CAT 2026 Exam Dates: Registration Open till Sep 15, Admit Card Date and Result Date

The CAT 2026 notification has been officially released on iimcat.ac.in, and registration is currently open. IIM Indore is the conducting body for CAT 2026, with the exam scheduled for Sunday, November 29, 2026, across three slots in approximately 170 test cities nationwide. The official notification was released on July 25, 2026, confirming Prof. Aditya Billore of IIM Indore as the official CAT 2026 convenor.

• Registration Open Now: CAT 2026 registration started August 3, 2026 and closes September 15, 2026 at 5:00 PM — students must apply at iimcat.ac.in before the deadline; no late applications are accepted.
• Exam Date Confirmed: CAT 2026 will be held on November 29, 2026 (Sunday) in three two-hour slots — morning (8:30–10:30 AM), afternoon (12:30–2:30 PM), and evening (4:30–6:30 PM).
• Conducting IIM: IIM Indore under convenor Prof. Aditya Billore; the conducting IIM determines the question pattern, difficulty calibration, and slot allocation for the year.
• Admit Card: Will be available for download from November 4, 2026 at iimcat.ac.in — each student is assigned a specific slot and test city visible on the admit card.
• Result: CAT 2026 result is expected in the third week of December 2026; the scorecard is valid for one year only and accepted across IIMs and other participating B-schools.
• Application Correction Window: Expected from September 24–27, 2026 — photograph, signature, and test city preferences can be revised during this limited window.

For all the latest updates regarding CAT 2026 dates, schedule revisions, and official announcements, regularly visit the official CAT website iimcat.ac.in for authoritative information regarding final dates and the complete schedule.

What are the CAT 2026 Exam Dates?

CAT 2026 Registration Date: August–September 2026 (Open)

CAT 2026 registration opened on August 3, 2026 at 10:00 AM and is currently active. Students must complete the full application at iimcat.ac.in — including uploading a photograph and signature, selecting up to six test city preferences in priority order, and successfully processing the application fee — before September 15, 2026 at 5:00 PM.

• Registration Start Date: August 3, 2026 (10:00 AM) — window is currently open
• Application Fee: ₹2,400 for General / EWS / OBC students; ₹1,200 for SC / ST / PwD students
• Payment Mode: Online only — net banking, credit/debit card, or UPI; no offline or demand draft payments accepted
• Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% aggregate marks (45% for SC / ST / PwD students); final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply
• Action Required: Create a new account on iimcat.ac.in, fill the application form, upload documents, select test city preferences, and complete payment

CAT 2026 Application Form Deadline: September 15, 2026

The CAT 2026 registration window closes on September 15, 2026 at 5:00 PM. Unlike some national-level entrance exams, CAT does not offer a late-fee extension window — once the deadline passes, no new applications are accepted under any circumstances. Students who miss this date cannot appear for CAT 2026 and must wait for the next annual cycle.

• Last Date to Apply: September 15, 2026 (5:00 PM)
• Key Risk: Incomplete or unpaid applications are treated as invalid — ensure fee payment is processed and confirmed before 5:00 PM, not just initiated
• No Extension: IIM Indore has historically not extended CAT registration deadlines; plan well in advance to avoid technical or payment issues on the last day
• Action Required: Log in, verify all form fields, confirm documents are uploaded correctly, and complete fee payment before the deadline

Ques. What happens if I miss the CAT 2026 registration deadline?

CAT 2026 Application Correction Window: September 2026 (Expected)

IIM Indore is expected to open a short correction window approximately one week after registration closes — based on the prior-year pattern, this is anticipated from September 24 to September 27, 2026. During this window, students can revise a limited set of fields in their submitted application. This is the only opportunity to correct errors before the admit card is generated with fixed details.

• Expected Correction Window: September 24–27, 2026 (four days — based on CAT 2025 and CAT 2024 patterns)
• Editable Fields (Typical): Photograph, signature image, and test city preferences — personal identity details and academic information are usually locked after registration
• Fee for Correction: No additional charge for using the correction window
• Action Required: Log in to iimcat.ac.in during the correction window if any change is needed; corrections cannot be made after this window closes

Note: The application correction window dates for CAT 2026 have not been officially confirmed as of August 14, 2026. The September 24–27 dates are expected based on prior-year patterns. Official dates will be announced on iimcat.ac.in after registration closes on September 15, 2026.

