Grammy Nominations 2026 Timeline and Key Dates
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, February 1, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. The Recording Academy announced the official eligibility window for the Grammy nominations 2026 cycle on its website, running from October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025. The online entry process for the general field and genre categories opens on June 1, 2025, and closes on July 15, 2025. Final nominations in all 94 categories will be announced in a live-streamed event on November 7, 2025, and the ceremony will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.
The Recording Academy released the official Grammy nominations 2026 timeline and rules document, which outlines the exact deadlines for entries, preliminary voting, and final voting. According to the Recording Academy's official rules page, entries must be commercially released in the United States during the eligibility period and must be available on at least one major streaming platform or physical format. The academy also publishes a detailed category guide that explains the criteria for each award, including the new Best Electronic Dance Recording and expanded rap categories.
Grammy Categories, Submission Rules, and Eligibility
The Grammy nominations 2026 cycle includes 94 categories across the General Field, Pop, Rock, Rap, R&B, Country, Jazz, Latin, Classical, and Global Music fields. The four General Field categories are Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. For the 2026 cycle, the Recording Academy expanded the number of nominees in each category from 8 to 10, following the format introduced for the 2025 ceremony. Submissions must be made through the Recording Academy's official online portal, and artists or their labels are responsible for ensuring that all required metadata, credits, and release formats meet the eligibility guidelines.
To be eligible for the Grammy nominations 2026, a recording must have been released in the United States between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025, and must have been distributed to the public via physical, digital, or streaming formats. The Recording Academy's eligibility guidelines specify that albums must have a minimum running time of 15 minutes and contain at least five distinct tracks, while singles must be under 15 minutes in length. The academy's voting members, who are industry professionals across more than 30 fields, will determine the final nominees and winners through a two-round blind voting process managed by the accounting firm Deloitte.
How to Submit Entries and Follow the Grammy Nominations 2026 Process
Artists, labels, and distributors can submit entries for the Grammy nominations 2026 cycle by creating an account on the Recording Academy's official entry website. The submission portal requires detailed metadata, including songwriters, producers, engineers, and featured artists, and accepts entries in audio, video, and physical formats. The Recording Academy charges a non-refundable entry fee per submission, which varies by category and format, and all fees are processed through the official portal. For the most current instructions, fee schedules, and technical requirements, visit the official Recording Academy entry page.
Preliminary voting for the Grammy nominations 2026 will take place in October 2025, with the final round of voting occurring in November 2025 after the nominees are announced. The Recording Academy partners with Deloitte & Touche LLP to administer the voting process, ensuring transparency and compliance with its rules. The full list of rules, deadlines, and FAQs is available on the Recording Academy's official website, and the academy also publishes a weekly update blog during