The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has extended the deadline for candidates with outstanding admission offers from the 2021 to 2025 admission exercises to November 30, 2026.
The Board said affected candidates must either accept or reject their outstanding admission offers on the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) before the new deadline. Candidates who fail to take action risk having their outstanding offers reverted to “Not Admitted” on JAMB’s records.
The extension followed a temporary disruption of CAPS, which was reportedly unavailable for about 96 hours and prevented some candidates from accessing their admission information.
JAMB had previously set September 30, 2026, as the deadline for candidates with outstanding admission offers from previous admission exercises. However, the Board approved an additional two months to ensure that candidates affected by the CAPS disruption were not disadvantaged.
JAMB Sets Final Deadline for Outstanding Admissions
In a statement signed by Fabian Benjamin, Acting Director, Public Affairs and Protocol, JAMB described November 30 as the final deadline for candidates to indicate whether they wish to accept or reject outstanding admission offers from the 2021–2025 admission exercises.
The Board warned that requests to subsequently alter the affected admission records could attract the applicable penalty fee, particularly because some of the offers had remained outstanding for several years.
Candidates whose admissions are not reflected on the JAMB matriculation list were also advised to act immediately.
According to JAMB, failure to regularise admission records could affect access to benefits associated with properly documented admissions, including participation in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
What Happens After Candidates Accept or Reject the Offer?
Candidates who accept their outstanding admission offers will be able to proceed to print their JAMB admission letters.
Those who reject the offers will have their dashboards reverted to “Not Admitted.”
JAMB said the process would allow it to update its records and ensure that the national admission database accurately reflects candidates’ current admission status.
The Board also addressed candidates who are no longer studying at institutions where they previously received admission offers or who are currently enrolled in programmes different from those contained in their old offers.
Such candidates may accept the outstanding admission and subsequently apply for the appropriate correction or deletion of the previous admission, where applicable, so that JAMB can properly update their records.
Candidates currently pursuing a second degree but who still have an unaccepted admission offer from an earlier admission exercise may also reject the old offer and continue with their current programme.
Candidates With 2026 Admissions Can Reject Old Offers
JAMB also clarified that candidates who received admission offers for the 2026 admission exercise but still have outstanding offers from previous years can reject the earlier offers without affecting their 2026 admission.
The Board said the extension was intended to compensate candidates for the period during which CAPS was unavailable and provide a final opportunity for affected candidates to regularise their admission status.
JAMB therefore urged all candidates with outstanding 2021–2025 admission offers to check their CAPS dashboards and take the necessary action before the deadline.
Any outstanding admission offer that remains neither accepted nor rejected by November 30, 2026, will automatically revert to “Not Admitted” on JAMB’s records.