CAT 2026 Admit Card Release Date: November 4, 2026

The CAT 2026 admit card will be released on November 4, 2026 at iimcat.ac.in, and will remain available for download until exam day (November 29, 2026). The admit card reveals each student’s assigned slot (morning, afternoon, or evening), test centre name and address, reporting time, and gate closure time. Entry into the test centre is not permitted without a printed copy of the admit card alongside a valid government-issued photo ID.

• Admit Card Release: November 4, 2026 (25 days before the exam)
• Available At: iimcat.ac.in — log in using CAT 2026 registration credentials
• Contains: Assigned slot, test centre address, reporting time, gate-closing time, and instructions for exam day
• Print Requirement: Colour printout on A4 paper — a digital copy on a phone is not accepted at most test centres
• Action Required: Download and print as soon as available; verify all details (name, photo, centre address) and contact iimcat.ac.in helpdesk immediately if any discrepancy is found

Note: Report to the exam centre at least 45–60 minutes before your assigned slot start time. Late entry after gate closure is not permitted under any circumstances — even if you hold a valid admit card.

Ques. How many days before CAT 2026 will the admit card be released?

CAT 2026 Exam Date and Slot-wise Schedule: November 29, 2026

CAT 2026 will be conducted on Sunday, November 29, 2026 in three sessions, each two hours (120 minutes) long. IIM Indore will allocate students to one of three slots — the assignment is made by the conducting IIM and is non-transferable. Students cannot request a specific slot or swap with another student; the slot appears on the admit card released November 4, 2026.

CAT 2026 Slot-wise Schedule: November 29, 2026

Note: The exact reporting and gate-closure times shown above are based on prior CAT cycles and are indicative. The official timing for CAT 2026 will be printed on the admit card released on November 4, 2026. Report to the exam centre well ahead of the gate-closure time; no entry is permitted after the gate closes.

• Duration: 120 minutes (2 hours) per slot — no bio-break is permitted during the exam
• Mode: Computer-Based Test (CBT) only — no pen-and-paper option exists
• Test Cities: Approximately 170 cities across India; city assigned by IIM Indore based on preference and availability
• Sections: VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension), DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning), QA (Quantitative Ability)
• Slot Assignment: Random by IIM Indore — each student gets exactly one slot and cannot choose or change it
• Score Normalisation: Scores are normalised across all three slots using the equi-percentile method to ensure fairness regardless of which slot a student was assigned

Ques. What time does the CAT 2026 morning slot start, and when should I report?

CAT 2026 Response Sheet and Answer Key: December 2026

After CAT 2026 on November 29, IIM Indore is expected to release the response sheet in early December 2026 — typically within three to five days of the exam. The response sheet allows students to view their slot-specific questions alongside the responses they marked, which helps estimate performance before the official result is declared.

• Response Sheet (Expected): First week of December 2026 — accessible by logging in to iimcat.ac.in
• Answer Key: Not all conducting IIMs release a separate public answer key; IIM Indore’s policy for 2026 will be known post-exam; if released, it typically accompanies or closely follows the response sheet
• Objection Window: If provided, students can formally challenge answers to specific questions; the conducting IIM reviews objections and may revise the key before computing final scores
• Score Computation: Final scores are computed using equi-percentile normalisation across three slots — this process accounts for any difficulty variation between morning, afternoon, and evening question sets
• Action Required: Log in to iimcat.ac.in in early December 2026 to check the response sheet; note any question-level discrepancy before the objection window (if any) closes

Ques. Does CAT release an official answer key after the exam?

CAT 2026 Result Date: Third Week of December 2026

The CAT 2026 result is expected in the third week of December 2026 — likely around December 19–22, based on the 21–25 day result window observed consistently in recent years. The result will be published on iimcat.ac.in. Students can log in using their CAT 2026 credentials to view and download their scorecard.

