CAT 2026 Exam Day Guidelines: What to Bring and Avoid
A plain reference for CAT 2026 exam day: what to bring, what to leave at home, how centre check-in and biometric verification work, and the on-screen calculator, rough-sheet and section-timer rules. The official admit card and information bulletin on iimcat.ac.in remain the final authority.
It is 7 a.m. on exam day. Your slot is a few hours away, and you are standing over a pile of things wondering what is allowed inside the hall and what will get you turned away at the gate. That small uncertainty is avoidable. The CAT 2026 exam day guidelines are not a mystery, and knowing them in advance removes one more source of stress on a morning that already has plenty.
This is a plain reference to the guidelines that shape your exam morning: what to carry, what to leave at home, how check-in works, and the on-screen rules that govern the test itself. CAT 2026 is expected to be conducted by IIM Indore, with the exam widely anticipated on Sunday, 29 November 2026, and the official notification due in late July 2026. Treat everything here as the standard pattern that recurs each year, then confirm the specifics once your admit card is out.
What to bring and what to leave behind
Most disqualifications on exam day come from small, avoidable slips. A phone left in a pocket. A smartwatch still on the wrist. A photograph forgotten at home. The CAT exam day guidelines on this are strict, and they rarely change from one year to the next. Sort your bag the night before, not on the morning itself.
| Bring to the centre | Do not bring |
|---|---|
| Your printed CAT admit card (the downloaded hall ticket) | Any phone, smartwatch, fitness band, or electronic device |
| The original photo ID named in the information bulletin | Your own calculator, watch, or stopwatch |
| A passport-size photograph matching the one you uploaded, if asked | Bags, wallets, books, notes, or any written material |
| A transparent water bottle and mask, if permitted that year | Pens and pencils (rough sheets and a pen are usually provided) |
| Nothing else, ideally | Jewellery or metallic items that may need to come off |
Your admit card is the one document you cannot sit the exam without. Download it, print it clearly, and check that your name, photograph, and centre details read correctly. Carry the original photo ID named in the CAT information bulletin, not a photocopy and not a digital image on your phone.
In past years, candidates also carried a passport-size photograph that matched the one uploaded during registration, and some centres asked for it at check-in. The exact ID types and photo rules are printed on the admit card and in the information bulletin, so read both the moment they are released. For the wider context on who runs the exam and the expected timeline, our explainer on IIM Indore and CAT 2026 covers the notification and the key dates.
A phone, smartwatch, or fitness band found on you inside the hall is usually treated as use of unfair means, even if it is switched off. That normally means your candidature is cancelled. Leave every electronic device at home or in the locker the centre provides. If you are unsure whether an item is allowed, the safe assumption is that it is not.
At the centre: reporting, verification, and late arrival
The gap between your reporting time and the actual exam start is deliberate, and it is longer than most first-timers expect. Reaching early is not over-caution. It is part of the process the centre needs to run.
Your admit card prints a reporting time and a gate-closing time. In past years the reporting time has fallen well before the exam start, often around two hours earlier, to allow for security checks, verification, and seating. Plan your travel around the reporting time, not the exam start time.
The gate-closing time is a hard cut-off. Candidates who arrive after it are usually not allowed to enter, with no relaxation for traffic or transport delays. Do a dry run of the route to your centre a day or two before, especially if it sits in an unfamiliar part of the city.
At check-in you go through document verification and, in recent years, a biometric or photo capture. Expect to show your admit card and original ID, have your photograph taken, and at some centres give a fingerprint or a scan. Follow the frisking and verification steps calmly. The queue moves faster when everyone has their documents ready in hand.
Lay out your printed admit card, original photo ID, and photograph together in one place. Confirm the centre address and the reporting time on the card. Nothing you carry should need charging, because none of it should be electronic. Sleep is worth more than one last revision session, so stop early. If you began late and are still cramming, our advice on triaging a late CAT prep start will help you spend the final hours well.
During the exam: the on-screen tools and the section lock
Once you are seated and the test begins, a second set of guidelines takes over. These are the ones that quietly cost marks when aspirants meet them for the first time on exam day instead of in a mock.
The on-screen calculator
CAT gives you a basic on-screen calculator for arithmetic. It handles the four operations and little beyond that, so do not expect scientific functions. You cannot bring your own calculator, and you will not miss one if you have practised mental and written calculation in your mocks.
The rough sheets
The centre provides rough sheets for your working, along with a pen. In past years candidates received a set number of sheets, wrote their name and roll number on each, and could ask the invigilator for more at some centres. Do the exam's rough work only on these sheets, never on the admit card or your own paper.
The section timer and section order
CAT runs in three timed sections, and the on-screen timer controls the flow. In recent years each section has lasted 40 minutes, 120 minutes in total, though IIM Indore confirms the pattern each year in the information bulletin. When a section's timer ends, it locks, submits, and moves you to the next section on its own.
You cannot switch sections at will. You attempt them in the fixed order the screen sets, you cannot return to a completed section, and you cannot jump ahead before your current section's time is up. This is exactly why the section-wise pacing you build during CAT preparation matters so much on the day. The short answer to what to do on CAT exam day, once you are seated, is to trust the pacing you drilled, use the rough sheets freely, and let the timer, not panic, carry you between sections.
When the exam ends: rough sheets and log-out
The last few minutes have their own small protocol, and rushing them is a needless risk after three focused hours.
When the final section's timer runs out, the test submits by itself. There is no separate submit-and-confirm scramble at the very end. Stay in your seat until an invigilator releases your row.
Hand back every rough sheet, and the admit card if you are asked, before you leave. Carrying rough sheets or any exam material out of the hall is treated as a violation and can undo your entire attempt. Collect your belongings from the locker only after you have been released. When the exam is behind you, you can keep sharpening with more CAT preparation articles while you wait for the results window to open.
The final authority on CAT 2026 exam day guidelines
Everything above reflects the pattern CAT has followed for years, drawn from the information bulletin and past admit cards. It is a reliable guide for planning. It is not the official 2026 rulebook, because that is not out yet.
The CAT 2026 admit card and information bulletin on the official website, iimcat.ac.in, are the final authority. Once IIM Indore releases them, read both in full and let them override any detail here that has changed. Check the reporting time, the accepted ID list, the exam pattern, and the list of prohibited items yourself, every year, rather than assuming last year's rules carry over.
That one check turns the CAT 2026 exam day guidelines from a source of anxiety into a settled routine. You arrive knowing what to bring, what to expect at the gate, and how the test behaves once you sit down. In the closing stretch, our CAT last 30 days plan folds this exam-day rehearsal into a day-by-day schedule, so nothing on the morning catches you off guard.
What to remember
- Carry only your printed admit card, original photo ID, and, if asked, a matching photograph. Leave every electronic device behind.
- A phone or smartwatch on you inside the hall, even switched off, can cancel your attempt. Treat this as the strictest of the exam-day guidelines.
- Plan travel around the reporting time on the admit card, not the exam start. The gate-closing time is a hard cut-off.
- Expect document verification and a biometric or photo capture at check-in. Reach early and keep your documents in hand.
- The on-screen calculator is basic, rough sheets are provided and collected, and the timer locks each section in a fixed order.
- The CAT 2026 admit card and information bulletin on iimcat.ac.in are the final authority. Verify all the guidelines there once they are released.
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