XAT 2026: Registration (Ongoing), Exam Date (4 Jan), Eligibility, Syllabus, and More

The registrations for the Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2026 has started from 10th July 2025 and interested students can apply for the same till 5th December 2025. Moreover, the admit card of the XAT 2026 exam will be out by 20th December 2025 (tentative) and the XAT 2026 exam will be conducted on 4th January 2026.

As per the updates, students will be able to use the scientific calculators in the examination. Moreover, XLRI Jamshedpur has added 34 New Test Cities in the list of XAT 2026 Exam Centres. Furthermore, the authorities have also decided to remove the Essay Writing section from the XAT 2026 question paper. Students have to complete the exam paper within the duration of 180 minutes (3 hours). 

The XAT 2026 exam is a Computer Based Test (CBT) which is going to be conducted in a single session. Xavier Aptitude Test, is an All India level examination, popularly known as XAT. The entrance test is conducted once in every year for admissions in the MBA or PGDM programs in the XAMI Institutes and other top Business Schools in India.

This article comprises essential information about XAT 2026 exam, including its eligibility criteria, important dates, XAT registration, XAT exam syllabus and XAT pattern, tips on preparing for the exam and other important aspects the candidates must know. To not miss out anything related to the exam, read the article till the end.

Xavier Aptitude Test, popularly known as XAT, is an entrance test conducted once in every year for admissions in the MBA or PGDM programs in XAMI Institutes and other top Business Schools in India. XAT exam scores are accepted by more than 250 Business Schools or management Institutes in the country. XLRI Jamshedpur has been conducting XAT for over a period of 75 years on the behalf of XAMI i.e., Xavier Association of Management Institutes.

XAT 2026 will be conducted in CBT exam mode i.e., the Computer Based Test across multiple cities in India.

Below given is a table of XAT exam highlights:

The registrations for the XAT exam 2026 have already started. Candidates who are thinking of appearing for the exam or who have started preparation for XAT must know all the important dates related to the exam.

Candidates must know that the XAT Exam date is announced by the authorities as January 05, 2026; the exam will be conducted from 2:00 PM to 5:10 PM.

Below given table consists of the dates candidates need to know related to XAT 2026:

The tentative dates for other important events related to XAT are listed below:

• Mock Tests of XAT by XLRI: October 2025
• Release of XAT 2026 answer key: 2^nd week of January 2026
• Release of XAT Cut-Offs List: January 2026
• Results announcement of XAT exam: 3^rd week of January 2026

XAT is conducted for the aspirants who seek to take admissions in management programmes in a Xavier Institute or any other top management institutes across the country. The candidates who wish to appear for the exam must check the XAT eligibility criteria 2026 given below:

• Qualified a Bachelor’s degree of minimum three years in any discipline / Equivalent.
• Must be an Indian National; Foreign candidates can apply through GMAT scores.

* Candidates who are in the final year and completing their exams before or by 12^th June 2026 are also eligible to apply for XAT exam 2026.

* There are no specific or minimum marks requirements as XAT exam eligibility and there is no age limit to apply.

XAT 2026 will be held in the month of January. Candidates who meet the prescribed eligibility criteria can register successfully for the exam. The registrations have already been started by the authorities for XAT in July 2025.

It is important to know that XAT registration 2026 have been out from 10^th July 2025. The last date to register for the XAT exam is 05^th December 2025.

While filling the application form, Students must double check all the details provided by them. The details should be true to information and everything should be spelled correctly.

Candidates can check the XAT registration process listed below:

• Visit the XAT official website i.e., xatonline.in.
• Navigate the ‘New Registration’ link.
• Create a new account by providing basic required details.
• Generate the login credentials for XAT – the login ID and password.
• To access the Registration form, login with the credentials on the website.
• Fill in all the required details within the application form. Don’t forget to choose your preferred exam city while filling the form.
• Upload the necessary documents including the candidate’s passport-size photograph and signature in the specified format.
• Proceed to pay the XAT 2026 application / registration fees.
• Cross check all the details and Submit the application.
• Download a copy of the filled application form and the payment receipt for further use.

