TCS NQT for freshers: registration, test pattern and how to prepare

TCS hires most of its freshers through one online test, the NQT. Here's how it works, what's in it, and how to prepare without paying anyone.

Last updated 30 Oct 2026

TCS is one of the biggest fresher employers in India, and most of its off-campus hiring runs through one online test: the TCS National Qualifier Test (NQT). If you're in the 2026 or 2027 batch, it's worth understanding early.

What the NQT is

The NQT is TCS's online hiring test, run on its own TCS iON platform. Your score decides whether you get an interview, and for which level of role. TCS opens NQT hiring for a specific graduation year, usually with a registration window and test dates announced on its official pages.

Details change from drive to drive (dates, eligible degrees, marks cut-offs), so treat this guide as the map and the official notice as the rules.

Where to register (and where not to)

• Register only on TCS's official sites: the TCS careers page and TCS NextStep, its portal for freshers. The test itself runs on TCS iON.
• Check the official notice for whether any test fee applies. Pay only on TCS's own site, never to a person, an agent or a "coordinator".
• Nobody can sell you a confirmed TCS offer or a leaked paper. That's a scam every time. See Spotting fake fresher job offers.

Who can apply

Each drive sets its own eligibility. It usually covers:

• Degree: typically engineering (B.E./B.Tech, M.E./M.Tech), MCA and some M.Sc. streams.
• Graduation year: the batch the drive is for.
• Marks: a minimum score in 10th, 12th and graduation.
• Backlogs and gaps: limits on active backlogs and on gaps in education.

Read the eligibility section of the current notice before you register. If you don't meet it, your application can be rejected even after you clear the test.

The test: Foundation and Advanced

In recent drives the NQT has had two parts:

Part A: Foundation (everyone takes this)

• Numerical ability: percentages, ratios, averages, time and work, speed and distance, profit and loss.
• Verbal ability: reading comprehension, grammar, sentence completion.
• Reasoning ability: series, coding-decoding, seating arrangements, puzzles.

Part B: Advanced (for higher roles)

• Advanced quantitative and reasoning: harder versions of Part A.
• Advanced coding: usually two problems, in a language you choose from a list (common ones like C, C++, Java and Python).

The exact number of questions and minutes can change, so check the pattern shown when you register.

Ninja, Digital and Prime

TCS hires freshers into different levels, and your NQT result decides which interview you're called for:

• Ninja: the main fresher role. Clearing Foundation well is what matters most.
• Digital: a higher level, for people who also do well in the Advanced sections, especially coding.
• Prime: the highest fresher level, for the strongest coding scores.

Pay differs by level. TCS states it in the offer, so trust that figure over what you read online.

After the test: the interview

If you're shortlisted, you get an interview, often online. It usually covers:

• Technical: your projects, your main programming language, basics of OOP, DBMS and operating systems, and simple coding.
• Managerial: how you work, handle problems and learn.
• HR: relocation, shifts, documents and joining.

Know every line of your resume. Most technical questions start from your projects.

A 4-week prep plan

• Week 1: numerical ability, 45 minutes a day. Revise formulas for percentages, ratios and time and work.
• Week 2: reasoning and verbal. Do one timed reading passage a day.
• Week 3: coding. Arrays, strings and simple maths problems, in the language you'll use in the test.
• Week 4: full timed practice tests, then revise your weakest section. Prepare to explain your projects.

Practise with a timer. The NQT rewards speed as much as knowledge.

After you get an offer

Big IT companies can take weeks or months to send a joining date. Keep applying elsewhere until you have one in writing. See Offer letter but no joining date and the onboarding wait tracker.

Find TCS and similar roles

• Search TCS on JobHunt for open roles we've checked.
• Off-campus drive calendar for registration dates, with a reminder before they close.
• 2026 batch jobs and 2027 batch jobs.
• Other big recruiters: Infosys, Accenture, Wipro and Cognizant.