• Expected Result Date: Third week of December 2026 (approximately December 19–22, 2026)
• Scorecard Contains: Section-wise scaled score, overall scaled score, section-wise percentile, and overall percentile — all derived after equi-percentile normalisation across slots
• Score Validity: One year only — the CAT 2026 scorecard is valid for admissions to programmes starting in 2027; it cannot be carried forward to 2028 IIM applications
• Accepting Institutions: All 21 IIMs plus hundreds of other B-schools, FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR, and other top management institutes accept CAT scores
• Action Required: Download the official scorecard from iimcat.ac.in; use it to apply to non-IIM institutes that have their own separate application portals and deadlines

Ques. When will the CAT 2026 result be declared?

IIM Shortlisting and Admission Schedule: January–May 2027

CAT 2026 has no centralised counselling or seat-allotment process. Each of the 21 IIMs independently shortlists students, conducts its own WAT-PI (Written Ability Test and Personal Interview) rounds, and issues admission offers on its own timeline. Students shortlisted by multiple IIMs must manage separate applications, interview dates, and offer-acceptance deadlines simultaneously.

• Shortlisting Criteria: Each IIM applies its own composite score formula that typically combines CAT percentile, Class X marks, Class XII marks, graduation score, work experience, gender diversity, and academic diversity — weights differ across IIMs
• Shortlist Release (Expected): January 2027 — individual IIMs begin publishing shortlists after the CAT result in late December
• WAT-PI Rounds (Expected): February–April 2027 — personal interviews and written ability tests conducted at IIM campuses or designated cities
• Final Admission Offers (Expected): April–May 2027 — offers released in stages; students must accept within the stipulated deadline or the seat passes to the next shortlisted student
• Academic Session Start (Expected): June–July 2027 for MBA / PGP programmes at IIMs

Ques. When will IIM shortlisting and WAT-PI interviews begin after CAT 2026?

Year-wise CAT Exam Dates and Trends

The table below tracks CAT’s full event timeline — notification, registration close, exam date, and result — across the last five cycles. Together, these columns reveal the predictable rhythm of the CAT calendar that IIM Indore will follow for 2026:

Source: iimcat.ac.in (official CAT notification archive and result announcements)

Three clear patterns emerge. First, the notification consistently drops in late July — except CAT 2021 (August), which was slightly delayed due to pandemic-related scheduling adjustments. For 2026, IIM Indore released the notification on July 25, well within this window. Second, registration closes in September every year, giving students roughly six to seven weeks to apply. Third, results land within 21–25 days of the exam in the third week of December — except CAT 2021 (result January 3, 2022), delayed by post-pandemic academic calendar compression. CAT 2026’s projected third-week-of-December result is consistent with the last four uninterrupted cycles.

Ques. Has CAT ever been postponed or conducted outside November?

Will CAT 2026 Be Conducted in Three Slots?

Yes — CAT 2026 will be conducted in three slots on a single Sunday. IIM Indore has confirmed three sessions (morning, afternoon, and evening) on November 29, 2026. This is the same three-slot, computer-based format that IIM Indore itself introduced for CAT 2020, and which every subsequent conducting IIM has retained. There are no indications of a return to the pre-2020 two-session format.

• Three-slot format origin: CAT 2020 — introduced by IIM Indore itself, the same institution conducting CAT 2026
• Reason for three slots: Distributing 3+ lakh students across three sessions on a single day keeps test-centre occupancy manageable without extending the exam across multiple days
• Score normalisation: Different question sets are used across the three slots; IIM Indore will apply the equi-percentile method to produce comparable percentile scores regardless of which slot a student was assigned
• Slot assignment: Completely random by IIM Indore — students cannot request or change their assigned slot; the assignment is visible only after the admit card is released on November 4, 2026
• Duration: Each slot is 120 minutes (2 hours) with no bio-break permitted — a rule that has applied consistently since 2020

Ques. Does the slot assigned for CAT 2026 affect my final percentile?

Countdown to CAT 2026 Exam Date

As of August 14, 2026, there are approximately 107 days until CAT 2026 on November 29, 2026. The table below breaks down the remaining schedule into key milestones to help students plan both their preparation and their application timeline precisely:

Source: Calculated from iimcat.ac.in official dates as of August 14, 2026