ACTIVE 2026National Level

CAT 2026

Complete exam preparation resource — syllabus, exam pattern, important dates, admit card & free mock tests all in one place.

Lakhs of Aspirants

Verified Information

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Participating Institutions

IIM Ahmedabad

Courses: MBA (PGP), MBA-FABM, Executive MBA

IIM Bangalore

Courses: MBA (PGP), Executive MBA, Executive PGPEM

IIM Calcutta

Courses: MBA (PGDM), Executive MBA

IIM Lucknow

Courses: MBA (PGP), IPMX, WMP

IIM Kozhikode

Courses: MBA (PGP), Executive MBA

FMS Delhi

Courses: MBA

SPJIMR Mumbai

Courses: PGDM

MDI Gurgaon

Courses: PGDM

IIT Bombay

Courses: MBA, Executive MBA

IIT Delhi

Courses: MBA

CAT 2025 Result Declared

CAT 2025 result declared on December 24, 2025. 12 candidates scored 100 percentile. IIM shortlists released for MBA 2026-28 batch. WAT-PI rounds in Feb-Apr 2026.

Category

Details

Category

Exam Mode

DetailsComputer-Based Test (CBT)

Category

Frequency

DetailsOnce a year (November)

Category

Exam Duration

Details120 minutes (40 minutes per section)

Category

Number of Sections

Details3 (VARC, DILR, QA)

Category

Total Questions

Details66-68 questions

Category

Marking Scheme

Details+3 for correct, -1 for incorrect (MCQs only)

Category

CAT 2025 Status

DetailsResult declared on December 24, 2025. 12 candidates scored 100 percentile. IIM shortlists released for 2026-28 batch.

Mock Tests & Structure

Sample Papers

CAT Sample Paper 1

CAT Sample Paper 2

CAT Sample Paper 3

CAT Sample Paper 4

Test Pattern Details

Duration of CAT mocks

120 minutes

Number of questions

Total marks

198

Language of CAT mocks

English

Number of answer choices

4 (for MCQs)

Question type

MCQ and TITA (Type In The Answer)

Onscreen timer

Yes

Status of answers

Yes (Answered, Not Answered, Marked for Review)

Exam Schedule

Activity

Timeline

Activity

CAT 2026 Notification Release

Timeline

July 2026 (Expected)

Activity

Release of Application Form

Timeline

01 August 2026

Activity

Application Correction Window

Timeline

Late September 2026

Activity

Admit Card Release

Timeline

05 November 2026

Activity

Exam Date

Timeline

29 November 2026

Activity

Answer Key Release

Timeline

December 2026 (2-3 days after exam)

Activity

Answer Key Objection Window

Timeline

December 2026 (3-4 days)

Activity

Result Declaration

Timeline

January 2027 (First week)

Activity

IIM PI Shortlists

Timeline

January-February 2027

Syllabus

VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension)

Reading Comprehension
Para Jumbles
Para Summary
Sentence Correction
Vocabulary

DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning)

Data Interpretation (Graphs, Charts, Tables, Caselets)
Logical Reasoning (Puzzles, Arrangements, Sets)
Venn Diagrams
Blood Relations

QA (Quantitative Ability)

Algebra
Geometry
Arithmetic
Number Systems
Modern Mathematics
Trigonometry

Notifications & Past Events

Date

Event

Date:

01 Aug '25 - 20 Sep '25

CAT 2025 registration completed

Date:

27 Sep '25 - 30 Sep '25

CAT 2025 form correction process

Date:

12 Nov '25

CAT 2025 admit card released

Date:

30 Nov '25

CAT 2025 exam conducted

Date:

04 Dec '25

CAT 2025 provisional answer key released

Date:

08 Dec '25 - 10 Dec '25

CAT 2025 answer key objection window

Date:

17 Dec '25

CAT 2025 final answer key released

Date:

24 Dec '25

CAT 2025 result declared (2.58 lakh candidates appeared, 12 scored 100%ile)

Date:

Jan '26 - Feb '26

CAT 2025 IIM PI shortlists released for 2026-28 batch

Exam Pattern

Section

Questions

Duration

VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension)

Questions24

Duration40 minutes

DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning)

Questions20

Duration40 minutes

QA (Quantitative Ability)

Questions22

Duration40 minutes

Frequently Asked Questions

Bachelor's degree in any discipline with minimum 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD). Final year students are also eligible.

Visit iimcat.ac.in, register with email/mobile, fill application form, upload documents, and pay Rs. 2,400 (General/OBC-NCL) or Rs. 1,200 (SC/ST/PwD).

CAT 2026 is expected on November 29, 2026 (last Sunday of November). Official notification will be released in July 2026.

CAT 2025 result was declared on December 24, 2025. Out of 2.58 lakh candidates, 12 scored 100 percentile, 26 scored 99.99, and 26 scored 99.98 percentile.

All 21 IIMs participate in CAT for MBA/PGP admissions. Additionally, 1300+ B-schools across India accept CAT scores.

CAT has 3 sections (VARC, DILR, QA) with 66 questions total. Duration is 120 minutes (40 min per section). Marking: +3 for correct, -1 for incorrect MCQs.

CAT score is valid for one year only. CAT 2025 score is valid until December 31, 2026 for MBA admissions 2026-28 batch.

IIM A/B/C require 99-100 percentile for final selection. Qualifying cutoffs: IIM Ahmedabad 95+, IIM Bangalore 85+, IIM Calcutta 85+ percentile.