MAT 2026 Exam Dates (Feb Session Out): Check Registrations & Other MAT CBT/PBT Dates

Registration - 23 Feb '26

Updated on Jan 8, 2026 12:40 IST

By Vipra Shrivastava, Senior Manager - Content

MAT 2026 February exams will be held on March 1 (PBT) and March 8, 2026 (CBT). Registration process for MAT February 2026 exam started from December 25, 2025. CBT and PBT exams are conducted in different cities; and MAT test city allotment will be done basis applications received. Candidates can fill the MAT application form at AIMA MAT website as per their preference. Check below phase wise MAT 2026 exam dates and other events.

Table of contents

MAT 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule
MAT 2026 Exam Highlights
MAT Events 2026
MAT Exam Pattern 2026
Top Colleges Accepting MAT

MAT 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule

Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of MAT 2026 exam

Dates	Upcoming Exam Dates
23 Feb ' 26	MAT Feb 2026 PBT Registration last date
26 Feb ' 26	MAT Feb 2026 PBT admit card
01 Mar ' 26	MAT Feb 2026 PBT
02 Mar ' 26	MAT Feb 2026 CBT Registration last date
05 Mar ' 26	MAT Feb 2026 CBT admit card
08 Mar ' 26	MAT Feb 2026 CBT

MAT 2026 Exam Highlights

Here are some key highlights of MAT exam 2026:

MAT exam 2026 will be held in two mode - CBT and PBT
Earlier MAT used to be conducted in IBT mode as well, but it has been discontinued now
The exam will be held in four phases in a year - February/Mar, June, September and December
Aspirants can choose to appear in any MAT exam phase, slot or mode
They can also appear for the exam multiple times
Registration for each MAT session is to be done separately
Candidates have the option to select 5 colleges in MAT application form
AIMA sends candidate's result to those 5 colleges directly for PI shortlisting
Candidates can use best score of all attempts for admission to MBA colleges

Commonly asked questions

Q: Do IIMs accept MAT score?

No, IIMs do not accept MAT score for MBA Admission. They only accept CAT score for admission to their MBA/PGP programmes. However, MAT score is accepted by over 700 MBA colleges in India including: Amity University GL Bajaj Institute of Management & Research Christ University GITAM Institute of Management JIMS Rohini Jain University Taxila Business School, Jaipur SRM University Birla Institute of Management Technology Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Tezpur University Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India IIFM Bhopal YMCA.

Q: Is the question paper of MAT IBT different from MAT CBT or PBT?

No, the question paper of MAT IBT is not different from MAT CBT or PBT. The test pattern, time duration, question type and marking scheme are the same for all three modes. Candidates can choose to appear for any exam mode with the worry of doing exam specific preparation. The only difference between MAT IBT and MAT CBT or PBT is that MAT IBT is a remote proctored exam and can be taken from any location unlike MAT CBT or PBT which are held at designated exam centres. The MAT question paper of every session however is different. All the 200 questions of each question paper is unique. The difficulty level is the same- easy to moderate but since the questions are different from each other candidates can feel slight difference in the difficulty level. The questions for every session are chosen randomly so in one session the paper can be overall easy while in another session the exam can be slightly difficult.

MAT Events 2026

MAT registration 2026: Candidate can choose to register for a MAT session as per their preparation and choice of the exam phase – February, May, September and December. The MAT 2026 application form is to be filled and submitted online at the mat.aima.in website.

MAT Admit card 2026: AIMA issues MAT admit card session wise. For every session, the admit card is different. Candidates can download the MAT 2026 admit card of their session from the AIMA website as per the schedule. Candidates will be required to carry a hard copy of the MAT admit card on the exam day.

MAT exam 2026: The exam pattern of PBT, and CBT is same. The MAT question paper 2026 will have 150 questions divided into five sections (30 questions each) - Language Comprehension, Intelligence & Critical Reasoning, Mathematical Skills, Data Analysis & Sufficiency and Economic & Business Environment. The exam duration is 2 hours and is conducted from 10 am to 12 pm for both exam modes.

MAT Result 2026: Scorecard will be uploaded in candidate dashboard and test takers will be informed about the same through email. Candidates can download their MAT result from the exam website by using their login credentials. The scorecards of MAT CBT and PBT both are released on the same day, and the download process is also same.

MAT Admission 2026: AIMA will send MAT scores of the candidate with the five B-schools that they selected in the MAT application form 2026. If the candidate meets the institute's MAT cut off, he/she will be invited to participate in MBA selection process. Candidates can apply to more colleges separately based on their MAT score.

Commonly asked questions

Q: When are MAT result and cut offs released for all sessions?

AIMA MAT releases the results phase wise. The exam is held in multiple sessions in February, May, September and December phases. So the results are released for all the sessions of a particular phase on the same day. The MAT February result of all sessions are released in March. The MAT May results are released in June and the MAT September result is released in October and MAT December results are released in January. Candidates who appear for the exam, can download their scorecard for their exam session from the AIMA MAT website. AIMA does not release cut offs for admission through MAT. It has no role in the MAT cut off determination. The participating institutes determine MAT cut offs on their own and as per their selection parameters and criteria.

Q: Are MAT CBT and MAT PBT test cities same?

