The paper deadlines are behind us. Abstracts closed on May 4, full papers on May 6, decisions went out on September 24, and presenting authors learned their city on October 6. What's left is the part that decides whether your team actually gets to the conference, pays the early rate, and comes home with the hires and collaborators it went for.
NeurIPS 2026 runs in three cities this year. Sydney is the main site (December 6 to 12), with official satellites in Atlanta and Paris (December 9 to 13). That means more dates to track than usual, and a few that differ by city.
Most NeurIPS deadlines are set in AoE, or Anywhere on Earth, which is UTC-12. A deadline of "October 30 AoE" stays open until noon on October 31 UTC. The Paris satellite uses Central European Time instead, so check which clock a date is on before you leave things late.
All 10 dates at a glance
The 10 dates
1. October 20: Get your visa application in
NeurIPS will only convert a registration to virtual and refund the difference after November 4 if you applied for your visa by October 20 and it was then denied or never answered. The rule is the same for Sydney, Atlanta and Paris. For Sydney, NeurIPS also asks travelers to apply 6 to 8 weeks ahead, and six weeks before December 6 is October 25. You need a paid, in-person registration before you can generate the invitation letter, so register first.
Why it matters: Miss it, and a late denial costs you the full registration fee.
2. October 30: Early registration closes
Early rates end on October 30. For Sydney and Atlanta, the official dates page lists October 30 AoE (the pricing page shows 22:59 Pacific on October 31, so don't cut it that fine). Paris uses October 30 CET. Paris prices show the gap clearly: the full industrial pass is 850 euros early and 950 euros after, and a full student pass goes from 380 to 480 euros. In Paris, seats held for presenting authors are only reserved until October 30.
Why it matters: A team of five on industrial passes saves 500 euros in Paris alone, and Paris authors who wait risk losing their reserved seat.
3. November 3: Sponsor applications close
Companies that want a booth or a sponsor package have until November 3 AoE to apply. Sponsors already confirmed have deadlines on either side of it: insurance certificates on November 1 and payment on November 7. Booth design approvals in Atlanta are due November 13, and custom booth permits for Sydney are due November 19.
Why it matters: If your recruiting plan depends on a booth, this is the date that decides whether you have one.
4. November 4: Last chance for a full refund
Registrations canceled before November 4 AoE get a full refund. After that, Sydney and Atlanta registrations can't be canceled or refunded, and they can't be transferred to a colleague either. Paris follows the same date on CET and, from November 5, lets some attendees convert to a virtual pass under set conditions. Authors who registered for the wrong city before site assignments came out should cancel and re-register at their assigned site before this date.
Why it matters: This is your last free exit, so settle who is traveling and to which city before it passes.
5. November 15: Poster topics lock
Presenting authors in the Main, Datasets and Benchmarks, and Position tracks have until November 15 AoE to submit poster topics. It is also the last day to move a session without disrupting poster groupings, so the layout of each poster hall settles after this.
Why it matters: Recruiters and collaborators can start mapping which posters, in which city, they need to visit.
6. December 2: Schedules go final
Every schedule must be final by 12:00 PM AEDT on December 2, and workshop and track organizers must assign their complimentary registrations by the same deadline. After this date the program in the conference app is the program you will get.
Why it matters: Book candidate coffees and lab meetups against the final timetable, not a draft that might move.
7. December 6: Sydney opens with Expo day
The conference starts in Sydney with a single Expo day of sponsor talks, demos and workshops. It is the only one. NeurIPS states plainly that "there are no expo talks/demos/workshops in Atlanta or Paris." Tutorials follow on December 7, along with the Sydney opening reception, and the Sydney exhibit hall runs from December 7 to 10.
Why it matters: If your company wants to give a technical talk to the NeurIPS audience, Sydney on December 6 is the only slot.
8. December 8: Sydney's main conference begins, and the career site closes to applicants
Orals, posters and keynotes run in Sydney from December 8 to 10. The same day, the NeurIPS career site stops accepting new applications. It stays online until January 12, 2027, so employers can keep reviewing candidates after the conference ends.
Why it matters: Job posts need to be live well before December 8, because that is the last day candidates can apply through the official site.
9. December 9: Atlanta and Paris open
Both satellites start on December 9 with three days of main conference and tutorials, running to December 11. Atlanta's exhibit hall opens that afternoon alongside its opening reception, and Paris opens its exhibit hall with a welcome cocktail. Time zones matter here: in December, Sydney is 10 hours ahead of Paris and 16 hours ahead of Atlanta.
Why it matters: Teams split across cities should agree now how they will share notes, since nobody will be following all three live.
10. December 11 to 13: Workshop days
Sydney holds its workshops and competitions on December 11 and 12. Atlanta and Paris hold theirs on December 12 and 13. Of the 102 accepted workshops, 48 are in Sydney, 28 in Paris and 26 in Atlanta. Workshops are smaller and more focused than the main sessions, and first-time attendees often find them the easiest place to have real conversations. Matan Abudy, writing about attending NeurIPS for the first time, called them "hidden gems."
Why it matters: Workshop rooms are where you find specialists in your exact problem, which makes them the best recruiting floor at the conference.
NeurIPS 2026 prep checklist
This week
- Confirm which city each presenting author was assigned on October 6.
- Register everyone who is traveling. You need a paid registration to request a visa letter.
- Submit visa applications by October 20, and keep proof of the application date.
Before November 4
- Pay early rates by October 30. In Paris, presenting authors must register by then to keep their seat.
- Decide your primary recruiting city based on where your open roles are.
- Submit sponsor applications by November 3 if you want a booth.
- Register for on-site childcare in Sydney or Atlanta by November 7 (1:00 AM UTC). Places are limited.
- Cancel or switch any registration you won't use before the refund deadline.
Before you fly
- Post open roles on the NeurIPS career site well ahead of its December 8 cutoff.
- Submit poster topics by November 15.
- Pull the accepted papers list and filter by research area and poster city.
- Once schedules lock on December 2, book meetings around the poster sessions you care about.
- Book hotels only through the official NeurIPS hotel pages. NeurIPS warns it has no link to third-party housing services.
- Carry a printed invitation letter if you are entering the US.
At the conference
- Find socials and company events early. Abudy's tip: many "link-only" invites are easy to find by searching X and event platforms like lu.ma and Partiful.
- Don't trade a poster session you care about for a party. In Abudy's words, many socials are "not worth missing an important poster session or talk for."
- Spend at least one workshop day in a room outside your core area.
- If a visa is denied after November 4, file the virtual-conversion request through the NeurIPS contact form by December 20.
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