IGNOU Project Submission December 2026: New OPMS Portal, Last Date and Complete Upload Guide

IGNOU OPMS December 2026: Key Information

The figures above come from the supplied IGNOU December 2026 project submission guidelines and accompanying OPMS walk-through. Use programme-specific instructions wherever your course manual imposes an additional academic requirement.

What Has Changed with IGNOU's New Project Portal?

The important change is not merely a new website name. OPMS brings several parts of the project journey together: student access through Samarth, uploading the report, university-side evaluation allocation, recording viva marks where needed and sending processed awards for grade-card updates.

In the official presentation, the learner signs into Samarth, opens a service card named Project Portal, accepts the project submission instructions and reaches the list of paid project courses. The learner then provides the project title, supervisor information and the necessary files. Once the final submission is completed, Regional Centre or Student Evaluation Division staff can access the record for the next stage.

What students gain: a single, identifiable path for making the submission and a documented sequence for moving it into evaluation. What students still need to do: meet their own programme's synopsis, supervisor, originality and report requirements. The OPMS form does not remove academic rules from the course manual.

Main functions visible in the official OPMS material

1. Samarth-based student access. Students open the Project Portal from their university account rather than starting from an old standalone upload link.
2. Digital project submission. The system accepts relevant final project reports and other applicable academic components.
3. University-office access. Regional Centres and the Student Evaluation Division can access the submissions.
4. Evaluator allocation. Submitted work can be assigned to evaluators for assessment.
5. Online marking and viva entry. The system supports marks and viva awards where a viva is part of the course.
6. Checking and validation. University staff validate evaluation records before further processing.
7. Connection to the grade card. Processed awards can flow through Samarth and subsequently appear in student results.

Do not use an old session's upload portal simply because it still opens. For the December 2026 process described in these documents, begin with the official Samarth login and follow the Project Portal link within the account.

Deadline: Why You Must Finish Both Payment and Submission

IGNOU's submission guidance provides an unambiguous final online-upload date of 30 November 2026, and the tutorial screen specifies 11:59 PM. Separately, IGNOU announced 30 November 2026 as the final day for payment of project/internship/practical course fees for this examination session.

These are distinct tasks. A student who only pays the examination fee has not yet delivered the dissertation PDF. A student who fills in the OPMS form but never clicks Final Submit also risks an incomplete submission. You should check that the course payment is complete, the report has been uploaded into the right fields and the final submission has actually been made.

The provided university instructions say no further extension will be given and warn that incomplete submissions will not be evaluated. If a later official notification changes the deadline, that newer notification will take precedence. Until then, do not rely on rumours or old deadlines appearing in search results.

A sensible preparation schedule

• Well before the deadline: check registration validity, fee and course code, and complete outstanding guide/synopsis formalities if applicable.
• Before uploading: inspect the report's first page, certificates, signatures, PDF readability, order and file sizes.
• During upload: select the paid project course, fill in the real supervisor details and check all attachments.
• Immediately after submitting: save the receipt, report files and available submission acknowledgement.

Step Zero: Who Is Eligible to Use OPMS?

The first section of the official guidelines is about eligibility. Before uploading, confirm that your enrolment is valid and your registration has not become time-barred. The relevant project, practicum, dissertation or internship must form part of your programme and your registration.

Already passed the course? IGNOU tells learners not to submit a project component again if they have already passed it in an earlier TEE. Uploading a duplicate passed component is not a way to improve your marks.

Failed the component earlier? The instructions permit resubmission in failure cases, subject to the validity of the registration and applicable rules. They also mention cases involving unfair means; students in that situation must follow the directions relevant to their individual university case.

New submission? Check whether your course requires a separately approved synopsis, an authorised guide, a signed originality declaration or other documents. Such conditions are programme-specific. Do not assume an MBA project form is suitable for MLIS, MSCENV, MTTM or any other programme.

Important identifiers to check: learner name, enrolment number, Regional Centre code, programme code, project course code and relevant TEE session. A control number is not a replacement for the enrolment number printed on the IGNOU ID card.

Complete OPMS Upload Process: Follow These Steps in Order

IGNOU's illustrated OPMS presentation shows the sequence from student login to final submission. The explanation below expands those screenshots so that students can follow the workflow without guessing which button to select.

