Karnataka PGCET Eligibility Criteria 2026: Qualifying Exam, Domicile Requirements
Karnataka Post Graduate Common Entrance Test 2026 ( Karnataka PGCET )
Karnataka PGCET exam date (MBA/MCA)
14 Jun '26
Karnataka Examinations Authority releases the PGCET eligibility criteria along with the information brochure. Check complete eligibility conditions, including the domicile, qualifying score and more.
Karnataka PGCET 2026 Eligibility Criteria
Karnataka PGCET 2026 Eligibility Criteria: Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) will release PGCET 2026 eligibility criteria with the information brochure. Candidates aspiring for MBA, MCA, MTech or MArch, in Karnataka must fill the Karnataka PGCET application form only after they meet the eligibility conditions. Karnataka PGCET eligibility criteria are defined with different parameters, including qualifying exam, score in qualifying exam, work experience requirements, domicile, etc. Candidates who have completed a bachelor's degree course with the minimum score requirements meet the basic eligibility conditions for Karnataka PGCET exam. Scroll down for more details on the Karnataka PGCET eligibility criteria 2026, including qualifying degree, age limit, domicile requirements, and more
Karnataka PGCET Eligibility Criteria 2026
Candidates find Karnataka PGCET eligibility criteria mentioned in the information brochure. KEA website, cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/kea, will have PDF file for PGCET information brochure. Parameters mentioned in the Karnataka PGCET eligibility criteria are as follows:
- Qualifying degree
- Score in the qualifying exam
- Work experience
- Domicile (for reservation)
KEA reserves the Government seats offered based on PGCET 2026 exam for the candidates holding a Karnataka state domicile. However, specific clauses overrule the domicile eligibility, as mentioned in the article below.
Karnataka PGCET 2026 Eligibility Criteria For Full-Time MBA
Candidates aspiring for a full-time MBA course based on Karnataka PGCET 2026, must meet the following eligibility conditions:
Qualifying Degree
- Candidates who have passed a bachelor’s degree course, irrespective of their stream, are eligible for the full-time MBA course.
- The qualifying degree course must have a minimum course duration of three years, or equivalent.
- The degree must be obtained from a recognised institute.
Score in Qualifying Exam
- Candidates who belong to unreserved categories must obtain the aggregate score of 50 per cent in all subjects taken together.
- The aggregate score must be calculated using the marks from all subjects, including language subjects from all three years of the degree course.
- Candidates who belong to reserved categories, including SC, ST, and Category 1 of Karnataka candidates, are eligible for a score concession of five per cent. Such candidates must have a aggregate score of 45 per cent in all subjects taken together.
Karnataka PGCET 2026 Eligibility Criteria for Part-Time MBA
Candidates aspiring for a part-time MBA course based on Karnataka PGCET 2026, must meet the following eligibility conditions:
Qualifying Degree
- Candidates who have passed a bachelor’s degree course, irrespective of their stream, are eligible for the part-time MBA course.
- The qualifying degree course must have a minimum course duration of three years, or equivalent.
- The degree must be obtained from a recognised institute.
Score in Qualifying Exam
- Candidates who belong to unreserved categories must obtain a aggregate score of 50 per cent in all subjects taken together.
- The aggregate score must be calculated using the marks from all subjects, including language subjects from all three years of the degree course.
- Candidates who belong to reserved categories, including SC, ST, and Category 1 of Karnataka candidates, are eligible for a score concession of five per cent. Such candidates must have a aggregate score of 45 per cent in all subjects taken together.
Work Experience
- Candidates must hold a post-qualification work experience of not less than three years as of July 31, 2026.
- The candidate filling the PGCET form must be working in an organisation within a radial distance of 40 KM from the institution where he/she will be seeking admission.
Commonly asked questions
The official website to register for the Karnataka PGCET exam is available via the KEA website landing page. Candidates need to visit this website to start the registration process.
No, KEA will not consider marks obtained in the qualifying exam while preparing the Karnataka PGCET merit list, also known as the rank list. Only the marks scored by a candidate in the Karnataka PGCET exam are used to allot a merit position. However, candidates will have to meet the minimum percentage requirement in their qualifying exam to be eligible for admission and for the merit list preparation. Candidates who do not meet the eligibility conditions are not included in the PGCET rank list.
Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) releases the Karnataka PGCET cutoff ranks or Karnataka PGCET last ranks along with the seat allotment results. Candidates can find the PDF file for Karnataka PGCET cutoff ranks available on the official website. The cutoff score depicts the last ranks at which the allotment process has been closed. Whereas the Karnataka PGCET seat allotment mentions allotment status of each candidate individually inside the login dashboard.
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Karnataka PGCET 2026 Eligibility Criteria: Government Seats
Government quota seats to be filled based on Karnataka PGCET 2026 are only offered to the candidates holding the Karnataka domicile. Officials will verify the documents of the candidates under different domicile categories. Candidates under the following clauses are considered to hold Karnataka PGCET domicile.
Candidates with Seven Academic Years in Karnataka
Candidates should have studied in Karnataka Government-recognised institutes for seven academic years starting from 1st standard. Additionally, such candidates must have appeared for the Class 11 or 12 exam in a Government-recognised institute in Karnataka state. These seven years must be completed continually or broken.
In case a candidate takes more than one year to pass an academic class, only one year will be considered while evaluating the eligibility for Government quota seats.
Documents to be produced
- SSLC / Class 10 mark sheet
- 2nd PUC / Class 12 mark sheet
- Qualifying exam mark sheet
- Candidate’s study certificate
- Caste / Caste Income Certificate issued by Tahsildar (if claiming reservation)
Candidates with Qualifying Degree from Karnataka
Candidates who do not have seven years of education history in the state of Karnataka can also claim the reservation under the Government quota seats. However, such candidates must have passed the qualifying examination in Karnataka. Such candidates must fulfil the below-mentioned conditions:
- The institute for bachelor’s degree course must be recognised by the state government
- Either of the parents must have completed seven years of their education from a government-recognised institute in Karnataka.
Documents to be produced
- SSLC / Class 10 mark sheet
- 2nd PUC / Class 12 mark sheet
- Qualifying exam mark sheets
- Caste / Caste Income Certificate issued by Tahsildar (if claiming reservation)
- Certificate for the parent who had studied for a minimum period of seven years in Karnataka (issued by the head of the institutes)
- Candidate’s qualifying exam certificate (issued by the head of the educational institution)
Candidates whose Parent Served in Defence
Any of the candidates whose guardian served in Defence and declared Karnataka as his/her hometown while joining the services can also claim reservation under the Government quota seats. In such cases the proof of domicile should be obtained and produced from the “Deputy Director, Department of Sainik Welfare and Resettlement”
Documents to be produced
- SSLC / Class 10 mark sheet
- 2nd PUC / Class 12 mark sheet
- Qualifying exam mark sheets
- Caste / Caste Income Certificate issued by Tahsildar (if claiming reservation)
- Parent’s home town declaration certificate (issued while joining service by the Director, Department of Sainik Welfare and Resettlement, Bangalore)
Candidates aspiring for admission under specific reservations, including reservations for wards of ex-servicemen, reservations for physically disabled, SC, ST, OBC, among others, must check the category-specific eligibility requirements.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 days ago
The highest rank acceptable in 2024 was 2206 for the General AI category. So, students who have a rank below 2206 have a better chance of admission in the MBA/PGDM course. Students should know that the cutoff for other categories will vary.
Note: Cut- off data is an estimate and not official.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
To get a seat at NITTE Meenakshi Institute of Technology for the MBA/PGDM course, students have to first appear for the Karnataka PGCET entrance exam and then for its counselling process to be considered eligible for admission.
The Karnataka PGCET cutoff is released in the form of open and closing r
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Qualifying Karnataka PGCET is compulsory for Karnataka domicile students to get admission in M.Arch in BMS School of Architecture. For others, it is not compulsory and they can get admission based on GATE score or through Management Quota.
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The ISBR Karnataka PGCET cutoff 2025 was released for the MBA/PGDM course for all categories. The cutoff was published in the form of opening and closing ranks.
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Abhishek is a content writer and editor with 7+ years of experience in education journalism. He completed his graduation from University of Delhi with a BA Degree. At Shiksha.com, he handles content for MBA, BBA, an
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