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CAT 2026

CAT 2026 exam date & registration — what to actually do right now

The notification just dropped. Here's what matters this week, not just the dates everyone's already reposting.

CAT 2026 is on 29 November, conducted by IIM Indore across 170+ centres. Registration opens 3 August and closes mid-September (confirm the exact closing time on iimcat.ac.in — reported as 13-15 September depending on source). Fee is ₹2,700 general, ₹1,350 reserved. No syllabus or pattern changes this year — same 68-question, 3-section, 2-hour format as 2025.

3 Aug
Registration opens
Mid-Sep
Registration closes
29 Nov
Exam day

What to actually do this week

Before registration opens

  1. Gather documents now — category certificate, academic records, photo/signature specs — so registration day isn't a scramble
  2. Shortlist test cities early; popular centres fill up
  3. Start a study baseline test if you haven't already — you have roughly 4 months to exam day from registration open
  4. Decide your target percentile range against realistic college tiers — see CAT percentile vs college: what score gets you where

No pattern changes — don't let anyone tell you otherwise

VARC (24 questions), DILR (22), and QA (22) stay the same as 2025's format, sectional time limits unchanged at 40 minutes each. Be skeptical of any prep content claiming a major structural change this year — verify against the official notification at iimcat.ac.in.

Planning your prep timeline?

Talk to a verified alumnus who's actually been through this exact cycle.

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