Step 1 — Sign in to the IGNOU Samarth Student Portal

Open the official IGNOU Samarth Student Portal and sign in with your student credentials. Depending on the login screen, enter your enrolment number or registered username, your password and the captcha verification. The official tutorial illustrates this sign-in page.

If you have forgotten your password, use the reset option offered on the official portal. Do not hand over your login credentials to an unknown service or enter them on an imitation website. Log in yourself and verify the details displayed for your enrolment.

Step 2 — Choose Services, then Project Portal

After login, look for Services in the Samarth dashboard or side navigation. The official screenshot shows several available services. Find the card labelled Project Portal, then select its Open Project Portal action.

This is the entry to OPMS for the December 2026 workflow. If you cannot find the option, first check the account, project-course eligibility and whether the applicable payment has been recorded. An absent card should not be interpreted automatically as a university-wide portal outage.

Step 3 — Read the submission instructions and acknowledge them

The OPMS introduction screen presents your basic student information, the TEE session, the submission deadline and the detailed conditions for uploading. Read this page rather than clicking past it. It includes the student declaration that the information and submitted academic work are correct.

Once you have read the conditions, tick the acknowledgement checkbox and click Proceed to Project Details. The declaration matters because IGNOU places responsibility on learners to provide genuine information and follow the proper academic procedure.

Step 4 — Find the project course with completed payment

The Project Details view displays courses whose applicable fee payment has been completed. You may see your name, enrolment number, programme, Regional Centre, contact details, relevant course, session and Payment Completed status, as illustrated in the tutorial.

Read the project course code carefully. If you have more than one eligible project component, choose the correct one. Use the Project Submission button associated with that course to open the upload form. If you paid the fee but the course does not appear, keep your payment details ready and contact the official technical support channel instead of paying repeatedly without checking.

Step 5 — Enter the dissertation title and genuine supervisor details

The project form asks for information such as the Project Title and relevant Supervisor/Guide Details. The screenshot displays fields for the guide's name, mobile number, email address, designation, official postal address and residential address where applicable.

Your project title must correspond to the report being uploaded. Guide information should match the real person who supervises or approves the work. If a field genuinely does not apply, the official December 2026 guidelines say to enter NA. Do not use NA to hide a missing compulsory certificate, and never make up a guide's identity or qualifications.

Step 6 — Upload the report and programme-specific supporting PDFs

The official form contains an upload section with separate fields for the project report and other relevant academic documents. Typical fields include signed supervisor biodata, synopsis approval, proposal/synopsis copy and the complete project report with declarations.

Choose the correct PDF in each field. Use one complete report PDF per course rather than distributing one project's chapters across unrelated files. Follow the document order specified by the relevant course manual. Scanned pages must be clear, correctly oriented and in the right sequence. The following file limits matter: supervisor biodata 5 MB, synopsis approval 5 MB, synopsis copy 10 MB and full report 40 MB.

Step 7 — Select Preview & Submit and inspect the complete application

After filling in the information and selecting all required files, the form provides a Preview & Submit button. Use it to view the submitted details before the final confirmation. This is the last good opportunity to catch a misspelled title, wrong course code, outdated supervisor details or the wrong attachment.

Open or inspect the PDF copies if the interface permits. Confirm that the correct report—not a draft or an unrelated project—has been chosen. Check the size and legibility of the document. In the official tutorial, previewing and final submission are different stages.

Step 8 — Click Final Submit to finish the actual submission

Once every visible detail is correct, click Final Submit. The OPMS presentation shows a final review screen followed by the final submission action. A partially filled form or a preview page is not equivalent to completed submission.

After final submission, the record becomes available to the relevant Regional Centre or Student Evaluation Division for further action, including assignment to an evaluator and arrangements for a viva-voce where the programme requires one.

Step 9 — Preserve the evidence that you submitted

Keep the project fee receipt, the original complete PDF, all supporting PDFs, any submission confirmation and the submission details shown by the portal. Save them somewhere you can access even if you later change devices. Screenshots or a saved acknowledgement can be helpful when explaining a technical problem to the university.

