IIM JAP 2026: CAT Cutoff – 90%; Two-Stage Process – only Personal Interview; Registration – Starting Soon; Check Details, Dates

IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, and IIM Tiruchirappalli are jointly conducting Joint Admission Process (JAP) 2026 for admission to their MBA programs. IIM Raipur is serving as the coordinating institute for JAP 2026. Announcing the first IIM MBA Admission Joint Process 2026, Prof. Sanjeev Prashar, Director-In-Charge, IIM Raipur, said, “We are honoured to announce the Joint Admission Process (JAP) 2026, fostering collaboration among four premier IIMs.” Sharing the objectives, a senior IIM Raipur Admissions Office told MBAUniverse.com: “IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, and IIM Tiruchirappalli have come together under the Joint Admission Process (JAP) with the objective of streamlining the MBA admission process for the 2026 batch.”

IIM JAP full form is IIM Joint Admission Process. IIM JAP Official website is https://jap2026.iimraipur.edu.in/. Check list of participating IIMs in JAP 2026 process in the table below. 

Table 1: IIM JAP 2026 participating IIMs 

When asked by MBAUniverse.com if more IIMs will join JAP 2026 process, IIM Raipur Admissions Office said, “At present, no additional IIMs are participating in JAP 2026. However, there is a possibility that more IIMs may consider joining the Joint Admission Process (JAP) in the coming years.” IIM Raipur further added, “Any expansion would depend on mutual agreement, alignment of admission policies, and shared objectives among the institutes to maintain a cohesive and efficient admission process.”

So, candidates should get ready to apply for four IIMs through JAP 2026, and apply though IIM CAP, IIM SAP or independent admissions processes of other new IIMs. 

JAP 2026 is following a two-step procedure for selecting candidates to appear in the Personal Interview (PI). Step 1 in mandatory online registration by candidates upon the declaration of CAT 2025 results and receipt of the invitation email from JAP 2026, and, Step 2 is Shortlisting of candidates for the PI for JAP 2026. Read more details about both these steps. 

Step 1: Mandatory Online Registration after CAT 2025 Results Release & Receipt of Invitation Email 
All candidates who have opted for IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, or IIM Tiruchirappalli as the institute(s) in the CAT 2025 application form and fulfil the minimum academic and CAT 2025 related eligibility criteria (to be announced soon), will receive an email invitation from the JAP 2026 Admission Office to register online. 

Candidates who complete online registration will be considered for STEP 2 of JAP 2026. Candidates will lose their candidature if they do not complete online registration within the specified date and time. Based on the CAT 2025 scores, registered candidates will be selected from this pool to appear in the PI. The selected candidates will receive separate notifications to appear in the PI. Minimum Academic and CAT 2025 score related JAP 2026 Eligibility Criteria has been announced – check details below. 

Step 2: Shortlisting of Candidates for JAP 2026 Personal Interview (PI) Round
This step 2 applies to all candidates who have completed online registration after receiving the email invitation from JAP 2026. IIM JAP process will shortlist of candidates in each category (GEN, EWS, NC-OBC, SC, ST, PwD), based on the CAT 2025 scores for participation in the Personal Interview (PI) process. The cutoff percentiles for different categories will be decided later and will be published on the JAP 2026 portal. Candidates will be informed of the date, time, and venue of the Personal Interview through email. Candidate can also view this information by logging into the JAP 2026 portal using their respective login ID and password. 

JAP 2025 Process Highlights
Based on the above, following are the key highlights of IIM JAP 2026 process:

1. STEP 1 is a pre-interview registration process, not a call for the PI. 

2. Only candidates who have successfully registered online for JAP 2026 will be considered for STEP 2 (PI). Successful registration does not automatically qualify a candidate for shortlisting in STEP 2 of the selection process. 

3. The number of candidates shortlisted for STEP 2 would be at the discretion of participating IIMs of JAP 2026 and would depend on the batch size planned for 2026-28.

4. After the completion of STEP 2 (PI), a merit list for admissions will be prepared by individual IIMs. The required number of admissions offers will be given in the order of merit, following the Government of India reservation policy. 

5. Originals of all certificates (academic/reservation/work experience/professional) must be produced for verification on the day of PI. 

6. APAAR ID is Mandatory to register for JAP 2025. Candidates will be required to provide their APAAR ID while filling out the JAP 2026 form. 

Based on the above information, to participate in JAP 2026, candidates should meet following JAP 2026 eligibility criteria:

• A valid CAT 2025 score that clears the minimum cut-off percentile of the participating IIMs. Check cut offs below.
• A bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks (45% for SC, ST, and PwD categories).

