Nearly the most common question asked by the CAT aspirants is: "How long is the CAT score valid?" The answer is very straightforward, the CAT score is valid for one year. Let's be more precise, though: the score of a particular year's CAT exam is valid for admissions in the subsequent academic session. For instance, CAT 2025 score will be valid for admissions only for the 2026-27 academic session.
Common Admission Test, or CAT, is a very competitive MBA entrance exam in India conducted every year by Indian Institutes of Management, or IIMs. Two lakh students appear for the CAT exam each year in hopes of getting into the best B-schools, like the high-stakes IIMs, FMS, SPJIMR, MDI, etc.
Then the score expires, and the candidate has to appear for the CAT test once more in case they make future applications. Compared to usual tests like the GMAT or GRE, whose validity lasts for several years, that of the CAT score lasts only up to the current admission year, so the urgency to apply is the need of the hour. Aspirants are requested to plan their MBA admissions in advance to achieve the best CAT mark prior to the validity period.
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CAT Exam Score Validity Highlights
- CAT score is valid for 1 year only
- Valid for the academic session immediately after the exam year
- Example: CAT 2025 score is valid for 2026–27 admissions
- Applicable to all IIMs and CAT-accepting institutes
- Cannot be used for admissions in future years
- Candidates must reappear for CAT if applying again next year
- CAT is not valid like GMAT/GRE, which have multi-year validity
CAT Score Validity for Top IIMs and Non IIMs
The following table includes all the popular colleges accepting CAT and college-wise CAT exam score validity as well.
CAT Colleges | CAT Score Validity |
IIM Ahmedabad | 1 year |
IIM Bangalore | 1 year |
IIM Calcutta | 1 year |
IIM Lucknow | 1 year |
IIM Indore | 1 year |
IIM Kozhikode | 1 year |
IIM Amritsar | 1 year |
IIM Nagpur | 1 year |
IIM Sambalpur | 1 year |
IIM Trichy | 1 year |
IIM Raipur | 1 year |
IIM Ranchi | 1 year |
IIM Vizag | 1 year |
IIM Udaipur | 1 year |
IIM Bodh Gaya | 1 year |
IIM Shillong | 1 year |
IIM Sirmaur | 1 year |
IIM Rohtak | 1 year |
IIM Mumbai | 1 year |
FMS (Faculty of Management Studies) | 1 year |
BITSOM | 1 year |
DMS, IIT Delhi | 1 year |
Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), Chennai | 1 year |
SJMSOM, IIT Bombay | 1 year |
Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad | 1 year |
MDI Gurgaon | 1 year |
National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai | 1 year |
SPJIMR | 1 year |
XIMB (Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar) | 1 year |
Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras | 1 year |
T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal | 1 year |
CAT Validity Comparison With Other Management Entrance Exams
Students can check out the following table to know other management entrance exams validity along with CAT’s.
Exam Name | Conducting Body | Score Validity |
CAT (Common Admission Test) | IIMs | 1 year |
XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test) | XLRI | 1 year |
GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) | GMAC | 5 years |
GRE (Graduate Record Examination) | ETS | 5 years |
NMAT by GMAC | GMAC | 1 year |
MAT (Management Aptitude Test) | AIMA | 1 year |
CMAT (Common Management Admission Test) | NTA | 1 year |
IIFT MBA Entrance Test | NTA (on behalf of IIFT) | 1 year |
SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test) | Symbiosis International (SIU) | 1 year |
ATMA (AIMS Test for Management Admissions) | AIMS | 1 year |
TISSNET (Tata Institute of Social Sciences) | TISS (now discontinued) | 1 year (when conducted) |
Why CAT Score Validity Matters?
The CAT score validity matters for various reasons mentioned below. Students can get a better idea about the importance of their CAT exam attempt through the following.
1. Application Timing & Strategy
The expiration of your exam score determines when to apply for admission. These exams have a one-year expiration, so if you take a test like CAT, XAT, and SNAP and don't act, the only option is to take that exam again.
2. Flexibility for Gap-Year or Working Candidates
Tests like GMAT (5 years) and GRE (5 years) are more flexible because they have a multi-year validity. This is particularly true for those students not applying immediately, for example, because of a personal or professional situation, the delaying of admissions means future action still includes the score.
3. Financial Costs
The financial costs of retaking an exam is substantial. In fact, with one-year validity, there are CAT registration fees, coaching, and preparation all to be included in the total cost of admission, if you are not successful in your first attempt.
4. Mental Health & Performance Pressure
One-year validity means the time-limited pressure of your scholarship can impose that you have to do things correctly the first time. Multi-year exams reduce time-based performance pressure to allow candidates to take the exam again with better preparation if required.
5. International vs. Domestic Aims
For students focused on global business schools, they prefer international tests like GMAT and GRE, because they have longer validity internationally. Students targeting Indian institutions exclusively prefer a one-year window, because of their longer validity internationally. Students focused solely on Indian institutes often find a one-year window aligns with domestic admission cycles.
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