The official guidelines explicitly tell learners to preserve their fee receipts and submission records. They also advise students with a viva component to speak to their respective Regional Centres for the schedule.

One common mistake: clicking Preview & Submit and closing the browser. The tutorial shows Final Submit as the last action. Check for completion before leaving OPMS.

Official File Size Rules: Four Upload Limits You Must Know

Not every upload field allows the same file size. IGNOU's December 2026 directions differentiate between the guide's biodata, approval letter, proposal and completed report.

A PDF smaller than its ceiling is acceptable provided it is complete and legible. A report does not have to be 40 MB. If a document exceeds its limit, remove accidental duplicate pages or blank scans and reduce image size carefully; then open the compressed PDF and check every page before submission. Do not solve the file-size problem by deleting required content or signatures.

How to make a clean and readable report PDF

1. Follow the page order required by your programme's project handbook.
2. Scan the original, completed report rather than mixing unrelated drafts.
3. Keep all text, tables, stamps and signatures sharp enough to read.
4. Avoid sideways pages and unexplained switches between portrait and landscape.
5. Combine the report into one PDF per project course.
6. Save separate supporting PDFs for fields that explicitly request them.
7. Check the final file opens correctly on a different device or PDF reader.
8. Review the final document after every compression or conversion.

Why this matters: the official document states that a wrongly ordered report may not be considered, and the learner is responsible for ensuring the correct arrangement. It also says incomplete submissions will not be evaluated.

First Page of the Project: Check These Six Particulars

Before uploading, open page one of your final report. The December 2026 instructions require the following information on the first page:

• Full project/dissertation/internship/practicum title. Use the actual title for the component you are submitting.
• Learner's name. Make sure it matches your academic records.
• Programme code. Use the correct IGNOU programme identifier.
• Enrolment number. Copy it from your IGNOU ID card, not the admission control or registration number.
• Regional Centre code. Check the correct code rather than only writing the centre name.
• Project course code or codes. Use the course attached to your report, not another programme's project code.

Illustrative layout (not an official cover template):

Your programme may prescribe its own cover-page format or additional fields. The illustrative layout above does not replace that prescribed format.

Project Documents: What Should Be Included or Uploaded Separately?

Different IGNOU programmes require different approval arrangements. The December 2026 guidelines say that, where applicable, students should have the duly approved original proposal proforma, synopsis, project guide biodata and the originality certificate signed and dated by both student and guide.

Approved proposal or synopsis proforma

If your project programme requires formal approval before starting work, you should have the correct approval document. The OPMS form provides a separate upload field for a copy of the approval by the School, Regional Centre or Supervisor, as applicable. It must relate to the project actually being submitted.

Synopsis or project proposal copy

The synopsis is the academic plan stating the project topic, objectives and intended methods. If your course asks for it, upload the appropriate version in the designated synopsis field. This field has a 10 MB limit in the supplied instructions.

Signed biodata of the guide/supervisor

Where required, the guide's signed biodata is submitted independently and must not exceed 5 MB. Use accurate details and the approval process specified for your course. Some programmes have separate guide eligibility rules; do not copy a certificate from another programme.

Originality certificate and declarations

The instructions refer to an originality certificate, signed and dated by the student and the project guide, where applicable. Other course-prescribed declarations also belong in the completed report package as directed by the manual. The complete report PDF has a 40 MB maximum.

Complete, properly arranged final report

The project report needs all its required sections in the specified order. The fact that OPMS offers a separate synopsis-upload field does not mean you can leave required prescribed pages out of the complete report. Likewise, do not upload an incomplete draft merely because it fits the file-size limit.

If a form field is not relevant: IGNOU instructs learners to enter NA. But a genuinely compulsory missing approval cannot be replaced by NA without addressing the requirement.

Fee Payment and OPMS: What Students Often Confuse

The OPMS guidelines link the ability to upload a project with prior fee submission in Samarth. The official fee notification for the December 2026 TEE also gives 30 November 2026 as the deadline for project, internship and practical course fee payment.

This means there are three separate milestones:

1. Fee paid: the appropriate course payment is successfully submitted through Samarth.
2. Report entered into OPMS: the project form and supporting files have been filled and uploaded.
3. Final submission completed: the student reviews the details and clicks Final Submit.

