EPS-TOPIK 2026 Exam Schedule: Complete Guide

Introduction to EPS-TOPIK 2026 Exam Schedule

For thousands of Nepali candidates, one question has hung over the last few months: when exactly is the exam? The application window closed in early August, and since then the wait has been all rumours, group chats and guesses.

The answer has now arrived in an official notice from the EPS Korea Branch of Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment. The EPS-TOPIK 2026 exam schedule is set, and it runs for more than three months, from 17 November 2026 to 25 February 2027, with different sectors examined in different windows.

This guide walks through that notice in plain English. It covers the sector-wise dates, what the notice says about biometric registration, documents, banned items and orientation, what it does not say, and how to use the weeks you have left. The dates and rules come directly from the notice, which is dated 2083/06/27 in the Nepali calendar, in mid-October 2026.

One clarification first. Toddle is a language institute, and language and exam preparation is what it offers. The EPS selection process is run by Korea’s HRD Korea together with Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment. No institute or consultancy can give you a seat, a date or a result, and your individual exam date and shift come only from the official schedule attached to the notice and your admit card.

The Schedule at a Glance

The notice covers the 2026 Korean language exam (EPS-TOPIK 2026, UBT) under the Point Based Selection System, for four sectors. The exam begins on Tuesday, 17 November 2026 (2083/08/01).

Three things stand out immediately:

• Manufacturing has by far the longest window, split into four separate blocks between 11 December 2026 and 25 February 2027.
• Service 1 and Forestry overlap on 18 and 19 November.
• The ranges are windows, not single dates. Your own date and shift fall somewhere inside the window for your sector, and they are given in the candidate details attached to the notice.

For the venue, the notice names the UBT Hall in the campus of the National Vocational Training Institute (राष्ट्रिय व्यावसायिक प्रशिक्षण प्रतिष्ठान) at Bhaisepati, Lalitpur.

What “UBT” Means in the Notice

The notice calls the exam “EPS-TOPIK 2026, UBT.” UBT stands for ubiquitous-based test, a tablet-based version of the computer-based exam. Many people still say CBT for any screen-based exam, so you will hear both terms. What matters is that you will answer on a screen with headphones, not on paper.

If you want the full format explained, including what changed from the paper exam, Toddle’s guide to the EPS TOPIK question paper covers the sections, and a later part of this guide gives a quick refresher.

Who This Schedule Is For

The schedule applies to candidates who applied in the 2026 first-phase application round. That round ran from 27 July to 2 August 2026 on the official portal, eoers.epsnepal.gov.np, with an exam fee of US$28 paid in rupees at the Nepal Rastra Bank rate on the day of registration.

If you did not apply in that window, this schedule does not create a way in. Applications are announced by the Department of Foreign Employment, and the next window will be announced through the same official channels.

The first-phase notice also gave estimated numbers of successful candidates by sector, which helps explain the shape of the schedule:

These are estimates, not guarantees, and the notice said the final numbers may rise or fall with demand in Korea. It is reasonable to read the long manufacturing window as a reflection of the large manufacturing applicant pool, but that is an inference, not something the notice states.

For the age rules and eligibility behind the first-phase round, see Toddle’s guide to the age limit for EPS Korea, and for the fee, its EPS TOPIK exam fee page.

The Notice, Point by Point

Here is what each part of the notice says, in plain English:

The rest of this guide expands on each row.

Sector-by-Sector Timeline

Service 1: 17 to 19 November 2026

Service 1 opens the whole exam period on 17 November and runs for three days. This is the shortest window except for Forestry, and it is the first group to sit the exam.

Forestry: 18 to 19 November 2026

Forestry runs for two days, 18 and 19 November, overlapping with the last two days of Service 1.

Agriculture and Livestock: 20 November to 10 December 2026

Agriculture and livestock starts the day after Service 1 and Forestry finish, and runs for 21 days, until 10 December. It is the second-longest window.

Manufacturing: 11 December 2026 to 25 February 2027

Manufacturing is split into four blocks:

Between blocks there are gaps with no manufacturing exams listed: 23 December to 3 January, 22 to 28 January, and 6 to 9 February. The notice does not explain the gaps or say whether other activities happen in them, so don’t plan around them.

