CAT 2026 admit card out tomorrow, November 4: 2.84 lakh candidates can download hall tickets

IIM Indore will release the CAT 2026 admit card tomorrow, November 4, on the official CAT website. Around 2.84 lakh candidates who registered for the MBA entrance exam can then download their hall tickets from the candidate login portal. The download link will go live on the portal during the day, and the hall ticket is the one document you must carry to the exam centre.

CAT 2026 is scheduled for November 29. IIM Indore is conducting the exam this year, and it will run as a computer-based test in three sessions across roughly 170 cities. Your admit card will tell you which session you have been given, along with your centre address and reporting time.

What your CAT hall ticket will show

The admit card carries your name, registration number, photograph and signature. It also lists your exam centre name and address, your allotted slot, the reporting time, the exam duration and the exam-day instructions. Read each of these lines as soon as you download the hall ticket.

Mistakes on a hall ticket are rare, but they do happen. If your name, photo or centre details look wrong, contact the exam authorities at once instead of waiting till exam week. A correction made early is simple. The same problem on November 28 becomes a scramble.

Download the hall ticket the moment the link goes live, and check every detail on it before you plan your travel. Your slot and reporting time decide when you need to reach the centre.

How to download the CAT 2026 admit card

Once the link is active on November 4, follow these steps:

• Go to the official CAT website at iimcat.ac.in.
• Click on the CAT 2026 admit card login link on the homepage.
• Enter your registered user ID and password, and submit the captcha or security pin.
• Your admit card will appear on the screen. Check all the details printed on it.
• Download the PDF and take a clear printout for exam day.

Keep the PDF saved on your phone as a backup, but do not rely on the phone copy at the centre. A printed copy is what the staff will ask for during verification, along with your photo ID.

Three slots on November 29: check yours early

CAT 2026 will be held in three slots on November 29: 8:30 am to 10:30 am, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm, and 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Your admit card states your slot and the time you must report. Plan your travel around the reporting time, not the exam start time, since late entry is not allowed once the gates close.

Candidates who live far from their centre should think about the journey now. A morning slot in another city may mean travelling the previous day. The admit card gives you nearly four weeks between the download and the exam, which is enough time to book travel without rushing.

2.84 lakh registrations: a smaller, serious field

About 2.84 lakh candidates registered for CAT 2026, down 3.7% from the 2.95 lakh who signed up in 2025. The count had peaked at 3.29 lakh in 2024. You can read the full registration picture in our earlier report on CAT 2026 registrations.

Registration numbers are not the same as the number of people who actually sit for the test. In recent years, between 87% and 89% of registered candidates have appeared. By that trend, roughly 2.48 to 2.53 lakh candidates are expected to take CAT 2026. The CAT score is used for MBA admission at all 22 IIMs and more than 1,000 other business schools, so the exam remains one of the biggest management tests in the country.

Students who fixed errors in their forms during the CAT 2026 correction window should still verify that the corrected details appear on the hall ticket. The admit card is the final record, and it is the version the centre staff will match against your ID.

What to carry on exam day

Keep this short list ready before November 29:

• A printed copy of your CAT 2026 admit card.
• A valid original photo identity proof, such as Aadhaar, voter ID, passport or driving licence.
• Scribe-related documents or medical certificates, only where they apply to you.

Do not carry anything the hall ticket forbids, and follow every instruction printed on it. The staff will check your admit card and ID at the gate, and the details on both must match.

For more admit card and result updates, keep an eye on the results section of this site. Once the CAT download link is live on November 4, download your hall ticket from the official CAT portal and do not leave it for the last week.