CAT 2026 Exam Dates (Announced): Check Registration, Admit Card & Exam Schedule

CAT Exam Date 2026: IIM Indore will conduct the CAT 2026 exam on November 29, 2026. Candidates will get all the relevant dates regarding application forms, admission cards, and other exam events from CAT official website. The tentative date for the declaration of the CAT 2026 result has also been announced.  CAT registration is open and the last date to apply for the IIM CAT 2026 exam is September 15, 2026 . CAT 2026 admit card will be available for download from 4 November 2026. According to the provisional schedule, the CAT 2026 result is likely to be declared in the third week of December 2026. Candidates are advised to visit the official CAT 2026 website to get the latest updates on CAT exam date 2026. Candidates can go through the CAT 2026 exam schedule below.

Candidates will be required to keep updated on the schedule of events for CAT 2026 to keep track of important dates such as registration, admit card release, release of the answer key, and many others. Check the table below for CAT 2026 exam dates:

CAT 2026 registration process is expected to remain open for around 45 days. Candidates need to visit the official CAT website and create a registration ID before filling out the application form. When filling up the form, the candidates have to choose five preferred cities in which they want to appear for the CAT exam. Registration fee for CAT has to be made online along with the application form. After the end of the application process, there will be a window of 2 to 3 days in which the candidates can make changes to the photograph, signature, and preferred cities selected by them in the application form.

CAT 2026 will be conducted by IIM Indore on November 29, 2026. The exam will be held in three sessions across designated test centres in India. The CAT 2026 exam pattern and difficulty level will be known after the examination is conducted. Below are the major highlights of the CAT 2026 exam:

CAT admit card 2026 will be released on November 4. The exact date for the announcement will be provided through the official CAT 2026 notification. The admit card of CAT 2026 can be downloaded by the candidates through the exam’s official website. The admit card will include all the necessary information like the candidate’s name, picture, signature, category, gender, date of birth, examination date, examination slot, examination center, examination timings, and reporting time. The candidates need to download and verify their admit card. This admit card will be valid till the date of the exam as it will be used in the admission process as well.

CAT 2026 exam will take place through Computer-Based Test (CBT) form across different test centres in India. The test will take place in three sessions:

• Morning session: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM
  
• Afternoon session: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM
• Evening session: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM

There will be 40 minutes for each section. For PwD aspirants, there will be 13 minutes and 20 seconds extra time for each section.

Both the official CAT 2026 answer key and the students’ response sheets will be provided through login access at the CAT exam official site. Once released, the candidates will be given an objection period of 2-3 days to raise objections against the provisional answer key. Candidates will be required to pay an objection fee of INR 1,500 for each question objected to. All objections raised by the candidates will be considered, and in case any objection is found to be true, the answer key will be revised.

IIMCAT is likely to announce the CAT 2026 result in the third week of December 2026. The candidates can download their CAT scorecards from the official site, iimcat.ac.in. The CAT scorecard comprises the personal information of the candidate, along with their individual and total scores and percentiles. CAT percentile is very important for getting admission in IIMs and some other reputed business schools in India. It is suggested that the candidate store his/her CAT scorecard as it will remain downloadable for one year. The CAT 2026 scorecard is expected to be valid up to December 31, 2027.

IIM CAT counselling session for the batch of 2027 is supposed to be conducted in January and February 2027. Once the results of CAT 2026 have been declared, the list of candidates appearing for PI at various institutes would be released by them. Candidates shortlisted for this round would have to go through the PI round of application within the stipulated time frame. Every IIM and other institutes would have different deadlines for PI applications and interview. Different PI rounds would also be held by each of the institutes on different dates. The final list of admissions is likely to come out in the month of May, 2027.