XAT 2027: exam date, last date to register, fee, pattern, marking scheme, XLRI selection and Gujarat test cities

XAT 2027 exam date and schedule

The bulletin says the Institute can change any item in it without prior notice, so check xatonline.in before you act. The XAT site also announced a last official mock test on 31 October and 1 November 2026. To be eligible, you need to have registered for XAT 2027 by 28 October 2026. The mock runs on the actual XAT exam platform, with three mock papers and a score and comparative rank analysis.

How to register for XAT 2027

You register at xatonline.in. The bulletin lays out the steps:

1. Click "Register". Enter your name, email ID and contact details, and set a password. Check your email ID and mobile number first, because they cannot be changed after registration.
2. Verify your email with the link the system sends, then continue with the application. If the confirmation mail does not arrive within 24 hours, look in spam or click "Resend Verification Email".
3. Choose your XLRI programme preference, if you want to apply to XLRI, and select up to six preferred test cities. Pick a city close to where you live.
4. Upload your photo and signature. Both must be JPG or JPEG files within 1 MB. The preferred sizes are 200 x 230 pixels for the photo and 140 x 60 pixels for the signature. The photo must be a recent colour passport-size picture on a light background. Sign in black ink on white paper, and sign yourself. The signature on the admit card and on the attendance sheet must match what you uploaded, or you can be disqualified.
5. Fill in your academic and work experience details, then pay on the "Payment" tab and upload any required documents.
6. Review every tab and click "Submit". After you submit with payment, the details cannot be edited. If you cannot finish in one go, use "SAVE AND EXIT".

Your name and your parents' names must match the spelling in your certificates, mark sheets and ID proof. The bulletin warns that a mismatch may disqualify the application. When you finish, you get an XAT ID. Quote it, with your email and mobile number, in every message to the XAT office. Use a personal email address, not an office one, and add [email protected] to your trusted senders so that mail does not go to spam.

XAT 2027 fee

You can pay by debit card (RuPay, Visa, MasterCard, Maestro), credit card, net banking, IMPS or cash card and mobile wallet. Wait for the server to confirm and do not press back or refresh, to avoid a double payment. A successful payment gives you an e-Receipt. If there is no e-Receipt, the payment failed, so log in again and repeat it. All payments for XAT and XLRI registration are non-refundable.

XAT 2027 eligibility

The bulletin does not set a single eligibility rule for XAT itself. Each programme and institute sets its own. For XLRI's two flagship programmes, the prospectus says:

• PGDM (BM) and PGDM (HRM): candidates who have completed a three-year bachelor's degree or equivalent in any discipline, recognised by a university or deemed university. Those completing their final examination by 11 June 2027 may also apply, but anyone whose final exams are not over by that date will not be admitted.
• PGDM (GM): a minimum of three years of bachelor's degree in any discipline, a full-time job and at least three years of relevant managerial experience as on 31 March 2027.
• PGDM (LSCM): a three-year bachelor's degree with first division from a NAAC-accredited institution rated at least "A" (not required for four-year engineering graduates of institutes such as IITs and NITs).

For other institutes that accept XAT, follow each institute's own website. The bulletin says XLRI does not verify the quality of degrees or programmes offered by other institutions that use XAT scores.

XAT 2027 exam pattern

The exam pattern is published on the XAT website. The test has two parts:

What each section covers, in the site's own description:

• VA&LR: critical and analytical reasoning, reading comprehension (including poems, cartoons and passages), vocabulary, English grammar, and exercises such as para jumbles and cloze tests.
• Decision Making: scenarios drawn from personal and professional lives, where you apply critical thinking, problem solving and prioritisation to reach a decision.
• QA & DI: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration and modern maths, plus data interpretation, which tests clear interpretation, summarisation and analysis of data.
• GK: 8 questions on static GK and 12 on current affairs.

The XAT site adds that there are no sectional time limits: you can attempt sections in the order you like and switch between them. The question counts are marked "approx." and "expected" on the site, so the real paper can differ slightly.

Marking scheme

• Each question carries 1 mark.
• Each wrong answer costs 0.25 mark.
• You can leave up to 8 questions unattempted without any penalty. For every unattempted question after the 8th, 0.10 mark is deducted.
• The GK section has no negative marking. It does not count towards your overall percentile or cut-off score, but it is considered in the selection process, for XLRI programmes only.