A fee receipt proves payment, not completion of the full project upload. A saved report PDF proves the file exists, not that IGNOU has received it. Keep the records corresponding to both steps.

How much is the project examination fee?

The supplied 6 October OPMS guidelines do not contain a new programme-wise fee table. Older IGNOU project instructions may show amounts such as ₹300 for some lower-credit project components and ₹500 for higher-credit components under the admission cycles specified there, but those figures should not be advertised as the confirmed December 2026 rate for every student. Pay the exact applicable amount shown through your official Samarth account or current IGNOU fee notice.

Fee paid but upload link not visible?

Confirm that the payment is recorded as completed, check the selected project course, and reopen the Samarth Services area. If the course still does not appear, preserve your payment evidence and contact preexamcs@ignou.ac.in or your Regional Centre. Avoid submitting extra payments without confirming the first transaction's status.

DECE Students: Special Requirement for Activity Video Links

The official OPMS walk-through contains an additional screen specifically for the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education (DECE). It says that DECE students have to submit URLs of 50 videos for different activities. The screenshot shows activity-wise video-link fields and a phased interface.

If your DECE project account displays this interface, read the phase instructions before pasting any links. The tutorial shows that the first phase has no video requirement and later phases involve activity links. Check the actual activity, video and destination before entering a URL. Review the complete set before the final submission.

This is a DECE-specific feature, not a general requirement for MBA, MTTM, MSCENV, MLIS or every other IGNOU project course. Students should follow the fields and programme instructions that actually appear in their own account.

After Upload: How Evaluation, Viva and Grade Card Processing Work

A successfully submitted project moves into the university's evaluation workflow; the marks do not appear instantly when you click the final button. The IGNOU OPMS presentation describes access for Regional Centres and the Student Evaluation Division, evaluator allotment, online marks entry, award validation and integration with Samarth for the grade card.

Evaluation: the responsible university office can assign submitted work to an evaluator. Viva-voce: where the specific programme has a viva component, arrangements are handled under the concerned Regional Centre. Validation: recorded awards are checked before they proceed into result processing. Grade card: the processed result is subsequently reflected through the university's system.

If you need to know the date of a viva, contact your Regional Centre rather than assuming all students will have the same schedule. If your grade card does not update immediately, do not assume that the uploaded report was rejected; evaluation and validation are separate stages.

Hard Copy and Email: What Does IGNOU Say for December 2026?

The supplied guidelines instruct learners not to send a hard copy of the report to SED or their Regional Centre after completing the online submission. They also state that reports sent by email will not be considered. Therefore, sending a PDF to a university email address is not a substitute for using OPMS.

Students sometimes find older webpages that mention physical delivery or previous upload addresses. For the December 2026 process covered by these documents, use Samarth → Project Portal. If a newer official or course-specific notice provides a different arrangement for your particular component, follow that authoritative instruction.

Ten OPMS Problems Students May Face—and Practical Checks

1. The Project Portal service is missing

Make sure you are in the right Samarth account and looking under Services. Confirm valid registration, the relevant project course and successful fee payment. If the service remains missing, contact university technical support rather than using a random external upload website.

2. The paid project course is not appearing

Open the fee or course-payment history and verify its completion status. Compare the paid course code with the one required by your programme. Save the transaction proof and report a mismatch to the official support address.

3. OPMS rejects a large PDF

Compare your file with the specific field limit, not only the 40 MB report limit. Biodata and approval copies each have 5 MB limits; the synopsis has 10 MB and the whole report 40 MB. Compress gently and confirm readability after doing so.

4. Your project has no supervisor approval document

Check the actual project handbook and academic requirements. Some courses need prescribed approval and guide documents. If yours does, obtain the authentic documentation before submitting; do not create false signatures or upload an unrelated certificate.

5. The scan is blurred, rotated or missing pages

Rescan the affected pages and rebuild the PDF in the prescribed order. Inspect the first page, signature pages, annexures and each chapter. One unreadable document can undermine an otherwise complete upload.

6. Enrolment number or project code is incorrect

Compare your details with your IGNOU ID card, Samarth record and course registration. The first page should carry the enrolment number, not the control number. Check whether an old course code has been mistakenly used for a revised programme.

