Registration for the 21st OBMEP 2026 ends on March 16
Registration for the 21st OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) 2026 runs until March 16. The country’s largest science Olympiad, organized by the IMPAThe OBMEP competition brings together more than 18.5 million students from the 6th year of elementary school to the 3rd year of secondary school. Schools must register exclusively on the official OBMEP website(www.obmep.org.br).
“OBMEP is a great national mobilization around mathematics. When a school signs up, it opens the door for millions of students to have access to an experience that stimulates reasoning, curiosity and a love of learning, as well as countless academic opportunities,” says IMPA’s director-general, Marcelo Viana.
“OBMEP was fundamental in revealing mathematics as something stimulating. This is a very important social program, especially for the dissemination of mathematics and to demystify the old idea that mathematics is something super bureaucratic. The Olympiad shows that mathematics is also a creative and stimulating activity,” says Mateus Spezia, a six-time OBMEP winner, who pursued a career in mathematics and today holds a PhD from IMPA.
Promoted with funds from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and the Ministry of Education (MEC)The 21st OBMEP 2026 will hand out 8,450 national medals, 650 of which will be gold, 1,950 silver and 5,850 bronze, as well as 51,000 honorable mention certificates. Nationally awarded students are invited to take part in the Jr. Scientific Initiation Program (PIC), which encourages academic development and offers a R$300 grant, through the CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) to students from public schools participating in the program.
In addition to the national award, OBMEP also recognizes the best-performing students in each state. At least 20,500 state medals will be distributed. The honor does not give access to the PIC.
How to Apply
Registration is done exclusively by schools, which must fill in the form available on the OBMEP website, enter the MEC/INEP code and create a password. In the regulations, representatives of the institutions will find all the information on the conditions, deadlines, dates and rules for participation.
The Olympiad takes place in two phases. The first phase consists of a 20-question objective test, administered by the school itself on June 9. The best-placed students will be classified for the second phase, which takes place on October 17. The test, made up of six discursive questions, will be administered at the centers defined by the Olympiad’s organizers.
The tests are designed according to the students’ level of education:
- Level 1: 6th and 7th grades of elementary school
- Level 2: 8th and 9th grades of elementary school
- Level 3: High School
The winners of the second phase will be announced on August 3 and the national winners on December 15.