CAT 2026 Registration Begins, Exam Scheduled for Nov 29

The CAT 2026 registration process begins on August 3 for admission to MBA and management programmes at IIMs and other leading B-schools. Applications remain open until September 15, while the exam is scheduled for November 29.

Registration for CAT 2026 has begun, thereby paving the way to admission into MBA and other management courses provided by IIMs along with many other prestigious business colleges in India. Aspirants can register themselves online through the CAT 2026 official website, iimcat.ac.in, between 10:00 AM of August 3 to 5:00 PM of September 15, 2026. The exam will take place on November 29, 2026, in three slots in around 170 test centers across the country.

For CAT 2026, the conducting body is IIM Indore. The entrance exam acts as the main entry point to 21 IIMs, but the scores are also accepted at other prestigious institutes like Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IITs, and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).

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To qualify for this exam, the applicant should have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50 percent marks or CGPA from a recognised university. The candidate who falls under Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Persons with Disabilities (PwD) has to secure 45 percent marks. In addition, students in the last year of their bachelor’s degree can apply if they meet all the necessary criteria. There is no maximum age limit for taking part in the examination.

The computer based test will continue to follow the same format with 68 questions to be divided into three parts, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). Each part will have duration of 40 minutes, and it will not be possible to move to another section while taking the test. Negative marking will apply to multiple choice questions but not to others.

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The new registration fee for General category applicants is ₹2,700, while it is ₹1,350 for SC/ST/PwD category applicants. The admit cards can be downloaded from November 4, and the result is expected to be declared in the first week of January 2027. The CAT score will be valid till December 31, 2027, thus allowing the applicants to apply for management courses at the participating colleges.