CAT Eligibility Criteria 2026, Check Detailed Eligibility Criteria for CAT Exam

CAT Eligibility Criteria: The CAT exam eligibility criteria is quite simple for the candidates to understand and this refers to the list of requirements that should be followed to sit in the CAT examination. Candidates should possess a bachelor’s degree from the recognized university where General / EWS/ NC-OBC category students should have atleast 50 marks or equivalent CGPA whereas the criteria is little less for the SC/ST/PwD students with 45% marks or equivalent CGPA. The CAT eligibility criteria should be followed across other factors too which includes graduation marks, “What should be the eligibility if you are a final year student?”, for working professionals, detailed academic qualifications, professional degree holders, age limit of a candidate, documents required for eligibility verification, “Do candidates with backlogs are eligible?”, detailed eligibility about PwD students set by the exam authorities, reservation criteria, gap years and work experience, and others.

These all factors are highly considered if you belong to any of the category. You should have the detailed knowledge about the CAT exam eligibility criteria so that you will not face any hassle during CAT examination or selection process at IIMs.

CAT Eligibility Criteria

Level of Study	Graduation
Minimum marks required	50% in aggregate
Age Limit	No Upper Limit

Let’s discuss the detailed specifications about CAT eligibility criteria and most frequently queries asked by candidates on this particular context.

Join iQuanta’s diversified student community for free and prepare with other 4.1L+ peers. Get access to 24*7 doubt-solving, mentorship, free webinars, etc all at one single platform.

What is CAT Eligibility Criteria?

According to the basic eligibility criteria for CAT exam, candidates should have minimum 3 years of bachelor’s degree from a recognized university, and covers minimum marks as 50% or equivalent CGPA in case of a General/EWS/OBC candidates whereas 45% marks or equivalent CGPA in case of SC/ST/PwD categories. If you are a final year student, then you should carry a valid proof from the authorities to go with the provisional admission. Work experience is not mandatory as well as number of attempts in a CAT exam is also not fixed, but if you have a work experience then will create an advantage during the IIM admission process. To get the complete information about CAT eligibility criteria check the table specified below.

Particulars	Details
Exam Conducting Body	One of the IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) on a rotational basis.
Academic Qualification	Minimum 3 years of bachelor’s degree from recognized institution or UGC/AICTE/MHRD approved.
Minimum Marks (For General/EWS/OBC)	50% marks or equivalent CGPA is required
Minimum Marks (For SC/ST/PwD)	45% marks or equivalent CGPA is required
Final Year Students	Eligible for provisional admission if carry a valid proof from the university authorities.
Work Experience	Not mandatory (if have then it will be advantageous during the admission process at IIMs).
Age Limit	No age limit
No. of  CAT Attempts Allowed	No limits on giving CAT attempts

CAT Eligibility Criteria Based on Graduation Marks

These are the detailed specification about the graduation marks that keeps continued based on various graduation disciplines or factors. Lets see the table specified below for more clarification on it.

CAT Eligibility Criteria Based on Graduation Marks	Minimum Marks Required
B.E./B.Tech (Engineering)	50% marks or equivalent CGPA (Gen/EWS/NC-OBC) / 45% marks or equivalent CGPA (SC/ST/PwD) is required
Graduation (Any stream)	50% marks or equivalent CGPA (Gen/EWS/NC-OBC) / 45% marks or equivalent CGPA (SC/ST/PwD) is required
Final-year Graduation Students	50% marks or equivalent CGPA (Gen/EWS/NC-OBC) / 45% marks or equivalent CGPA (SC/ST/PwD) is required
Professional Qualifications (CA/CS/ICWA/FIAI)	50% marks or equivalent CGPA (Gen/EWS/NC-OBC) / 45% marks or equivalent CGPA (SC/ST/PwD) is required

What are the Common Questions Asked Based on CAT Eligibility Criteria?

There are many candidates who are new to understand the exam but getting a proper knowledge about CAT exam eligibility will give a clear direction to candidates. Let’s see few questions that are commonly asked with respect to the CAT eligibility criteria.

1. What is the minimum percentage required for CAT exam?
2. Is there any restrictions on the number of attempts?
3. Do final year student eligible to sit in CAT exam?
4. Can I apply after a 2-year degree course?
5. Am I eligible if carrying backlogs in graduation?
6. What is age limit to sit for Common Admission Test?
7. Is work experience mandatory to give CAT?
8. “I am a Working Professional”. Am I eligible for the CAT exam?

