CAT

Dates

Official 2026 dates

Application opens

03/08/2026

Last date to apply

22/09/2026

Exam

29/11/2026 (Sunday), three sessions: forenoon, afternoon and evening

Result

Likely by the first week of January 2027 (per the CAT 2026 Information Bulletin)

Conducted by

Indian Institutes of Management (CAT 2026 convened by IIM Indore)

For

MBA / PGP and other postgraduate and doctoral management programmes of the IIMs; score also used by listed non-IIM institutions

Mode

Computer-based test

Attempts per year

Once a year (one session only per candidate)

Application fee

SC, ST and PwBD ₹1,350; all other candidates ₹2,700 (paid once, whatever the number of institutes applied to)

Eligibility

A Bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA (45% for SC, ST and PwD candidates) from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Ministry of Education. Final-year Bachelor's students and those awaiting results can also apply. There is no age limit.

Score used for

Admission to MBA / PGP programmes of the IIMs and of listed non-IIM member institutions; CAT 2026 score valid till 31/12/2027

For Maharashtra students

CAT is needed for IIM Mumbai and IIM Nagpur and is accepted by several Maharashtra B-schools on the official non-IIM list (e.g. SPJIMR, K J Somaiya, Welingkar, IMT Nagpur, TISS); CAT scores are also one of the scores accepted in Maharashtra's MBA / MMS CAP run by the State CET Cell (check the CET Cell MBA brochure).