The whole picture

The full exam period spans 17 November 2026 to 25 February 2027, roughly 14 weeks from first to last day.

How Your Own Date and Shift Are Decided

This is the part most candidates are asking about, and the notice is clear: it gives sector windows, while each candidate’s exact date, time and shift are in the details attached to the notice.

The notice does not explain how dates are assigned within a window, so any claim about how it works, or about which dates are “easier,” is a guess. What you should do instead:

1. Find your own entry. Look for your name, application or registration details in the attached candidate list from the official source.
2. Check your admit card. The notice requires a colour admit card on exam day, so confirm that your date, shift and time match.
3. Don’t swap. The first-phase notice stated that your assigned date and venue cannot be changed, so don’t plan on moving your slot.
4. Use only official sources. Take your dates from the Department of Foreign Employment’s EPS site and the application portal, eoers.epsnepal.gov.np, not from a screenshot someone forwarded.

If you can’t find your entry, don’t wait. Contact the EPS Korea Branch through its official channels as early as possible.

The Exam Sequence: Day Before and Exam Day

The notice builds in a sequence that begins the day before you sit the exam. This is where candidates from outside the Kathmandu Valley need to plan carefully.

Step 1: Biometric registration the day before

On the day before your exam date, you must attend the EPS Korea Branch at Gwarko, Lalitpur, according to your shift, for biometric (fingerprint) registration. This is separate from the exam centre at Bhaisepati.

Step 2: Biometric verification two hours before

On exam day, you must be at the exam centre (the UBT building at Bhaisepati) two hours before your fixed exam time for biometric verification.

Step 3: Orientation one hour before

The notice states that orientation is held one hour before the fixed exam time, and you must attend it after fingerprint verification.

Step 4: The exam

The exam itself is 50 minutes in the current format.

An illustration of the timing

If your admit card showed an exam time of 10:00, the notice’s rules would put you on this timeline. This is an illustration only, so use your own admit card:

That means roughly three hours at the venue for a 50-minute exam. Eat beforehand, use the toilet before orientation, and don’t plan anything else around the session.

A note on older information: the July 2026 first-phase notice showed indicative session timings and orientation windows. Where the newer notice gives different rules, follow the newer notice and your admit card.

Documents and Rules: What You Can and Can’t Bring

What you must have

The notice says that candidates who do not appear at the fixed date, shift and time with the required documents will not be allowed to take the exam under any circumstances. There is no mention of exceptions.

The passport point deserves care. The notice’s wording asks for the original passport, including the old one if there is one. If you renewed your passport after applying, the safest approach is to bring both and ask the EPS Korea Branch which one it expects. The first-phase notice said your passport details must match your application, and details cannot be corrected after registration.

What you can’t bring into the exam hall

The notice prohibits the following inside the exam hall:

• Mobile phones
• PDAs
• Electronic dictionaries
• Smartwatches
• Other electronic communication devices
• Bags

The first-phase notice also listed Bluetooth earphones, cassette players and MP3 players, and said that finding a device can invalidate your exam. Plan to leave everything non-essential at home, since you may not have anywhere secure to put it.

Cheating and disruption

If a candidate is found cheating, copying or causing disturbance, the notice says the exam is cancelled and the candidate is barred from the exam for four years. The earlier notice added that taking the exam in someone else’s name or helping others cheat carries the same four-year ban.

The Exam Format: A Quick Refresher

The schedule tells you when. The format tells you what to prepare for:

All questions are multiple choice with four options, and the sections run back to back with no break. Content comes from HRD Korea’s Standard Textbook for EPS-TOPIK. You can read HRD Korea’s own description on its EPS-TOPIK website.

About 75 seconds per question is the working budget, so timed practice matters. Toddle’s guide to the EPS TOPIK listening section explains the question types and the sound-change rules that trip candidates up. For the wider overview of the test, see Toddle’s EPS TOPIK guide.

