The Common Admission Test (CAT 2026) registration window is closed. IIM Indore, the convening institute, first set the close at 15 September 2026 and then extended it. The official media release dated 15 September 2026 moved the close to 22 September 2026, 5:00 PM, and said that date would not be extended. New registration is not open. CAT 2026 is still the exam for postgraduate management programmes across all 21 IIMs and other institutes that accept the score, including FMS Delhi and SPJIMR.
Registration closed on 22 September 2026 at 5:00 PM IST. Do not pay a third party who says the form is still open. Candidates who already registered sit the computer-based exam on 29 November 2026, in three shifts. Admit-card and edit-window dates on iimcat.ac.in win if they differ from this page. For other entrance windows, use the Admissions board.
Marking: +3 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong MCQ. Type-in-the-answer (TITA) questions have no negative marking.
Who should skip CAT?
Save your money and months of prep if any of these apply to you:
Your degree aggregate is under 50% (45% for reserved categories). The cut-off is strict. Even 49.99% will get you rejected at document verification during the IIM interview stage.
You don’t have a category certificate in the Central Government format. OBC-NCL and EWS certificates must be valid for the financial year 2026–27. State formats without central validity are rejected.
You only want a distance or online MBA. CAT is for regular, full-time, on-campus management and doctoral programmes at IIMs and partner institutes.
What to do now that registration is closed
Do not start a new application. The official close was 22 September 2026, 5:00 PM.
If you already paid, log in at iimcat.ac.in and download the confirmation.
The 15 September release said a short edit window would open after close, and only for paid applicants. Editable fields named in that release: photograph, signature, and test-city preferences.
Ignore any message that asks for a fee to “reopen” the form. The only portal is iimcat.ac.in.
The exam date on the same release is 29 November 2026, three sessions, 120 minutes. Check the portal before you travel.
Other entrance exams, including engineering and research admissions, are on our Admissions board.
Stay safe: Campus Reality never charges you. Pay only the fee printed in the official notice, only on the official site (iimcat.ac.in). Nobody can guarantee selection for money.