CAT 2026 Registration Begins at iimcat.ac.in: Direct Link, Exam Date, Fees, Eligibility, IIM Indore Pattern

CAT 2026 Exam Dates

CAT 2026 exam date is November 29, 2026. Every year, the CAT exam is held on the last Sunday of November. On the other hand, CAT 2026 registration will begin on August 03, 2026. Here is the detailed CAT 2026 exam schedule that management aspirants need to keep in mind.

CAT 2026 Registration Date

CAT 2026 registration date is August 03, 2026. Once the CAT 2026 registration goes live on iimcat.ac.in, candidates can complete their CAT registration 2026 by paying the CAT 2026 registration fee. Though the CAT 2026 registration last date is expected to be extended, it is advised that candidates should not wait for the CAT 2026 registration last date to complete the CAT 2026 registration.

CAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Before you start your CAT 2026 application, management aspirants have to check if they are eligible enough to appear for the CAT 2026. We have charted out the CAT 2026 eligibility criteria below

1. One must have a bachelor's degree from a recognised university with a minimum of three years of studies.

2. General candidates need to have a minimum of 50% to apply for CAT 2026 while the SC/ST candidates need 45%.

3. Management aspirants who are in the final year of their graduation will apply for the CAT 2026 provided they can complete their graduation within the stipulated time.

4. It is not important to have work experience to apply for the CAT 2026, however, having work experience might give you an edge in the IIM BLACKI.

5. There is no age limit to apply for CAT 2026 as per the CAT eligibility criteria.

How to complete CAT 2026 Registration?

Once the CAT registration 2026 is out, candidates need to go through the following process to complete the CAT 2026 registration -

1. First, visit the official CAT 2026 website - iimcat.ac.in

2. Then click on the new CAT 2026 registration.

3. Submit the personal data for the CAT 2026 registration, including name, contact number, and email ID.

CAT 2026 Registration Fees

CAT 2026 registration fee has been increased once again. CAT 2026 application fee is Rs 2700 for the general candidates as well as NC-OBC candidates while for SC/ST/EWS candidates it is 1300 for the SC/ST candidates. CAT 2026 registration fees increased by Rs. 100/- compared to last year.

CAT 2026 Registration Last Date

CAT 2026 registration last date is September 15, 2026, as per the CAT 2026 notification. Last year, the CAT 2026 registration last date was extended by a week to end on September 20, 2025. It is expected that the CAT registration 2026 will follow the same suit. However, it is always advisable not to wait for the last date to complete the CAT 202 6 registration. If the candidates complete the CAT registration 2026 early, they might get their preferred test city close to their home.

CAT 2026 Marking Scheme

CAT 2026 VARC: Detailed CAT Exam Analysis of CAT 2020 (IIM Indore) Paper

As per the last time when IIM Indore conducted the CAT exam, it is noted that the Reading Comprehension section covers 18 questions, with 8 questions bifurcated among the Verbal Ability (parajumbles) as 3 questions, Verbal Ability (summary) as 3 questions and Verbal Ability (Odd One Out) as 2 questions.

We are not expecting the same pattern for the CAT 2026 exam, but the difficulty level of CAT 2020 VARC can be concluded by the aspirants as per IIM Indore.

CAT 2026 DILR: Detailed CAT Exam Analysis of CAT 2020 (IIM Indore) Paper

This section covers the detailed CAT exam paper analysis of CAT 2020 of the DILR section, which was conducted by IIM Indore. Aspirants can conclude the same difficulty level in CAT 2026 too.

The CAT exam paper conducted by IIM Indore in 2020 covers various topics in Slot 1 of the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning sections, such as Driver and Rating (DI), Student and Exam (DI), Set on Patients (DI), Institute Vendors (LR) and Musicians (LR).

CAT 2026 QA: Detailed CAT Exam Analysis of CAT 2020 (IIM Indore) Paper

The Quant sections are widely categorized in the major sections in the CAT exam, such as Number System, Algebra, Arithmetic, Modern Math, Geometry and Mensuration. In the CAT 2020 paper, it is noticed that 5 questions came in Number System, 8 questions in Algebra, 10 questions in Arithmetic, 0 from Modern Maths and 3 questions from Geometry and Mensuration.

