CAT Admit Card 2026 Is Out: How to Download It and What to Check Before 29 November
IIM Indore opened the CAT admit card 2026 download on 6 November, around 12 PM IST, for the exam on Sunday, 29 November. You log in at iimcat.ac.in with your CAT ID and password, and the download window runs until exam day.
The date moved once. The bulletin said 4 November, then IIM Indore pushed it back two days, and plenty of pages still carry the old date. If one tells you the hall ticket is coming on the 4th, close it.
Important Dates & Event Timeline
Tracking the exact timeline ensures you don't miss the window to download your hall ticket or access the official practice mock test.
| CAT 2026 Events | Important Dates |
|---|---|
| Registration Window | August 3 to September 22, 2026 |
| Application Edit Window | October 5 to October 6, 2026 |
| Admit Card Release Date | November 6, 2026 (Revised from Nov 4) |
| Official Mock Test Launch | November 6 to November 12, 2026 |
| Final Exam Date | November 29, 2026 |
| Provisional Answer Key | Early December 2026 (Tentative) |
CAT 2026 Application Fee Structure
To access the hall ticket, candidates must have successfully completed their registration and paid the mandatory examination fee back in September. Only successful applicants have generated admit cards on their dashboards.
- General, EWS, NC-OBC Category: Rs. 2,700/-
- SC, ST, PwBD Category: Rs. 1,350/-
How to download your CAT admit card 2026
- Open iimcat.ac.in and click the registered candidate login.
- Sign in with your CAT ID and password. If you forgot the password, use the reset option on the login page.
- On the dashboard, find the admit card link and download the PDF.
- Print it. Sarkarimocktest advises at least two copies, and that's sound advice, because a dead printer on 28 November is a bad time to learn about printers.
Check these before you close the tab
Most people download the CAT Admit Card 2026, glance at the photo and move on. The part that can cost you the exam sits further down the page, where your slot, reporting time and centre address are printed.
Read your name, photograph, signature and registration number against your application. Then read the centre address and find it on a map. Candidates sometimes turn up at the wrong venue, and no one at the gate can fix that for them.
The correction window for test city and other fields closed on 6 October. Prep sites say centre changes generally aren't allowed once the card is issued. Treat the venue on your card as final.
A wrong name, a blurry photo or a missing signature is a different matter. Write to the helpdesk now, not on exam week. Careers360 lists the address as cat2026_helpdesk@iimidr.ac.in and the number as 1-800-210-0175. Confirm both on iimcat.ac.in before you use them, since third-party pages copy details wrong more often than you'd think.
Which slot did you get?
CAT 2026 runs in three two-hour slots on the same day, and your card says which one is yours. The published timings are below.
| Slot | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Slot 1 | 8:30 AM | 10:30 AM |
| Slot 2 | 12:30 PM | 2:30 PM |
| Slot 3 | 4:30 PM | 6:30 PM |
Reporting and gate closing times differ by slot. Some coaching pages print a reporting time as if it applied to everyone, so use only the one on your own card.
What to carry on the day
Take the printed admit card and a valid government photo ID. Sarkarimocktest.com names Aadhaar and a driving licence among the accepted ones. I'd carry whichever you used on the application, so the details match without a conversation at the door. If your card lists any other document, it goes in the same folder.
Leave phones, smartwatches, calculators and Bluetooth devices at home or in a bag you don't mind parting with. Sarkarimocktest lists them as prohibited. The on-screen calculator is the only one you get.
The 23 days between now and the exam
From 6 November to 29 November is 23 days. The card tells you something practical about that time: the hour your brain has to perform. If you got Slot 1, a mock at 3 PM tells you very little about an 8:30 AM start. Take your full-length mocks in your own slot's window, at least once a week from now.
Today, download the card and print two copies. Then go through every field slowly, and if anything looks off, email the helpdesk this evening with a screenshot of the error and your CAT ID, because a fix that starts three weeks out has room to finish.
Exam Day Guidelines & What to Carry
Test center security for the CAT exam is notoriously strict. A digital copy of your hall ticket on a smartphone will result in immediate denied entry. You must bring specific physical documents.
- A4 Printed Hall Ticket: Paste a recent passport-sized photograph in the designated blank space. This photo must match the one uploaded during registration.
- Original Photo ID: Carry a valid, government-issued original ID. Accepted documents include an Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Voter ID, Passport, or Driving License.
- Prohibited Items: Do not wear jewelry, thick-soled shoes, or garments with large buttons. Mobile phones, smartwatches, calculators, and rough paper are strictly banned inside the testing lab.
- Discrepancy Reporting: If your name or category is misspelled on the admit card, immediately contact the CAT Help Desk at 1800-210-0175 or email cat2026_helpdesk@iimidr.ac.in.
CAT Admit Card 2026 Important Links for Candidates
| Resource Name | Direct Portal Link |
|---|---|
| Official Website & Candidate Login | iimcat.ac.in |
| Official Mock Test Portal | Available via Candidate Dashboard |
Check your allotted test center location early. Plan your commute to arrive at least 90 minutes before your designated slot timing to smoothly complete the biometric verification process.
