IIM Indore Extended CAT 2026 Registration to 22 September, 5 PM

CAT 2026 registration has been extended to Tuesday, 22 September 2026. It closes at 5:00 PM IST. The earlier deadline was 15 September. The decision was announced in the CAT 2026 media release dated 15 September 2026 on iimcat.ac.in, which states that the Indian Institutes of Management have decided to extend the deadline.

One line in that release matters more than the new date. The CAT convener urges candidates to register well in advance, then says in bold that "Under no circumstances, the September 22, 2026 deadline will be extended." Nothing downstream moved either. The test is still on Sunday, 29 November 2026, so the seven extra days come out of preparation time, not out of the calendar.

CAT 2026 revised dates at a Glance

Source: CAT 2026 media release dated 15 September 2026 plus the important dates block on iimcat.ac.in. Both read on 15 September 2026.

What changed and what did not

One date moved. Registration now closes on 22 September instead of 15 September, at the same 5:00 PM cutoff.

Everything else in the release is unchanged. Admit cards download from 4 November 2026. The test is on 29 November 2026 in three sessions of 120 minutes, with Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, then Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, then Quantitative Ability. The release does add that the IIMs reserve the right to change the test date if the situation warrants, which is standard language and not a signal of anything.

The fee is untouched. It stays Rs 2,700 for general, EWS and NC-OBC candidates and Rs 1,350 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates, paid once for all IIMs and not refundable. Candidates who already registered and paid need do nothing. No refund or top-up applies to them.

It will not be extended again

The release settles this in its own words, in bold and underlined. The 22 September deadline will not be extended under any circumstances.

That is worth taking at face value. Every cycle produces a second round of rumours after the first extension, usually from coaching sites recycling an old year or from forwarded screenshots. The bulletin names iimcat.ac.in as the only official site and carries a fraud warning about every other one. Open the site directly rather than through a forwarded link. The important dates block on the home page is where a real change shows up.

Who the extra week helps

Three groups. Candidates who had not started the form. Candidates whose payment failed in the last hours on 15 September and who could not retry in time. Candidates waiting on a category certificate, because an NC-OBC or EWS certificate has to be uploaded at registration and cannot be added later.

If you are not in one of those groups, this news changes nothing about your week. Go back to mocks.

Do not move the task to 22 September

The failure mode after an extension is the same as the one before it. People push the form to the last day again. The site slows under the same rush. Payments fail again. This time there is no third date.

Finish and pay by 20 September. Then confirm that your status reads registered and save the confirmation page. A form that is filled but unpaid is not a registration.

What locks once you submit

The edit window that opens after registration closes touches three fields only. Photograph, signature and test city preferences. The release repeats this and adds that the window is available only to candidates who paid the fee and registered successfully within the deadline.

Name, date of birth, gender, email, mobile number, category including PwBD status, academic details and programme choices are locked at submit. An extension does not reopen any of them, so the checking matters more than the filling.

What to do with the extra week

Register, then stop thinking about the form. The exam did not move, so the number that matters is the days left to 29 November, not the days left to the deadline. From today that is 75 days.

Use them. Keep one full practice set going every day between now and the exam through the free CAT daily challenge on Percentyl.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the new last date for CAT 2026 registration?

Tuesday, 22 September 2026, at 5:00 PM IST, extended from 15 September. The form is available only at iimcat.ac.in.

Will CAT 2026 registration be extended again?

No. The CAT 2026 media release dated 15 September 2026 states that the 22 September deadline will not be extended under any circumstances.

Has the CAT 2026 exam date changed?

No. The test is still on Sunday, 29 November 2026, in three sessions of 120 minutes. Admit cards still download from 4 November 2026.

Has the CAT 2026 registration fee changed?

No. It remains Rs 2,700 for general, EWS and NC-OBC candidates and Rs 1,350 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. The fee is not refundable.

I already registered before 15 September. Do I need to do anything?

No. A completed registration stays valid. The extension only affects candidates who had not finished paying.

Can I change my form details now that the deadline moved?

Only if you have not submitted yet. After submission the edit window covers photograph, signature and test city preferences alone.