CAT 2026: Exam Date, Registration, Eligibility, Syllabus, PYQs

CAT 2026 Notification is releasing soon in July 2026. Registration process will begin in August 2026. CAT (Common Admission Test) is a national level exam conducted one time every year. IIM Indore is likely to conduct CAT exam. Through CAT exam, candidates get admission in PG management courses.

Admission to IIM & top MBA colleges is provided via CAT score. Check details below >>

CAT 2026 -27 Notifications – Registration Starting SOON 

CAT 2026 Notification is releasing soon in July 2026. Registration process will begin in August 2026. Check here for application form details.

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) is the authority which conduct CAT examination every year on the rotational basis. Admission to the eligible candidates offers in IIM member institutes & top MBA colleges of country. Also, various Non-IIM institutes will accept scores of CAT to admit candidates.

All you need to know about CAT 2026 -2027:

• Are looking for the eligibility criteria of CAT 2026, Check CAT Eligibility Criteria here.
• CAT 2026 exam will be held on November 29, 2026 tentatively, Check complete CAT 2026 Exam Dates.
• Finding the best and effective preparation tips to prepare, Let’s have a look on CAT 2026 Tips.
• Confused about the mode of CAT 2026 examination, Check CAT Exam Pattern below.
• Searching for the syllabus of CAT 2026? Let’s check CAT 2026 Syllabus below.

Confused? Leave your queries below 

Candidates must go through this article to know all about CAT 2026 exam including exam dates, application form, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, etc.

Overview

Name of Exam	CAT 2026
Full Form	Common Admission Test
Level of Exam	National Level
Conducting Authority	IIM Indore
Exam Frequency	One time in a year
CAT Exam Mode	Computer Based Test
Mode of Application Form	Online
Website	iimcat.ac.in

CAT Exam Dates 2026

Get the table below to know complete expected CAT 2026 exam dates:

Events	Dates 2026 -27 (Tentative)
Notification release	Last week of July 2026
CAT 2026 registration date	1st week of August 2026
Last date to fill registration form	2nd week of September 2026
Application Correction	1st week of October 2026
Availability of admit card	2nd week of November – Last week of November 2026
CAT 2026 Exam Date	29th November 2026
Answer key	1st week of December 2026
Last date to submit objection against answer key	2nd week of December 2026
Announcement of result	4th week of December 2026

CAT 2026 Application Form

Candidates must have to follow the below instruction before filling CAT Application Form 2026:

• Authority will begin CAT 2026 registration process in first week of August 2026.
• Aspirants are allowed to fill application form through online mode only. No other facility is entertained to fill the form.
• Registered candidates must fill application form with correct details to avoid any kind of mistakes.
• Fill details including educational qualification, communication, address, exam centre, category, etc. carefully.
• Aspirants are advised to fill all the correct details in the application form, in case of incorrect details, it will be rejected.
• At the time of filling application form, candidates will need to select six examination cities as per their preferences.
• Upload required documents i.e. photograph, signature, category certificate in the prescribed format.
• Candidates can submit their registration form of CAT 2026 till second week of September 2026.
• Correction window will open for the applicants in first week of October 2026.
• No hard copy of the registration form is needed to submit by post or through any other offline mode.
• Candidates must keep a printout of application form safe for further references.

Application Fee:

• Registration fee for CAT 2026 is paid via online mode only.
• Credit card/ Debit card/ Net Banking and UPI payment methods is used for online transactions.
• Fee is non-refundable once paid.

Check category wise application fee in the table below:

Category	Registration Fee
For SC/ ST/ PWD category candidates	Rs. 1300/-
For all other category candidates	Rs. 2600/-

Steps to Apply for CAT 2026 -27

Check the steps below to fill application form of CAT 2026:

• Go to the CAT website (Direct Link will be provided above).
• Click ‘CAT 2026 Registration’ link.
• Enter mandatory details asked & click on the submit button.
• Now click on ‘login’ button and provide user ID and password.
• Continue to fill application form with educational, personal, communication etc. details.
• Select Six exam city preferences as per your choice.
• Upload required documents i.e. category certification, photograph in the specific format.
• Submit the registration fee via online payment gateways.
• Preview all the details before submitting the application form.
• Take print out of submitted form and keep it secure for further procedure.

