The National Testing Agency (NTA) has officially announced the examination schedule and released admit cards for the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) 2026. This national-level entrance examination serves as a gateway for admission to management programs at AICTE-affiliated institutions across India for the Academic Session 2026-27.
CMAT 2026 Exam Schedule Confirmed
According to the latest NTA public notice, the CMAT 2026 examination will be conducted on January 25, 2026 through Computer Based Test (CBT) mode. The exam will be held in a single shift from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (180 minutes duration).
Important Timeline Overview
The registration and examination process followed these key dates:
- Online Registration Period: October 17, 2025 to November 17, 2025 (until 11:50 PM)
- Fee Payment Deadline: November 18, 2025 (until 11:50 PM)
- Application Correction Window: November 20-22, 2025 (until 11:50 PM)
- Admit Card Release Date: January 21, 2026
- Examination Date: January 25, 2026
Candidates are advised to reach their designated examination centre at least two hours before the scheduled start time to complete the check-in process smoothly.
Admit Card Download Process
The NTA released admit cards on January 21, 2026. Candidates can download their admit cards by visiting the official website at https://cmat.nta.nic.in/ using their Application Number and Date of Birth.
Also Read: CMAT 2026 Admit Card OUT
Important Instructions for Candidates
- Admit cards are issued provisionally, subject to eligibility verification
- Admit cards will not be sent by post
- Candidates must not mutilate or alter any information on the admit card
- A copy of the admit card should be preserved for future reference
- Eligibility will be scrutinized at subsequent stages of the admission process
CMAT 2026 Exam Centre List (Region-wise)
To ensure accessibility for management aspirants nationwide, NTA has designated centers in major cities across four primary regions.
East Region
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Port Blair.
- Arunachal Pradesh: Itanagar/Naharlagun.
- Assam: Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat.
- Jharkhand: Bokaro, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Ranchi.
- Manipur: Imphal.
- Meghalaya: Shillong.
- Nagaland: Dimapur.
- Odisha: Berhampur-Ganjam, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur.
- West Bengal: Durgapur, Kolkata, Siliguri.
North Region
- Bihar: Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna.
- Chandigarh/Mohali: Chandigarh/Mohali.
- Delhi NCR: Delhi-NCR.
- Haryana: Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram.
- Himachal Pradesh: Hamirpur, Shimla.
- Jammu & Kashmir: Jammu, Srinagar.
- Ladakh: Leh.
- Punjab: Amritsar, Bhatinda, Jalandhar/Phagwara.
- Rajasthan: Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur.
- Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Allahabad/Prayagraj, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad, Varanasi.
- Uttarakhand: Dehradun, Haldwani.
South Region
- Andhra Pradesh: Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam.
- Karnataka: Bengaluru, Dharwad/Hubballi (Hubli), Gulbarga, Mangaluru (Mangalore), Mysuru (Mysore), Tumkur.
- Kerala: Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kannur, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Mallapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur.
- Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirappalli.
- Telangana: Hyderabad, Khammam, Mahabubnagar, Warangal.
West Region
- Chhattisgarh: Bhilai Nagar/Durg, Bilaspur, Raipur.
- Goa: Panaji.
- Gujarat: Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar, Anand, Bardoli, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Godhra, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Mehsana, Modasa, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Valsad/Vapi.
- Madhya Pradesh: Balaghat, Betul, Bhopal, Chhindwara, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa, Sagar, Satna, Ujjain.
- Maharashtra: Ahmednagar, Amravati, Beed, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Dhule, Gondiya, Jalgaon, Jalna, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai/Navi Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Pune, Sangli, Satara, Solapur, Thane, Yavatmal.
Important Note: Candidates must select four cities during the application process. While NTA attempts to allot the first choice, they reserve the right to allot a different city for administrative reasons.
Also Read: KCET 2026 Registration Starts
CMAT 2026 Exam Pattern and Structure
The examination will be conducted entirely in English and comprises five core sections, each containing 20 questions:
Section-wise Distribution:
- Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation – 20 questions (80 marks)
- Logical Reasoning – 20 questions (80 marks)
- Language Comprehension – 20 questions (80 marks)
- General Awareness – 20 questions (80 marks)
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship – 20 questions (80 marks)
Total: 100 questions carrying 400 marks
Marking Scheme Details
The examination follows a specific marking pattern that rewards accuracy while penalizing incorrect attempts:
- Each correct answer earns 4 marks
- Each incorrect answer results in a deduction of 1 mark (negative marking applies)
- Unanswered questions receive zero marks
This marking scheme emphasizes the importance of attempting questions with reasonable confidence to maximize scores while minimizing the impact of negative marking.