Travel and Logistics for Candidates Outside the Valley

Because of the day-before biometric registration, a candidate from outside Kathmandu and Lalitpur effectively needs two days on the ground: one day to register at Gwarko, then the exam day at Bhaisepati. Candidates travelling from places such as Hetauda or Makwanpur should plan for this.

Practical points:

The first-phase notice stated that candidates arriving after the designated entry time are not permitted to enter. With a two-hour verification buffer, arriving 30 minutes early is a low-cost way to protect yourself.

Using the Weeks You Have

Your own window decides how much preparation time you have. Counting from mid-October 2026:

These are rough gaps to the start of each window. Your own date may be later than the start of your window, so confirm it before you decide how to pace your study.

If you have about 5 weeks

Focus ruthlessly. Spend the first two weeks on the Standard Textbook’s core chapters and on listening, then move to timed practice on HRD Korea’s open question bank. Take full 50-minute mock tests every few days in the last two weeks, and use a tablet or computer if you can.

If you have 8 to 12 weeks

You can build in a steadier rhythm: textbook work first, then separate listening and reading blocks, then timed screen practice. Aim to finish all the textbook chapters by the midpoint and spend the rest on mocks and error review.

If you have 15 weeks or more

Use the extra time well, but don’t coast. Treat the first half as foundation, the second half as mock-test season, and set a “no new material” rule for the final week.

What to do in every case

1. Study listening and reading separately, since both carry 50 marks.
2. Practise on a screen, because the exam is tablet-based. HRD Korea offers a free demo, and Toddle lists UBT mock-test seats on its mock test booking page.
3. Keep an error log, and sort mistakes into vocabulary gaps, sound-pattern problems, pacing problems and careless errors.
4. Use timed model tests. Toddle’s new 2026-27 EPS TOPIK model question book is one option, alongside HRD Korea’s free open question bank.

For a full study method, see Toddle’s guide on how to pass the EPS TOPIK exam.

What Happens After the Exam

The notice covers scheduling and exam-day rules, not what comes next. From the first-phase notice and HRD Korea’s description:

• Results. They are published after HRD Korea sends its own notice, and candidates can check marks through eps.go.kr and HRD Korea’s EPS-TOPIK site.
• How a pass is decided. HRD Korea describes a relative evaluation: you need a score above the lowest cut-off for your sector, and successful candidates are determined in order of merit within the number being selected.
• Result validity. A finally successful candidate’s validity lasts two years from the date results are published, according to the first-phase notice.
• Next stages. Successful candidates still have to pass the skill test and job capacity assessment before final selection, and candidates who fail the medical examination or receive an adverse police report cannot complete the employment application.

The notice doesn’t give a results date, a skill test date or details of how points are calculated, so don’t trust anyone who claims to know them before an official announcement. For the full journey, see Toddle’s explainer on what EPS is in South Korea.

Staying Safe From Scams

A published schedule is exactly when scams multiply. Remember:

• Your date comes from the official list, not from a person.
• No private organisation is part of the process. The first-phase notice states that no private association, organisation, educational institution or individual is involved in EPS employment except the Department of Foreign Employment’s EPS Korea Section.
• Nobody can “move” your date or “arrange” your result.
• Nobody can sell you the real questions. HRD Korea holds the closed bank.
• Be careful with screenshots. Fake notices circulate. Verify against the official site.

Mistakes That Cost Candidates Their Exam

• Missing the day-before biometric registration at Gwarko.
• Arriving late at Bhaisepati and missing the verification window.
• Forgetting the colour admit card or printing it in black and white.
• Bringing a banned device or bag, even a smartwatch.
• Taking a date from a forwarded screenshot instead of your own entry.
• Planning the trip too tightly, with no buffer for traffic or delays.
• Ignoring screen practice until the last week.
• Believing “date change” offers. Dates are assigned officially.
• Treating the language exam as the whole process, when later stages follow.

Frequently Asked Questions about EPS-TOPIK 2026 Exam Dates

1. When is the EPS-TOPIK 2026 exam schedule?
The exam period runs from 17 November 2026 to 25 February 2027, with sector windows: Service 1 from 17 to 19 November, Forestry from 18 to 19 November, Agriculture and Livestock from 20 November to 10 December, and Manufacturing in four blocks between 11 December 2026 and 25 February 2027.

