Common Admission Test

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is the entrance exam for MBA and PGP admissions at the 22 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and many other B-schools in India. CAT 2026 is being conducted by IIM Indore on Sunday, 29 November 2026, as a computer-based test in three sessions across about 170 cities.

Registration is now closed, and the next step for registered candidates is the limited edit window on 5 and 6 October 2026. This guide covers the CAT 2026 dates, candidate login, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, admit card, answer key, result, the full IIM list, selection procedure, cut-offs and test centres. All exam details are taken from the official CAT 2026 Information Bulletin, FAQs and media releases on iimcat.ac.in.

Table of Contents

CAT 2026 Key Highlights

Latest Updates

• 29 September 2026: A limited edit window will be open from 10:00 AM on 5 October to 5:00 PM on 6 October 2026. Only the photograph, signature and test state/city preferences can be changed. No extension will be given.

• 22 September 2026: Registration closed at 5:00 PM. Fee payment was allowed until 5:00 PM on 24 September 2026 only for candidates who had registered by 22 September.

• 15 September 2026: The registration deadline was extended from 15 to 22 September 2026.

• 26 July 2026: IIM Indore released the CAT 2026 notification and Information Bulletin.

CAT 2026 Important Dates

CAT Candidate Login: How to Log In

All post-registration steps happen through the Registered Candidate Login on iimcat.ac.in. The portal is run by TCS iON, so the login page opens on a digialm.com address.

Steps to Log In

1. Go to https://iimcat.ac.in.

2. In the Registered Candidate Login box, click Login.

3. Enter your User ID and password and the captcha.

4. The Registration Summary page opens first. From here you can open your application form, use the edit window, download the admit card and later view your scorecard.

Forgot User ID or password? Click "Forgot User ID/Password" on the login page and enter your registered email ID and the captcha. The details are sent to your registered email, not by SMS.

For application-related problems, use the Grievance Portal tab inside the login. The CAT helpdesk (toll-free 1800 210 0175) works Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria

As per the CAT 2026 eligibility notice, a candidate must meet any one of these conditions:

• Bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (45% for SC, ST and PwBD) from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Ministry of Education.

• Professional degree such as CA, CS, ICWA (CMA) or FIAI, with the required percentage.

• Final-year students of a Bachelor's degree, and those awaiting results, can apply. If selected, they join provisionally after submitting a completion certificate.

Other points from the official FAQs:

• There is no age limit for CAT.

• The 50% (or 45%) must be scored in the Bachelor's degree. A higher Master's score does not make up for a lower Bachelor's score.

• Candidates with a backlog who will complete their degree by June 2027 can apply as final-year students.

• Candidates who are neither graduates nor holders of a professional degree are not eligible, even for practice.

Reservation

NC-OBC and EWS certificates must be issued on or after 1 April 2026. The category cannot be changed after the form is submitted.

CAT Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme

CAT 2026 has three sections of 40 minutes each, taken in a fixed order that is the same for all candidates. You cannot switch between sections.

IIMs do not announce the number of questions in advance. The figures above are from CAT 2025 and give a fair idea of what to expect.

Marking Scheme

An on-screen calculator is available throughout the test; physical calculators are not allowed. PwBD candidates get 40 extra minutes, split equally across the three sections.

CAT Syllabus: Section-wise Topics

The official FAQs confirm that CAT has no defined syllabus. The topics below are drawn from past CAT papers.

Application Form and Fee

Registration for CAT 2026 ran from 3 August to 22 September 2026 and is now closed. Candidates registered with a unique email ID and mobile number, filled in their academic and work details, chose five preferred test cities and paid the fee online. Apart from the fields in the edit window, submitted details cannot be changed.

The fee is paid once for all IIM programmes and is not refundable.

Admit Card

The admit card will be available through the candidate login from 5:00 PM on 4 November 2026 until the exam day. It will not be sent by post. It shows your name, test date, PwBD status, test centre address and session timing.

Print the admit card and carry it with a valid photo ID. Do not write anything on it, as this is treated as unfair means. Rough work must be done only on the scribble pad given at the centre.

Answer Key and Objections

A few days after the exam, IIM Indore will release the provisional answer key and candidates' response sheets through the candidate login. Candidates can challenge answers during a short objection window by paying a fee per question. For CAT 2025, the fee was ₹1,500 per question. The CAT 2026 fee and dates will be announced after the exam. The final answer key is used to prepare results.

Result and Score Validity

The CAT 2026 result is expected by the first week of January 2027. Scorecards will be available through the candidate login, and candidates may also be informed by SMS. The scorecard shows scaled scores and percentiles for each section and overall. Scores are normalised across the three sessions and are valid until 31 December 2027.

List of IIMs Accepting CAT 2026

There are 22 IIMs, and all of them use CAT 2026 scores. IIM Guwahati, set up in 2025, is the newest. Years of establishment are from the official CAT website, and programmes are from the CAT 2026 Information Bulletin.

Most IIMs also admit students to their PhD programmes through CAT. Many non-IIM institutes also use CAT scores. Their state-wise list is on iimcat.ac.in under "List of Non-IIM Member Institutions", and IIMs have no role in their selection.

Selection Procedure at IIMs

There is no common counselling after CAT. Each IIM runs its own admission process:

• Shortlisting: Candidates are shortlisted on a composite score. This usually includes the CAT score, sectional cut-offs, Class 10 and 12 marks, graduation marks, work experience and academic diversity. The weights differ for each IIM.

• Second round: Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD) and/or Personal Interview (PI).

• Final offer: Based on a final composite score, followed by document verification.

Candidates must apply to non-IIM institutes separately, as each has its own process.

CAT Cut-offs for IIMs

Every IIM publishes minimum percentile cut-offs in its admission policy. Clearing them makes you eligible to be considered; it does not guarantee a call. The table below shows the minimums reported for 2026–28 admissions (based on CAT 2025) for general category candidates.

Source: minimum cut-offs as reported for 2026–28 admissions by MBA preparation portals. Confirm the figures in each IIM's official admission policy, which may change for 2027–29.

In practice, final interview calls at the older IIMs go to candidates well above these minimums, often in the 99+ percentile range for general category candidates. Always check the latest admission policy of each IIM.

Cut-offs for Top Non-IIM Colleges

Reported CAT 2025 cut-offs for general category candidates at leading non-IIM institutes were about 99 percentile for FMS Delhi, 98 for IIFT Delhi, 94 for MDI Gurgaon and 90 for SPJIMR Mumbai. These change every year and are indicative only.

CAT Test Centres: State-wise City List

CAT 2026 will be held in about 170 cities. Each candidate chose five preferred cities, and the CAT Centre allots one of them where possible. Once a centre is allotted, it cannot be changed. The official list of test cities is:

How to Prepare in the Last Two Months

• Take full-length mocks every week, and increase to two or three a week in November.

• Analyse every mock to find which questions to skip and which easy ones you missed.

• Practise 40-minute sectional tests to get used to the fixed section order.

• Read daily for VARC and solve RC passages from varied topics.

• Pick DILR sets carefully in the first few minutes instead of solving them in order.

• Take the official mock test from 12 November to get used to the interface and on-screen calculator.

CAT 2026 will be held on 29 November 2026, with IIM Indore as the conducting institute and all 22 IIMs using the scores. If you have registered, use the edit window on 5–6 October if needed, download your admit card from 4 November through the candidate login, and use the remaining weeks for mocks and analysis. For every update, rely only on the official website, iimcat.ac.in.