CAT 2026 exam day: slot timings, reporting time, ID rules, banned items, scribble pad and what to do if the system fails

What is confirmed and what is not (as of 8 November 2026)

Two dates moved. The July bulletin said admit cards from 4 November; the 4 November release and the FAQ now say 6 November (the FAQ gives 5 pm). The FAQ still says the mock test opens on 12 November, but the 4 November release says 6 November and the link is on the CAT home page (checked 8 November 2026). The release adds that the IIMs "reserve the right to change the test date and time."

CAT 2026 slot timings

The FAQ says CAT 2026 "will have three sessions: forenoon, afternoon and evening." You are given one of them based on your city preference and the test centre. "A candidate cannot select the shift." The admit card shows your "examination session and time," so the answer for you is on your own card.

You can sit only once. The FAQ says you cannot appear for more than one slot, and it would be "deemed as a fraudulent activity." Admit cards, photo IDs, candidate pictures and biometric information are verified to check this. A candidate who tries twice "will be eliminated any time during the selection process." For 2026 the IIMs have added face matching, per the 4 November release.

For reference, the official CAT 2025 hours were: morning 8.30 am to 10.30 am, afternoon 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm, and evening 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm on 30 November 2025. Those are from the CAT 2025 scaled-score note. The 2026 hours are not on the public pages as of 8 November 2026; your admit card is the only official 2026 source.

Reporting and gate closing. These times are not on the public CAT 2026 pages as of 8 November 2026. The last test-day guide on the CAT site that we could read, for CAT 2020, set reporting at 7.00 am, 11.00 am and 3.00 pm for the three sessions, and said candidates would not be allowed in after 8.15 am, 12.15 pm and 4.15 pm, which is 15 minutes before the test. It advised reaching the centre at least 30 minutes before gate closing. Those are 2020 rules. Your 2026 admit card overrides them, so read the reporting and entry times printed on it.

Plan a visit. The centre name and address are on the admit card. If your centre is in an unfamiliar part of a Gujarat city such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara or Surat, or anywhere else, visit it before 29 November so the route is not a surprise.

What to bring: admit card, photo and ID

Admit card. The 4 November release says admit cards "have been generated and can be downloaded only from the CAT website (iimcat.ac.in) using the CAT application login ID and password between 6 November and 29 November 2026." It appears only if your application was submitted and is not mailed. It shows your name, test date, PwD status, test centre details, and session and time. The FAQ calls it "a mandatory document" and asks you to follow the instructions printed on it. If it does not show after login, the FAQ says to raise a ticket in the grievance portal inside the login.

Photograph. The registration guide says the photo you uploaded must be affixed on the admit card on test day, so you need printed copies of it. The FAQ adds that the photograph on the physical admit card "must be the same as the one uploaded at the time of registration." If you changed your photo in the edit window of 5 and 6 October 2026, use the new one.

Photo ID. As of 8 November 2026, the public CAT 2026 pages do not list accepted IDs; the list is in the instructions on your admit card. The FAQ says photo IDs are verified on the day, and the CAT 2026 website lists an "Identification Affidavit" among its forms. For reference only: in 2020 the guide asked for at least one original, valid (not expired) photo ID, such as a college ID, employer ID, driving licence, passport, PAN card, voter ID, Aadhaar card, or an identification affidavit, with the photo and signature legible and the name matching the admit card.

Name changed after your degree? The FAQ says to enter the changed name at registration and to carry the supporting documents for the name change "at the time of examination, interview and admission."

What is not allowed

The CAT 2026 FAQ and media release give these rules:

• Calculators: "Candidates are prohibited from bringing calculators to the testing centre."
• Your own rough paper and pens: "No." You get one scribble pad and pen at the centre.
• Writing outside the scribble pad: it "will be treated as using unfair means," and that includes the admit card.
• Restricted items, including medicines: allowed only with a permission letter. You must send the Authorization Form (on the CAT website) with supporting documents and the admit card to the CAT Helpdesk before the exam, and show the approval at the centre.
• Phones: the 4 November 2026 release says the IIMs will deploy "mobile jammers at select locations."