The bulletin and prospectus do not print a cut-off, and neither do they say how many marks the essay or any other written component carries. Treat any figure for those that you see elsewhere as unconfirmed.

How XLRI selects: what the prospectus says

Your XAT score has two jobs: it is accepted by many institutes, and it is the first filter for XLRI. The prospectus is plain about the order:

• Shortlisting for the BM and HRM interviews is based only on XAT scores. You can apply to more than one XLRI programme, and if you do, you may be called for several interviews or group discussions.
• The final list considers your XAT performance, academic background, relevant work experience, performance in the personal interview and/or group discussion, extracurricular activities and other relevant criteria. The criteria can differ by programme.
• PGDM (BM) with International Specialization (BMI) uses exactly the same entry process: you must appear in XAT, meet the same cut-offs as PGDM (BM), and attend the same GD/PI process and Written Ability Test (WAT) as the PGDM (BM) shortlist. There is no separate selection and no concession.
• PGDM (GM) accepts XAT, GMAT or GRE scores.
• For FPM and EFPM, the prospectus lists educational qualification, test score, performance in a personal interview and relevant work experience, in that order.

The prospectus does not print how many marks or what percentage weight the XAT score, GD/PI or WAT carries, and it does not print seat numbers for the programmes. We have not shown any here.

For every other institute, XLRI has no role. The bulletin states that each institution decides the weightages for different test components, and it asks you to follow that institution's own application procedure after you register for XAT.

XLRI programmes and fees

The prospectus lists these full-time residential programmes:

The prospectus marks each fee "approximately" and says fees and other charges are subject to revision and will be communicated before admission. XLRI Delhi-NCR offers PGDM (BM), PGDM (IEV) and a PGDM for working professionals, and the prospectus also lists the Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) and Executive FPM, and virtual interactive and online blended programmes. The orientation for the incoming batch is planned for June 2027.

XAT test cities, including Gujarat

The bulletin lists 108 test cities across India, and the prospectus says XAT is held in 100+ cities. You can choose up to six in the form. Six cities are in Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara. A Gujarat candidate can fill all six preferences with home-state centres.

Several Gujarat institutes also appear in the bulletin as XAT associate members: Ahmedabad University, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), MICA in Ahmedabad, Narayana Business School in Ahmedabad and Pandit Deendayal Energy University in Gandhinagar. Confirm each one's current admission process on its own site, because XLRI says it has no role in how they select. Browse more on CareerBox in the MBA and management stream.

XAT vs CAT 2026: differences in pattern

These are differences in how the two papers are built, not in difficulty or in the colleges they open.

CAT details come from our CAT 2026 guide and the CAT exam page. In short, if you are also preparing for CAT, the Decision Making section and the unattempted-question penalty are the two things to practise separately for XAT, because CAT has neither.

How to prepare from 26 October 2026 to 3 January 2027

You have 69 days to the exam and 41 days to the last date to register. This plan is our suggestion, built on the official pattern.

26 October to 6 December: register, then settle your routine.

• Register by 28 October if you want the mock on 31 October and 1 November. The form itself must be in by 6 December 2026.
• Fix your six test cities, and check your name against your certificates before you pay.
• If you are writing CAT on 29 November 2026, keep most of your time on CAT till then. Add one Decision Making set a day alongside it. This is the part CAT will not train.

30 November to 19 December: build XAT habits.

• Practise 170-minute Part 1 papers, switching between sections as you like. Decide your own order, and stick to it.
• Count your skips. You can leave 8 questions blank for free, and each blank after that costs 0.10 mark, so in practice papers note how many you skipped and whether the ninth skip was worth it.
• Keep a current affairs notebook for the 12 current-affairs questions in GK, and revise static GK for the 8 others. GK is a separate 10-minute part with no negative marking, so you can answer all 20.

20 December to 2 January: logistics and timed papers.

• Download the admit card from 20 December 2026 (tentative), and check the centre, date and the 2:00 pm start.
• Take full 180-minute papers at 2:00 pm, the same time as the real exam.
• Carry the photo ID you registered with, and make sure your signature will match the one you uploaded.

3 January 2027: exam day. Reach the centre early. After the exam, keep an eye out for the result in the last week of January 2027, and download the score card between 31 January and 30 June 2027.

Where to go next

• Exam overview: XAT on CareerBox
• The other big MBA test: CAT on CareerBox and our CAT 2026 guide
• Explore colleges: MBA and management stream on CareerBox
• Latest updates: CareerBox News