* No changes can be made in the application form once it is successfully submitted after the payment.

Once the registration process is completed, the candidates can proceed to start the preparation for their XAT exam 2026. Checking the syllabus thoroughly will help the candidates to understand how many sections will be there and what all topics are covered under each section.

The XAT syllabus 2026 includes four sections along with specific topics listed below:

• Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning: This section includes topics such as Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Para Jumble, Analogy, Fill in the Blanks, Critical Reasoning, and Grammar.
• Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation: The section includes Tables and Caselets, Percentage, Pie Charts, Surds and Indices, Bar Diagrams, Algebra, and Mensuration.
• Decision Making: This section is designed with topics including Seating Arrangement, Logical Sequencing, Premises, Conclusions, and Assumptions.
• General Knowledge: The last section of XAT syllabus comprises topics such as Science, Economy, Government, Static GK, Constitution of India, Business, Prize and Award, Politics, World, and Sports.

After the successful registration for the exam, the Candidates can download their XAT 2026 Admit Card from 20^th December 2025. Without the Admit card, candidates will not be allowed to appear for the exam, so they must download it.

The process to download XAT 2026 Admit Card is as follows:

• Visit the official website of XAT i.e., xatonline.in.
• Navigate the ‘Download Admit Card’ tab and click on the link.
• Login using candidate’s Used ID and DOB.
• Look for the ‘Admit Card’ button and click on it to download the XAT 2026 admit card successfully.
• Once it is downloaded, save the Admit Card as a PDF and take a print out for further use.

While filling the registration form, candidates need to choose the relevant exam centre according to their preference from the available test cities. There are approximately 75+ XAT exam centres across India. Candidates are advised to choose one which is nearby their home so that travelling to the centre would be convenient to them.

Below given is a list of available test cities of XAT exam:

Apart from the above-mentioned exam centres, following are the 34 new Test Cities introduced by the exam conducting body:

XAT exam paper will be online and the mode of language will be English only. The XAT exam pattern is segregated into major parts. The Part-1 of exam paper will comprise three sections including:

• VA & LR - Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning
• DM - Decision Making
• QA & DI - Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation

The Part 2 will be GK i.e., General Knowledge.

Among all the sections, there will be a total of 95 questions containing 1 mark each. The detailed XAT exam pattern 2026 can be understood with the following table:

Candidates must know that there is negative marking applicable; 0.25 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer from all the sections. Moreover, no negative marking will be there for 8 skipped questions, but if more questions will be skipped after that, 0.10 marks will be deducted for each unattempted question (except for GK section).

Candidates from all over the country attempt XAT so all the students need to prepare their best for the exam. Candidates can follow the below given tips and strategies to make their XAT preparation better:

• Understand all the sections including each topic comprehensively.
• Frame a well-planned time-table; allot enough time to prepare every section from the XAT syllabus.
• Choose the best books and study through different resources to get the best information.
• Make notes for every section to remember the topics and material easily. Notes will also help during revision.
• Don’t forget to attempt the previous years’ model papers to have a better understanding of topics.
• Take mock tests regularly to improve the areas which are time-taking. Mock-tests will help in understanding the exam pattern and questions in a more clear way.
• Make sure to enhance time-management and problem solving skills by seeking expert guidance.
• Make a habit to read newspapers daily to enhance the general knowledge and to make the vocabulary strong.

The exam day guidelines or requirements need to be kept in mind when the candidates will appear for XAT 2026. The guidelines are basically the rules which need to be kept in mind on the exam day.

The XAT 2026 exam day guidelines are given below:

• Arrive at the exam centre before time to avoid any hassle.
• Carrying the Admit Card along is a must on the XAT exam day; remember to bring a printed copy.
• Carry a valid Photo ID and a photograph separately for verification purpose.
• Calculators are not allowed in the XAT exam centre, so do not bring any.
• Candidates must know that there will be no breaks during the XAT exam.
• Any personal items such as bags, electronics like mobile phones, etc. or any other belongings are not allowed inside the exam hall.

