Common Management Admission Test 2026 ( CMAT )
Exam On - 25 Jan '26
CMAT 2026 exam will be held on January 25, 2026. NTA released the CMAT 2026 admit card today. Candidates can download it through login, now. Check here all about CMAT 2026, including dates, application, syllabus, pattern, question papers, preparation, cut offs, top colleges, etc.
CMAT 2026 exam
CMAT 2026 exam will be held on January 25, 2026. NTA has released the CMAT 2026 admit card today. Registered candidates can download their hall tickets from the official website through login. The exam will be conducted in 120+ cities in computer based mode. The test duration will be 180 minutes or 3 hours. There will be 1 session only, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Exam centre and slot will be mentioned on candidate's CMAT admit card 2026.
Over 1300 MBA Colleges in India accept CMAT score for admission to MBA/PGDM courses. Some of the top CMAT score accepting colleges include JBIMS, KJ Somaiaya, Prin LN Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Great Lakes Institute of Management, KIIT School of Management, Amity University, BIMTECH, Goa Institute of Management, Xavier Institute of Management and Research, Gitam School of Management. Read below all about CMAT 2026 exam including dates, syllabus, pattern, registration process, application fees, cut offs and list of MBA colleges accepting CMAT exam score for admission.
For the past few years, the CMAT has been conducted on April-May, however, in 2025, the exam was conducted in January. In 2026 too, it will be conducted in January. Check below CMAT exam date.
| CMAT 2026 Events |
CMAT 2026 Dates |
|---|---|
| CMAT 2026 registration starts |
17-Oct-2025 |
| Registration ends |
17-Nov-2025 24-Nov-2025 |
| Fee payment window closing |
18-Nov-2025 25-Nov-2025 |
| Form correction window |
20-Nov-2025 to 21-Nov-2025 26-Nov-2025 to 28-Nov-2025 |
| Announcement of city intimation |
16-Jan-2026 |
| CMAT admit card 2026 release |
Soon |
| CMAT 2026 exam |
25-Jan-2026 |
| CMAT 2026 answer key challenge |
To be announced |
| CMAT 2026 result declaration |
To be announced |
CMAT admit card 2026 will be released at the CMAT-NTA website. Candidates will have to download it and carry to the examination centre on the exam day. To download the CMAT 2026 admit card, the below given process is to be followed:
Check here the process to download city intimation slip. The document contains only the test city name and no other information about the test centre.
In the last leg of exam preparation, make sure you are completely aware of the latest exam pattern. If not, then go through previous years' CMAT question papers.
CMAT exam pattern is prepared on the basis of AICTE guidelines for MBA entrance exams. It is an MCQ based test. Check the table below for the latest CMAT exam pattern:
| CMAT Exam Pattern |
Details |
|---|---|
| Number of sections |
Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation Logical Reasoning Language Comprehension General Awareness Innovation & Entrepreneurship |
| Mode of examination |
Computer based test |
| Duration of exam |
180 minutes (no sectional time limit) |
| Number of questions |
100 |
| Number of questions per section |
20 |
| Number of answer choices |
4 |
| CMAT Marking scheme |
4 marks for correct answer -1 mark for incorrect answer |
| Total Marks |
400 |
CMAT syllabus is prescribed by the AICTE for NTA and includes important topics from Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, General Awareness and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Check below section wise important topics included in the CMAT exam syllabus 2026.
| CMAT Syllabus |
Important Topics |
|---|---|
| Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation |
Algebra, Time-Speed-Distance, Alligation & Mixtures, Geometry, Graph, Quadratic and Linear Equations, etc. |
| Logical Reasoning |
Analytical Reasoning, Linear Arrangements, Number Series, Matrix Arrangements, Blood Relationship Tests, etc. |
| Language Comprehension |
Reading Comprehension, Grammar, English Usage Errors, Parajumbles, etc. |
| General Awareness |
Economy, Business, World, Politics, Sports, Culture, Society |
| Innovation & Entrepreneurship |
Questions related to innovation, entrepreneurship and start up business |
CMAT 2026 preparation will require at least 6 months. So, aspirants should start preparing from August/September onwards. The CMAT preparation plan should include syllabus coverage and practice of CMAT mock tests.
Check below, some useful CMAT 2026 preparation articles:
CMAT answer key 2026 will be released 3-5 days after the exam. It will be released along with the candidate response sheet Check below steps to download CMAT 2026 answer key and response sheet.
