CMAT 2026 Exam Dates: The National Testing Agency has finally shared the official date for the CMAT 2026 exam. Students across the country were waiting for this update, and now the agency has cleared the air with a fresh notice. The exam will take place on January 25, 2026.
CMAT 2026 Exam Dates
The NTA notice explains the details very clearly. The exam will run for three hours in a fully online format. The agency wrote in its statement, “National Testing Agency will be conducting Common Management Admission Test (CMAT)-2026 in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode.
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The online submission of applications for the above-mentioned exam was available at https://cmat.nta.nic.in/ from 17 October 2025 onwards vide Public Notice dated 17 October 2025.”
This means every student will take the test through a computer at the allotted center. The agency has also said that the advance city slip and admit card dates will be shared soon on the official website.
NTA has also reminded everyone that the question paper will appear in English only. Students who have been preparing for months now have a clear idea of how much time is left and can plan their final revision properly.
Who can Apply?
The eligibility rules stay simple for CMAT. A student must have a Bachelor’s Degree in any subject. Candidates in the final year of their graduation can also apply if their results will come before the admission process for the 2026–27 academic year. The agency also mentions that the applicant must be an Indian citizen. There is no age limit, so anyone who meets the study requirements can sit for the test.
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Marking Pattern
The marking pattern is also easy to understand. Each question carries 04 marks for the right answer, and for every wrong attempt, 01 mark goes away from the total. If a student leaves a question blank, no marks are added or removed.
The rule for answer checking is also very clear. If after checking the answer key, the NTA finds that a question has more than one right answer then only those students who picked one of the correct options as per the revised key will earn marks.
If a question gets removed completely due to some technical issue, the NTA will give full marks to every student, even if they did not try to answer it.
| Type of Questions | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation | 20 | 80 |
| Logical Reasoning | 20 | 80 |
| Language Comprehension | 20 | 80 |
| General Awareness | 20 | 80 |
| Innovation & Entrepreneurship | 20 | 80 |
| Total | 100 | 400 |
