CMAT Cutoff 2026 for OBC Category: Expected Percentile & Previous Year Trends

CMAT Cutoff 2026 for OBC Category: Expected Percentile & Previous Year Trends

Himanshu ShekharUpdated on 17 Sep 2025, 03:48 PM IST

The CMAT cutoff for OBC candidates of various CMAT-accepting colleges points out a certain amount of relaxation in the percentile score. The CMAT 2026 cutoff for OBC category will be released by colleges after the declaration of the CMAT result. Based on previous year trends, CMAT cutoff for OBC is expected to be 75 percentile. The candidates from the Other Backward Caste (OBC non-creamy layer) category have been provided with a reservation of 27% (approximately) of the total seats offered by the government and private MBA colleges combined.

CMAT Cutoff 2026 for OBC Category: Expected Percentile & Previous Year Trends
CMAT Cutoff for OBC Category

CMAT Cutoff for OBC 2026

OBC candidates can expect the CMAT 2026 cutoff to be in the range of 80-99 (approx.) for most of the colleges accepting CMAT scores. The CMAT score to obtain after normalization for this cutoff percentile should be between 200-310 (approx.). The expected CMAT 2026 cutoff percentile for OBC candidates seeking admission to MBA/PGDM courses of a few top B schools for the academic year 2026-2027 is presented in the table below.

Also Read: CMAT accepting colleges

Previous Year's CMAT Cutoff for OBC

The CMAT cutoff trends over the previous years are important to evaluate to study the effect of various contributing factors like exam difficulty for different shifts, total candidates appearing, seats offered, and normalization of scores. The generalized average CMAT cutoff for the last couple of years for different categories (reserved and unreserved) is given below.

CategoryCMAT Cutoff 2025CMAT Cutoff 2024
CMAT Cutoff 2023

General

9595

95

SC/ST/OBC

7575

75

PWD

7575

75

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the minimum score for CMAT?
A:

There are no criteria for a minimum CMAT score to obtain for candidates from any of the categories. Candidates across categories will be shortlisted by the institutes depending on their announced cutoff for a particular category. Colleges will release their CMAT cutoff list 2026 individually for all the categories.

Q: What is a safe score on the CMAT for OBC?
A:

As per the last year CMAT exam analysis, a score between 280 to 330 can be considered good enough for OBC candidates looking to aim for the best of Bschools through CMAT 2026. However, the true figures can only be talked about once the CMAT result 2026 is released.

Q: What is the passing marks for CMAT for OBC?
A:

There is no specific passing marks range decided for OBC candidates by NTA forthe  CMAT exam.

Q: Is 250 a good score in CMAT for OBC?
A:

Considering previous CMAT cutoff trends for OBC category candidates, 250 is a pretty decent score. Though it's not enough for colleges like JBIMS and SIMSREE, it still can get the candidate a good MBA/PGDM CMAT college.

Q: Is there a negative marking in CMAT?
A:

Yes. According to the marking scheme of the CMAT exam given by NTA, every question carries 4 marks. For every right answer marked by the candidate 4 marks are awarded while for every wrong answer marked, ¼th i.e 1 mark will be deducted from the total score obtained.

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Questions related to CMAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CMAT ?

Yes, DSM DTU (Delhi Technological University, Department of Management Studies) does accept CMAT score for admission to its MBA programme. Many management institutes in India use CMAT as one of the valid entrance exams along with CAT, MAT, or GMAT, and DTU’s management department is among those that consider CMAT

Hello

You have scored 92 percentile in CMAT, which is a good score, and you have a higher chance of getting admission into a good college. But, if you're targeting only SVNIT Surat, then it's quite tough because SVNIT usually looks for a higher score for the PG course, like

Hello,

The link to the website of careers360, where the preferred colleges and percentiles are mentioned, is attached herewith. You can also get the details of colleges.

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/mba-colleges-accepting-80-90-percentile-in-cmat-exam

Thank you.

Hello

With an 80 percentile in CMAT, you can get admission in decent Tier-2 MBA colleges.
Good options include Jaipuria Institute, IMT Nagpur/Hyderabad, SDMIMD Mysore, and XIME.
Top IIMs are not possible, but these colleges offer reasonable placements and exposure.

Click on the link below to get access to all

Hello,

For a postgraduate management course (MBA/PGDM) at L.D. College, you will likely need to give the CMAT exam. As a final-year BCA student, you are eligible to appear for the exam. The registration for CMAT 2026 has already begun, and you must apply before the deadline to be eligible