Grammy Awards Dates and Deadlines 2026

The 2026 GRAMMY Awards cycle kicks off with submissions this summer 2025 and wraps up with final votes in early January 2026. With fresh categories and rule changes, this edition brings fresh opportunities and new Grammy dates and deadlines to track.

Here are the key Grammy Awards dates and deadlines, nomination announcements, and winner reveals for the 68th GRAMMY Awards.

Grammy Awards Dates and Deadlines 2026

Eligibility & Submission Timeline

• Product Eligibility Period: Aug 31, 2024 – Aug 30, 2025
  Releases must fall within this window and remain commercially available through final voting
• Media Company Registration: Jul 7 – Aug 22, 2025
  Required for labels, PR firms, and distributors
• Online Entry Process (OEP): Jul 16 – Aug 29, 2025 (closes Aug 29 at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET)
  Single submission window for members and registered media. No late entries allowed

Voting & Nominees

• First-Round Voting: Oct 3 – Oct 15, 2025
  Peer voting to determine official nominees
• Nominee Announcement: Friday, Nov 7, 2025
  Official nominees are revealed—typically via a livestream on GRAMMY.com or YouTube

Final Voting & Awards Night

• Final-Round Voting: Dec 12, 2025 – Jan 5, 2026
  Voting members cast ballots to decide the winners
• 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards: Sunday, Feb 1, 2026
  Takes place at Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles. Winners will be unveiled both in-person and during the livestream/cable broadcast

At-a-Glance Timeline

New in 2026

• New Categories:
  • Best Traditional Country Album
  • Best Album Cover (first year)
• Best Country Album has been renamed Best Contemporary Country Album
• Best New Artist Eligibility expanded to include artists featured on prior Album‑of‑the‑Year nominees if their contribution was less than  20%

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of the Skyline Artists Agency