CAT Eligibility Criteria: What If You Are a Final Year Student?

If you are a final year student and confused about – “Whether you are eligible to sit in a CAT exam or not?” then here is a complete explanation about your query.

Answer – The candidates are eligible to sit for the CAT exam in their final year under conditions where they have to provide the order of proof from the Principal/Registrar from their university or institution during the admission process.

CAT Eligibility Criteria for Working Professionals

1. The working professional must hold a bachelor’s degree of a minimum 3-year tenure in any discipline from a recognized university.
2. The minimum marks required for the working professionals belong to General, EWS, and OBC candidates are 50% marks or equivalent CGPA; for SC, ST, and PwD candidates, it is 45% marks or equivalent CGPA.
3. Working professionals must hold degrees awarded by universities or institutes recognized by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, or equivalent bodies like UGC/AICTE.

Complete Breakdown on CAT Eligibility Criteria

The CAT exam eligibility is an important criteria that the candidate must fulfill in order to be a part of the entrance test. They should read the official notification PDF which is used to determine whether they meet the basic requirements to appear in the Common Admission Test. This section covers the detailed breakdown of components like academic qualification, final year student eligibility to sit for the examination, “Do age limit an important factor to cover as CAT eligibility Criteria?“, important documents required for the verification purpose, and most importantly “Do candidates with backlogs appear for the Common Admission Test?”. Let’s discuss these important components in a detailed manner.

CAT Eligibility Criteria: Academic Qualification

• A candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree of a minimum of 3 years in any discipline from a recognized university.
• The minimum marks required for General, EWS, and OBC candidates are 50% marks or equivalent CGPA; for SC, ST, and PwD candidates, it is 45% marks or equivalent CGPA.
• Candidates must hold degrees awarded by universities recognized by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, or equivalent bodies like UGC/AICTE.

CAT Exam Eligibility Criteria: Final Year Student 

• Candidates in their final year of a bachelor’s degree or awaiting results are eligible to apply. They must provide a certificate from an authorized person at their university stating that they are in their final year of graduation. Such candidates are provisionally admitted, and admission will get confirmed once their proof of graduation with the required percentage is submitted.

CAT Eligibility Criteria: Professional Degree Holders

Candidates who have completed professional courses such as Chartered Accountant (CA), Company Secretary (CS), and Cost Accountant (ICWA) are also eligible to appear for CAT exam, provided they have scored the minimum percentage required is 50% marks or equivalent CGPA for General/EWS/OBC category students and 45% marks or equivalent CGPA for SC/ST/PwD category students.

CAT Exam Eligibility: Age Limit

There is no upper or lower age limit for appearing in CAT exam. As long as you meet the academic qualifications, you can appear for the exam so whether you are a graduate, a working professional, or someone returning to academics after a gap. The table mentioned below covers the CAT age criteria for lower age limit and upper age limit.

CAT Age Criteria 2026

Talking about the age criteria to sit for the CAT exam is not applicable for both lower age limit and upper age limit. This is one of the common queries majorly asked by students and working professionals based on the CAT eligibility criteria.

Age Limit	CAT Criteria
Lower Age Limit	Not Applicable
Upper Age Limit	Not Applicable

CAT Exam Eligibility Criteria: Documents Required for Eligibility Verification

The documents mentioned in this sections are required as per the CAT eligibility criteria. Please have a detailed look across all components.

• Bachelor’s degree certificate and all semester/year marksheets.
• Final year certificate (for final year students).
• SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS/PwD certificate (if applicable).
• Identity proof.
• Work experience certificate (if applicable).

CAT Eligibility Criteria : Candidates with Backlog

The candidates with backlogs in their undergraduate courses are also eligible to apply for the CAT examination. However, they must clear their backlogs before the final admission round, as respective institutes may ask for an undertaking or clarification during WAT-PI rounds. Candidates should be very careful if having a backlog because their admission can get canceled if final graduation requirements are not met on time.

What is the CAT Eligibility Criteria for PwD Students?

According to the official RPwD Act, 2016 (Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016), the candidates who possess “Person with Benchmark Disability” have 5% seats reserved for them according to the reservation status. There are some basic disability terms mentioned below.

1. Low Vision and Blind
2. Deaf and hard of hearing
3. Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy.
4. Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness
5. Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses from d to a
6. Other relevant disabilities are mentioned under “The RPwD Act, 2016”.

