CAT 2026: Registration, Exam Date, Eligibility, Fees, Pattern & Selection Process

Last updated: August 4, 2026

Reviewed by Kaushik Kapoor

Co-founder and Director of Erudite, a premium MBA entrance coaching institute headquartered in Kolkata. An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, he has more than 25 years of experience in student mentoring, MBA entrance preparation, test-prep strategy and academic training.

CAT 2026 registration opened on August 3, 2026, and candidates can apply until September 15, 2026. The Common Admission Test will be conducted on November 29, 2026, in three sessions.

This guide covers the official dates, eligibility criteria, registration fees, application process, recent exam pattern, marking scheme, score calculation and the selection stages that follow the examination.

CAT 2026 at a Glance

Candidates should treat information published on the official CAT website as final.

What Is CAT 2026?

The Common Admission Test is a national-level management entrance examination conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management.

CAT 2026 scores will be used for admission to postgraduate and fellow or doctoral management programs offered by 22 IIMs. Listed non-IIM institutions may also use CAT scores, although the IIMs do not participate in the admission processes of those institutions.

CAT is only one part of the admission process. Every IIM publishes separate program eligibility, shortlisting and final-selection criteria. Meeting the basic CAT eligibility conditions does not guarantee an interview call or admission offer.

CAT 2026 Important Dates

The dates above are based on the official CAT 2026 advertisement.

The official advertisement does not specify an application-correction window. Candidates should therefore verify every field before submitting the form rather than assuming that all errors can be corrected later.

CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Educational Qualification

Candidates must satisfy at least one of the following conditions:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university or educational institution.
• Hold an eligible professional qualification such as CA, CS, CMA or FIAI.
• Be appearing for the final year of a bachelor’s degree or awaiting the final result.

General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates require at least 50% marks or an equivalent CGPA in the qualifying degree. The minimum is 45% for SC, ST and PwBD candidates.

Where a university awards CGPA instead of percentages, the conversion should follow that university’s officially prescribed method. Candidates should retain documentary proof of the conversion process where applicable.

Final-Year Students

Final-year students and candidates awaiting results may register. If selected, they may be admitted provisionally only after submitting the certificate or proof required by the relevant IIM within its specified deadline.

Age Limit and Number of Attempts

CAT does not prescribe an upper age limit. There is also no fixed restriction on the number of attempts, provided the candidate meets the applicable educational requirements.

CAT 2026 Registration Fees

The fee is paid once, irrespective of the number of eligible IIM programmes selected in the CAT form. Fees are non-refundable.

Candidates claiming an SC, ST or PwBD category must upload the relevant certificate. The official advertisement also states that a candidate’s category cannot be changed after CAT registration.

Applicants should select the category only after verifying the applicable certificate requirements.

How to Apply for CAT 2026

Candidates must apply through the official CAT registration portal.

Step 1: Create a Registration Account

Use a valid and unique email address and mobile number. These details should remain active throughout the CAT and IIM admission cycle.

Step 2: Enter Personal Details

Enter your name, date of birth, category, nationality and contact information exactly as they appear on the supporting documents.

Step 3: Add Academic Information

Enter Class 10, Class 12, graduation and professional-qualification details, where applicable.

Candidates with work experience should keep accurate employment dates and employer information ready.

Step 4: Select Programmes and Interview Preferences

Choose the IIM programmes for which you wish to be considered. Read the programme-specific eligibility conditions before making selections.

Step 5: Choose Test-City Preferences

Candidates may select five test cities in order of preference. The authority will allot a city based on availability and administrative requirements.

The exact examination centre will appear on the admit card.

Step 6: Upload Documents

Depending on the candidate’s profile, the form may require:

• Recent photograph
• Scanned signature
• Class 10 and Class 12 information
• Graduation details or marksheets
• Valid category certificate
• PwBD documentation
• Final-year or professional-qualification details
• Work-experience information

Candidates should follow the file format, dimensions and size limits shown in the official registration instructions.

Step 7: Pay the Fee and Save the Confirmation

Review all entries before payment. After successful submission, download the completed application and payment confirmation for future reference.

CAT 2026 Exam Pattern

CAT is conducted as a computer-based test in three sessions. The recent format uses three sections in a fixed order:

1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
2. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
3. Quantitative Ability

Candidates normally receive 40 minutes for each section and cannot move freely between sections.

Recent Pattern Reference

The latest completed CAT, held in 2025, contained 68 questions across 120 minutes.

The table should be treated as the latest-pattern reference, not as a guarantee that the CAT 2026 question count or MCQ–TITA distribution cannot change.

Candidates should verify the final structure through the official CAT 2026 mock test and examination instructions when released.

CAT 2026 Section-Wise Syllabus

CAT does not operate like a conventional subject examination with a narrowly fixed chapter list. Preparation should focus on the recurring skills and question types in each section.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

VARC evaluates reading comprehension, argument analysis and the ability to understand the structure and meaning of written passages.

