What Is The Last Date For CAT Registration 2026?

The last date for CAT 2026 registration is September 15, 2026 (by 5:00 PM IST). As of the September 3, 2026 update, registration remains open on the official CAT website, iimcat.ac.in; the process began on August 3, 2026. The CAT 2026 exam is scheduled to be held on November 29, 2026. Here is all the essential information to help you complete your application accurately and on time.

Last Updated: September 3, 2026

CAT Registration 2026 Last Date

CAT Registration 2026 closes on September 15, 2026, at 5:00 PM IST, as per the official notification from IIM Indore, the conducting institute. Registration opened on August 3, 2026, at 10:00 AM IST on iimcat.ac.in. The application fee is ₹2,700 for General/EWS/NC-OBC candidates and ₹1,350 for SC/ST/PwD candidates. CAT 2026 will be held on November 29, 2026.

In This Article

• CAT 2026 Quick Facts
• Is CAT 2026 Registration Still Open?
• CAT 2026 Application Fee and Payment Methods
• Who Can Apply: CAT 2026 Eligibility
• How to Complete CAT 2026 Registration (Step-by-Step)
• Documents and Details You Will Need
• Before You Submit: A Pre-Submission Checklist
• Common CAT Registration Mistakes to Avoid
• What Happens If You Miss the CAT Registration Deadline?
• CAT 2026 Correction Window
• After Registration: Admit Card, Exam Date, and What Comes Next
• CAT’s Role in MBA Admission in India

CAT 2026 Quick Facts

Is CAT 2026 Registration Still Open?

As of September 3, 2026, CAT registration is open and will remain so until September 15, 2026. If you’re reading this before the deadline, you still have time, but don’t wait for the last day. IIM Indore hasn’t announced any change to this closing date so far.

Registration windows for CAT have occasionally been extended by a few days in past years, but that’s never something to count on. If you’re close to the deadline, treat September 15 at 5:00 PM as final and check iimcat.ac.in directly for any real-time updates rather than assuming an extension will happen.

For most aspirants, this single date decides whether the rest of the year’s plans stay on track. Missing it doesn’t just delay your CAT attempt; it pushes back your entire MBA admission in India timeline by a full year. That’s a real cost worth weighing before you leave registration for the last minute.

CAT 2026 Application Fee and Payment Methods

The application fee depends on your category:

• General, EWS, and NC-OBC candidates: ₹2,700
• SC, ST, and PwD candidates: ₹1,350

Payment is made online through the registration portal, and candidates can typically pay via debit card, credit card, net banking, or UPI. The exact options available on the day can depend on the payment gateway in use, so confirm the amount shown on the final payment page before proceeding. Keep your payment confirmation and transaction ID handy until your admission process is fully complete, since the fee is generally non-refundable once paid.

Who Can Apply: CAT 2026 Eligibility

You’re eligible for CAT 2026 if you meet any one of these conditions:

• You hold a bachelor’s degree with at least 50% aggregate marks (45% for SC, ST, and PwD candidates) from a recognized university.
• You’re in the final year of your bachelor’s degree and can furnish proof of degree completion within the timeline the conducting institute specifies.
• You hold a completed professional qualification such as CA, CS, CMA/ICWA, or Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI), meeting the same percentage requirement.

There’s no upper age limit for CAT. Eligibility details for specific programmes can still vary across IIMs, so it’s worth reading the official CAT 2026 information bulletin in full before you begin your application.

How to Complete CAT 2026 Registration (Step-by-Step)

The registration process follows this flow:

1. Create your CAT account. Visit iimcat.ac.in, click the registration link, and enter your name, date of birth, email ID, and mobile number. You’ll verify these through an OTP.
2. Fill the application form. After OTP verification, you’ll receive a User ID and password. Log in and complete personal, academic, and work-experience details.
3. Upload required documents. This includes a scanned photograph and signature that meet the prescribed size and format specified in the official registration guide.
4. Select programmes and test cities. Choose your preferred IIM programmes and rank up to five test cities in order of preference.
5. Pay the application fee. Complete payment through one of the available online modes and wait for confirmation before closing the page.
6. Review and submit. Check every field carefully, since not all details can be changed once submitted.
7. Save your confirmation. Download or screenshot your final submission page and payment receipt for your records.

Documents and Details You Will Need

Keep these ready before you start the form:

• A scanned photograph and signature meeting the specifications given in the official registration guide.
• Academic details to enter: institution names, marks or CGPA, and passing years for your qualifying degree (and Class 10/12 details where the form asks for them).
• Category certificate details, if applying under SC, ST, NC-OBC, EWS, or PwD categories, since these determine your fee slab and reservation status.
• Work experience details, if applicable, including organization name and duration.
• A valid, active email address and mobile number you’ll check regularly through the admissions cycle.
• A valid government-issued photo ID, which you won’t need at registration but must carry to the exam centre later.

For exact photo/signature dimensions, file formats, and size limits, follow the specifications in the official CAT 2026 registration guide rather than a general estimate, since these details are strictly enforced by the portal.

Before You Submit: A Pre-Submission Checklist

Run through this before you hit final submit:

• Name, date of birth, and category exactly match your official documents.
• Photograph and signature meet the prescribed specifications and are clearly visible.
• Academic scores and passing years are entered correctly for every qualification.
• Test city preferences are ranked in a genuinely usable order, not just the first ones that come to mind.
• Programme and IIM preferences reflect what you actually want to be considered for.
• Payment has gone through, and a confirmation or receipt has been generated.
• You’ve saved a copy of the final submitted form.

