How to Apply For CAT

The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 Entrance Exam is conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), with IIM Indore highly expected to act as the official organizing body for the year.

The test serves as the mandatory screening channel for admission to Postgraduate Management Programs across the 22 core IIMs and allied top-tier business schools.

The organizing body will release the official CAT 2026 notification on July 26, 2026, with the online registration window opening in the first week of August. Online registration will start on August 5, 2026, and conclude on September 18, 2026, at 5:00 PM. Candidates aiming to appear for the national-level entrance exam must complete and submit their registration profile successfully within this timeframe.

The CAT 2026 Exam is scheduled for Sunday, November 29, 2026. It will be conducted across three separate time slots (Morning, Afternoon, and Evening) and will evaluate candidates across three sequential sections.

Candidates are strictly advised to review the official notification booklet before attempting to fill out the online application. During registration, candidates must choose any five preferred test cities from the system dropdown menu. After registration closes, candidates will be allocated one of their five selected cities based on lab availability. In rare instances where capacity constraints arise, candidates will be assigned a nearby city. Registered candidates can download their official admit cards from November 12 through November 29, 2026..

How To Apply?

• CAT aspirants can buy vouchers online directly from the CAT website
• The vouchers are also available through Axis Bank branches Aspirants can register online from CAT website
• Candidates are advised to read the instructions before filling the application form Once the data of the application form is filled, they will not allow the candidate to change/ alter the data entered by the candidate, at any point of time
• Candidates must have the valid email-id throughout the process
• For security reasons, editing of candidate's full name, date of birth, email id, mobile number, and country will not be allowed Once the application form is filled, candidate has to make the payment online through credit/debit card and net banking facility After all the procedure, candidate will receive a confirmation email notification which is used for registering the CAT

Steps to Register CAT 2026 Exam:

Step 1: Login to the CAT official website and register as a new user to generate User ID and Password

Step 2: Login with Registered User ID and Password

Step 3: Fill the Application Form

The application form contains:

Personal Details: Co mmunication Address, Emergency Contact Details, Upload Documents.

Academics: SSC/Class 10 Equivalent Details, Class 12/Diploma/Equivalent Details, Bachelor's Degree Details, Master Degree and other Professional Degree Details.

Work Experience:

Programmes: Interview City Preferences

Test City:

Payment: Application Payment, Application Summary, Application Confirmation Email

CAT 2024 Application Fee:

For General Category Candidates - INR 2600/-.

For NC - OBC Category Candidates - INR 2600/-.

For SC/ST/PwD Category Candidates - INR 1300/-.

For All Other Categories - INR 2600/-.

Please note that a candidate needs to pay the registration fee only once, irrespective of the number of Institutes he / she is applying for. SC / ST and PwD candidates must upload of their SC / ST / PwD certificates at the time of registration. Fees once paid cannot be refunded under any circumstances.