Enem 2026 starts today for 5 million subscribers; edition has 10 thousand new test locations

The 2026 edition of the National High School Exam (Enem) starts this Sunday (8) for more than 5 million people. In total, 5,051,345 had their registrations confirmed and are eligible to participate in the exam.

The number is the highest since 2020, when almost 5.8 million people had signed up. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the exam did not take place that year and there was a sharp drop in the number of registrants the following year.

Women represent 63.98% of total registrations in 2026, with 3,232,013 registrations, while men total 1,819,332 (36.02%).

Other highlights of the registrant profile are:

13,821 are over 60 years old.

1,292,082 are 17 years old.

2,364,868 are graduating students.

1,963,906 are public school graduates.

3,432,111 are registered without the fee; 1,619,234 are paying.

2,078,015 declared themselves brown.

37.39% of services are for people with attention deficit; 25.1% are people with ASD.

Additional time was the most requested resource in care (34.47%) by 77,956 registrants.

11,529 registrants (5.1%) requested a reserved room for companions.

Candidates leave the Enem 2025 venue in São Carlos — Photo: Ana Julia Storti/g1

10 thousand new test locations

Another highlight of Enem 2026 is the expansion in the number of test locations: the edition will feature around 10,000 new test sites across the country.

With this, the government hopes to reduce the number of students who need to travel to other municipalities to take the test, and increase the number of participants who take the exam at their own school.

But this is not the ultimate goal of change. The expansion of test locations is in line with a decree published in May by the Ministry of Education, which provides for measures to guarantee the implementation of the National Basic Education Assessment and Examinations Policy.

The changes take place to enable the inclusion of Enem integrated into the Basic Education Assessment System (Saeb), which will allow the assessment of the quality of basic education through the results of the exam.

To this end, the MEC and Inep, responsible for Enem, began implementing a set of measures to expand access and participation of students in the exam — such as increasing the number of test locations and the automatic registration of public school graduates.

The ministry estimates that 80% of public school graduates will take the exam at the school where they are enrolled. However, for public school graduates who will need to travel to another school, the MEC is studying how to implement logistical transport support actions between municipalities.

Support for people with disabilities

For the first time, Enem will allow candidates with anxiety disorders or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to have an authorized companion on test days. According to the MEC, 11,529 registrants requested this resource.

The novelty was presented in the exam notice, published in May.

The unprecedented specialized service will also include participants with fibromyalgia — a chronic syndrome characterized mainly by widespread pain in the body. The condition also tends to cause intense fatigue, changes in sleep, difficulty concentrating and increased sensitivity to touch.

To access the resource, the participant must have made the request at the time of registration and, if necessary, have made the appeal within the deadline indicated in the notice.

In addition to access to a companion, Enem also offers resources for:

expanded and super-expanded test;

video test in Libras;

computer screen reader;

Libras translator-interpreter;

lip reading;

reading assistance;

assistance with transcribing responses;

guide-interpreter for people with deafblindness;

accessible furniture;

room adapted for people with reduced mobility;

nursing room;

application in hospital class;

additional time of 60 minutes;

calculator for participants with dyscalculia.