CAT 2026 Exam Date, Registration, Fees. Eligibility, Syllabus, Pattern, Preparation, Cut Offs
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
CAT 2026 exam will be conducted on November 29, 2026. Check here all about CAT exam including eligibility, application process, fees, syllabus, pattern and preparation tips.
CAT 2026 exam details
CAT 2026 exam will be conducted on November 29, 2026. Official announcement will be made next year in July but going by the trend of CAT in the last two decades, the exam will beheld as mentioned. The exam is conducted by one of the top 6 IIMs on rotation basis. CAT exam score is accepted by over 1600 MBA colleges in India.
CAT is considered the toughest MBA entrance exam in India and nearly 3 lakh candidates appear for it every year. The exam syllabus includes Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude. Those who are not happy with their performance in CAT 2025, should start planning for CAT 2026 from January onwards. Read below all about CAT 2026 exam.
- CAT 2026 Important Dates
- CAT Eligibility Criteria
- CAT Registration Process 2026
- CAT Syllabus 2026
- CAT Exam Pattern
- CAT Preparation Tips and Strategy 2026
- CAT 2026 Admit Card
- CAT Answer Key 2026
- CAT 2026 Result
- CAT Cut Offs for IIMs
CAT 2026 Important Dates
Check below key events and dates for CAT 2026.
| CAT 2026 events |
CAT 2026 exam dates |
|---|---|
| CAT 2026 registration starts |
First week of August 2026 |
| Registration ends |
Third week of September 2026 |
| CAT admit card 2026 |
First week of November 2026 |
| CAT 2026 exam |
November 29, 2026 |
| CAT result 2026 |
Second week of December 2026 |
CAT Eligibility Criteria
- Minimum eligibility criteria for CAT 2026 is graduation with 50 percent marks from a recognized university.
- For SC/ST/PwD candidates, the minimum score requirement is 45 percent.
- Candidates in final year of graduation or awaiting result can also apply.
- Candidates having professional degree such as ICAI CA/ICSI CS/CMA/ICWAI can also appear for CAT.
Also Read: CAT eligibility criteria and reservation
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CAT Registration Process 2026
CAT 2026 registration form will be available in online mode only. Check below the process to apply for CAT exam:
- Go to iimcat.ac.in website
- Click on ‘new registration’ option
- Enter basic details to create a login
- Use OTP to verify details
- Fill personal and academic details
- Upload a passport size photo and scanned signature
- Select test cities, IIMs and courses
- Add work experience (optional)
- Pay application fee and complete the process
CAT fee for General candidate is INR 2600 and for SC/ST/PwD candidates, it is INR 1300. The fee is to be paid online through debit card/credit card or net banking.
Also Read: CAT registration process 2026
CAT Syllabus 2026
CAT has three sections – VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Check below important topics included in these sections.
- VARC section of CAT will have 24 questions based on Reading Comprehension, Parajumbles, Para-completion, Odd Sentence Out, Parasummary.
- DILR section of CAT will have 22 questions based on Tables, Pie Charts, Bar Graphs, Coding-Decoding, Syllogism, Family Tree, Blood Relation, Clocks and Calendar, Abstract Reasoning, etc.
- Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT will have 22 questions from Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, Profit and Loss, Time-Speed-Distance, Trigonometry, Number System, etc.
Check here detailed CAT syllabus and download PDF
CAT Exam Pattern
CAT will be conducted in computer based test mode. The exam will be conducted in three sessions. Check below, CAT exam pattern highlights:
| CAT particulars |
Details |
|---|---|
| Number of exam slot |
3 |
| Number of sections |
3 |
| Total time |
120 minutes |
| Sectional time limit |
40 minutes |
| Total number of questions |
68 |
| Total marks 2 |
204 |
| Marking scheme |
+3 for correct attempt -1 for incorrect attempt 0 for unanswered question and incorrect TITA attempts |
Also Read:
CAT Preparation Tips and Strategy 2026
CAT 2026 preparation will require about 9 months. Aspirants should start planning for it from January 2026 onwards. When preparing for the exam, candidates must keep in mind the difficulty level of the test. The first step is to check the CAT exam syllabus. Check the topics of Quants, VARC, Reasoning and Data Interpretation. List down tough topics vs easy topics. Spend a few days to on easy topics as refresher. Then start with tough topics.
- Make a monthly, weekly and daily plan for CAT exam preparation
- Spend 6-8 hours in studying and divide the hours according to subjects
- After studying a topic, solve sample questions to understand application of theory
- Start reading books and novels early on for VARC
- Practice previous years CAT question papers and mock tests understand the difficulty level
- Join a coaching institute or study groups for guidance and motivation.
