CES Innovation Awards® Program
The world-renowned CES Innovation Awards® program is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products. The program recognizes honorees in a multitude of technology product categories and distinguishes the highest rated in each.
CTA Membership
The CES Innovation Awards® 2026 program is open to any individual, organization or authorized agent who manufactures, designs, engineers or promotes consumer technology products. Product must be new and available in the market for the first time between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, or can be a significant advancement of a previous model in the market within the same time period.
Award Benefits
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Logo Usage - CES Innovation Awards® logo usage for the specific award(s) granted
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Trophy - CES Innovation Awards® trophy featuring the year of Honoree designation.
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Recognition - Industry-wide recognition through Program’s promotions
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Promotion - Exposure including, but not limited to, CES.tech, the official CES website, and CES social media channels
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CES Innovation Awards® Showcase - Honorees who are also CES 2026 exhibitors have the opportunity to display the honored Product within the CES Innovation Awards® Showcase at CES 2026.
Call for Entries is Now Open
Program Timeline
- Accepting Product Applications: Tuesday, July 1 through Friday, August 22, 2025
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Applicants Notified of Final Decisions: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
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2026 Honorees and Best of Innovation Recipients Revealed: November 5, 2025 (or January 4, 2026 for embargoed products)
Fee Schedule
July 1 - July 31, 2025 |
Aug 1 - Aug 22, 2025 |
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General Rate |
$799 per category submission |
$999 per category submission |
CES 2026 Exhibiting Member Rate |
$399 per category submission |
$599 per category submission |
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Applicants that qualify as both an official CES 2026 exhibitor and active CTA Member at the time of submission qualify for the ‘CES 2026 Exhibiting Member Rate’ and will be charged the applicable discounted rate.
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For Early Bird rate - submit completed application(s) no later than July 31, 2025.
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For Standard rates - submit completed application(s) no later than August 22, 2025.
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If Applicant obtains valid exhibitor and/or member status after submitting their application, they may submit a discount request form with proof of both active CTA membership and CES 2026 exhibitor status. CTA will refund the difference in price for valid discount requests received through December 5, 2025.
Program Criteria
All Product submissions must comply with the Official Rules of the CES Innovation Awards® 2026 Program. Below is an overview of the Program Criteria:
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The Program is open to any individual, organization or authorized agent who manufactures, designs, engineers or promotes consumer technology products.
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Participation in the Program does not require exhibiting at CES 2026. Product must meet CES eligibility criteria and must pertain to the consumer technology industry. Eligible products include consumer and workplace technology products, services, content and related accessories.
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Product Categories - Program accepts any valid Product that fits within the CES Innovation Awards categories.
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A single Product may be entered into up to four (4) categories, with eligibility for winning in each category provided it meets the respective requirements and aligns with category definitions.
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A separate application fee is required for each category submitted.
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In Market Dates - Product must be new and available in the market for the first time between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. This includes products listed on crowdfunding websites at the time of entry. Pre-sale periods do not count as market availability. If the Product launch date changes to outside this window, the Product submission will be ineligible.
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If a Product is submitted as a new iteration or model of a Product previously in the market, it must demonstrate significant and innovative advancements over the previous version. The new iteration or model must have valid in-market dates between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026.
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Supporting Materials - All materials related to the Application, including audio, video, links to websites, or other content must be appropriate for a professional business audience. Content that includes explicit or simulated sex, virtual pornography, nudity, violence, and discriminatory elements are strictly prohibited. CTA reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, if a Product is not eligible for consideration.
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Each Application must include at least three (3) unique Product images that demonstrate its functionality and innovation. Images must be submitted in a high-resolution .jpg or .png format (approximately 1 MB each) and uploaded via the online application.
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Each Application may include one (1) video that demonstrates its functionality and innovation. Video submissions are highly encouraged but not required. Video file must be no more than three (3) minutes long (approximately 100 MB or less) and uploaded via the online application form.
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If entering an intangible Product or the product is still in development, Applicant may submit images/video of product renderings or diagrams via the online application form.
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All aspects of the Application must be legible, and intact (not corrupted or otherwise unviewable).
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All Application components must be provided in English language, captions, and/or subtitles for verification purposes.
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All application fees associated with the CES Innovation Awards Program are non-refundable and non-transferable, regardless of award status, withdrawal/cancellation of Application, determination of ineligibility, disqualification or any other reasons.
Honoree Selection
A panel of third-party industry expert judges will review Applications in each product category based on the set of criteria below. Applications should be complete and succinctly answer the following criteria:
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Engineering and functionality
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Aesthetic and design
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What makes the product unique and innovative
Program recognizes all CES Innovation Award recipients as ‘Honorees”. There are two (2) levels of honorees:
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Honoree - The class of Products that score above the scoring threshold in each category.
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Best of Innovation - The highest-scoring Honoree(s) in each category. CTA reserves the right to not award a Best of Innovation winner or award multiple winners based on judge scoring.
Judge scoring for the Program is final. CTA does not disclose the specific judges’ scoring nor provide direct feedback for any product.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® does not test or endorse the Innovation award-winning products.
Honoree Reveal Date
CTA will publicly reveal the Honoree and Best of Innovation recipients on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
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All Honorees are published on CES.tech/innovations.
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In addition, Best of Innovation recipients are announced via press release and CTA/CES social media channels.
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Honorees may begin their own promotions of their award after CTA’s announcement, either on November 5, 2025 or January 4, 2026 for embargoed products.
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Embargo Option: Honorees may choose to opt out of the November 5 release date and embargo their announcement until January 4, 2026. This would keep their Honoree and/or Best of Innovation recipient status confidential until the embargo is lifted at 5 PM Pacific Standard Time on January 4, 2026.
Innovation Award Honorees
