CAT Eligibility 2026: Education Criteria, Age limit, Category-wise Relaxation

CAT Eligibility 2026: The Common Admission Test (CAT) is among the most sought-after entrance examinations for admission to MBA programs in top management colleges in India. To be eligible to take the CAT 2026 exam, candidates must meet the eligibility criteria established by the IIMs. This year, the CAT Exam 2026 will be conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore, and they will also be responsible for prescribing the eligibility requirements. The CAT Exam 2026 will be conducted on November 29, 2026. The official CAT Notification 2026 was released on July 26, 2026, on the official website.

The official CAT Notification 2026 was released by the conducting authority, i.e., IIM Indore. The notification contains the detailed CAT Eligibility Criteria 2026. As per the general CAT eligibility criteria, candidates must have completed graduation with a minimum of 50% marks. However, candidates from the reserved categories will be given a 5% relaxation in qualifying marks. Candidates in the final year of their graduation can also take the CAT 2026 exam. Students must note that there is no age limit to appear for the CAT exam. Any changes in these standard eligibility criteria will also be informed through the notification. 

The CAT Exam 2026 will be held on November 29, 2026. Candidates qualifying for the CAT Exam 2026 will be eligible to appear for a Written Ability Test (WAT) and a Personal Interview (PI). The final selection of candidates into IIMs is based on a variety of factors, including their performance in the CAT, their academic record, and their performance in the personal interview and written ability test (WAT).

CAT Eligibility 2026

The CAT Eligibility Criteria 2026 are prescribed by the IIMs in the CAT 2026 official Notification. Some of the key eligibility criteria for CAT 2026: 

CAT Eligibility 2026: Educational qualifications 

To be eligible to take the CAT, candidates must meet certain educational and age requirements. In general, candidates must have a bachelor's degree from a recognised university, with at least 50% aggregate marks (45% for reserved categories).

Candidates in their final year of graduation are also eligible to apply, provided they complete their degree requirements before the start of the CAT selection process. Meanwhile, candidates with backlogs can also apply for the examination.

In the table below, aspirants can check their educational eligibility for applying to CAT 2026.

CAT Eligibility 2026: Category-Wise Relaxation

There are also several relaxations in the CAT educational criteria based on the candidates’ category. In the table below, candidates can check the prescribed Category-wise relaxation in detail. 

For the PwD (Person with Disability) category, candidates are required to bring a PWD certificate issued by a competent authority. The list of disabilities for which eligibility relaxation can be availed is as follows:

• Blindness or partial blindness,
• Hearing disabilities
• Locomotor disabilities (cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, leprosy cured, and acid attack victims). Other disabilities include autism, any mental illness, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, etc.

The eligibility to avail PwD Reservation is mentioned in Section 39 of the PwD Act, 1995. PwD candidates are advised to check the list of all disabilities under this category. Candidates applying for the PWD category should have at least 40% of disability as certified by any medical authority.

CAT Eligibility 2026: Age Limit

As per the recent updates, IIMs do not specify any age criteria for appearing for the CAT exam. However, the IIMs may impose age restrictions for specific programmes. It is always best to check with individual institutions for their specific eligibility criteria.

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2026: Work Experience Requirements

• Candidates are not required to have any prior work experience.
• It should be mentioned that IIMs could provide professional experience with some weightage while preparing the final merit list. The precise weightage, however, has never been made public and differs from one IIM to another.