MAH MBA CET Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

200 questions, 200 marks, 150 minutes

• No negative marking. The brochure advises against random guessing, but nothing is deducted for a wrong answer.
• Five options per question. A blind guess is worth 0.2 marks on average, not 0.25.
• Online, English only. No sectional timing; you can move anywhere in the paper during the 150 minutes.
• Scribe users get 20 minutes per hour, an extra 50 minutes on this paper.

The test is 2 hours 30 minutes, but expect to be at the venue for about 4 hours with verification, login and instructions.

The exam runs in several sessions, and scores are equated across sessions for difficulty before percentiles are worked out. The CET Cell publishes a normalisation document each cycle.

The brochure gives three content heads.

Logical and Abstract Reasoning, 100 marks

Questions that measure how quickly and accurately you can think, using figures and diagrams as well as verbal reasoning.

• Logical Reasoning, 75 questions. Series, analogies, coding and decoding, blood relations, direction sense, seating and linear arrangements, syllogisms, statement and assumption, statement and conclusion, cause and effect, input and output, and critical reasoning.
• Abstract Reasoning, 25 questions. All figures: figure series and analogies, odd one out, pattern completion, mirror and water images, paper folding and cutting, and embedded figures. CAT and CMAT have nothing like it.

Quantitative Aptitude, 50 marks

Speed and accuracy with numbers, plus reading tables, graphs and charts. In practice: percentages, ratio and proportion, averages, profit and loss, time and work, time speed and distance, interest and mixtures; number systems; algebra; geometry and mensuration; permutation, combination and probability; and data interpretation on tables, bar and line graphs and pie charts.

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, 50 marks

Passages with questions on their content, plus grammar, vocabulary, sentence completion, synonyms and antonyms, and choosing the right word or phrase. In practice: reading comprehension, error spotting, sentence correction and completion, para-jumbles, idioms and phrases, and fill in the blanks.

The brochure sets no difficulty level.

Degree and marks

A three-year bachelor's degree in any discipline from a university recognised by the UGC or the Association of Indian Universities, with at least 50% aggregate or equivalent.

45% for backward class, EWS and PwD candidates from Maharashtra only. A reserved-category candidate from another state doesn't get the relaxation.

Final-year students can sit the CET.

How the percentage is worked out

• Aggregate is the grand total of marks in the subjects on which your university declares the class.
• For grades or CGPA, use the conversion your own university certifies.
• The percentage is rounded to two decimal places.

Category certificates come at CAP

Caste Certificate, Caste Validity Certificate and Non Creamy Layer Certificate are submitted with the CAP application, not at the CET. For 2026-27 the Non Creamy Layer Certificate had to be valid up to 31 March 2027. EWS and PwD certificates are also produced at CAP. SEBC reservation is subject to the High Court's decision in pending writ petitions.

Aadhaar and APAAR

Registration checks your Aadhaar and APAAR ID through DigiLocker. A mismatch in photograph, name, date of birth, gender or address may delay or reject your application, so fix your Aadhaar before the window opens.

The brochure says eligibility follows the previous year's CAP Information Brochure, which is published on the admission portal.

1. MAH-MBA/MMS-CET, online, 200 marks in 150 minutes, in one or both attempts.
2. Result as a percentile. If you sat both attempts, the better one counts.
3. Centralised Admission Process (CAP): a separate registration and fee, document verification, and an option form listing institutes in order of preference.
4. CAP rounds: seat allotment, then self-verification, seat acceptance and reporting to the institute, each with its own deadline.

A CET score alone admits nobody; you have to register for CAP separately. For 2026-27 the MBA/MMS CAP form opened on 2 July 2026. CAP deadlines are set to the hour and a missed reporting deadline loses the seat, so check each year's schedule.

Objections

After each attempt the CET Cell shows your question paper, recorded responses and the answer key in the candidate login and opens an objection window: 2 to 4 May and 19 to 21 May in 2026. It costs ₹1,000 per question. In the first attempt, 34 questions were objected to and 11 upheld, each adding a mark for everyone in that session.

Misconduct

Unfair means, impersonation, misbehaviour or sharing the test content leads to action. A mobile phone or similar device in the hall means disqualification.

This is an entrance test, not a recruitment, so there's no salary. The fee is below.

Online payment only (net banking, card, IMPS, UPI, cash cards or wallets), plus service charges. The fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. You choose one attempt or both when you pay.

CAP has its own registration fee, in the CAP brochure. Course fees are set per institute and approved by the Fees Regulating Authority; placement figures are published by each institute for its own batches.

Everything happens in the candidate login on cetcell.mahacet.org: registration, payment, admit card, result and objections. Read the CET Cell's user manual for the form first.

How the 2026-27 cycle ran

Registration was extended twice in 2026. Don't count on it; plan to the published date.

Photograph

2 inch by 2 inch (50 mm by 50 mm), colour, face covering 80% of the photo, 100 KB to 5 MB. Full face, eyes open, neutral expression, head centred from hair to chin, plain light or white background, no shadows. Religious head coverings are allowed if the face stays fully visible.

Aadhaar and APAAR are verified through DigiLocker at registration; the CET Cell publishes guides for creating both. It can check your details and photo at any stage.

Contact

State Common Entrance Test Cell, 8th Floor, New Excelsior Building, A. K. Nayak Marg, Fort, Mumbai 400 001. Toll free 1800 209 0191, helpline 07969134401 and 07969134402, 10:00 to 18:00. Email for the 2026 cycle: cethelpdesk-2026@maharashtracet.org.