The full banned-items list for 2026 is in the admit card instructions and is not on the public pages as of 8 November 2026. For reference only, the 2020 test-day guide barred, among others: mobile phones and electronic gadgets, watches, wallets, goggles, jewellery or metal items, thick-soled footwear, and bringing friends or relatives past the centre gate. Candidates were frisked and only the admit card, photo ID and a few documents were allowed beyond that point. Follow the 2026 admit card instructions where they differ.

Scribble pad and calculator rules

• You get one scribble pad and one pen for rough work. The FAQ: "No extra scribble pad will be provided to any candidate."
• PwBD candidates with blindness or low vision get an additional standard-size pad on request.
• You cannot take the scribble pad home. "Once the exam is over invigilators will collect the scribble pad from you."
• No physical calculator. "You may use the onscreen calculator that will be available throughout the exam."

How the on-screen calculator works. The CAT 2026 calculator guideline says it handles basic operations plus percentage, square root and inverse (1/x), with memory keys MS, M+, MR and M-. It is operated with the mouse only: "Keyboard operation is disabled." The percent key is unusual: for 250 plus 15 percent you press 250 + 15 % 250 = (287.5), and for 20 percent of 200 you press 200 * 20 % 1 = (40). The mock test note links a practice version of the same calculator, so try it before 29 November.

Test format: mock test, sections and timing lock

CAT is "a digital or Computer Based Test (CBT); not an Internet-Based Test." You use the workstation assigned at your centre.

The mock test. The 4 November release says a mock test "to familiarise candidates with the exam format and interface" is on the CAT website from 6 November 2026. The CAT 2026 mock test note gives three links: a general mock, one for PwBD candidates, and one for PwBD candidates with blindness or low vision. It uses questions from past CAT papers, and the note says the question mix is only indicative.

Section clock. The paper is 120 minutes: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, then Quantitative Ability. The press release says candidates are given "exactly 40 minutes" for each section and cannot switch between sections. The FAQ adds that "this order will remain the same for all the candidates."

What happens at 40 minutes. The mock test note settles this for 2026. In the mock, a Submit button lets you leave a section early, but "in the actual exam, a candidate can go to the next section ONLY after 40 minutes." So finishing early buys you review time in the same section, not extra time later. You cannot return to an earlier section.

Marking. MCQs: +3 for a correct answer, minus 1 for a wrong one. Typed (non-MCQ) answers: +3 for correct and no deduction. Blanks score zero. Our answer key guide shows how to total your score.

PwBD candidates get 20 extra minutes per hour, a total extension of 40 minutes, "distributed equally for each section."

What to do if the system fails

The FAQ says: "do not panic. Inform the invigilator immediately, the system will be locked by the technical support team and you will be assigned a new system. The system shift will happen with the timer being paused during the shift, hence you will not lose total time in the examination."

Raise your hand early. Do not wait for the clock to run down. If the screen or mouse is giving trouble, ask the invigilator rather than fixing it yourself.

Bio-breaks. The FAQ says they "are not allowed during the exam except in cases of emergency or medical conditions." If you take one, "they will be re-frisked upon re-entry" and the time lost "will not be compensated under any circumstances."

What to do after the exam

1. Hand back the scribble pad to the invigilator before you leave. The 2020 guide also asked candidates to sign the admit card, hand it over and fill a short feedback form on screen. Follow the instructions of your 2026 invigilator.
2. Do not leave early. In 2020, candidates stayed seated until the invigilator said they could go. The 2026 pages do not say otherwise.
3. Keep your CAT login. You need the same user ID and password for the provisional answer key and objection window. In 2025 the key was released four days after the exam and objections ran from 8 to 10 December. See CAT 2026 answer key and objection window. The 2026 dates are not published (as of 8 November 2026).
4. Wait for the result. The CAT bulletin says "likely by the First week of January, 2027." In 2025 the result came on 24 December.
5. Check each IIM's minimum percentile once the score is out. See CAT percentile vs score.