CMAT 2026: Exam Dates, Registration, Eligibility, Syllabus, Pattern, Question Paper, Preparation
Common Management Admission Test 2026 ( CMAT )
NTA will announce CMAT 2026 exam date most likely in November 2025 and conduct the exam in January 2026. 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 in January 2026. The test date will be announced in November 2025. NTA conducts the CMAT for admission to MBA/PGDM courses at AICTE approved colleges and institutions. 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.
CMAT is conducted in computer based mode at designated test centres. The examination is of 180 minutes in which candidates have to attempt 100 questions. 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.
SNAP 2026 Applications Open - Start your Application Now
- CMAT 2026 Important Dates
- CMAT Eligibility Criteria 2026
- CMAT Registration and Application Process 2026
- CMAT Exam Pattern 2026
- CMAT Syllabus 2026
- CMAT Preparation 2026
- CMAT Admit Card 2026
- CMAT Answer Key 2026
- CMAT Result 2026
- CMAT Cut Offs for MBA Admission
- MBA Colleges Accepting CMAT Score
CMAT 2026 Important Dates
For the past few years, the CMAT has been conducted on April-May, however, in 2025, the exam was conducted in January. If NTA follows the same schedule, CMAT 2026 will also be conducted in January. Check below tentative CMAT exam date.
| CMAT 2026 Events |
CMAT 2026 Dates |
|---|---|
| CMAT 2026 registration starts |
Second week of November 2025 |
| Registration ends |
Last week of December 2025 |
| Fee payment window closing |
Last week of December 2025 |
| Form correction window |
Last week of December 2025 |
| Announcement of city intimation |
Third week of January 2026 |
| CMAT admit card 2026 release |
Third week of January 2026 |
| CMAT 2026 exam |
Fourth week of January 2026 |
| CMAT 2026 answer key challenge |
Fourth week of January 2026 |
| CMAT 2026 result declaration |
Second week of February 2026 |
CMAT Eligibility Criteria 2026
CMAT is a postgraduation entrance exam, so candidates must have graduation degree. Check below CMAT eligibility criteria 2026.
- Graduation or equivalent degree from a recognised university.
- Students in their final year of bachelor’s degree can also apply for CMAT exam.
- Only passing marks in graduation is required for CMAT
- There is no age limit for appearing in the exam. Any candidate at any stage of their career can appear for CMAT.
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 Process 2026
CMAT registration and application form will be available in online mode only. The form will be made live at CMAT-NTA website. Given below is the CMAT 2026 application process:
- Visit CMAT 2026 website: https://exams.nta.ac.in/CMAT/
- Click on ‘registration link for CMAT 2026’
- Click on 'new registration' option
- Enter personal details and choose a password to create a login ID
- Log in with the ID shared in mail
- Upload a government ID
- Fill the CMAT 2026 form will relevant details
- Add personal and academic details
- Select 4 test cities in order of preference
- Upload a photo ID and signature
- Pay the fee via debit/credit card or net banking
Also Read: List of CMAT test cities
CMAT Fees 2025
Given below is the fee amount to be paid at the time of CMAT 2026 form submission:
- INR 2,500 for General / EWS/OBC-NCL (Male)
- INR 1,250 for Females, Third Gender and Reserved category students
Candidates msut 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.
CMAT Exam Pattern 2026
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 |
Download: CMAT question paper PDFs
CMAT Syllabus 2026
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 |
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CMAT Preparation 2026
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.
- Candidates planning to appear for CMAT 2026 must get hold of CMAT books recommended by experts to understand topics.
- It is important to break the exam preparation plan in stages and study according to CMAT six-month plan, CMAT three-month plan and CMAT one-month plan.