Check below some helpful CAT preparation articles by Shiksha
- How to prepare for CAT in 6 months
- How to prepare for CAT in 3 months
- CAT parajumble questions for practice with solutions PDF
- CAT mock test: How many mock tests to take and when to start
- Strategy to improve CAT RC accuracy
- How to improve accuracy in CAT DILR
- CAT VARC prep: How to read less and score more
- CAT DI questions with solutions for practice PDF
CAT 2026 Admit Card
CAT admit card 2026 will be released 15 days before the exam dates. Check here the process to download IIM CAT hall ticket:
- Visit the CAT exam website
- Click on ‘candidate login’
- Enter CAT 2026 user ID and password
- Exam centre address will be displayed
- Click on download icon to see your hall ticket
CAT Answer Key 2026
CAT response sheet and answer key 2026 will be released 2-3 days after the exam. Candidates will be able to check their responses and make an assessment of their performance. Given below is the process to download candidate response sheet and official answer key.
- Go to exam website
- Click on ‘candidate login’
- Enter user ID and password
- Click on ‘response sheet’ option and download it
The option to raise objection against provisional CAT 2026 answer key will be provided. Candidates can raise objection by filling an online form and paying the requisite fee.
CAT 2026 Result
CAT result cum scorecard will be released in the third week of December 2026. Check below how to download CAT 2026 result:
- Go to iimcat.ac.in website
- Click on ‘scorecard download’ option
- Enter user ID and password
- Click on ‘scorecard’ option to check and download
CAT Cut Offs for IIMs
CAT cut offs for IIMs are of two types – qualifying cut offs and final cut offs. Qualifying cut off is the minimum percentile required for being eligible for IIM-PI round, whereas final cut off is the minimum percentile on which a candidate is actually selected for PI round. Check the table below for IIM qualifying cut offs.
| IIM |
Qualifying CAT cut offs |
|---|---|
| 95 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 90 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 92 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 82 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 75 |
|
| 94 |
|
| 95 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 94 |
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Yes, it is mandatory to qualify CAT for admission to full time MBA programmes offered by the 21 IITs, along with full-time MBA, qualifying CAT score is also required for PGP, FPM, PhD, PhD Executive, Executive MBA, Doctoral Programme, PGPx courses.
There are over 170 cities where CAT exam is held. These 170 cities are spread across India consist of metropolitan cities, capital cities, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Candidate can select up to five cities for allotment of test centre. The process of test city selection is a part of CAT application process. In the CAT application form, there is a field in which candidates have to select the cities. They need to select the city of preference in order of 1 to 5. The examination authorities will try to allot the test centre in the city of first preference. Thus, candidates must fill all the five cities carefully. They must choose their home city of city of current residence as the first preference. The test city option can only be changed during the form correction window. After that, the request for change of the city will not be accepted by the exam authorities.
Yes, you can apply for CAT. The main criteria of eligibility for CAT is graduation from a recognised university. So, whether the education mode is full-time or correspondence, if the university is recognised by the UGC, the candidates will be eligible to appear for the CAT exam.
CAT toppers are determined on the basis of candidate percentiles. Those whose overall percentiles are 100 and 99.99, they are declared the toppers of CAT exam. To calculate CAT percentiles, raw scores of every CAT candidate is normalized on the same scale and the following formula is applied:
P = (R/N) * 100
where,
P= Percentile score
R= Rank of the candidate arrived at on the basis of scaled CAT score or the total number of test takers ranking below a particular candidate.
N= Number of candidates who appeared in CAT exam (all three sessions)
There is no age limit to appear for CAT. The CAT exam is open for fresh graduates as well as working professionals. Since CAT is accepted by over 1300 B-schools across India for their full-time as well as executive MBA or online professional courses, a lot of working professionals appear for the CAT to pursue such courses. CAT score is accepted by Iims for full time MBA, executive MBA and FPM programmes.
Other top MBA colleges in India also shortlist candidates for executive MBA or part-time MBA on the basis of CAT score. The minimum age limit for has to be 20 years as the minimum qualification for CAT exam graduation. Any candidate who has completed Graduation with 50 per cent aggregate (45 per cent for SC/ST candidates).
Any candidate in final year of Bachelor's degree course can appear in CAT exam. Any candidate having a professional degree like CA/CS/ICWAI with a minimum of 50 per cent in aggregate.
Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
The CAT 2025 examination results have been officially published. Candidates who took this test may now access their respective IIMCAT scorecards by visiting the IIMCAT web portal and entering their registration ID and password. Each candidate's scorecard contains information concerning his/her secti
A
Contributor-Level 10
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CAT score is valid for one year at the IIMs and top B-Schools. In some tier 3 and government institutions, CAT score of previous two years are also acceptable. Many B-schools including IIMs have an option of deferment of admission, wherein you can confirm your admission and pay the nominal fee but join the batch in the next year. It is advised that candidates take admission in the same year as their CAT attempt so that they don't have to reappear next year. Given the competition in MBA space, it is difficult to get a good college whether you have a low score or average score. So, incase one is getting a good college, they should take admission and not drop a year to appear for CAT again.