JIPMER Nursing Officer Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Two computer based stages, each made of timed sections that close for good.

When a section's time runs out it locks and "will never come back again for any action". You can't carry time over or go back. That's 54 seconds a question in the Preliminary and 67 in the Main. A question marked for review counts as unanswered unless you also save it.

Scribe users get at least 20 minutes extra per hour. Your own scribe must be qualified a step below the exam's minimum, and no higher than matriculation; AIIMS can refuse one.

AIIMS gives no topic list. The notice says questions follow the nursing courses taught at the essential qualification level.

• Preliminary: 80 nursing questions plus 20 on general knowledge and aptitude.
• Main: 160 questions on the entire nursing syllabus, focused on case scenarios testing nursing skills. No general knowledge.

The qualifying programmes, as recognised by the Indian Nursing Council, are B.Sc (Hons) Nursing, B.Sc Nursing, B.Sc (Post-Certificate) or Post-Basic B.Sc Nursing, and the GNM diploma. JIPMER requires them from an institute recognised by the Indian Nursing Council or a State Nursing Council.

These are JIPMER's own rules, judged as on the closing date of online registration.

The two years count only after the course, internship, result and Nursing Council registration are all done, and must be complete by the closing date.

Age

Up to 35, relaxable for government servants under Government of India orders.

Reserved candidates applying for unreserved posts get neither the age relaxation nor the lower cut-off.

Certificate dates

For NORCET-11 the OBC non-creamy-layer certificate had to be for 2026-27, on income up to 31 March 2026, issued on or after 1 April 2026. The EWS certificate had to be on 2025-26 income, issued between 1 April 2026 and the closing date, 13 August 2026. If your OBC certificate isn't renewed yet, upload the old one with the renewal receipt.

Category can't be changed after paying the fee. Anyone in government or public-sector service must upload a No Objection Certificate by its own deadline, or the candidature is cancelled.

There's no interview.

1. Apply on aiimsexams.ac.in. If you have an AIIMS One Time Registration from any earlier exam, reuse it; a new ID gets the application rejected.
2. Preliminary: 90 minutes, 100 questions, qualifying only.
3. Shortlist: five times the seats in each category, plus every qualified PwBD candidate and anyone tied at the cut. Clearing the qualifying percentile alone doesn't guarantee a call.
4. Main: 3 hours, 160 questions. Merit rests on this alone.
5. Choice filling by qualified, eligible candidates.
6. Seat allocation in merit order, usually one round, with no waiting list.
7. Document verification by JIPMER, then joining on the announced date.

How candidates lose seats after the exam

• Not filling choices, or too few. You're considered only for the institutes you chose.
• Not joining. Your whole candidature for that NORCET is cancelled.
• Missing a document. No extra time is given; the seat is forfeited.

You can qualify and still be eligible for no institute, so read JIPMER's notice, not just the AIIMS one.

Every NORCET institute pays the same level. Level 7 is a high entry grade: an AIIMS laboratory Technical Officer reaches it only after a B.Sc and ten years' experience.

Apply to AIIMS, not JIPMER, online at aiimsexams.ac.in.

Pay by card or net banking. The fee isn't refunded, except that AIIMS New Delhi refunds SC and ST candidates who sit the exam, after checking their certificate.

• Use your existing One Time Registration.
• Your category is locked once you pay.
• Follow the image upload instructions for photo, signature and thumb impression.
• Upload scribe or compensatory-time certificates at registration.

At JIPMER's document verification

Registration slip, admit card, date of birth proof, category or EWS certificate, disability certificate if claimed, NOC if in government service, qualification, Nursing Council registration, and for diploma holders an experience certificate from the head of the organisation covering the full two years, with dates, pay, duties and proof the hospital had at least fifty beds.

NORCET-11 covers AIIMS New Delhi and the other AIIMS, JIPMER, ESIC, the Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi, the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases and other central government hospitals in Delhi. Each issues its own notice.

JIPMER's posts are at JIPMER Campus Road, Gorimedu, Dhanvantari Nagar, Puducherry 605006.

