CMAT Registration Dates

CMAT applications are submitted online at cmat.nta.nic.in. NTA has proposed 7 February 2027 for the exam in its tentative calendar. Registration dates and the 2027 application fee have not been announced.

For the previous cycle, applications opened on 17 October 2025. The final extended deadline was 24 November 2025, followed by fee payment on 25 November and corrections from 26 to 28 November. These were CMAT 2026 deadlines, not dates for the next application.

Form submission and fee payment can have different closing dates. Completing the personal and academic fields does not finish the application: the confirmation page is generated after successful payment. The CMAT schedule separates these stages.

Who Can Apply for CMAT?

The 2026 exam was open to Indian citizens with a bachelor's degree in any discipline. Final-year students could also apply if their result would be declared before admission began for the academic year. There was no age restriction.

NTA did not set a universal 50% graduation requirement in the CMAT appearance criteria. Individual MBA or PGDM programmes can have their own minimum marks and selection conditions. A student may meet the exam conditions but not the requirements of a particular college.

A recognised degree matters, including for distance or online study. Check the recognition of the qualification and the chosen programme's admission conditions before paying. The CMAT eligibility criteria also explain final-year and category-related conditions.

CMAT Application Fee

2026 application fees:

Third-gender candidates paid INR 1,250. Bank or payment-gateway processing charges and GST were additional. Payment was online through credit card, debit card, net banking or UPI.

The INR 2,500 fee applied to General/UR male candidates, not all male applicants. A male candidate eligible for the Central List OBC-NCL category paid INR 1,250. An OBC entry in a state list alone did not establish eligibility for that category in the NTA form.

NTA did not refund a correctly paid examination fee or carry it forward to another year. A duplicate bank debit is a payment issue and should be raised with the payment provider; it is different from cancelling an application.

Documents and Upload Sizes

Keep the Class 10, Class 12 and graduation records beside the form so the names, dates and qualification details match. Use a mobile number and email address that remain accessible for application messages and account recovery.

The 2026 upload limits were:

The photograph could be colour or black and white, with a white background and about 80% of the face visible, including the ears. A mask should not cover the face. The signature must remain readable after resizing; reducing a file below the maximum size is not enough if the image becomes blurred.

Scribe files apply only to candidates choosing that facility. In 2026, candidates who had opted to provide their own-scribe details at the city-intimation stage received a separate portal window from 16 to 18 January. This was not an extra registration window for all applicants.

How to Fill the CMAT Application Form

• Create the account: enter the requested personal details, create a password and save the generated application number.
• Complete the form: enter education, category and other requested information using the corresponding records.
• Select cities: the 2026 form allowed four preferences. Choose accessible cities in the permitted address-based selection.
• Upload files: check the preview of the photograph, signature and applicable certificates.
• Pay the fee: use an available online payment method and wait for the transaction result.
• Save the confirmation: download the confirmation page and retain the payment reference.

NTA asks for one application per candidate. Creating another form because the first payment is pending can lead to duplicate applications rather than solve the transaction problem.

City preferences are not a booking for a particular centre. NTA can allocate a different city for logistical reasons. The final centre address and exam session appear on the CMAT admit card.

Payment Deducted but Confirmation Not Generated

Check the application's payment status and save the bank transaction ID. If the confirmation page has not been generated, contact the bank or payment gateway to establish whether NTA received the fee. A debit message alone does not prove that the application is complete.

The 2026 instructions allowed for another payment where needed to complete the application, with duplicate-payment issues handled through the bank or gateway. Keep both transaction references if a second payment is necessary. Do not assume that a pending transaction automatically extends the deadline.

For application questions, NTA lists 011-40759000 / 011-69227700 and cmat@nta.ac.in. Include the application number and a clear description of the error, but never share the account password or a banking OTP.

Which Details Can Be Corrected?

The 2026 correction window ran from 26 to 28 November 2025, until 11:50 PM. It was a one-time correction facility: after changes were submitted, the form was frozen.

A correction that increased the applicable fee required the extra payment before it took effect. Excess payment was not refundable under the correction notice. Review all permitted changes together before the final submission, particularly the category, academic details and uploaded images.

The correction window did not allow a change of mobile number or email address. It also did not reopen registration for someone who had not applied.

Does CMAT Registration Apply to Colleges Too?

No. NTA conducts the test and issues the result. Students apply separately to the institutions that accept CMAT scores. Those applications can require programme choices, academic records, a separate fee and later selection rounds.

Keep the confirmation page, admit card and scorecard after the test. They serve different purposes: the confirmation records the application, the admit card identifies the allotted examination session, and the scorecard carries the result used in admission.