No, MAT CBT and MAT PBT test cities are not same. Check the table below for cities in which MAT PBT and MAT CBT will be conducted.

MAT PBT Cities

Bengaluru	Guwahati	Nashik
Bhilai	Hyderabad	Noida
Bhagalpur	Jodhpur	Patna
Bhubaneshwar	Kanpur	Prayagraj
Chennai	Kolkata	Raipur
Coimbatore	Kottayam	Ranchi
Delhi	Lucknow	Surat
Durgapur	Madurai	Varanasi
Gandhinagar	Mangaluru	Visakhapatnam
Gurgaon	Mumbai

MAT CBT Cities

Agra	Gurugram	Mumbai
Ahmedabad	Guwahati	Mysore
Asansol	Hubbali	Nagpur
Bengaluru	Hyderabad	Noida
Bhopal	Indore	Patna
Bhubaneswar	Jaipur	Raipur
Chandigarh	Jammu	Ranchi
Chennai	Jamshedpur	Rourkela
Coimbatore	Kolkata	Thiruvananthapuram
Dehradun	Kozhikode	Thrissur
Delhi	Lucknow	Tiruchirappalli
Ernakulam- Kochi	Madurai	Vijaywada
Ghaziabad	Meerut

MAT Exam Pattern 2026

MAT exam durations is 120 minutes. The question paper consists of 150 questions in MCQ format. Every question carries 4 options to choose the right answer from. There is negative marking of 0..25 in MAT. Check below sectional composition of MAT question paper:

MAT Sections	Number of Questions	Total Marks
Language Comprehension	30	30
Intelligence and Critical Reasoning	30	30
Data Analysis and Sufficiency	30	30
Mathematical Skills	30	30
Economic and Business Environment	30	30
Total	150	150

Commonly asked questions

Q: Is MAT exam easier than other MBA entrance exams?

Yes, the difficulty level of MAT exam is lower than other MBA entrance exams. The question paper is usually of easy to moderate difficulty level. The exam is now held for 120 minutes. There are now 150 questions in the exam paper. There is no sectional time limit in MAT which allows the candidate to plan a strategy according to their strengths and weaknesses. The score of Indian and Global Environment section is not considered for percentile calculation thus candidates don't have the stress of fifth section. Also, solving 150 questions is not mandatory so candidates can choose to solve only those questions which they know they can solve accurately. Sectional difficulty level of MAT is also lower than other MBA exams. Candidates can attempt the exam multiple times in the same academic year to improve their score. They also have the option to choose the mode of test - CBT, IBT, PBT - which makes it the most student friendly exam. Also, the MAT cut offs for admission are much lower as compared to other entrance exams.

Q: What is MAT age limit?

There is no age limit for appearing in MAT exam. Any candidate who has a graduation degree can appear for MAT. They can be fresh graduates or working professionals with several years of work experience. A good number of MAT applicants are working professionals who are seeking to enhance their management skills by pursuing an MBA course. At the same time, a large number of fresh graduates also apply for MAT. Especially from non-technical background as the difficulty level is not as high as CAT or XAT exams. Since, MAT is accepted by MBA colleges for Executive MBA, Online MBA, Part-Time MBA and Distance MBA courses too, a good number of working professionals appear for the MAT exam. MAT is also popular among Management aspirants and working professionals as it is an easy exam and one can prepare for it while working as well. It is easier to strike work and study balance in MAT.

Top Colleges Accepting MAT

Here is the list of some of the top MBA colleges accepting MAT score for admission, along with their expected MAT cut offs.

MAT Colleges	MAT cut off 2026 (percentile)
Amity Business School, Noida	90+
Christ University Bengaluru	80-90
BIMTECH Greater Noida (Specialized Programs)	80-90
SIESCOMS Navi Mumbai	80-90
Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS), Rohini Delhi	80-90
Indus Business Academy	80-90
Institute of Management Studies (IMS)	80-90
IPE Hyderabad, Institute of Public Enterprise	80-90
Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow	80-90
New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM)	80-85
Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management	80-85
IES Management College and Research Centre	80-85
ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai	80-85

Commonly asked questions

Q: Which are the top colleges for MAT score 70-80 percentile?

MAT score is accepted by lot of MBA colleges across India. Candidates can find a college of their percentile range among the 800 MBA colleges that accept MAT score. If you have scored in the MAT percentile range of 70-80 percentile, you can seek admission in the following colleges. These are some of the popular MBA college that accept MAT score of 70-80 percentile. Institute of Business Management and Technology Jaypee Business School EMPI Business School Delhi School of Business FIIB Delhi Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Usha and Lakshmi Mittal Institute of Management SCMS Cochin School of Business IES Management Colleges and Research Centre Mumbai Globsyn Business School, Kolkata Calcutta Business School, Kolkata GITAM School of International Business Visakhapatnam GITMA Hyderabad Business School Hyderabad Durgadevi Saraf Institute of Management Studies Mumbai Rajalakshami School of Business Chennai ABBS Bangalore.

Q: Can I make another attempt at MAT exam, if I score low in first attempt?

Yes, you can attempt MAT exam as many times as you want. MAT is conducted multiple times in a year, in February, May, September and December. If a candidate is not satisfied with their score of first attempt, they can choose any upcoming session to appear for it again.

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