
CAT 2026 exam will be held on November 29, 2026. It will be held in three slots at over 170 cities across India. Registration process will start in the first week of August 2026 at iimcat.ac.in website. CAT 2026 application form will be available for submission until the third week of September 2026. Official announcement of the exam date along with complete schedule will be made in the last week of July. Check CAT 2026 timeline and dates on this page below.
- CAT 2026 Application Dates
- CAT 2026 Admit Card Date
- CAT 2026 Exam Date
- CAT 2026 Answer Key Date
- CAT 2026 Result Date
- IIM CAT 2026 Counselling Date
- FAQs on CAT exam 2026
CAT 2026 Application Dates
CAT 2026 registration process will go on for about 45 days. To fill the application form, candidates will have to create a CAT registration ID at exam website. Candidates will have to mention the city of their preference to appear for CAT exam, in the application form. CAT fee will have to be paid at the time of form submission. After the CAT 2026 form submission process is over, candidates will be given the option to edit photo, signature and test city options. No other section will be editable in the application form. The CAT form correction window will be opened for 2-3 days only.
CAT 2026 Admit Card Date
CAT admit card 2026 will be released in the second week of November. Candidates will have to download their CAT 2026 admit card from the exam website by using their login credentials. It will contain details such as name, photo, signature, category, gender, address, date of birth, exam date, slot, centre, timings and reporting time. The CAT admit card 2026 will available for download till exam day. The hall ticket will be needed for admissions too, so candidates must preserve their CAT 2026 admit card even after the exam.
CAT 2026 Exam Date
CAT 2026 exam will be held at various exam centres across India. It will be conducted in computer based test mode. Timings will be:
- Morning slot: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
- Afternoon slot: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
- Evening slot: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
There will be 40 minutes sectional time limit per section. PwD candidates will get 13 minutes and 20 seconds extra per section to complete the text.
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CAT 2026 Answer Key Date
Official CAT answer key and response sheets of candidates will be released through login. The objection window will be open for 2-3 days for candidates to challenge the official answer key. CAT answer key objection fee is INR 1500 per question. Candidates will have to raise objection against CAT official answer key within a stipulated time. The examination body will then analyse all objections received and if any of the objections is found to be correct, the provisional answer key will be revised.
CAT 2026 Result Date
IIMCAT will release the CAT 2026 result in the third week of December. The link to download CAT scorecard will be made available for download at iimcat.ac.in website. The result cum scorecard will contain candidate's details and their sectional as well as overall scores/percentiles. The CAT percentile will be considered for admission to IIMs and top B-Schools across India. The CAT scorecard remains available for download for a year. CAT 2025 result is available for download until December 31, 2026.
Also Read: CAT Cut Offs (Expected and Previous Years)
CAT Percentile predictor prepared by Shiksha.com helps students to get their predicted CAT percentile on the basis of their expected exam score. So, predict your CAT score by clicking the link below:
Predict CAT PercentileIIM CAT 2026 Counselling Date
IIM CAT counselling for 2027 batch admission will be conducted in January and February. The institutes will release PI shortlist and candidates who will meet the cut off, will have to apply for the PI round. Every institute including the IIMs will have a separate PI form filling schedule. The PI round will also be conducted on different dates. Final admission list will be released in the month of May.
Also Read:
- What is IIM CAP 2026? Check Details
- IIM JAP 2026: Check process, dates and participating institutes
- IIM SAP Process 2026: Dates, Application, Selection Criteria
- IIM Shortlist: Check Dates, Cut Offs, Shortlist and Admission Status of all IIMs
- Tips and tricks to crack WAT/GD-PI
- IIM CAT counselling process 2026
FAQs on CAT exam 2026
Check below some Frequenty Asked Questions (FAQs) on CAT exam:
Overall difficulty level of CAT exam has always been moderate to high. CAT is of higher difficulty level than all other MBA entrance exams in India.
CAT books by Arun Sharma, Nishit Sinha, RS Agarwal and Abhijit Guha are good and exhaustive, but you should refer to more study material like sample test papers and mock tests for a complete preparation.
Yes, you can crack CAT exam even if you haven't studied Maths in class 12. CAT Quant and DI have Mathematical questions of advance level, from the topics studied in Class 9 and 10. You will only need to brush up the basic and practice advance level questions.
Yes, you can crack CAT through self study but it will require a lot of discipline and consistency on daily basis. You will need the most recommended books, best mock test series and online practice sessions. Join YouTube channels for online tutorial. Give yourself 9 months and study for 8 hours daily.