Four kinds of institute admit on this score, all approved by the Government of Maharashtra and affiliated to a non-agricultural university in the State:

1. Government of Maharashtra management institutes
2. University departments of management
3. University-managed management institutes
4. Un-aided management institutes covered by the 2015 Act

That runs to hundreds of MBA/MMS institutes. The list, seat matrix and round schedule are in the CAP Information Brochure on the admission portal, where CAP notices moved from the 2026-27 cycle. On cetcell.mahacet.org, Search Institute finds an institute's courses, and Cutoff Explorer and Institutes Compare show past closing figures.

The test is held only in selected cities in Maharashtra. Each city may have several venues.

You give a preference, but the CET Cell can allot a different centre, for example if too few or too many candidates choose yours, and it can add or cancel centres. Once made, your choice is final, and no change of centre, venue, date or session is entertained.

Bring the Hall Ticket and an original photo ID whose name matches it. Allow about four hours. You attend at your own risk and expense.

MAH-MBA/MMS-CET 2026, for 2026-27

The brochure leaves the admit card and exam dates "to be notified later", and the schedule can change by notice.

The 2027-28 cycle hasn't been notified. Watch cetcell.mahacet.org; the registration notice came in late December or the first half of January in each of the last two cycles.

The Hall Ticket is downloaded from the candidate login on cetcell.mahacet.org once the CET Cell announces it. It names your venue, which may differ from your preference.

Bring it with an original photo ID. The names must match; if yours changed, for example after marriage, bring an original Gazette notification, marriage certificate or affidavit, or you won't be let in. Check this the day the Hall Ticket appears.

Scribes

Declare it in the application. Bring your original disability certificate and the scribe declaration form to the Venue Officer. You arrange and pay the scribe, whose qualification must be two academic years below yours. The CET Cell takes details of two scribes, the second as a standby.

The result is a percentile from your raw marks, on a score card in the candidate login. Sessions are equated for difficulty first, under the normalisation document published on 2 April 2026. Each attempt gives its own percentile, and the better one is used for admission.

The first-attempt objection report shows how objections were settled. A re-exam, if delivery goes wrong, is at the CET Cell's discretion, and candidates have no claim to one.

The CET has no pass mark or qualifying percentile. Cut-offs are set in CAP, per institute, course, category and round.

Past closing percentiles are in the Cutoff Explorer and Institutes Compare on cetcell.mahacet.org, and CAP round cut-offs are published there each cycle, from July onward.

Leave nothing blank

There's no negative marking, so an unattempted question is the only wasted one. In the last two minutes, fill in every blank. Five options means elimination works a little differently from CAT or CMAT practice.

Weight your time like the paper

Most MBA prep centres on quant, which is a quarter of this paper. Give logical reasoning the biggest share. Don't skip Abstract Reasoning: national-level material doesn't cover it, and the figure patterns repeat, so it trains well.

Practise at 45 seconds a question

200 questions in 150 minutes is tight. Take full 150-minute mocks, not just section drills, and learn to drop a question fast. Drill data interpretation separately; reading a chart in 45 seconds is its own skill.

Use the official material

The Information Brochure's Test Information and Sample Questions section shows the question types. After the exam, read your own paper and responses during the objection window.

Pay for both attempts if you can

The better percentile counts, and you can only take the second attempt if you paid for it at registration.

Before the CAP form opens

Build your preference list from the Cutoff Explorer before the CAP option form opens, not while filling it.

The CET Cell doesn't publish previous year papers. The only official samples are in the Information Brochure, under Test Information and Sample Questions.

After each attempt you can see your own question paper, responses and the answer key in the candidate login on cetcell.mahacet.org, during the objection window, usually in May. Mock tests, when released, also appear there.

• State CET Cell: cetcell.mahacet.org and mahacet.org, for registration, hall ticket, result, objections, notices and the Cutoff Explorer
• MAH-MBA/MMS-CET 2026 Information Brochure (PDF)
• 2026 objection schedule (PDF)
• CAP Information Brochure, on the admission portal linked from the CET Cell site

Who conducts MAH-MBA/MMS-CET?

The State Common Entrance Test Cell, Government of Maharashtra.

What is the exam pattern?

200 questions, 200 marks, 150 minutes, online, with five options each: Logical Reasoning 75, Abstract Reasoning 25, Quantitative Aptitude 50, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 50.

Is there negative marking?

No.

How many attempts are there?

Two. You choose one or both when you pay, and the better percentile counts.

What does it cost?

₹1,500 for one attempt or ₹3,000 for both (open, OMS and J&K Migrant); ₹1,300 or ₹2,600 for reserved, PwD, orphan and transgender candidates from Maharashtra.

What qualification do I need?

A three-year bachelor's degree in any discipline with 50% aggregate, or 45% for reserved, EWS and PwD candidates from Maharashtra. Final-year students can apply.

What language is the paper in?

English only.

Where is it held?

Only in selected cities in Maharashtra.

What is the cut-off?

There's no CET cut-off. Institutes' closing percentiles are in the CET Cell's Cutoff Explorer.

Does a good score get me admission?

Not on its own. You also have to register for CAP, which opened on 2 July 2026 for 2026-27.

Can I object to a question?

Yes, in the candidate login during the objection window, at ₹1,000 per question.

Can I carry a phone?

No. A phone in the hall means disqualification.

When is the next cycle?

Not notified yet. Recent registration notices came in late December or early January, on cetcell.mahacet.org.