CAT 2026 Official Notification Out; Registration Begins August 3

New Delhi: The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have officially released the information bulletin for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 on their dedicated portal, iimcat.ac.in. Management aspirants across the country can submit their applications online starting from 10:00 AM on 3 August 2026, with the registration window remaining open until 5:00 PM on 15 September 2026.

The computer-based test is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 29 November 2026, across approximately 170 test cities nationwide, divided into three distinct sessions.

Key Exam Timelines And Application Details

Registration Portal: Applications must be submitted exclusively through iimcat.ac.in.

Application Fee: ₹2,700 for General, EWS, and NC-OBC candidates; ₹1,350 for SC, ST, and PwD candidates.

Admit Card Availability: Hall tickets will be accessible for download online from 4 November until the examination day.

Results Declaration: Final scorecards are expected to be announced in the first week of January 2027, remaining valid until 31 December 2027.

Eligibility And Examination Structure

To qualify for CAT 2026, candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50 per cent aggregate marks (45 per cent for SC, ST, and PwD categories) or possess an equivalent professional qualification such as CA, CS, or CMA. Final-year undergraduate students are also eligible to apply provisionally.

The examination pattern remains consistent with recent editions, comprising 68 questions structured into three timed sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). Each section carries a strict 40-minute limit.

CAT 2026 serves as the primary entrance gateway for postgraduate management programmes across 21 IIMs, alongside over 1,200 non-IIM business schools, including FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, and the Department of Management Studies across various IITs.