Out of all these metrics, it was 3-4 questions that were doable in Number System, 5-6 questions in Algebra, 7-8 questions were doable in Arithmetic and 1-2 questions were from Geometry and Mensuration. It is expected that the arithmetic section will carry good weightage in the CAT 2026 exam too. So candidates can focus the high-weightage topics in their CAT exam preparation.

What to Expect in CAT 2026? Overall Paper Analysis (IIM I CAT 2020 Paper)

Well, if we are analyzing the CAT 2020 exam pattern, it is noticed that the VARC section covers 26 questions with a total of 22 MCQs and 4 non-MCQs, and it was of a moderate-to-difficult level set by IIM Indore in CAT 2020, whereas the DILR section consists of 24 questions with the distribution of 19 MCQs and 5 non-MCQ questions and is remarked as moderate to difficult.

Finally, the Quant section covers a total of 26 questions with the distribution of 18 MCQs and 8 non-MCQs and is remarked as moderate difficulty level.

We can’t expect the same CAT exam pattern in CAT 2026 but can conclude the equivalent difficulty level, so candidates can focus more on the DILR and VARC sections, followed by the Quant.

• CAT 2020 by IIM Indore

• 99%ile = 101 marks (44%)

CAT Exam 2026: Last Time IIM Indore Conducted CAT Paper (Section-Wise) Analysis

Here we break down the section-wise analysis of the CAT 2020 paper conducted by IIM Indore so that candidates can conclude the structured CAT 2026 preparation.

CAT Exam VARC Section

CAT Exam DILR Section

CAT Exam QA Section

Will CAT 2026 Exam Paper Difficulty Level Be the Same As CAT 2020?

No one will give you the exact analysis of this question. The difficulty level of the CAT exam paper depends on various parameters such as the number of candidates registered for the exam, slots, which IIM will conduct the exam in, variation in questions and more. Candidates can expect the equivalence in the CAT 2026 paper.

So we can’t exactly predict the difficulty level of the exam paper, but we can expect the equivalence from the past year’s trend of the same IIM when conducting the CAT exam paper.

Last time IIM Indore conducted the CAT 2020 exam, and it was concluded that the VARC and DILR sections were both emphasised as moderate to difficult, whereas the Quant section was at a moderate level.

Between CAT 2020 and CAT 2025, the exam pattern also changed, which gives a clear sign of the unpredictability of the CAT exam.

CAT 2026 Exam Date:

CAT 2026 Marking Scheme

CAT 2026 Syllabus

There is no specific CAT 2026 syllabus that has been released by the conducting authorities. However, it is suggested that an aspirant follow the Class 10 syllabus for English and Maths. To give you a basic idea of the syllabus for the upcoming CAT 2026, we have taken out a list of topics from previous year question papers. Through this, candidates will get a basic idea of planning and prepare an effective preparation strategy.

Check out the total number of CAT questions asked from various topics given below:

CAT 2026 Exam Pattern

The CAT 2026 exam pattern will be based on the three sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA). Candidates will get 40 minutes to work on each section, and the exam will most likely be conducted in both multiple-choice questions (MCQ) and non-MCQ formats.

Below is the CAT exam pattern 2026, which will be helpful for all the candidates.

Important Topics for CAT 2026

The CAT 2026 exam syllabus is never released by the CAT exam conducting body. Therefore, candidates are advised to go through CAT previous year question papers to get a rough estimate of what to expect. Every year, the CAT exam is conducted where several important questions are asked. Therefore, candidates must go through the following list of important topics that are frequently asked in the CAT exam.

CAT 2026 Books

Choosing the best books for CAT preparation 2026 can be a bit difficult as we don't know the exact requirement, and there are a plethora of books in the market, but not all of them can be helpful in the preparation for the CAT 2026 exam. Below are the following CAT books 2026, which we have prepared section-wise.

Best CAT Books for DILR

Best CAT Books for VARC and Reading Comprehension

CAT 2026 Cutoff (Expected)

While we are waiting for the CAT 2026 registration to start around August 01, 2026 here is the IIM CAT cutoff from the previous years. This will give the candidates an idea about the expected CAT 2026 cutoff atleast for the IIM.