2. When does the exam start?
Tuesday, 17 November 2026 (2083/08/01), according to the notice.

3. When is the Manufacturing exam?
In four blocks: 11 to 22 December 2026, 4 to 21 January 2027, 29 January to 5 February 2027, and 10 to 25 February 2027.

4. When is the Agriculture and Livestock exam?
From 20 November to 10 December 2026.

5. When is the Service 1 exam?
From 17 to 19 November 2026.

6. When is the Forestry exam?
From 18 to 19 November 2026.

7. Where is the exam held?
At the UBT Hall in the campus of the National Vocational Training Institute at Bhaisepati, Lalitpur.

8. How do I find my exact date and shift?
The notice says each candidate’s exam date, time and shift are attached with it. Find your entry in the official details, and check your colour admit card.

9. Can I change my exam date or shift?
The first-phase notice states that your assigned date and venue cannot be changed. Don’t rely on anyone offering to change it.

10. What is the biometric step the day before the exam?
You must attend the EPS Korea Branch at Gwarko, Lalitpur, according to your shift, for fingerprint registration one day before your exam date.

11. When must I arrive on exam day?
At the exam centre two hours before your fixed exam time, for biometric verification.

12. When is orientation?
One hour before the exam time, and you must attend after fingerprint verification.

13. What documents must I bring?
A colour admit card and your original passport. The notice also asks for the old passport if there is one.

14. What happens if I forget my documents?
The notice says candidates who don’t appear with the required documents at the fixed date, shift and time will not be allowed to take the exam under any circumstances.

15. What can’t I bring into the exam hall?
Mobile phones, PDAs, electronic dictionaries, smartwatches, other electronic communication devices and bags. The earlier notice also listed Bluetooth earphones and MP3 players.

16. What happens if I cheat?
The exam is cancelled and you are barred from the exam for four years, according to the notice.

17. How long is the exam?
Fifty minutes, with 25 minutes for listening and 25 minutes for reading, in the current format.

18. How many questions are there?
Forty: 20 listening and 20 reading, worth 100 marks in total.

19. Is the exam on paper or on a screen?
On a tablet-based system (UBT) with headphones, according to the notice.

20. Who can sit this exam?
Candidates who applied in the first-phase round, which ran from 27 July to 2 August 2026. The notice does not open a new application.

21. When will results be published?
The notice doesn’t say. The first-phase notice states results will be published after HRD Korea issues its own notice, and can be checked through eps.go.kr and HRD Korea’s EPS-TOPIK site.

22. How long is a successful result valid?
Two years from the date results are published, according to the first-phase notice.

23. How should I prepare in the time I have?
Match your plan to your window: textbook and listening first, then timed screen practice. Use HRD Korea’s free demo and open question bank, and practise full 50-minute sessions.

24. Can an agent or institute guarantee my date or result?
No. The first-phase notice says no private party is part of the EPS employment process except the Department of Foreign Employment’s EPS Korea Section.

25. How can Toddle help me prepare for the exam?
Toddle, based in Hetauda since 2018, runs an EPS-TOPIK Korean language class with timed practice and listening drills. It is language and exam preparation, not job placement, and your date, shift and result come only from the official process.

Conclusion: The Dates Are Set, So Use the Time

The EPS-TOPIK 2026 exam schedule is now official: 17 November 2026 to 25 February 2027, with Service 1, Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock and Manufacturing examined in their own windows at Bhaisepati. The notice sets a clear routine of fingerprint registration at Gwarko the day before, verification two hours ahead of your exam, orientation an hour ahead, and strict rules on documents and devices.

Start by finding your own date and shift, then work backward from it. The candidates who do best are usually not the ones with the most time, but the ones who knew their date, practised on a screen and arrived calm.

If you want structured help, start with Toddle’s EPS-TOPIK Korean language class, or message a teacher directly on WhatsApp at +977 9769741767: https://wa.me/9779769741767

For the official format description, use HRD Korea’s EPS-TOPIK site, and for notices in Nepal, use only the Department of Foreign Employment’s official channels.