No post this cycle is earmarked for persons with benchmark disability. The notice says: "As per decision of the JIPMER Governing Body, at least 80% posts of Nursing Officers are reserved for female candidates." That's JIPMER's own rule, not a NORCET one; here it works out at 87 per cent. Post numbers are tentative and may change before the exam.

NORCET is held in cities across India. Your city is announced about a week before the admit card, and requests to change it are "summarily rejected without any notice".

Two stages mean two trips: in NORCET-11 the Preliminary was on 12 September 2026 and the Main on 30 September. The exam city has nothing to do with your posting, which is at JIPMER, Puducherry.

NORCET-11, Notice No. 103/2026 of 24 July 2026:

No date extensions are given. NORCET runs about twice a year: NORCET-10 was advertised on 24 February 2026 and examined on 11 and 30 April 2026. Each cycle appears on the AIIMS NORCET page.

Download it from your login on aiimsexams.ac.in; nothing is posted. For NORCET-11 the city came on 3 September and the admit card on 9 September, three days before the Preliminary.

Hand the printed admit card to the invigilator after the exam, or your performance isn't counted. Keep a copy for JIPMER's verification.

Eligibility isn't checked before the admit card is issued, and can be cancelled at any stage, even after joining. A mobile phone, even switched off, smart watch, Bluetooth or other electronic device can get you debarred.

AIIMS publishes results on aiimsexams.ac.in, separately for each institute, so look for the JIPMER result.

Merit rests only on the Main; the result is your NORCET Score. If a stage runs in several shifts, marks are normalised to percentile scores to seven decimal places under AIIMS Notice No. 35/2023.

Then come choice filling and a single allocation round, followed by verification at JIPMER on dates JIPMER announces.

Preliminary: percentiles

Main: percentages

Only five times the seats per category reach the Main, counted across all institutes.

Ties in NORCET-11

1. Fewer wrong answers in the Main
2. Higher marks in the Preliminary
3. Fewer wrong answers in the Preliminary
4. Date of birth, older candidate higher
5. Alphabetical order of the name, then the father's and mother's names

NORCET-10 put date of birth first. Neither AIIMS nor JIPMER publishes closing marks.

• Check JIPMER's eligibility first: up to 35, and two years' experience for GNM holders.
• Prepare for the Main from the start. It's only 18 days after the Preliminary, twice as long, all nursing, and the only stage that counts.
• Practise clinical case scenarios, not just recall. That's the one content steer AIIMS gives for the Main.
• Rehearse the section timers: 20 questions in 18 minutes for the Preliminary, 40 in 45 for the Main. No going back.
• Don't guess blind. At minus a third, a blind guess gains nothing, and fewer wrong answers is the first tie-break.
• Save, don't just mark for review.
• Diploma holders: get your experience certificate right before applying. No extra time is given at verification.
• Fill only choices you'd take. Not joining cancels your candidature.

Neither AIIMS nor JIPMER publishes previous NORCET papers, a model paper or a mock. Papers sold as "JIPMER Nursing Officer previous year papers" didn't come from them, and AIIMS authorises no coaching centre or third-party site.

The scheme, cut-offs and tie-breaks are in each cycle's notice on the AIIMS NORCET page, published about twice a year (February and July in 2026).

• AIIMS Examination Section, for NORCET applications, admit cards and results
• JIPMER NORCET-11 notice, No. 103/2026
• NORCET, all cycles
• JIPMER, Puducherry
• AIIMS Notice No. 35/2023, normalization procedure
• Indian Nursing Council, recognised nursing programmes
• AIIMS notices

Does JIPMER conduct its own nursing exam?

No. It recruits through NORCET, run by AIIMS New Delhi.

What is JIPMER's age limit?

35, relaxable for government servants.

How much experience do I need with a GNM diploma?

Two years in a hospital of at least fifty beds, after registration. Degree holders need none.

How many posts are there?

39 in NORCET-11: 34 for women and 5 for men.

Does the Preliminary count towards my rank?

No. It only decides who sits the Main.

What is the pay?

Level 7, ₹44,900 to ₹1,42,400.

Where will I be posted?

JIPMER, Puducherry, whatever city you sit the exam in.

What if I don't join an allotted seat?

Your candidature for that NORCET is cancelled, and there's no waiting list.