CAT 2026 Application Correction

CAT 2026 application correction will start in the 1st week of October 2026. Correction window will open for a limited time period. Candidates must make correction in incorrect details before the last date. Correction facility to the aspirants is allowed in particular fields.

No changes after the last date is allowed in the registration form. Candidates must carefully edit the wrong details, no correction facility is provided again after it. Take printout of the CAT registration form for further purpose after submitting all the correct details.

CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Aspirants interested to apply for CAT 2026, must go through the eligibility criteria mentioned below:

• Qualifications: Candidates having Bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply for exam.
• Age Limit: No upper & lower age limit criteria is applicable to apply.
• Marks Criteria: One must have obtained 50% marks (45% marks in case of SC/ ST & PWD) in the bachelor’s degree.
• Attempt Limit: Candidates can appear in any number of times, there will be no attempt limit prescribed.
• Appearing Candidates: Candidates those are appearing in their final year of graduation, will also be able to apply.

CAT 2026 Exam Pattern

In this section, we have discussed CAT examination pattern 2026:

• Mode of Exam: CAT exam is conducted through online mode (CBT).
• Question Type: There are both type of questions in the exam i.e. MCQs & Non-MCQs.
• Duration: 2 hours are provided to the candidates to solve question papers.
• Slots: Examination is conducted in three slots.
• Marking Scheme: For every correct response 3 marks are awarded.
• Negative Marking: 1 mark is deducted for every wrong answer in MCQs. No negative marking is done for subjective section.

Check subject wise scheme for the CAT exam in the table below:

Sections	Number of Questions
Quantitative Aptitude	22
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension	24
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning	20
Total	66

CAT 2026 Syllabus

CAT 2026 Syllabus have topics based on the subjects i.e. qualitative aptitude, data interpretation & logical reasoning, verbal ability etc. Syllabus is released through online mode on the website.

Below we have given some of the important topics of CAT 2026:

• Data Interpretation: Graphs (line, area), Charts (Column, bar, pie), tables, paragraph, venn diagram, Interpretation and analysis of data based on text etc.
• Verbal Ability & English: Analogies, sentence correction, fill in the blanks, antonyms and synonyms, critical reasoning, syllogisms etc.
• Quantitative Ability & Mathematics: Percentages, quadratic & linear equations, LCM & HCF, averages, permutation, probability, trigonometry, time & work etc.

CAT 2026 Preparation Tips

Following are the preparation tips of CAT 2026 that can help aspirants to prepare for their exam:

• Create a schedule for your preparation & follow or the daily basis.
• Practice from previous year question papers & mock tests.
• Collect best books & study material for your preparation.
• Make your own notes & make daily revisions.
• Take care of your health & stay healthy during your study.
• Enhance your basics of mathematics & practice as much as you can.

CAT 2026 Books

Check some of the best books for CAT 2026 preparation below:

• How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
• Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha
• Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha
• Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Verma
• CAT Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri
• High School English Grammar & Composition wren & martin

Exam Centres

Here, we have given a list of exam centres where CAT 2026 examination is expected to be held:

States	Exam cities
Andaman & Nicobar Islands	Port Blair
Meghalaya	Shillong
Mizoram	Aizawl
Nagaland	Kohima
New Delhi	New Delhi
Odisha	Balasore, Berhampur, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Sambalpur
Chandigarh	Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh	Bhilai Nagar, Bilaspur, Raipur
Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu	Silvassa
Goa	Madgaon, Panaji
Gujarat	Ahmedabad, Anand, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara
Haryana	Ambala, Faridabad – Gurugram, Hisar
Himachal Pradesh	Bilaspur HP, Hamirpur, Kangra, Shimla
Jammu & Kashmir	Jammu, Srinagar
Jharkhand	Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Ranchi
Karnataka	Belagavi (Belgaum), Bengaluru, Hubli-Dharwad, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), Mangaluru (Mangalore), Mysuru (Mysore), Shivamogga (Shimoga), Udupi
Kerala	Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kannur, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Trivandrum
Ladakh	Leh
Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Sagar, Satna, Ujjain
Maharashtra	Ahmednagar, Amravati, Aurangabad -MH, Bhiwandi, Boisar, Chandrapur, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Palghar, Pune, Raigad, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Thane, Vasai, Wardha
Tamil Nadu	Chennai, Coimbatore, Kanchipuram, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Vellore
Telangana	Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Warangal
Tripura	Agartala
Uttar Pradesh	Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Greater Noida – Noida, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Prayagraj, Varanasi
Uttarakhand	Dehradun, Haldwani, Roorkee
West Bengal	Asansol, Bankura, Burdwan, Durgapur, Hooghly, Howrah, Kalyani, Kolkata, Siliguri
Puducherry	Puducherry
Rajasthan	Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sikar, Udaipur