IIM Raipur has shared following clarifications regarding Shortlisting Criteria with MBAUniverse.com. According to IIM Raipur, no profile-based criteria will be used for shortlisting candidates for either Stage 1 or 2. Candidates should note the following details regarding IIM CAP Shortlisting Criteria 2026: 

1. Stage 1 Shortlisting Citeria: At Stage 1, all candidates who have selected IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, or IIM Tiruchirappalli in the CAT 2025 application form and who meet the prescribed minimum academic and CAT 2025 eligibility criteria will receive an email invitation from the JAP 2026 Admission Office to register online. No profile-based criteria will be considered at this stage.

2. Stage 2 Shortlisting Citeria: At Stage 2, candidates will be shortlisted category-wise for the Personal Interview (PI) based on CAT 2025 scores. The cut-off percentiles for different categories will be announced soon on the JAP 2026 portal. No profile-based criteria will be considered at this stage.

Only after the IIM JAP interviews are over, Profile-based criteria shall be used by the respective IIMs for final selection merit list, in accordance with their admission policy.

IIM Raipur has released JAP 2026 cutoffs. For the general category students, the overall CAT 2025 cutoff is 90 percentiles. The sectional cutoff is 75 percentiles. These cutoffs are lower than last year’s IIM CAP 2024 cutoffs, which was 95 percentile. Check JAP 2026 category wise cutoffs for the table below. 

Table 2: JAP CAT 2025 Cut Offs 

Candidates may please note that the actual section-wise and the overall CAT-2025 percentile cutoffs may be much higher than the above-mentioned minimum percentiles, as it will depend upon the number of candidates to be called for the PI in each category.

IIM JAP 2026 application process is completely online and can be completed only after you receive email invitation to register. Check step-by-step process to fill out the IIM JAP form.

Key instructions students should follow

• Collect required documents in advance (check list below).
• Fill every detail correctly. Most details cannot be edited/changed.
• Keep hard copies of the submitted form and acknowledgement.

Check the documents required for IIM JAP registration process in the following table.

Other requirements for Valid Work Experience
If you are a working professional, then follow these points:

• Only full-time and paid corporate work after graduation is counted as work experience.
• Salary proof through PF, TDS, or professional tax is mandatory for acceptance.

What does NOT count as work experience?

• Internships, articleship, unpaid roles, or fellowship work.
• Cash or UPI salary payments without PF, TDS, or professional tax records are strictly rejected.
• Family business, proprietorship ownership, or low GST turnover roles are excluded.

The IIM JAP 2026 application form filling process for eligible candidates is expected to go live soon. Sharing details with MBAUniverse.com, IIM Raipur Admissions Office said: “The eligibility criteria and cut-offs for JAP 2026 are expected to be released within 15 days of the CAT result declaration.” Check expected IIM JAP dates 2026 below. 

Table 3: IIM JAP 2026 Dates

Unlike IIM CAP 2025 process, IIM JAP process will conduct only personal interview of shortlisted candidates. There will be no group discussion or written abilities test or extempore. 

Sharing this important information, IIM Raipur told MBAUniverse.com: “Apart from the Personal Interview, no additional assessment components such as WAT/ Group Discussion/ Extempore are planned for JAP 2026.” 

This is the big news for MBA aspirants who are preparing for IIM admission 2026. They can now streamline their preparation for IIM JAP personal interview round.

IIM Raipur has shared with MBAUniverse.com that JAP 2026 will be conducted in Bengaluru, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Mumbai, as well as at the campuses of IIM Kashipur, IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, and IIM Tiruchirappalli. This all-India presence of IIM JAP cities will help candidates to reach JAP centres conveniently.

IIM JAP 2026 is similar to the older IIM CAP process. Last year, the IIM Common Admission Process (CAP) for final selection round for MBA admission 2025 was held for eight IIMs, namely IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Kashipur, IIM Nagpur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Trichy and IIM Udaipur. IIM Bodhgaya was coordinating CAP 2025 process. More than 20,000 candidates participated in IIM CAP 2025 process, which included Written Ability Test (WAT) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds for shortlisted candidates. IIM CAP 2026 details are yet to be announced. 

In summary, IIM Joint Admission Process MBA 2026 is the common MBA admission process for IIM Kashipur, IIIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, and IIM Tiruchirappalli. IIM JAP 2026 eligibility criteria and IIM JAP 2026 cut off CAT 2025 for stage 1 is out. IIM JAP 2026 registration dates will be released soon.

Also Read 
IIM Admission 2026 | IIM CAP 2026 | IIM SAP 2026