The 3rd National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1955.^[1] Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi in September 1956 and awards were given by Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Three different committees were formed based on the film making sectors in India, mainly based in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Another committee for all India level was also formed which included some of the members from regional committee. For 3rd National Film Awards, central committee was headed by C. D. Deshmukh.^[1]

• Jury Members: Central
  • C. D. Deshmukh (Chairperson) • M. D. Bhat • N. K. Siddhanta • W. S. Krishnaswami Nayudu • Ammu Swaminathan • Sucheta Kriplani • Ramdhari Singh Dinkar • Syed Nurullah • Ardhendu Mukerjee • D. Ramanujam • Sudhir Mukerjee
• Jury Regional: Bombay
  • M. D. Bhat (Chairperson) • Pandit Narendra Sharma • P. N. Arora • Jayant Desai • M. R. Palande • Jagdish Sethi
• Jury Regional: Calcutta
  • N. K. Siddhanta (Chairperson) • Sabita Devi • S. K. Mukerjee • Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay • Kalidas Nag • Sudhir Mukerjee
• Jury Regional: Madras
  • W. S. Krishnaswami Nayudu (Chairperson) • Manjubhashini • Mu. Varadarajan • R. Subbarao • A. Ramaiah • A. Aiyapan • V. K. Gokak • S. M. Naidu

Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.

President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film is now better known as National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas President's gold medal for the Best Documentary Film is analogous to today's National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, Prime Minister's gold medal is now given as National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, President's silver medal for Best Feature Film is now given as National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language. Certificate of Merit in all the categories is discontinued over the years.