NTA will give candidates the option to challenge the provisional CMAT answer key 2026, if they feel any answer given by the authority is incorrect. They will be able to raise objection against the CMAT answer key by filling an online form and paying INR 200 per question as fees. The objections will be analysed and if any of them are found to be valid, the provisional CMAT answer key will be revised.
Also Read:
CMAT result 2026 will be declared about 10 days after the release of provisional answer key. Test takers will be able to download their CMAT 2026 result cum scorecard from the official website by using their login credentials. Given below are the steps to download the CMAT result 2026:
Also Read:
MBA admission through CMAT is based on cut offs. Top Tier colleges for CMAT have high cut offs, usually in the range of 95 to 99 + percentile. Here is a list of CMAT cut off score accepting colleges in the range of 85 to 99 percentile.
| Colleges Accepting CMAT score |
CMAT Cut Off Percentiles |
|---|---|
| 99.9 |
|
| 95-99 |
|
| 95-99 |
|
| 99 |
|
| 95-99 |
|
| 95-99 |
|
| 95 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 80 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 85 |
|
| 85 |
Also Read: Institute-wise CMAT cut offs
Check out some of the popular MBA colleges in India which accept CMAT score for admission:
CMAT is a postgraduation entrance exam, so candidates must have graduation degree. Check below CMAT eligibility criteria 2026.
Note: The CMAT accepting colleges may have minimum score requirement of 50 percent (45 percent) in graduation.
Also Read: CMAT Eligibility Criteria 2026
CMAT registration and application form was available in online mode and was to be submitted by November 24, 2025. Given below is the CMAT 2026 application process:
Also Read: List of CMAT test cities
Given below is the fee amount to be paid at the time of CMAT 2026 form submission:
Candidates must note that the fee in non-refundable and if they make an error in their form and have to fill it again, they will need to pay the fee again.
22 Jan '26
15 Dec '25 - 23 Jan '26
21 Jan '26 - 25 Jan '26
6 Oct '25 - 26 Jan '26
26 Jan '26
25 Nov '25 - 29 Jan '26
29 Jan '26
25 Jan '26
5 Feb '26
Sectional weightage of CMAT is same. Since the Language Comprehension section of CMAT includes reading comprehension passages, it can be considered a lengthy section. However, any other section can also be lengthier due to nature of the questions.
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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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
GIBS is pretty flexible when it comes to entrance exams. They accept almost all the common management tests — CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, State CET, and even GMAT. In my batch itself, we had students who came through different exams, not just CAT.
Honestly, that's one thing I liked about GIBS — they d
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
No, GIM Goa does not accept CMAT scores for its PGDM programs for admissions. It only accepts CAT or XAT exam score. CAT score of previous year is accepted and XAT score of current year is accepted.
J
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
No, CMAT scores are not compulsory for admissions into the MBA course at NSUT. Even CMAT scores are not the first priority of the admission committee to shortlist the students. Because the university considers the scores of CAT/ MAT for selecting the students. If the seats get vacant, then only CMAT
I
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
CMAT is one of the important examinations for admission to the MBA course at Biyani Group of Colleges. However, as the MBA course at Biyani Group of Colleges is offered with the affiliation of Rajasthan Technical University. Thus, there are chances that the college can accept the relevant scores of
I
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
CMAT 2026 admit card will be available for download until exam day (January 25). After that, link to download it will be deactivated. Candidates must download CMAT-NTA admit card as soon as it is released and save it.
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
CMAT 2026 admit card will be released 4-5 days before the exam. Since CMAT 2026 is scheduled on January 25, the admit card can be expected to be released by January 20, 2026. NTA has not announced any date for CMAT 2026 hall ticket release, though.
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 weeks ago
After the declaration of CMAT result, PIGM Indore will start the selection process. The candidates who shall have passed the CMAT exam will be required to fill the application forms for admission. Aspirants will need to apply on the basis of their score and cut offs fixed by PIGM Indore. If a candid
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
With the release of the CMA June 2025 results, 5,491 candidates completed Intermediate Course of the Institute. Such candidates were marked eligible for the practical training.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
According to Shiksha, CMAT score is accepted by over 1600 MBA colleges in India. These include, government, government aided and private institutions. So, you can select any college based on its cut offs, ranking, location, fees, placements and infrastructure.
E
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
There is no provision of result evaluation in CMAT. The scores mentioned on result will be final and cannot be challenged. Candidates can only challenge the provisional answer key which is released before CMAT result.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Yes, there is a negative marking in CMAT exam. For each wrong answer, 1 mark will be deducted. However, no marks will be deducted for unanswered questions.