Common CAT Registration Mistakes to Avoid

• Entering inaccurate personal or academic information.
• Using an email address or phone number you don’t check regularly.
• Uploading a photograph or signature that doesn’t meet the size or format rules.
• Choosing test cities without considering distance or realistic availability.
• Forgetting to save the payment receipt or confirmation page.
• Waiting until the last day or the last hour to register, when payment gateways and servers see the heaviest traffic.

What Happens If You Miss the CAT Registration Deadline?

If the registration window closes on September 15, 2026, without an official extension and you haven’t submitted your form, you won’t be able to register for CAT 2026. CAT generally doesn’t offer a late-fee window the way some other exams do, so a missed deadline typically means waiting for the next year’s cycle or looking at other MBA entrance exams still open around that time, such as XAT, CMAT, or SNAP.

Any extension to the deadline is decided solely by IIM Indore as the conducting institute and should never be assumed. If you’re registering close to the deadline, submit a day or two early rather than in the final hours, since payment gateways can slow down and document uploads can fail under heavy last-minute traffic.

CAT 2026 Correction Window

IIMs have historically opened a short correction window after the main registration period closes, allowing candidates to fix specific fields such as test city preference. Whether CAT 2026 will follow the same pattern, and exactly which fields it would cover, hasn’t been confirmed in the current official notification. Check iimcat.ac.in and the official information bulletin directly for confirmed correction-window dates once they’re announced, rather than assuming last year’s rules will repeat exactly.

After Registration: Admit Card, Exam Date, and What Comes Next

Once your registration is confirmed:

• Admit card: Per the official notification, the CAT 2026 admit card is scheduled for release on November 4, 2026, downloadable from iimcat.ac.in using your login credentials.
• Exam date: CAT 2026 will be conducted on November 29, 2026 (Sunday), across multiple shifts and test cities.
• Result: Results are expected in the first week of January 2027, per the official notification, though this timeline is described as tentative.

Carry a printed admit card and a valid government photo ID to your test centre; CAT does not permit entry without both.

CAT’s Role in MBA Admission in India

CAT registration is the starting point of MBA admission in India, not the finish line. Your CAT score and percentile are an important part of how IIMs and other B-schools shortlist candidates for the next stage, typically a Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), or Personal Interview (PI). Alongside your percentile, individual institutes may also weigh academic record, work experience, category, gender diversity, and other institute-specific criteria, and each IIM sets its own shortlisting formula.

Registering for CAT does not guarantee admission to an IIM or any other institute. Once results are declared, the process moves to the individual institute level, where each IIM and B-school runs its own selection rounds. If you’re exploring MBA admission in India through routes other than CAT, some B-schools do run separate direct-entry MBA admission tracks with their own eligibility and selection criteria — but these are distinct pathways at the institute level, not a way to bypass CAT-based IIM admission. Always confirm any such route directly with the concerned institute.

For related reading on this site: exploring MBA admission in India, understanding MBA career opportunities in India after CAT, and IIM/college selection guidance are natural next topics once your CAT registration is done. (Internal links to be added once destination URLs are confirmed.)

Not Sure Where to Start With Your CAT Application or MBA Shortlist?

If you’d like a second opinion on your profile, IIM shortlist, or test-city choices, College Dunias offers CAT registration assistance, IIM and college selection guidance, profile and percentile analysis, MBA career counselling, and application and admission support. This is independent educational guidance — College Dunias is not the CAT registration authority, is not IIM Indore, and is not officially affiliated with CAT or the IIMs. It cannot guarantee any CAT percentile, IIM admission, MBA admission, or placement outcome. Your actual CAT registration must always be completed on the official portal at iimcat.ac.in.

Reach out at +91-7065930006 or visit www.collegedunias.com for support.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the exact last date and closing time for CAT registration 2026?
   
   CAT 2026 registration closes on September 15, 2026, at 5:00 PM IST, as per IIM Indore’s official notification. Candidates should submit their application well before this time, since the portal does not accept entries after the deadline passes.
2. Will IIM Indore extend the CAT 2026 registration deadline?
   
   There’s no confirmed extension for CAT 2026 as of this update. Deadlines have occasionally been extended by a few days in past years, but this is solely at the conducting IIM’s discretion. Rely only on iimcat.ac.in for confirmed changes, not assumptions based on past cycles.
3. What happens if I miss the CAT 2026 registration deadline?
   
   If the window closes without an official extension and you haven’t submitted your form, you cannot register for CAT 2026, since a late-fee window is generally not offered. You would need to wait for the next CAT cycle or consider other MBA entrance exams still accepting applications.
4. Can I correct details after submitting my CAT 2026 application?
   
   IIMs have historically opened a limited correction window for specific fields after registration closes, but the exact CAT 2026 dates and scope aren’t confirmed in the current notification. Check iimcat.ac.in directly for confirmed correction-window details once announced.
5. When will the CAT 2026 admit card and exam be held?
   
   Per the official notification, the CAT 2026 admit card is scheduled for release on November 4, 2026, and the exam will be conducted on November 29, 2026. Download your admit card promptly and carry a printed copy along with a valid photo ID to the test centre.