CAT 2026: Exam Date, Registration, Eligibility, Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Admit Card, Result & Cutoff
Course: MBA
The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 is India's premier national-level MBA entrance examination conducted for admission to the 22 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and more than 1,600 leading B-schools across the country. Every year, more than three lakh MBA aspirants register for CAT to compete for admission into prestigious institutions offering MBA, PGDM, and other postgraduate management programs.
As per the latest official notification, CAT 2026 registration commenced on 3 August 2026, and candidates can submit their application forms until 15 September 2026 (5:00 PM). The CAT 2026 examination will be held on Sunday, 29 November 2026, in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode across 170+ test cities in India.
CAT 2026 Highlights
CAT is widely regarded as India's most prestigious MBA entrance examination and serves as the primary gateway to the IIMs and several other top-ranked management institutes. The examination assesses candidates across three sections—Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA). A strong CAT percentile can help candidates secure admission to leading institutes such as FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IIT Departments of Management, IMI New Delhi, Great Lakes Institute of Management, TAPMI, and many other reputed B-schools.
CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria
Candidates must hold a Bachelor's degree from a recognized university with at least 50% aggregate marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD candidates). Students in the final year of their graduation are also eligible to apply, provided they complete their degree within the prescribed time. Professional qualification holders such as CA, CS, CMA, or Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI) are also eligible to register for CAT 2026.
CAT 2026 Exam Pattern
CAT 2026 is expected to follow the existing exam format with three sections—VARC, DILR, and QA. The examination duration will be 120 minutes, with 40 minutes allotted to each section. Candidates receive +3 marks for every correct answer, while -1 mark is deducted for each incorrect MCQ. There is no negative marking for Type in the Answer (TITA) questions.
CAT 2026 Admit Card & Result
The CAT 2026 Admit Card will be available for download from 4 November 2026 until the examination day. Candidates can download their admit cards by logging into the official CAT website using their registered User ID and password. The CAT 2026 Result is expected to be announced in December 2026, after which participating institutes will begin their shortlisting process for the next admission rounds.
CAT 2026 Expected Cutoff
The CAT cutoff varies across institutes and categories. Candidates typically require an overall percentile of 98–99+ to receive interview calls from the top IIMs. However, actual admission depends on multiple factors, including category, academic profile, work experience, Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), Personal Interview (PI), and the final selection criteria of the respective institute. Many reputed MBA colleges also accept candidates with 80–95 percentile, depending on their admission policy.