Important Note: Candidates will not be allowed to change the category after the successful CAT registration. Candidates should focused more while registering for the Common Admission Test.

CAT Eligibility Criteria Based on Reservation

There are certain reservation criteria for reserved categories seeking MBA admissions. Candidates from reserved categories must carefully check the CAT eligibility criteria before applying. Applicants must fulfill the minimum eligibility and performance standards to be considered for admission through the CAT exam for MBA.

Category	Reservation (%)
Scheduled Caste (SC)	15%
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	7.5%
OBC-NCL	27%
EWS	10%
PwD	5%

To claim the reservation, candidates must submit the valid certificates in the prescribed format, and they should be issued by recognized authorities.

CAT Eligibility Criteria: Gap Years and Work Experience

Having gap years and work experience doesn’t affect your CAT eligibility criteria to appear for the CAT exam. The IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management) does not have any restrictions regarding the number of gap years after graduation. In the similar manner, work experience is also not mandatory to appear. Later, having work experience with any candidate can add weightage during the IIM selection process.

1. Candidates with the gap years can easily apply for CAT exam without any restrictions as long as they meet the CAT eligibility criteria.
2. It is important for candidates that they must explain the reason behind gap years during interviews like in WAT and PI rounds of the IIM admission process.
3. Having prior work experience is not a mandatory thing, but if any candidate possess work experience then they can fetch extra marks or points during the selection process.

Download PDF Here – CAT Eligibility Criteria

The CAT exam eligibility criteria is an important arena that aspirants should aware before sitting in the actual CAT exam. This PDF is a gem for you that covers different components such as detailed exam eligibility, syllabus, important dates, and more, so that you will directed towards CAT 2026 preparation.

CAT Eligibility Criteria 2026: Important Points to Remember

1. During the application process of CAT Exam (Common Aptitude Test), it is important for students to note a few but again important points in mind to avoid any rejection or confusion during the IIM admission process.
2. There are some important points that students need to remember.
3. They should hold bachelor’s degree from the recognized university.
4. They should meet the minimum marks criteria (Like 50% required if the candidate belongs to General/EWS/OBC whereas 45% required if belongs to SC/ST/PwD).
5. Keep all their important academic documents ready during the CAT 2026 application form or for later stages (if applicable).

Percentage of Seat Reservation

The table specified below covers the percentage of seat reservations across General Category, Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC), Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Person with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD).

Categories	Reservation Percentage
General Category	40.5%
Scheduled Caste (SC)	15%
Scheduled Tribe (ST)	7.50%
Other Backward Classes (NC-OBC)	27%
Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)	10%
Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD)	5%

CAT Eligibility Criteria for General/EWS/OBC

The basic CAT exam eligibility for General/EWS/OBC candidates require minimum 50% marks in the bachelor’s degree (minimum 3 years) and additional 10% relaxation to the EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) followed by the percentage of seat reservation.

CAT Eligibility Criteria for SC/ST/PwD

The CAT exam eligibility for SC/ST/PwD candidates require minimum 45% marks in the bachelor’s degree (minimum 3 years).

CAT Eligibility Criteria: Who Is Not Eligible?

The aspirants who will not be eligible for the CAT 2026 exam are mentioned below:

• Candidates who have not completed any recognized bachelor’s degree.
• Candidates who have scored below the required minimum percentage. (50% or 45%)
• Candidates who have a diploma degree without a full-time bachelor’s degree.
• As per CAT exam eligibility criteria, candidates who are not able to submit required academic or category documents during admission.
• Candidates with unrecognized or unapproved degrees, including fake universities.

CAT Eligibility Criteria for Top IIMs in India

• A candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree of a minimum of 3 years in any discipline from a recognized university.
• The minimum marks required for General, EWS, and OBC candidates are 50% marks or equivalent CGPA; for SC, ST, and PwD candidates, it is 45% marks or equivalent CGPA.
• Candidates must hold degrees awarded by universities recognized by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, or equivalent bodies like UGC/AICTE.

Conclusion: CAT Eligibility Criteria

The CAT exam is a dream for lakhs of aspirants who wants to pursue their MBA degree from top IIMs or B-Schools. Meeting these CAT eligibility criteria is the very first and important step towards appearing for the CAT 2026. It is important for students to make sure they should completely check with the guidelines and fulfill all the respective requirements before applying to avoid last minute issues.

Frequently Asked Questions: CAT Eligibility Criteria