Common areas include:

• Reading-comprehension passages
• Paragraph summaries
• Paragraph or sentence arrangement
• Odd-sentence questions
• Contextual and inferential reasoning

Candidates should practise reading unfamiliar material from areas such as economics, history, science, philosophy, society and business instead of relying only on vocabulary exercises.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

DILR assesses the ability to organise information, identify relationships and solve multi-condition problems.

Common formats include:

• Tables and charts
• Caselets
• Arrangements
• Distribution problems
• Games and tournaments
• Routes and networks
• Scheduling
• Sets and grouping
• Quantitative data comparisons

Set selection is especially important. Candidates should learn to identify which sets are workable before investing several minutes in calculations.

Quantitative Ability

QA tests numerical reasoning and mathematical problem-solving.

Frequently tested areas include:

• Arithmetic
• Algebra
• Geometry
• Mensuration
• Number systems
• Modern mathematics

Arithmetic and algebra usually form a substantial part of preparation, but candidates should not neglect geometry and number properties.

CAT 2026 Marking Scheme

The recent CAT marking pattern is:

TITA stands for Type-In-The-Answer. Instead of selecting an option, candidates enter the answer in the field provided.

How CAT Normalisation and Percentiles Work

Because CAT is held in three sessions with different question papers, raw marks from the sessions must be made comparable.

The broad process is:

1. Marks are calculated from correct and incorrect responses.
2. Statistical equating is applied to account for differences between sessions.
3. Sectional and overall scaled scores are calculated.
4. Candidates are ranked using the scaled scores.
5. Sectional and overall percentiles are reported.

CAT’s scoring methodology uses session-level performance statistics to convert raw scores into scaled scores before percentiles are calculated.

A percentile is a relative measure. For example, a 95 percentile indicates performance above approximately 95% of the candidates considered in that ranking. It is not the same as scoring 95% of the available marks.

CAT 2026 Admit Card, Answer Key and Result

Admit Card

Registered candidates can download the CAT 2026 admit card from November 4 to November 29, 2026.

It will contain the allotted test city, centre address, session, reporting time and examination instructions.

Candidates should:

• Verify their personal information
• Check the allotted session
• Locate the test centre in advance
• Read the reporting and identification instructions
• Carry only the permitted documents and items

Answer Key

The official advertisement has not announced the CAT 2026 answer-key date.

The provisional answer key and objection window are normally announced after the examination through the official CAT portal.

Result and Score Validity

The CAT 2026 result is tentatively scheduled for the first week of January 2027.

The score will remain valid until December 31, 2027.

What Happens After CAT 2026?

Each IIM follows an independent shortlisting and final-selection process.

Depending on the institute and programme, shortlisting may consider:

• Overall CAT percentile
• Sectional CAT percentiles
• Class 10 marks
• Class 12 marks
• Undergraduate performance
• Relevant full-time work experience
• Academic diversity
• Gender diversity
• Category and reservation rules

Shortlisted candidates may be asked to participate in a Personal Interview, Written Ability Test or another institute-specific assessment.

Group discussions may be used by some business schools, but they are not a universal IIM selection stage.

For example, IIM Kozhikode’s published process uses CAT performance, school-level academics, work experience and diversity factors for shortlisting, followed by WAT and PI components in the final stage.

This is an example rather than a common formula for every IIM. Candidates must read the current admissions policy of every institute and programme they select.

Expert Preparation Advice for CAT 2026

Build Sectional Balance

A strong overall mock score may not be sufficient when an institute applies sectional cut-offs.

Track VARC, DILR and QA performance independently.

Analyse Mocks, Not Just Scores

After each mock, identify:

• Questions that should have been attempted
• Questions that consumed excessive time
• Avoidable calculation or reading errors
• Sections in which question selection was weak
• Topics requiring concept revision

Practise Under Sectional Timers

Untimed practice is useful for concept building, but it does not fully prepare candidates for a fixed 40-minute section.

Timed sectionals should be introduced well before the examination.

Use Recent CAT Papers

The 2024 and 2025 papers are the most relevant pattern references for CAT 2026 preparation.

They help candidates understand passage length, DILR set structure, QA topic balance and realistic time pressure.

Do Not Ignore the Admission Profile

CAT preparation and profile preparation should run in parallel.

Candidates with work experience should maintain accurate employment records, while final-year students should monitor graduation-document deadlines.

CAT 2026 FAQs

Conclusion

CAT 2026 registration is currently open and will close on September 15, 2026.

Candidates should complete the form carefully, verify their category and academic details, retain all confirmation documents and use only the official CAT portal for final information.

The examination is scheduled for November 29, 2026. Preparation should combine concept revision, sectional practice, mock analysis and balanced performance across VARC, DILR and QA.

Aspirants should also review the admissions policies of their preferred IIMs, since a CAT percentile is only one component of the final selection process.