Check below, some useful CMAT 2025 preparation articles:
- CMAT Preparation Tips: Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- CMAT Preparation Tips: Cracking Logical Reasoning
- CMAT Preparation Tips: Cracking QA-DI
- CMAT Preparation Tips: Cracking Language Comprehension
CMAT Admit Card 2026
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:
Step 1: Visit the CMAT-NTA website
Step 2: Click on 'CMAT 2025 admit card' tab
Step 3: Enter CMAT application number and date of birth
Step 4: Enter security pin and click on login
Step 5: Click on CMAT admit card and download the PDF
CMAT Answer Key 2026
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.
- Visit CMAT 2026 website
- Click on 'CMAT 2026 answer key ' option
- Enter application number and password
- Click on 'answer key' to download it
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 2025 exam analysis, check difficulty level, good attempts
- CMAT 2025 answer key, question paper (shift 1 and 2) PDF download
- CMAT Response Sheet 2025 PDF Free Download
- CMAT 2025 Student Reactions and Reviews
CMAT Result 2026
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:
- Go to CMAT-NTA website
- Click on CMAT 2026 scorecard tab
- Enter CMAT application number and date of birth
- Click on CMAT scorecard and download the PDF
Also Read:
- CMAT score vs CMAT percentile - How to calculate?
- What is CMAT score normalization process?
- What after CMAT result?
CMAT Cut Offs for MBA Admission
MBA admission through CMAT is based on cut offs. 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
MBA Colleges Accepting CMAT Score
Check out some of the popular MBA colleges in India which accept CMAT score for admission:
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a month ago
CMAT is one of the top accepted exams for admission to MBA-offering universities, including AURO University. As per official sources, the CMAT exam has already been conducted for the 2025 session. The exam was conducted on Jan 25, 2025 by the National Testing Agency. The exam for the 2026 session i
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
The admissions into MBA courses at Marwadi University have been concluded in the year 2025. Hence, candidates can no longer apply for admissions into the MBA course at Marwadi University in the year 2025. The CMAT exam for the year 2025 has also been concluded for this year. Candidates must now wait
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
No, candidates do not have to mandatorily appear for the CMAT entrance exam for MBA in Business Analytics at Marwadi University. Candidates can apply for MBA admissions through any of the national level entrance exam such as CAT, XAT, ATMA and more. However, during admissions into the MBA in Busines
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, it is possible to get an MBA seat at CET Trivandrum with a valid CMAT score. The institute accepts CAT, CMAT, and KMAT scores for MBA admissions. Thus, students who did not appear for CMAT or did not score well can apply via KMAT or CAT scores. Students are selected for the programme after eval
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
No, CMAT scores are not compulsory for admissions to the MBA course at Sabarmati University. Because the university accepts CMAT/ CAT or any other entrance exam accepted by the counselling body. Thus, applicants with CMAT scores can get admission to the MBA course. However, it is not compulsory. App
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
No, getting admission into SGSITS MBA courses is not possible without taking CUET. For admission to its MBA courses, the institute only accepts valid CMAT scores. Other than this, it is also essential that students aspiring to enrol into the programme meet the eligibility criteria prescribed by the
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
CMAT is one of the top accepted exams for admission to MBA-offering colleges in Indore, including SGSITS. As per official sources, the CMAT exam has already been conducted for the 2025 session. The exam was conducted on Jan 25, 2025 by the National Testing Agency. The exam for the 2026 session is e
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
GK is memory based, so all that you need to do is memorise important events and occurrences. So, candidates may not need a lot of time to prepare for CMAT GK. They can devote one or two months for it. On daily basis, they can read Year Books for one hour to memorise events. Apart from that they can
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
CMAT RC passages are easy. Candidates need not worry about RCs in CMAT because they are short and pretty much straight forward. Questions are fact based and generally require candidates to identify the main argument/theme/idea of the passage. Sometimes, there are a few vocabulary and idiom based que
J
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
Yes, it is necessary to attempt GK section in CMAT as unlike other MBA entrance exams, scores of GK are included in percentile calculation in CMAT. Total number of GK questions in 20 and attempting 8-10 questions correctly, can get the candidate desired sectional cut off in CMAT. So, while preparing
A
Contributor-Level 6