsonga, Tshivenda
  • HL P3 (3hrs), FAL P3 (2½hrs), SAL P3 (2½hrs)
  • South African Sign Language HL P3 (3hrs)

14:00

  • Information Technology P2 Theory (3hrs)

22 October

Thursday

09:00

14:00

  • Engineering Graphics and Design P1 (3hrs)
  • Marine Sciences P1 (2½hrs)

23 October

Friday

09:00

14:00

  • Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu HL P3 (2½hrs),
  • FAL P3 (2½hrs) Portuguese, German HL P3 (2½hrs)
  • Portuguese, German FAL P3 (2½hrs)

Week 3: 26 to 30 October

26 October

Monday

09:00

14:00

  • Sport and Exercise Science (3hrs)

27 October

Tuesday

09:00

  • Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Xitsonga, Tshivenda
  • HL P1 (2hrs), FAL P1 (2hrs), SAL P1 (2hrs)
  • South African Sign Language HL P1 (2hrs)

14:00

  • Engineering Graphics and Design P2 (3hrs)

28 October

Wednesday

09:00

14:00

29 October

Thursday

09:00

  • Geography (Climate and Weather, Geomorphology
  • and Map Work) P1 (3hrs)

14:00

  • Computer Applications Tech P2 Theory (3hrs)

30 October

Friday

09:00

14:00

  • Tourism (3hrs)

Week 4: 2 to 6 November

2 November

Monday

09:00

14:00

  • Religion Studies P1 (2hrs)

3 November

Tuesday

No exams written on this day.

4 November

Wednesday

No exams written on this day.

5 November

Thursday

No exams written on this day.

6 November

Friday

09:00

  • isiZulu, isiXhosa, siSwati, isiNdebele HL P1 (2hrs),
  • FAL P1 (2hrs), SAL P1 (2hrs)

14:00

  • Consumer Studies (3hrs)
  • Hospitality Studies (3hrs)

Week 5: 9 to 13 November

9 November

Monday

No exams written on this day.

10 November

Tuesday

09:00

  • isiZulu, isiXhosa, siSwati, isiNdebele HL P2 (2½hrs),
  • FAL P2 (2½hrs), SAL P2 (1½hrs)

14:00

  • Electrical Technology (3hrs)
  • Nautical Science P1 (3hrs)

11 November

Wednesday

09:00

  • Afrikaans HL P1 (2hrs)
  • Afrikaans FAL P1 (2hrs)
  • Afrikaans SAL P1 (2hrs)

14:00

12 November

Thursday

09:00

  • Geography (Rural and Urban Settlements, Economic
  • Geography of SA and Map Work) P2 (3hrs)

14:00

  • Religion Studies P2 (2hrs)

13 November

Friday

09:00

14:00

  • Arabic, French, Italian, Mandarin, Modern Greek,
  • Serbian, Spanish SAL P2 (2hrs), Latin SAL P2 (2hrs)
  • Portuguese HL P2 (2½hrs), FAL, SAL P2 (2hrs)
  • Equine Studies (3hrs)

Week 6: 16 to 20 November

16 November

Monday

09:00

14:00

  • Dramatic Arts (3hrs)
  • Civil Technology (3hrs)

17 November

Tuesday

09:00

  • Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Xitsonga, Tshivenda
  • HL P2 (2½hrs), FAL P2 (2½hrs), SAL P2 (1½hrs)
  • South African Sign Language HL P2 (2½hrs)

14:00

  • Agricultural Sciences P2 (2½hrs)
  • Nautical Science P2 (3hrs)

18 November

Wednesday

09:00

14:00

  • Visual Arts P1 (3hrs)

19 November

Thursday

09:00

14:00

  • History P2 (3hrs)

20 November

Friday

09:00

  • Afrikaans HL P2 (2½hrs)
  • Afrikaans FAL P2 (2½hrs)
  • Afrikaans SAL P2 (1½hrs)

14:00

  • Economics P2 (2hrs)

Week 7: 23 to 26 November

23 November

Monday

09:00

  • Agricultural Technology (3hrs)

14:00

  • Music P1 Theory (3hrs)

24 November

Tuesday

09:00

  • Agricultural Management Practices (3hrs)
  • Marine Sciences P2 (2½hrs)

14:00

  • Dance Studies (3hrs)

25 November

Wednesday

09:00

  • Music P2 Comprehension (1½hrs)

26 November

Thursday

09:00

  • CAT P1 Rewrite Practical (3hrs)
  • IT P1 Rewrite Practical (3hrs)
Download the official timetable (PDF)

Which timetable this is

This is the DBE (NSC) timetable for the October/November 2026 National Senior Certificate examinations, taken from the official dbe nsc timetable, february 2026. Every entry is reproduced exactly as it appears there, and the PDF is linked above so you can check it.

Three things it does not cover. Prelims are set by each province and sometimes by individual schools, so there is no single national prelim timetable. IEB and SACAI candidates write to their own timetables. And the rewrite and supplementary papers are a separate May/June sitting with its own document.

Your school can move a session in an emergency, and the department can issue an amended timetable. Always confirm against the copy your school gives you before you plan around a date.

Matric exam questions

What date do the matric finals start in 2026?

The written papers start on Tuesday 13 October 2026 with the Computer Applications Technology P1 practical. But your exams may start earlier than that: Life Orientation is written on 1 September 2026, the Performing Arts practicals run from 3 August, and the Visual Arts and Design practicals from 14 September.

When do the matric exams finish in 2026?

The last papers are written on Thursday 26 November 2026, which are the Computer Applications Technology and Information Technology rewrite practicals. For most learners the last written paper is earlier than that, so check your own subjects on the timetable above.

When is the Maths exam in 2026?

Mathematics P1, Mathematical Literacy P1 and Technical Mathematics P1 are all written on the morning of 23 October 2026. The P2 papers follow on the morning of 26 October 2026. Physical Sciences P1 is on 30 October and P2 on 2 November.

Why are there gaps with no exams?

Four days are blocked out. 3 to 5 November are reserved for the local government elections, and 9 November is a non-examination day for Diwali. No papers are written on those days.

Is this the prelim timetable?

No. This is the final NSC timetable. Prelims, also called preparatory or trial exams, are set by each provincial education department and sometimes by individual schools, so there is no single national prelim timetable. Get your prelim dates from your school or your province.

Is there a Grade 10 and Grade 11 exam timetable?

Not one for the whole country. The Grade 10 and Grade 11 November exams are set by each province and each school, so the dates are not the same everywhere. Ask your school for your timetable.

Does this cover IEB and SACAI candidates?

No. This is the Department of Basic Education NSC timetable, which covers the large majority of matric candidates. If you are at an IEB or SACAI school your timetable is different, and your school will give it to you.

Where can I download the matric final exam time table 2026 as a PDF?

Use the link under the timetable on this page. It opens the official Department of Basic Education PDF, the same one for every province in South Africa, so the dates here are the dates for Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and everywhere else.

What about the matric rewrite and supplementary exams?

Those are written in a separate May/June sitting, published as its own timetable. The dates for the next sitting are released by the Department of Basic Education closer to the time, and we will add them here when they are.

When do the matric results come out?

The Department of Basic Education normally releases the NSC results in the second week of January, a few weeks after the last paper. The exact release date is announced towards the end of the year, so treat any specific date you see before then as a guess.

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