NABTEB 2027 Timetable: Proposed May/June Dates

NABTEB, the National Business and Technical Examinations Board, runs the National Business Certificate (NBC) and National Technical Certificate (NTC) for technical and business students. For 2027, the proposed window is 1 June to 5 July 2027.

That is a proposal made as part of a harmonised national calendar. NABTEB has not published its own 2027 timetable, and we found no registration notice either.

Proposed NABTEB dates for 2027

The proposal was issued by the Federal Government after a meeting of examination bodies in Abuja and published by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation on 14 October 2026. JAMB then shared the table on its social media pages. The aim is to have results from the main bodies out by August 2027, so that qualified candidates can start tertiary admission from September.

2026 compared with 2027

The 2026 dates come from NABTEB's own published timetable. It shows the first papers on Monday 15 June 2026 and practical papers running until Monday 13 July 2026. The proposed 2027 window starts two weeks earlier and ends about a week earlier. NABTEB has not said what this means for individual trades.

What NABTEB has not released

As at 29 October 2026, we found no NABTEB notice for 2027 on:

• the trade-by-trade timetable;
• registration opening and closing dates;
• fees for in-school candidates;
• any change to the format.

For May/June, candidates in schools are registered by their schools, so ask your school well before the exam window opens. We found no 2027 registration notice.

The November/December series is separate

NABTEB also runs a November/December series. For 2026, Nairametrics reported that registration opened on 10 August and closed on 10 September for NBC, NTC, ANBC and ANTC, with the December Modular Trades Certificate Examination open until 30 September. Reported fees were N22,500 for NBC and NTC, N25,500 for ANBC and ANTC and N6,000 for the Modular Trades certificate.

The proposed 2027 calendar does not cover that series, and NABTEB has not announced 2027 Nov/Dec dates. If you are planning to sit it as an external candidate, watch nabteb.gov.ng.

Who this affects

If you are a student in a technical college or a business-focused school, your teachers register you. Ask them early about:

• your list of trades and subjects;
• practical exam arrangements, which in the 2026 timetable were spread over several weeks;
• any fees collected by the school (check them against the NABTEB notice).

The 2026 timetable includes general subjects such as Literature-in-English and Chemistry alongside the trade papers, so general subject practice still counts.

The 2027 Nigerian exam calendar puts NABTEB next to WASSCE and NECO. Note that NABTEB's proposed window overlaps the last weeks of the WAEC window, so if you are sitting more than one body, compare it with the WAEC 2027 timetable and the NECO 2027 timetable.

How to prepare

From 29 October 2026 to 1 June 2027 is 215 days, or just over 30 weeks. Use that time on steady, topic-based practice. Trade practicals need hands-on time as well, so ask your workshop teacher how many practical sessions you will get.

Avoid "expo" sellers. NABTEB results come from your own work.

How to read a NABTEB timetable

The 2026 May/June timetable is a good example of what to expect. It lists each trade or subject with a paper code, the paper type (objective and essay, practical, and so on), the date, the duration and the time. Papers for different trades run in sessions across several weeks.

When the 2027 version is published:

1. Find your trade or subject code first.
2. Note each paper for it. Some subjects have more than one paper, and practicals can fall on a different day from the written paper.
3. Check the duration. In the 2026 timetable some papers ran for over three hours, so plan food, water and rest.
4. Share the list with your family, so everyone knows which days matter most.

Practical preparation

For technical and business candidates, the written paper is only part of the work. Hands-on skills decide a lot. Ask your workshop teacher for the practical schedule, confirm that materials and tools will be available and practise the tasks under time limits. For the written papers, use past questions and review each mistake.

Remember that technical and vocational students often sit several exams over the year. Keep a simple calendar that separates NABTEB from any other body you are registered with, such as WAEC or NECO.

ExamPadi has 46,182 practice questions across JAMB, WAEC, NECO and NABTEB, with a timed CBT mode. Free practice is available, with a Pro tier, on Android, iOS, web and Windows.

Practise NABTEB questions on ExamPadi and check nabteb.gov.ng for the official 2027 timetable.