CAT Exam Eligibility 2025: Are you eligible? Check key Education Qualification, Category wise criteria, Age and Work Ex Requirements

CAT exam eligibility criteria primarily include education qualifications, and varies by different category of students. Check details below. 

• Bachelor’s Degree required for taking CAT exam: Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from a Government recognized University or College.
• Minimum percentage required for taking CAT Exam: The minimum required percentage varies by category of students. Check details below.   

The Official CAT 2024 Eligibility Document says following regarding academic qualifications for CAT exam, “The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree, with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA [45% in the case of candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Persons with Disability (PwD) categories], awarded by any University or educational institution as incorporated by an Act of Parliament or State legislature in India or declared to be deemed as an University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification recognised by the Ministry of Education, Government of India.”

• CAT exam eligibility 2025 for students in final year of graduation: Students in the final year of graduation are eligible to apply, provided they complete their degree before the specified deadline set by IIMs.

The Official CAT 2024 Eligibility Document says following regarding academic qualifications for final year students, “Candidates appearing for the final year of Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also apply. However, it may be noted that such candidates, if selected, will be allowed to join the programme provisionally, only if they submit a certificate from the Principal/Registrar of their University/Institution (issued on or before the date as stipulated by the respective IIM) stating that they have completed all the requirements for obtaining the Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification on the date of issue of the certificate.” 

Yes, if you have completed professional degree such as CA or CS or ICWA (CMA) or Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI)) with the required percentage, you can apply for CAT exam. 

The Official CAT Eligibility Document clearly states following regarding academic qualifications for CAs or others: 

“Candidates applying for CAT 2024 should fulfill any one of the following conditions: 

a) Completed Bachelor’s degree with the required percentage of marks*.
b) Completed professional degree (CA/CS/ICWA (CMA)/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI)) with required percentage*.
c) Should be in the final year of Bachelor’s degree with required percentage*.

*SC/ST/PwD candidates should have a minimum 45%. For General, EWS and NC-OBC candidates, the minimum is 50%.”

For CAT exam eligibility, the percentage calculation follows the method prescribed by the candidate’s university. If no conversion scheme exists, CGPA is converted by dividing it by the maximum CGPA and multiplying by 100.

The Official CAT Eligibility Document states following regarding percentage marks calculation, “The percentage of marks obtained by the candidate would be calculated based on the practice as followed by the respective University/Institution. In case of grades/CGPA, the conversion to percentage of marks would be based on the procedure as certified by the respective University/Institution. If any University/Institution confirms that there is no scheme for converting CGPA into equivalent marks, the equivalence would be established by dividing the candidate’s CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA, and multiplying the result with 100.”

As per the Government of India directives, the following reservations apply in IIM admissions:

• Scheduled Caste (SC) – 15%
• Scheduled Tribe (ST) – 7.5%
• Other Backward Classes - Non-Creamy Layer (NC-OBC) – 27%
• Economically Weaker Section (EWS) – 10%
• Persons with Disabilities (PwD) – 5%

The Official CAT Eligibility Document clearly mentions following regarding reservation in IIMs:

“As per the legal requirements, 15% of the seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and 7.5% for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates. 27% of the seats are reserved for Other Backward Classes candidates belonging to the “non-creamy” layer (NC-OBC). Up to 10% of the seats are reserved for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) candidates.” It further adds, “As per the provisions of The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act 2016), 5% seats are reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD).”

Asking students to be careful while filling their reservation status in application form, CAT eligibility criteria states that “The candidates should read the updated description of the selection process followed by each IIM on their respective websites. No change in the category will be entertained after CAT registration. The applicants are advised to pay attention while registering.”

Is there age limit for CAT exam? No. Applicants of any age who meet the educational qualifications can apply. Check more details below. 

• No restriction on maximum age: There is no restriction on the maximum age of candidates appearing in the CAT exam. 
• No restriction on minimum age: There is no restriction on the minimum age of candidates appearing in the CAT exam. 

However, IIMs and other MBA colleges can have age restrictions at the time of offering MBA admissions. 

How many times can I take CAT exam? This is a question often asked by students. Good news is that if you are eligible, you can take CAT exam as many times as you wish. So, there is no restriction on the number of times a candidate can take CAT. 

CAT eligibility criteria does not mention any information regarding foreign nationals and NRIs. 

According to the IIM Admission policy, Foreign Nationals and NRIs/PIOs can apply for IIM admissions through GMAT or GRE scores instead of CAT exam.

Work experience is not mandatory to appear for CAT. However, IIMs may have minimum work experience requirements, or give weightage to work experience in their final MBA selection process.

Here is a summary of CAT eligibility criteria for different categories of candidates:

a) General, EWS, and NC-OBC Candidates

• Must have a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university.
• Minimum 50% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA.
• Final-year students can apply but must complete their degree within the deadline specified by IIMs.
• No age limit or attempt limit.

b) SC, ST, and PwD Candidates

• Must have a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university.
• Minimum 45% aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA.
• Final-year students can apply but must complete their degree within the deadline specified by IIMs.
• No age limit or attempt limit.

c) Foreign Nationals, NRIs, PIOs, and OCIs

• They cannot apply through CAT but may apply to IIMs using GMAT or GRE scores, depending on the institute's admission policy.

IIMs conducting CAT exam have clarified about who is ineligible for the CAT exam? The key criteria to understand who is not eligible for CAT 2024 are:

• If you have not completed your Bachelor’s degree or any Professional degree like CA/CS/ICWA, or are not pursuing it, you are not eligible to appear for CAT exam 
• If you do not meet the minimum percentile requirements of CAT exam, as mentioned above.  
• If your Graduation is not recognized by UGC/AICTE/MHRD-Govt. of India, you are not eligible to apply for CAT 2024 

In conclusion, CAT Exam eligibility 2025 is prescribed by the IIMs for applying to CAT exam. It includes education qualification requirements for CAT exam, and varies for different category of students. CAT Exam Eligibility 2025 will be officially published in CAT Notification in July, 2025. Above article provides a guide to CAT eligibility criteria, IIM reservation policy and other important details.