The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has clarified the meanings of the “Not Admitted,” “Admission in Progress” and “Admitted” statuses displayed on candidates’ Central Admissions Processing System.

JAMB explained the various admission statuses in an explainer video released on Thursday, September 17, 2026, while urging candidates to regularly check their CAPS accounts for updates.

The Board said the “Not Admitted” status means that a candidate has not been offered admission at the time of checking.

However, JAMB stressed that the status does not necessarily mean the candidate will not eventually gain admission.

Candidates whose CAPS still shows “Not Admitted” were therefore advised to continue checking the platform as the admission exercise progresses.

On the “Admission in Progress” status, JAMB explained that it could mean that the candidate’s institution had proposed an admission offer, but the process had not yet been concluded.

The Board said the status may appear when an institution’s admission officer has proposed a candidate for admission and the offer is awaiting the recommendation of the head of the institution.

It added that “Admission in Progress” could also mean that the head of the institution had already recommended the candidate, but the offer was still awaiting JAMB’s approval.

JAMB, however, warned candidates not to regard the status as confirmation that they had secured admission.“Admission in Progress” does not mean automatic admission, the Board cautioned.

According to JAMB, an admission recommendation could still be rejected if the candidate failed to satisfy the required admission conditions.

The Board explained that a candidate’s status changes to “Admitted” only after JAMB officially approves the admission offer.At that stage, the candidate will receive the message: “CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE BEEN OFFERED ADMISSION.”

JAMB said candidates whose admissions have been officially approved would then be able to accept or reject the offer through the CAPS platform.The Board advised candidates to continue monitoring their CAPS accounts throughout the admission process for any changes to their admission status.