CMAT Exam Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

• Computer based, 180 minutes, English only. That's 108 seconds a question.
• +4 correct, −1 wrong, 0 unanswered. Choose one option.
• If a challenge changes the key or allows more than one answer, marks go only to those right under the revised key. A question dropped for a technical error gets full marks for everyone.
• Rank is on total score. Ties go to the older candidate; tied candidates share a merit number and the next number is skipped (two at 2, then 4).
• The bulletin allows multiple shifts if numbers need it. CMAT 2026 was one shift, 09:00 to 12:00.

The Information Bulletin gives the five sections, not a topic list. The usual ground for each:

Quantitative Techniques and DI (80): number systems, percentages, ratio, averages, profit and loss, interest, time and work, speed and distance, mixtures, partnership; linear and quadratic equations, inequalities, sequences; geometry and mensuration; permutation, combination, probability; tables, graphs, pie charts and caselets.

Logical Reasoning (80): series, analogies, coding, blood relations, directions, ranking, seating, syllogisms, statements with assumptions, conclusions and arguments, cause and effect, symbol reasoning, puzzles, non-verbal reasoning.

Language Comprehension (80): reading comprehension, grammar, error spotting, sentence correction and completion, para-jumbles, vocabulary, idioms, one-word substitution.

General Awareness (80): national and international current affairs, history, geography, polity and Constitution, economy, science and technology, awards, sports, books and authors, business GK.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship (80): no other MBA test (CAT, XAT, SNAP, NMAT) has it. The entrepreneurial process, business forms, start-up life cycle, business models and plans, funding from bootstrapping through angel and VC to IPO, types of innovation, intellectual property, government schemes and institutions for start-ups, incubation, and well-known founders.

So it's 240 marks of standard aptitude and 160 that aren't.

• A bachelor's degree in any discipline, or final year with results due before admissions begin.
• Indian citizens only.
• No age limit and no minimum percentage from NTA. Institutions can set their own, so check theirs.

NTA doesn't verify what you enter, so your candidature is provisional, and an admit card doesn't mean you're eligible. NTA can withdraw an admit card issued by mistake.

Reservation in Central Government institutes: SC 15%, ST 7.5%, OBC-NCL 27% (Central list only), Gen-EWS 10%, and PwD/PwBD 5% within each category. State-run or aided institutes follow state policy. If your OBC caste is only on a state list, choose General.

PwBD: the bulletin follows the RPwD Act 2016 and the Office Memoranda of 29 August 2018 and 10 August 2022, with at least 20 minutes per hour compensatory time and the option of your own scribe on the prescribed undertaking.

One application per person, one phone number and email per form. Multiple forms cancel your result.

1. Register on cmat.nta.nic.in, choosing four exam cities.
2. Sit the 180-minute test.
3. Check the provisional key, the question paper and your responses; challenge if needed.
4. Get the final key and your score card in your login.
5. Apply separately to each institution, which runs its own selection.

NTA doesn't counsel or allot, and doesn't even collect seat or reservation data from institutions. Each one has its own form, deadline and fee.

Answer key challenge: in 2026 the window ran 31 January to 2 February, ₹200 per question, non-refundable, paid online. A panel of subject experts checks challenges, and an accepted one changes the key for everyone. You aren't told individually. After the result there's no key grievance, re-evaluation or re-checking.

Miss the exam for any reason and there's no re-test. The bulletin lists seventeen kinds of unfair means, including impersonation, carrying a device and holding more than one application number. Everyone is frisked with metal detectors.

CMAT is an entrance test, so there's no salary. The fee:

Pay online by card, net banking or UPI; bank charges and GST are extra. It isn't refunded or carried forward, and if no confirmation page appears you may have to pay again. Each institution then charges its own application and programme fees, and publishes its own placement figures.

Apply only on cmat.nta.nic.in.

Register first and note your Application Number, then log in to fill details, choose programme and four cities, upload and pay. NTA tries to give you one of your cities but can allot another; pick cities in your own state.

• Nothing can be changed after the correction window.
• Don't post, fax, WhatsApp or email documents to NTA.
• Check your confirmation page has been generated.
• False information can get you barred from future NTA exams.

Helpline 011-40759000, cmat@nta.ac.in. Write by email with your name, address and number; NTA won't reply to anonymous queries or to anyone acting for you.

