CAT Application Form 2026: Registration Closed, How to Apply and Form Correction

Common Admission Test (CAT) is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) on a rotational basis for admission to MBA, PGDM, and other management programmes at IIMs and over 1,200 participating B-schools across India. The CAT 2026 application form was open from August 3 to September 22, 2026 at iimcat.ac.in. The registration window is now closed; approximately 2.84 lakh students completed registration for CAT 2026. The CAT 2026 admit card is expected on November 4, 2026, and the exam is scheduled for November 29, 2026.

What is CAT Application Form 2026?

The CAT 2026 application form was the official online registration form issued by IIM Indore — the conducting body for CAT 2026 — for admission to MBA and PGDM programmes at all 21 IIMs and over 1,200 affiliated B-schools. Students registered at iimcat.ac.in between August 3 and September 22, 2026, paying a non-refundable fee of ₹2,700 (General/EWS/NC-OBC) or ₹1,350 (SC/ST/PwBD). Approximately 2.84 lakh students completed registration for CAT 2026, making it the gateway to India’s most competitive management entrance examination.

CAT 2026 is scheduled for November 29, 2026, and will be held in three sessions across approximately 170 test cities in India. The admit card is expected to be released on November 4, 2026 at iimcat.ac.in. The CAT score is valid for one year and is used by IIMs for their 2027–29 batch admissions, alongside academic profile, work experience, and interview performance.

Note: The CAT 2026 application window is now closed. Bookmark this page for CAT 2027 updates; the next notification is expected in July 2027.

CAT Registration Trends — Last 5 Years

CAT registrations peaked in 2023 and 2024 at approximately 3.28–3.29 lakh, before dipping to 2.95 lakh in 2025 — a decline of about 10%. CAT 2026 saw approximately 2.84 lakh completed registrations, continuing a modest downward trend from the 2023–24 peak. Exam-day attendance has remained consistently high at 83–89% across all years, indicating serious intent among registered students. Based on these patterns, CAT 2026 appearance figures are expected in the 2.45–2.55 lakh range once the exam concludes on November 29, 2026.

Source: iimcat.ac.in — Official CAT Portal

CAT Application Form 2026: Important Dates

The table below lists all key CAT 2026 application-related events. Upcoming events appear first in chronological order, followed by past events in the order they occurred. Use these dates to plan your admit card download and exam day preparation.

Source: iimcat.ac.in — Official CAT Portal

CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria (Before You Apply)

The following eligibility conditions applied to students who registered for CAT 2026. These criteria will remain substantially the same for CAT 2027 — review them before the next registration window opens.

Category (SC/ST/NC-OBC/EWS/PwBD) once selected at the time of registration cannot be changed. You must have a valid certificate from the competent authority before registering — do not select a reserved category without a supporting certificate.

Check all details before submitting — once the correction window closes, no changes are accepted under any circumstances.

How to Fill CAT Application Form 2026

Students registered for CAT 2026 by completing two phases at iimcat.ac.in. Here is how the process worked — use this as a complete reference for the CAT 2027 cycle.

Phase 1: New User Registration (Getting Your CAT ID)

1. Visit iimcat.ac.in and click "New User Registration".
2. Enter your name exactly as on your Class 10 certificate, date of birth, valid email ID, and mobile number.
3. Verify your mobile number using the OTP sent via SMS.
4. The system generates a unique CAT User ID and sends it to your registered email — note it down immediately.
5. Set a strong password and save your CAT ID and password securely — these credentials are required for admit card download, result, and IIM interview calls.

Phase 2: Complete the Application Form

1. Log in at iimcat.ac.in using your CAT User ID and password.
2. Fill in personal details: name, date of birth, gender, category, nationality, and correspondence address.
3. Fill in academic details: all qualifying degrees with percentage or CGPA, year of passing, and university name. Indicate if you are in the final year of your degree.
4. Enter work experience details (if any) — full-time months of work experience post-graduation, employer names, and designation. This data is used by IIMs at the shortlisting stage.
5. Select up to six test city preferences in order of preference — IIM Indore allocated one city from your list.
6. Upload your recent passport-size photograph and scanned signature in JPEG format within the specified file size.
7. Review all details carefully — cross-check name, date of birth, category, and photograph before proceeding.
8. Pay the application fee (₹2,700 for General/EWS/NC-OBC; ₹1,350 for SC/ST/PwBD) via debit card, credit card, net banking, or UPI.
9. Download and save the CAT 2026 registration confirmation page — this is your proof of successful registration.

Note: Submit only one application. Multiple registrations using different email IDs or mobile numbers from the same student are detected and rejected by the system — the application fee for duplicate registrations is not refunded.

Download and keep your confirmation page safe — it is required for admit card download, exam entry, and IIM interview calls.

Documents Required for CAT Application Form 2026

Students uploaded the following documents during CAT 2026 registration. Academic certificates and category documents were not required at the registration stage — these are verified at the IIM admission or interview stage.

Note: Upload a recent passport-size photograph taken after January 1, 2026, with a white or light-coloured background and at least 80% of your face clearly visible. Do not upload edited, filtered, studio-retouched, or collage photographs — these are rejected during scrutiny and may result in rejection of your CAT application.

NC-OBC certificates are time-sensitive: the certificate must be dated within one year of the IIM-specific cut-off date. An older certificate — even if valid for other purposes — is not accepted by IIMs for the OBC-NCL reservation benefit.

CAT Application Fee 2026

The CAT 2026 application fee was revised upward from the previous year. The General/EWS/NC-OBC fee increased from ₹2,600 (CAT 2025) to ₹2,700, and the SC/ST/PwBD fee increased from ₹1,300 to ₹1,350. The fee was payable online only — no offline payment mode was accepted.

Payment was accepted via: Debit Card, Credit Card, Net Banking, UPI. No offline payment (cheque, demand draft, or cash) was accepted.

The application fee is non-refundable — even if you withdraw your application or do not appear for the exam.

Note: The CAT 2026 application fee is non-refundable under any circumstances — including withdrawal of application, non-appearance on exam day, or rejection due to ineligibility.

Note: If your payment failed during registration, do not retry immediately — wait 48–72 hours for the amount to be auto-refunded to your original payment account before making a fresh payment attempt.

CAT Application Form Correction 2026

IIM Indore activated the CAT 2026 application form correction facility from October 5 to October 6, 2026. The correction window is now closed. Students who did not use this window cannot make any further changes to their CAT 2026 application. Only three types of changes were permitted.

What Could Be Changed

How the Correction Process Worked

1. Log in at iimcat.ac.in using your CAT 2026 User ID and password.
2. Click "Application Form Correction" from the dashboard.
3. Make permitted changes to photograph, signature, or test city preferences.
4. Submit the changes and download the revised registration confirmation page.

Note: The CAT 2026 correction window closed on October 6, 2026. No further changes are accepted under any circumstances. Carry a valid government-issued photo ID matching your registered name to the exam centre on November 29, 2026.

Check all details before submitting — once the correction window closes, no changes are accepted under any circumstances.