CAT 2026: The Indian Institutes of Management is set to conduct the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 on November 29, 2026, in three sessions. According to an official announcement, the exam conducting body will start the CAT 2026 registration on August 3, 2026. Interested and eligible students can visit the official website, iimcat.ac.in, to fill out the application form.
The CAT 2026 will be conducted by IIMs as a prerequisite for admission to various management programmes. Students are advised to read the eligibility criteria laid out by the exam conducting body before filling out the application form to avoid disqualification at any stage of the exam.
According to the official information, a candidate must hold a Bachelor's degree, with at least 50 per cent marks or equivalent CGPA awarded by any university or educational institution as incorporated by an Act of Parliament or State legislature in India or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognised by the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
However, candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories must score 45 per cent to be eligible.
Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelor's degree and those who are awaiting results can also apply. However, it may be noted that such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if they submit a certificate from the Principal/Registrar of their university or institution (issued on or before the date as stipulated by the respective IIM) stating that they have completed all the requirements for obtaining the Bachelor's degree.
Before applying for CAT 2026, candidates must check if they fulfill any one of the following conditions:
- Completed Bachelor's degree with the required percentage of marks.
- Completed professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA (CMA)/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI)) with required percentage.
- Should be in the final year of Bachelor's degree with required percentage.
It is important to note that the SC/ST/PwBD candidates should have a minimum 45 per cent. Meanwhile, for General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates, the minimum criteria is 50 per cent.
According to official information, IIMs may verify eligibility at various stages of the selection process.
