Indore Bureau
SUMMARY: The admit card for the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026, India’s largest management entrance examination, will be released today, 4 November. The examination is being conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore, and registered candidates will be able to download their hall tickets from the official website. The examination will be held on 29 November at centres across the country in three slots, so candidates are advised to download the admit card as soon as the link becomes active and check every detail printed on it carefully.
Where and when the admit card will be available today
The CAT 2026 admit card will be released on 4 November 2026. Candidates can download it only from the official website, iimcat.ac.in, through the candidate login. The admit card will not be sent by post to any candidate, so the online download is the only way to obtain the hall ticket.
No fixed release time has been announced in advance, so candidates should keep checking the official portal during the day. Once the link is activated, the hall ticket will be available through the candidate login. The admit card will remain available for download until the examination day, 29 November, but waiting till the last day is not advisable. Downloading early gives candidates the examination centre, slot and reporting time in advance, which makes travel and stay arrangements much easier.
One important precaution is to download the admit card only from the official website. Links shared on social media, messages or other websites should not be trusted, as they may be misleading or incorrect. Identifying the correct portal is the first step towards a safe download.
Steps to download the admit card
The download process is simple, but candidates will need the login details received at the time of registration. Follow the steps given below.
First, open the official website, iimcat.ac.in. On the homepage, click on the candidate login or registered candidate login link. Then enter the user ID and password. After submitting the details, the candidate dashboard will open, where the CAT 2026 admit card link will be visible. Clicking on that link will display the hall ticket on the screen.
As soon as the hall ticket appears, download it and save a copy on the phone and in email as well. After that, take a printout of the downloaded admit card, because only a printed copy will be accepted for entry at the examination centre. Showing the admit card on a mobile screen alone will not be considered sufficient. The printout should be clear and fully readable, so that there is no difficulty during verification at the centre.
If the password has been forgotten, it can be reset through the option given on the login page. For this, the registered email ID or mobile number will be needed, so keeping the login details noted in a safe place is also helpful.
Details to verify on the hall ticket
After downloading the admit card, the first task is to check the information printed on it. The hall ticket will carry the candidate’s name, photograph, signature, registration number, examination centre and its address, the allotted slot and the reporting time. An error in any of these details can cause difficulty on the examination day.
Match the spelling of the name with the photo identity proof. Check whether the photograph and signature are clearly visible. Read the full address of the examination centre carefully, so that no time is wasted in finding the way on the examination day. Often, more than one centre exists in the same city, so do not rely only on the city name — note the complete address and code of the centre.
The reporting time is equally important. Candidates must reach the centre at the reporting time mentioned on the admit card, because late arrivals may be denied entry to the examination. It is therefore wise to plan the route and the time needed to reach the centre a day before the examination.
Examination on 29 November in three slots
The CAT 2026 examination will be held on Sunday, 29 November 2026, at examination centres across the country. The examination will be conducted in three separate slots, and every candidate will be allowed to appear only in the slot allotted on the admit card.
The first slot will run from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The second slot will run from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm, and the third slot from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Each slot will last two hours. Candidates must reach the centre according to their own slot, as appearing in a different slot will not be permitted.
Examination centres are expected to be set up in around 170 cities, giving candidates from different parts of the country the opportunity to appear at a centre near them. The final allotment of centres will be printed on the admit card, and that should be treated as final.
Examination pattern: three sections, 120 minutes
CAT is a computer-based test with a total duration of 120 minutes. The paper is divided into three sections, and each section gets exactly 40 minutes. Once the time for a section ends, the candidate moves to the next section and cannot return to the previous one. Time management is therefore considered the biggest challenge of this examination.
The first section is Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), which, as per the pattern of previous years, carries 24 questions. The second section is Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), with 22 questions. The third section is Quantitative Ability (QA), also with 22 questions. The paper thus carries a total of 68 questions.
Under the marking scheme, a correct answer in a multiple-choice question earns 3 marks, while a wrong answer costs 1 mark. Type in the Answer (TITA) questions carry no negative marking for wrong answers. No change in the pattern has been announced, but for final information, the admit card and the official instructions for the examination should be treated as final.
What to carry on the examination day, and what to avoid
On the examination day, candidates must carry a printed copy of the admit card and a valid photo identity proof. Entry to the centre will not be allowed without both documents, so keep them ready together. The name on the admit card and the identity proof should match, so that no question arises during verification.
After reaching the centre, follow the instructions given on the admit card. Electronic items, mobile phones, calculators and other restricted articles are not allowed inside the examination hall. Candidates should therefore carry only the required documents and permitted items on the examination day. Arrangements for keeping other belongings at the centre may be limited, so unnecessary items should not be carried along.
Before the examination begins, check the computer system and the seat allotted. In case of any technical difficulty, inform the invigilator immediately, so that it can be resolved in time. During the examination, instead of getting nervous, first attempt the questions in which confidence is higher, because time is limited and each section runs on its own clock.
What to do if any information is incorrect
If the name, photograph, registration number, examination centre or slot printed on the admit card appears incorrect, do not take it lightly. In such a situation, candidates should immediately contact the examination authorities. The CAT helpdesk of IIM Indore can also be contacted by email, whose address is available on the official website.
While raising a query or a correction request, mention the registration number and give a clear description of the incorrect information, so that the authorities can identify it quickly and suggest a solution. Waiting till the examination day can be risky, so contacting the authorities as soon as an error is noticed is the right step.
Many times candidates ignore a slight lack of clarity in the photograph or signature, but at the time of verification at the centre, that small issue can become a big problem. After taking the printout of the admit card, examine it once again carefully, and clarify any doubt beforehand.
The final 25 days: preparation strategy and what lies ahead
After the admit card is released, about 25 days will remain before the examination. This period is considered more useful for revision and mock tests than for studying new topics. Practising previous years’ questions, managing time section-wise and revisiting weak topics can be the most effective strategy for this period.
Maintaining balance across all three sections is important, because a very good performance in one section and a weak one in another can affect the overall result. While taking mock tests, create conditions similar to the real examination — sit for the full two hours without interruption and analyse the mistakes afterwards. This reduces pressure on the examination day.
The CAT score forms the basis for admission to leading management institutes of the country. After the examination, the result and the selection processes of the institutes will be completed in separate stages, about which the respective institutes will share information. For now, the first and most important task for candidates is to download the admit card today itself and verify every detail printed on it.
Disclaimer: This news has been prepared on the basis of available sources and verification. If any fact is found incorrect, a correction will be published.
