CAT 2026 notification released at iimcat.ac.in; registrations begins from August 3

The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 notification has been issued on the official website at iimcat.ac.in. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have scheduled the CAT 2026 to be conducted on Sunday, November 29, 2026, in three sessions across the country in around 170 test cities. The registration process for the CAT 2026 is set to begin from 10:00 AM on August 3, 2026, with the last date to submit the application form set as September 15, 2026, up to 05:00 PM. The CAT 2026 serves as a national entrance test for 21 IIMs and other top B-schools including FMS Delhi, SPJIMR, MDI Gurgaon, IITs, and IIFT.

The detailed CAT 2026 notification PDF is available on the aforementioned official website for candidates to check. The admit card for the CAT 2026 will be released online on November 4, 2026, on the online portal. Candidates will be able to download the hall tickets from the release date until the exam date, i.e. November 29, 2026. As per the official notification, the CAT Result 2026 will likely be declared by the first week of January 2027. Additionally, candidates should note that the CAT 2026 score will only be valid up to December 31, 2027.

Eligibility

Candidates must hold a bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD) from a recognised university or institution. Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply. There is no upper age limit.

Exam Pattern

No major changes are expected in the CAT 2026 pattern. It will follow the CAT 2025 structure with 68 questions divided across three sections – 24 in Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), 22 in Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and 22 in Quantitative Aptitude (QA).

The exam carries a strict sectional time limit of 40 minutes, with candidates unable to switch between sections. Approximately 70% of questions are Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and 30% are Type-In-The-Answer (TITA) questions. Negative marking of one mark applies only to wrong MCQ answers.

Registration Fees

The registration fee for the CAT 2026 is Rs. 2,700 for General category candidates while for the SC,ST and PwD category candidates it is Rs. 1,350.

Candidates are advised to visit iimcat.ac.in regularly for official updates.