Every AICTE-approved institution, university department, constituent college and affiliated college accepts the CMAT score, the widest acceptance of any Indian MBA test. There's no CMAT counselling, seat matrix or allotment: NTA only passes result data to AICTE. Make your own shortlist and apply to each institution by its deadline, checking its eligibility, which can be stricter than NTA's.

NTA is an autonomous body under the Department of Higher Education, set up under the Societies Registration Act 1860.

Exam cities are listed in the bulletin; you choose four. In 2026 there were 259 centres in 110 cities.

• Report two hours early; if you wear articles of faith, come earlier for frisking.
• Bring the printed admit card with the self-declaration on A4, a passport photo matching your upload, an original valid photo ID (school ID, PAN, passport, Aadhaar or e-Aadhaar, Class 12 admit card or bank passbook with photo), any PwD certificate, and a transparent ball point pen.
• No phones, watches, calculators, paper, wallets, belts, caps, ornaments, food or water. Nothing is stored at the centre.
• Sit in your allotted seat. Rough work goes on the sheet provided and is handed back. You can't change city, date or shift.

The bulletin fixes only the application dates; the rest come by public notice on cmat.nta.nic.in. CMAT 2027 isn't notified yet. Going by 2026, expect registration from mid-October and the exam in late January.

Download the admit card from cmat.nta.nic.in with your Application Number and date of birth. It isn't posted, and no duplicate is given at the centre. In 2026 it came out on 21 January, four days before the exam; the city slip (which isn't the admit card) came on 16 January.

It fixes your centre, date and shift, and doesn't prove eligibility. If details don't match your confirmation page, call the NTA helpline (10:00 to 17:00) but still sit the exam with the card you have.

The 2026 result and final keys came out on 17 February 2026 (see the result press release). Score cards are only in your login; nothing is posted.

Multi-shift papers are normalised by percentile, with each session's top score at 100; 2026 was a single shift, so it didn't apply. Grievances about the result must be raised within 30 days, under Delhi jurisdiction. Records are kept for only 90 days, so download yours.

NTA doesn't publish a CMAT cut-off. It gives a score and All India Rank, and each institution sets its own cut-off for its programmes.

Those appear on each institution's admission page after the result, which came on 17 February in 2026. With only 41,872 sitting in 2026, a CMAT percentile isn't comparable with one from a larger test.

• Plan from the marks table. If you prepare CMAT as a lighter CAT, you walk into 40 per cent of the paper unprepared.
• Finish Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Its content is fixed and stable: business forms, start-ups, funding stages, innovation, IP, government schemes, incubation, founders. Few candidates finish it, so it's 80 marks you can take from them.
• Start General Awareness early. A year of news can't be crammed in a fortnight. Read daily.
• Use the time. 108 seconds a question is generous next to SNAP's 60 or MAH CET's 45. Spend it on accuracy and checking.
• Guess only after eliminating an option. With +4 and −1, a blind guess among four is about break-even.
• Learn the interface through the CBT procedure in the bulletin and NTA's free National Testing Abhyas.
• Diarise the correction window (three days in 2026) and the challenge window.
• Shortlist institutions before the result, noting each deadline and eligibility rule.

NTA publishes the real paper's key: the final answer keys for CMAT 2026 are on cmat.nta.nic.in, and during the challenge window each candidate sees their own question paper and recorded responses (2026 answer key notice of 31 January 2026). Download yours then; records are kept only 90 days after the result.

The bulletin also has the CBT procedure, and NTA's National Testing Abhyas offers free practice.

• cmat.nta.nic.in: registration, admit card, answer keys, result
• CMAT 2026 Information Bulletin (PDF)
• final answer keys for CMAT 2026
• 2026 result press release (PDF)
• National Testing Abhyas, free practice
• AICTE
• Helpline 011-40759000, cmat@nta.ac.in

Who conducts CMAT?

The National Testing Agency, since 2019. AICTE ran it before that.

What is the exam pattern?

100 questions, 400 marks, 180 minutes, five sections of 80 marks each.

Is there negative marking?

Yes, −1 for each wrong answer against +4 for a right one.

What language is the paper in?

English only.

What qualification do I need?

A bachelor's degree in any subject, or final year. No age limit.

What does it cost?

₹2,500 for General men, ₹1,250 for everyone else.

Does NTA conduct counselling?

No. You apply to each institution separately.

Is there a cut-off?

Not from NTA. Each institution sets its own.

Can I get my paper re-checked?

No. Only the answer key challenge before the result.

When is CMAT 2027?

Not yet notified. Last cycle opened in mid-October with the exam in late January.