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

CAT 2026 Admit Card

Registered candidates can download hall ticket of CAT 2026 through online mode. It will be made available on the website. Admit card will be available to download using login details. Along with the CAT Admit card 2026, candidates need to bring one photo identity proof.

Without having CAT admit card, aspirants are not allowed to sit in the exam. Details i.e. name, time and date of exam, photograph, signature, application number is printed on the hall ticket. Candidates must check details carefully printed on the admit card. In case of any discrepancy in details, contact to the authority immediately.

CAT 2026 Answer Key

CAT 2026 answer key will be made available to the candidates in the 1st week of December 2026. Candidates can check it through online mode as it is available in PDF format. Objections is also submitted by authority against the answer key till the time provided. With the help of answer key, candidates can know their overall score/ percentile.

To raise the objection, candidates need to pay a required fee. If objection raised by the candidates found correct then amount might be refunded to the candidates. Based on the final answer key, result is prepared. Candidates must download their answer key & keep it safe for other references.

CAT 2026 Result/ Score Card

CAT Result 2026 will be declared through online mode. It will be announced in 3rd-4th week of December 2026. Candidates can download their score card from the website using login credentials. Authority may send CAT score card to the candidates individually through SMS.

Result cum score card of CAT contains details i.e. name, registration number, category, overall scores, sectional scores & percentile etc. Based on the scores obtained by the candidates in exam, they are shortlisted for further admission procedure. Candidates must take printout of their result & keep it safe for further.

CAT Cut Off 2026

Cut off is major parameter to shortlist candidates for admission procedure. CAT cut off is released on the website few days after the declaration of result. Authority releases cut off list as per the category. It will be the minimum scores that candidates must score in the exam.

Cut off list determines based on the total candidates appeared for exam, difficulty level of exam, last year cut off trends etc. Authority release section wise cut off list in the PDF format. Participating institutes also release their minimum cut off marks to shortlist candidates for admission.

CAT 2026 Selection Procedure

There will be no centralised counselling for CAT 2026. IIMs organises their separate admission/ counselling procedure to offer admission to the candidates. CAT 2026 Admission procedure starts few days after the declaration of result. Candidates need to visit IIMs individually in order to apply for IIMs. Different institutes have their own admission criteria.

Selection of the candidates depends on previous academic performance of the candidates, work experiences & other similar inputs. Various institutes also conduct their own admission test, interview sessions or group discussion rounds. Shortlisted candidates need to report at the allotted institutes for document verification process.

Candidates must bring their original documents & admission letter on the reporting day. Final admission is provided to the candidates after verification of the documents & submission of admission fee.

Participating Institutes of CAT

Here we have provided participating institutes of CAT:

• IIM Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
• IIM Amritsar, Punjab
• IIM Nagpur, Maharashtra
• IIM Bodh Gaya, Bihar
• IIM Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh
• IIM Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir
• IIM Sambalpur, Odisha
• IIM Indore, Madhya Pradesh
• IIM Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
• IIM Ranchi, Jharkhand
• IIM Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
• IIM Ahmedabad, Gujarat
• IIM Calcutta, West Bengal
• IIM Bangalore, Karnataka
• IIM Kashipur, Uttarakhand
• IIM Udaipur, Rajasthan
• IIM Kozhikode, Kerala
• IIM Indore, Madhya Pradesh
• IIM Raipur, Chhattisgarh
• IIM Shillong, Meghalaya
• IIM Rohtak, Haryana

If candidates have any other query related to CAT 2026 exam, then they can feel free to ask us in the comment box below.