Every year, thousands of bright students lose a full year of MBA admissions not because they failed the exam, but because they failed the form. Around 2.95 lakh candidates registered for CAT last year, and a good chunk of them made an avoidable mistake somewhere in the process. CAT 2026 Registration is now open, and this guide walks you through every trap that catches students off guard, so your seat at an IIM does not slip away over a scanning error.
Filling the CAT form feels a bit like booking a Tatkal train ticket. You know the window is short, everyone is rushing at the same time, and one wrong click can cost you your spot. The difference is, a missed train ticket costs you a day. A messed-up CAT form can cost you a year.
CAT 2026 Registration
IIM Indore is conducting CAT 2026 this year. Prof. Aditya Billore is the exam convener, and the notification was officially released on July 26, 2026.
Here are the key dates and numbers every aspirant should note:
- Registration window: August 3, 2026 (10:00 AM) to September 15, 2026 (5:00 PM)
- Exam date: Sunday, November 29, 2026, in three sessions
- Test cities: Around 170 cities, over 300 test centres
- Application fee: ₹2,700 for General, EWS, and NC-OBC candidates; ₹1,350 for SC, ST, and PwBD candidates (up ₹100 from last year)
- Correction window: Expected in the last week of September, open only for photo, signature, and test city changes
- Score validity: Extended to December 31, 2027
Documents You Need Before You Even Open the Form
Do not start your CAT 2026 Registration without a folder of scanned documents ready on your laptop. Here is your checklist:
- A valid government photo ID (Aadhaar card is recommended, PAN, passport, driving licence, or voter ID also work)
- Class 10 and Class 12 mark sheets
- Graduation or Bachelor’s degree mark sheets, semester-wise or consolidated
- Category certificate, if you are applying under SC, ST, NC-OBC, EWS, or PwBD
- Work experience proof, if applicable, such as an offer letter or salary slips
- A recent scanned photograph and signature
- An active personal email ID and mobile number
Keep every file named clearly. “Sonam_ClassXII.pdf” saves you far more time than “scan001.pdf” when you are uploading five documents in a row under a countdown.
Photo and Signature Specifications for CAT 2026
This is where the largest number of forms get stuck. The specifications are strict, and the portal does not accept “close enough.”
Photograph requirements:
- JPEG format, resolution of 1200 x 1200 pixels
- File size under 1MB
- Recent, colour, passport-size photo with a plain, light background
- Full front-facing view with your eyes, nose, and ears clearly visible
- Spectacles are allowed only if the lenses are transparent. No sunglasses, no tinted glasses, no shadows on the face
Signature requirements:
- JPEG or JPG format, under 80KB in size
- Sign on plain white paper with dark ink, then scan it. A photo clicked on your phone usually fails the quality check
- Use the same signature style you will use later on your admit card and at the exam centre
Category Certificate Issues That Trip Up Reserved Category Candidates
This section causes more rejected claims than any other part of the CAT 2026 Registration form. The rules have changed this year, so read carefully even if you have applied under reservation before.
- Your NC-OBC certificate must be issued on or after April 1, 2026. An older certificate, even a genuine one, will not be accepted on its own.
- Your EWS certificate must be valid for 2026–27, based on your family income for financial year 2025–26.
- If you have applied for a fresh certificate but have not received it yet, you can still register. Upload your old certificate, a signed undertaking, and proof that you have applied for the new one, all combined in one PDF.
- If you skip the certificate upload entirely, IIM Indore will treat your application as General category. You lose your cutoff relaxation and reserved seats, even if you genuinely qualify.
- The term “PwD” has officially changed to PwBD (Persons with Benchmark Disabilities) this year. Make sure your medical certificate matches the current terminology and is issued by a competent medical authority.
A category certificate is not just a formality. It decides whether you compete at a 99 percentile cutoff or a 90 percentile cutoff at some IIMs. Treat it with the seriousness it deserves.
