JAMB Reveals Candidates that MUST Register, Write Exam in Abuja

JAMB has disclosed the category of candidates that MUST Register and Write their exam in Abuja, the Capital of the country.

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed that candidates who encounter BIOMETRIC issues during their registration will only be allowed to register for the examination in Abuja, the board’s headquarters.

Similarly, JAMB also revealed that candidates with BIOMETRICS problems will also write their examinations in Abuja, no matter the state the student resides in.

This was disclosed in JAMB’s bulletin with issue number 2672-4103, released on Monday.

“…candidates, who experienced biometric challenges at the point of their 2024 UTME registration, would complete their registration formalities as well as sit the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) at its National Headquarters, Abuja,” the bulletin partly reads.

The board also disclosed that candidates with such BIOMETRIC issues will be the last to write their exams for the year.

“All candidates with biometric challenges would take their examination on the last day of the national examination calendar. No CBT centre is permited to register such candidates as the system would not permit or process any examination for unverified candidates,” the JAMB bulletin disclosed.

What does it mean to have a BIOMETRIC ISSUE??

A biometric issue is a big grammar for FINGERPRINT PROBLEM.

Let’s explain better.

There are three stages to register for JAMB.

Stage 1: Get your Profile Code using your NIN (See how to Get Profile Code and Solutions to candidate’s problems)
Stage 2: Buy your JAMB ePIN from BANKS or any approved medium.
Stage 3: Go to a JAMB CBT Center to capture your BIOMETRICS (ie go to JAMB CBT Center to submit your fingerprints to JAMB). During your exam, before you enter your exam hall, you will be asked to confirm your fingerprint again.

So, what JAMB is saying here is that, if any candidate encounters issues in stage 3, such candidates will have to register their JAMB in Abuja.

Also, candidates who didn’t have issues with their fingerprints during registration, but weren’t able to confirm their fingerprints in their exam hall, will be directed to Abuja to write their exams.

The good news is that JAMB says they will cover the transportation cost of candidates with this issue

Things that could cause FINGERPRINT ISSUES:

Wound on your finger(s)
Dirty fingers
Just unlucky

When you experience a FINGERPRINT issue during JAMB registration or in your exam hall, just know that all hope isn’t lost for you.

It’s important to add that, from our experience, only a few portion of JAMB candidates encounter biometric issues. So there is a very low chance that you’ll have a BIOMETRIC ISSUE.

I hope that’s clear. If no, use the comment section to ask your question or simply ask JAMB.

JAMB Important Dates

Here are some important dates all JAMB Candidates must remember:

Commencement of 2026 JAMB UTME Registration: January 2026.
Deadline for the 2026 UTME Registration: March 2026.
2026 UTME Mock Examination Date: April 2026.
Printing of 2026 UTME Examination Slips: April 2026.
2026 UTME Examination Date: April – May 2026.
Release of UTME Results: May 2026.
Sale of 2026 Direct Entry (DE) application form: March 2026.
Deadline for the 2025 DE application: It will likely be on or before June 2026.