CAT 2026 Registration Window Closing Soon: Check Application Guidelines

CAT 2026 registration: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore is set to close the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026 application portal soon. As per the official schedule, candidates can apply for the CAT 2026 exam till September 15, 2026. The exam itself will be conducted on November 29, 2026, in three sessions.

CAT remains the primary gateway to MBA courses at IIMs and is also used by several other business schools across the country for admission. Aspirants can visit the official website, iimcat.ac.in, to fill and submit their application form. The registration portal had opened on August 3, 2026.

Application Fee Details

The fee structure for CAT 2026 is as follows:

• Rs 1,350 for SC, ST, and PwBD candidates
• Rs 2,700 for all other candidates

Applicants should note that fees once paid cannot be refunded, so candidates are advised to confirm all details carefully before making the payment.

How to Apply for CAT 2026

The application process involves the following steps:

1. Register on iimcat.ac.in to generate a unique user ID and password
2. Log in using the generated credentials
3. Fill in the required personal, academic, and programme-related details in the application form
4. Complete the process by making the online fee payment

Correction Window Details

After the registration window closes, a short edit window will be made available exclusively to candidates who have successfully registered and paid the fee within the specified deadline. During this window, candidates will be able to edit only the following fields:

• Photograph
• Signature
• Test city preferences

No other details in the application form can be modified during this correction window, so candidates should ensure that all other information — including personal and academic details — is entered accurately during the initial registration itself, since those fields will not be editable afterward.

CAT 2026 Exam Pattern

According to the official test structure, the CAT exam will run for a total of 120 minutes. The test is divided into sections, with candidates given 40 minutes to answer questions in each section.

A key rule to note: candidates will not be allowed to switch between sections while answering questions within a given section. This means test-takers must complete or leave unanswered the questions in one section within its allotted 40 minutes before the system moves them to the next.

Why This Matters for MBA Aspirants?

With the registration deadline just days away, candidates who haven’t yet applied need to act quickly, since the process — registration, form-filling, and fee payment — can take some time, especially if application traffic increases closer to the deadline. Given that fees are non-refundable and most fields cannot be corrected after submission, care taken at the registration stage itself can save applicants from complications later.

For lakhs of MBA aspirants across India, CAT 2026 remains a critical exam, as a good percentile score can open doors not just to the IIMs but also to a wide range of other reputed business schools that accept CAT scores for their admission process.

Key Highlights

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