7. The form shows Preview & Submit but no completion

The official tutorial separates preview from Final Submit. Review the details, proceed to the final stage and save the confirmation offered after completion. A browser window closed at preview is not reliable evidence of submission.

8. A mandatory file field looks not applicable

IGNOU says enter NA for genuinely non-applicable fields, but use care. Check whether your course actually requires an approved synopsis, signed biodata or certificate. Do not bypass a mandatory course requirement just because you lack the document.

9. The report was submitted, but marks are not displayed

The university needs to allocate the project, evaluate it and validate awards; a viva may also be required. Retain your submission evidence and contact the relevant Regional Centre about viva scheduling or your specific case.

10. The last date has passed or the upload remains incomplete

The December 2026 guidelines state that incomplete submissions are not evaluated. After the deadline, such work may need to be uploaded in the next session, subject to registration validity. Do not assume an extension. Seek an answer from IGNOU using official channels for your individual circumstances.

Complete Student Checklist Before Pressing Final Submit

Eligibility and payment

• My registration is still valid and not time-barred.
• I am submitting a component that belongs to my actual programme.
• I have not already passed this same component.
• Any programme-specific synopsis or guide approval has been completed where required.
• The applicable project/internship/practical fee is paid in Samarth.
• The correct project course and payment-completed status appear in OPMS.

Report and document preparation

• The report has all sections required by my project manual.
• Its first page has my title, name, programme, enrolment number, Regional Centre and course code.
• The number is my ID-card enrolment number, not my control number.
• Necessary declarations and originality certificates are signed and dated.
• Synopsis approval, synopsis copy and guide biodata are ready wherever applicable.
• Each document meets its own PDF size limit.
• The full report is a single PDF for the relevant course.
• Every page is clear, correctly oriented and placed in sequence.

Portal submission

• I opened OPMS through Samarth Services → Project Portal.
• I read and accepted the submission conditions.
• I selected the correct paid project course.
• I entered my correct project title and real guide details.
• I placed every file in its designated upload field.
• I reviewed the information using Preview & Submit.
• I clicked Final Submit and checked the result.
• I kept the fee receipt, report files and submission evidence.

Frequently Asked Questions: IGNOU Project Submission and OPMS December 2026

Official Links, Emails and the Documents Behind This Article

The most reliable starting point is the university's own portal. Avoid unofficial forms that ask for your login password. For official policy changes, check the university announcement section and your programme instructions.

Primary document 1: Guidelines for Submission of Project/Dissertation/Internship etc. for TEE December 2026 through Online Project Management System (OPMS), dated 6 October 2026. It covers registration eligibility, payment, certificates, PDF limits, first-page particulars, online submission, the deadline and support emails.

Primary document 2: Updated Online Project Management System (OPMS), a ten-page illustrated presentation showing Samarth login, Services → Project Portal, declaration, the list of fee-paid courses, document uploading, DECE activity links and final submission. Its submission-guidelines screenshot displays 30 November 2026, 11:59 PM.

For a particularly helpful article layout, place relevant official tutorial screenshots alongside the matching steps: Samarth login, the Services area, project details, upload form and final confirmation. Any visible student's identity or personal details should be hidden before publishing.

Final Takeaway for December 2026 TEE Students

Completing your IGNOU project submission is more than producing a PDF. First verify eligibility and pay the applicable fee through Samarth. Next, ensure that the report follows the right course manual, including relevant guide approval, originality documents, title-page identifiers and the separate file-size limits. Finally, open Services → Project Portal, select the fee-paid course, upload the documents, review your entries and click Final Submit.

The supplied official instructions set 30 November 2026 as the final online submission date; the tutorial screen displays 11:59 PM. Keep copies of everything you paid or uploaded, and contact your Regional Centre if your project involves a viva. Do not depend on an older upload portal, unconfirmed extension messages or email delivery of the report.

Independent-information notice: IGNOUProject.org is not the official IGNOU website and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Indira Gandhi National Open University. This article is an educational explanation of the supplied IGNOU guidelines and OPMS tutorial; any later official university communication takes priority. Students must follow their own programme's academic rules, supply accurate information and submit their work through the university's authorised channel.