CAT 2026 Registration Last Date: IIM Indore's Online Form Closes September 15, Fee and Steps Inside

CAT 2026 registration closes on September 15, 2026, at 5:00 PM IST. IIM Indore, the institute conducting this year's Common Admission Test, opened the application window on August 3, 2026 on the official portal iimcat.ac.in. Candidates applying for MBA and PGDM programs at the 22 IIMs — and at the 1,000-plus other business schools that accept CAT scores — must complete registration, fill the online form, and pay the application fee before the deadline. IIM Indore does not offer a late-registration facility, so a missed deadline means no CAT 2026 attempt.

CAT 2026 Registration: Key Dates at a Glance

How to Fill the CAT 2026 Application Form

1. Go to iimcat.ac.in and select "Register" under New Candidate Registration.
2. Enter name, date of birth (via the on-screen calendar tool only — manual typing isn't allowed), email address, country, and mobile number, and complete OTP verification on both.
3. Retrieve the system-generated User ID and password sent to the registered email and phone.
4. Log in under Registered Candidate Login and open the application.
5. Fill in personal details, emergency contact, and address.
6. Enter academic records — Class 10, Class 12/Diploma, and Bachelor's degree details.
7. Add post-graduation work experience completed up to July 31, 2026, where applicable.
8. Choose target IIM programs and, for each one selected, an interview city from its dropdown.
9. Rank five distinct test-city preferences in order of priority.
10. Upload photograph, signature, and category/disability certificates as applicable.
11. Preview the form, confirm the declaration, and proceed to payment.
12. Pay via the BillDesk gateway (UPI, net banking, credit/debit card, or wallet), then download the confirmation page.

The portal supports Save & Next, so the form can be completed across multiple logins before final payment — only the paid, submitted form counts as a completed registration.

CAT 2026 Application Fee

Payment is online-only — cash is not accepted. There is no separate late fee, because CAT does not offer a late-registration window at all.

Documents and Specifications Required

• Signature: scanned at exactly 80mm × 35mm, minimum 150 dpi, signed on plain white paper.
• PwBD candidates: a disability certificate in PDF, issued by a notified medical authority on official Form V, VI, or VII, in English or Hindi.
• Name: must match the candidate's Class 10/SSC certificate exactly, to avoid verification issues later.

Test City and Program Selection

Candidates rank five distinct test cities, in order of preference, from roughly 170 participating cities; IIM Indore allots centres based on this ranking and seat availability. Separately, in the program-selection section, applicants choose an interview city for each of the specific IIM programs they apply to, from a dropdown tied to that program — this is distinct from the exam-centre city choice. A "Select All" option is available for candidates who want to apply to every listed IIM programme.

What Happens After the Registration Deadline

The online application system stops accepting new registrations once the September 15 window closes. Candidates who complete registration and pay before the deadline get access to a form correction window afterward — but only specific fields (photograph, signature, and test-city preference) can be edited there. Name, date of birth, email, mobile number, and academic records are locked once submitted; an error in one of these fields means filing a fresh form and paying the fee again before the deadline, not correcting the existing one.

IIM Indore has not announced any extension to the September 15 deadline as of this update. For context: CAT 2025's original deadline was extended by roughly a week, and a similar extension happened in CAT 2022 — but that history isn't a guarantee for this cycle, and candidates shouldn't plan around a possible extension.

CAT 2026 Exam Date, Pattern and Eligibility

Exam pattern

Eligibility

• Bachelor's degree with at least 50% aggregate marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD candidates) from a recognized university, or an equivalent qualification
• Final-year students may also apply
• No upper age limit
• No cap on the number of attempts

Official Website and Browser Requirements

Registration and all future CAT 2026 steps happen at iimcat.ac.in. For a smooth experience, IIM Indore recommends recent browser versions: Google Chrome 126–149, Mozilla Firefox 134–151, or Microsoft Edge 126–149.