While preparing for the XAT exam, the candidates are advised to solve XAT previous year papers / model papers of the exam. Solving the past year papers will help the candidates have more clarity about the exam pattern, questions, marking, etc.

XLRI, Jamshedpur designs the XAT exam paper and the model question papers are updated online. The model question papers follow the same pattern as the actual exam, these will contain the same number of sections & questions like the actual XAT exam 2026 paper. The exam papers of past years are all in English language only to prepare the candidates for the actual exam.

XAT Question Paper PDF can be downloaded with this link or from the official website of XAT.

Mock tests are conducted by the authorities to help the candidates have a better idea of what type of questions from the sections will be there in the actual exam paper. XAT Mock Tests will be released by the authorities on the official website tentatively in October 2025. The tests which will be released by XLRI i.e., Xavier School of Management will follow the exact same pattern of XAT 2026 paper pattern.

Candidates are advised to take at least 1-2 mock tests released by the authorities to get a clear idea of questions and to become familiar with XAT 2026 exam. Attempting mock tests is a great strategy for taking the candidates’ preparation for XAT to the next level.

After conducting the XAT exam, the authorities will release an answer key for the paper. It is released almost after a week of the exam date. All the candidates who have appeared for the exam are allowed to check and download the answer key. Candidates must know that they require their login credentials to download it.

The process to download the answer key of XAT exam 2026 is given below:

• Visit the official website of XAT and Enter Login ID and password.
• Look for the Answer key and response sheet of the exam.
• Download the Answer Key and save it.

It is advised to candidates to review the answers and match the correct options with answers they have attempted in the exam. If the candidates find any discrepancy in the official answer key released by the authorities, they can drop a mail to them via the official website.

The XAT exam cut-off can be referred to as the benchmark set by the colleges for scoring marks to take admissions in particular institutes. To appear for GD and PI rounds for admissions in different MBA or PGDM programs in Xavier Institutes, XLRI Jamshedpur releases the cut-off list every year after the XAT exam.

The XAT exam results are declared in percentile format, so the cut-offs are released in the same manner. On the basis of past years’ cut-offs, below-given is a list of a few colleges along with their expected cut-off percentile for XAT 2026 exam:

* For more information on Cut-offs of particular colleges for different MBA programs or other management courses for which XAT is required as an entrance test, candidates can connect with respective college authorities.

After appearing for the XAT, candidates eagerly wait for the results to be released. The XAT results will be released by the authorities tentatively in January 2026 after releasing the response sheet.

Follow the below listed steps to check the XAT result 2026:

• Go to the XAT official website
• Navigate the option ‘Download XAT 2026 scorecard’.
• Login with accurate credentials: The Used ID and Password.
• Select the Scorecard option and download.

Candidates must save the XAT scorecard for their future use.

After the announcement of XAT Results of 2026, the Xavier Institutes and other top B Schools will start their selection process for MBA or PGDM programs’ admissions. All the management institutes may have their own selection process. The common steps involved in the admission process of all institutes including XAT are given below:

• Candidates are shortlisted on the basis of their XAT exam scores.
• Those candidates who are shortlisted will be processed for further rounds for admissions, including the GD and PI rounds of the institute.
• The Institutes release their list of finalised candidates after analysing them on the basis of Group Discussions and Personal Interview rounds.
• Finalised candidates will be invited for further admission formalities.

For admissions in their MBA / PGDM programs, there are various top colleges accepting XAT scores including the XAMI institutes and other private & government colleges.

Below given is a list of the top Participating Institutes of XAT 2026 exam:

• XLRI Jamshedpur
• IMT Ghaziabad
• GLIM Chennai
• TAPMI Manipal
• MDI Gurgaon
• IIIT Allahabad
• NIT Rourkela
• NIT Durgapur
• SIMSREE, Mumbai
• Department of Management Sciences, PUMBA, etc.

Apart from the above mentioned institutes, there are many other top management colleges accepting admissions through XAT exam.

Check: Colleges Accepting XAT