CAT 2026 (Common Admission Test) is India’s biggest MBA entrance exam for admission to 21 IIMs and over 1,200+ top B-schools. It is conducted once a year by one of the IIMs (expected IIM Indore for 2026).
CAT 2026 Exam Date: 29 November 2026 (Sunday – last Sunday of November, as per 20-year trend). Official Website: iimcat.ac.in (only authentic site – ignore fake ones).
CAT 2026 is not only meant for IIMs but other equally important institutes in the country. There are well reputed institute which only use CAT score for admission these are IITs, FMS DU, MDI and IIFT Delhi.
The validity of the CAT 2026 score is until December 2027 and score will be available
Important Timeline for CAT 2026 (Tentative – based on last 5 years pattern)
| Event | Expected Date (2026) |
| CAT 2026 Official Notification | Last week of July (≈26–27 July) |
| Registration Starts | 1st week of August |
| Registration Ends | 3rd week of September |
| Admit Card Download | First week of November |
| CAT 2026 Exam Date | 29 November 2026 |
| Answer Key | 1st week of December |
| CAT 2026 Result Declaration | 2nd/3rd week of December or January 2027 |
CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria
- Bachelor’s degree with minimum 50% aggregate (45% for SC/ST/PwD) from a recognised university.
- Final-year students appearing in 2026 exams can also apply.
- No age limit, no limit on number of attempts.
- Professional degrees (CA/CS/ICWA) are eligible.
Application Fee for CAT 2026
- General/EWS/OBC: ₹2,600
- SC/ST/PwD: ₹1,300 (Paid online only)
CAT 2026 Exam Pattern (No major changes expected from CAT 2025)
- Mode: Computer-Based Test (CBT) in 3 slots
- Total Questions: 68
- Sections (40 minutes each – cannot switch sections):
- VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension) – 24 questions
- DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning) – 22 questions
- QA (Quantitative Aptitude) – 22 questions
- Duration: 120 minutes (2 hours)
- Marking Scheme:
- +3 for every correct answer
- -1 for every wrong MCQ
- No negative marking for TITA (Type In The Answer) questions
- Total marks: 204
- Question types: MCQs + Non-MCQs (TITA)
Section-wise Syllabus (Standard Topics – Class 10–12 level for QA) for CAT 2026
1. VARC (24 Qs)
- Reading Comprehension (4–5 passages)
- Para Jumbles, Para Summary, Odd Sentence Out
- Sentence Completion, Fill in the Blanks
- Verbal Logic, Grammar, Synonyms-Antonyms
2. DILR (22 Qs)
- Tables, Bar Graphs, Pie Charts, Line Graphs
- Caselets, Venn Diagrams
- Logical Reasoning: Blood Relations, Syllogism, Seating Arrangement, Puzzles, Coding-Decoding, Direction Sense, Clocks & Calendars
3. QA (22 Qs)
- Arithmetic (Percentages, Profit-Loss, Ratio, Time-Speed-Distance, SI-CI)
- Algebra (Equations, Inequalities, Logarithms)
- Geometry & Mensuration
- Number System, Modern Math (Permutations, Probability)
Note: Syllabus has remained almost the same for the last 10+ years.
How to Prepare for CAT 2026 (Start Now – March 2026)
- Ideal start: 6–9 months serious preparation (6–8 hours daily).
- Phase 1 (Mar–Jun): Build concepts + basic mocks.
- Phase 2 (Jul–Oct): Sectional tests + full mocks (aim 40+ mocks).
- Phase 3 (Oct–Nov): Revision + previous year papers.
- Best Books:
- VARC → Arun Sharma + Norman Lewis
- DILR → Arun Sharma
- QA → Arun Sharma / Sarvesh Verma
Target Percentile for Top IIMs (approx): CAT 2026
- IIM Ahmedabad/Bangalore/Calcutta → 99.5+
- New IIMs → 95–98
FAQs CAT 2026
It has been the trend that CAT 2026 exam is conducted in the last week Sunday of November. So the 29 November is Sunday.
The Notification releases in the last week of July 2026 and application form opens in the first week of August. 2026
The admit card is released in the first of November 2026
There is no special eligibility criteria only the candidates should be graduate and have secured 50 percent marks
No such standard is set by IIMs. You must note that percentage for selection in IIMs or other equally reputed colleges is very high it hovers around 98 to 99 percent
68 questions in 3 sections (VARC 24 Qs, DILR 22 Qs, QA 22 Qs). Each section 40 minutes. Total 120 minutes. +3 correct, -1 wrong (no negative for TITA).