Test City Selection; Don’t Treat This Casually
CAT 2026 gives you five test city preferences this year, up from four last year, across roughly 170 cities.
Seats at each centre are limited and allotted on a first-come, first-served basis. This means:
- Registering early genuinely improves your odds of getting your first-choice city
- Picking all five preferences in the same small region is risky if that region fills up fast
- Test city can only be edited during the short correction window in late September, and only if that window opens for you
Do not select a city just because your friend is applying there. Check the actual distance, travel time, and whether you can reach comfortably on exam day, especially since CAT falls on a Sunday in peak wedding and winter travel season.
Academic Details; The Section With No Room for Error
Here is something most guides don’t tell you clearly: once you pay the fee, your name, date of birth, academic marks, category, and work experience details get locked. You cannot correct them later, not even during the correction window.
Common traps in this section:
- Entering CGPA when the form asks for percentage, without applying your university’s exact conversion formula
- Rounding off work experience months instead of calculating the exact figure
- Spelling your name differently from how it appears on your Class 12 certificate
- Selecting the wrong “currently pursuing” status if you are a final-year student
Read every field twice before you click Preview, and read it once more before you pay.
The 25 Mistakes That Can Derail Your CAT 2026 Registration
Document mistakes
- Starting registration without a ready folder of scanned documents
- Uploading blurry or cropped scans of marksheets and certificates
- Using an expired ID proof
- Uploading the Class 10 marksheet in place of Class 12, or vice versa
- Uploading only the front page of a multi-page certificate
Photo and signature mistakes
- Uploading a photo clicked on a phone camera instead of a proper scan
- Wearing sunglasses or letting shadows fall across the face in the photo
- Ignoring the 80KB signature file size limit and getting repeated upload errors
- Signing the form in a style different from your admit card signature
- Uploading an old photograph instead of a recent one
Category certificate mistakes
- Uploading an NC-OBC certificate issued before April 1, 2026
- Uploading an EWS certificate for the wrong financial year
- Forgetting the mandatory undertaking when using an old certificate as an exception
- Leaving the certificate field blank and defaulting to General category by accident
- Submitting paperwork under the old “PwD” label instead of the current “PwBD” format
Test city mistakes
- Registering late and losing your preferred city once seats fill up
- Choosing all five preferences in one cluster with no backup option
- Ignoring travel time and distance to the exam centre
- Assuming the test city can be changed anytime after submission
Academic detail mistakes
- Entering CGPA where the form needs a percentage, without correct conversion
- Rounding off work experience instead of entering exact months
- Letting your name spelling differ from your official Class 12 certificate
- Selecting the wrong current academic status as a final-year student
Final submission mistakes
- Skipping the Preview step and paying before checking every field
- Waiting until the evening of September 15 to register and hitting server overload
Quick Pre-Registration Checklist
Before you open iimcat.ac.in, run through this:
- Photo saved as JPEG, 1200×1200 pixels, under 1MB
- Signature scanned, under 80KB
- Category certificate dated correctly for 2026 rules
- Marksheets and ID proof scanned clearly
- Five test city preferences shortlisted with travel checked
- Name spelling matches Class 12 certificate exactly
Save this checklist. Better yet, share it with a friend who is applying too. A poll on which mistake worries readers most, or a short quiz to test document-readiness, works well if you want to add an interactive element to this piece on the site.
Final Word
CAT 2026 Registration rewards patience, not speed. Fill your form on a good internet connection, keep every document ready in advance, and never treat the Preview button as optional.
One mistake in your CAT form can cost you a whole admission cycle. Don’t let a scanning error decide your MBA future.
Which of these 25 mistakes have you already run into while filling your CAT form? Tell us in the comments below, and check our related guides on CAT 2026 exam pattern, sectional weightage, and percentile prediction. Subscribe to the Intellect Jinni newsletter for weekly CAT prep updates straight to your inbox.
For official information, always cross-check with the CAT 2026 notification at iimcat.ac.in.