NMAT Registration 2026
Registration
Registration covers three things: your NMAT 2026 account, the ₹3,000 fee, and your test date, city and mode.
NMAT Registration 2026: Highlights
NMAT 2026 registration opened on 20 August and closed on 31 October 2026. The form itself is short. The real decision is how many of your three attempts you plan to pay for. That depends on your target institute, not on the exam.
20 Aug – 31 Oct 2026
Registration window
₹3,000
Fee per attempt
plus applicable taxes
3
Attempts allowed
per testing year
54
Test cities in India
Four numbers, and each one narrows a choice. The window tells you when to act. The fee tells you what one attempt costs. The attempt cap tells you your ceiling. The city count tells you a seat near you is likely. Everything else here works out from these four.
| NMAT Exam Features | NMAT Exam Details |
|---|---|
| Conducting Body | Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) |
| Exam Level | National |
| Exam Frequency | Once a year (October-December window) |
| Exam Mode | Computer based |
| Exam Duration | 2 hours |
| Total Marks | 360 marks |
| Question Types | MCQs |
| Marking Scheme | +3 for correct answer, no negative marking |
| Languages | English |
| Exam Purpose | Admission to MBA and PGDM programmes |
| Official Website | www.nmat.org |
NMAT 2026 Registration Dates
Registration and scheduling open on 20 August 2026 and close together on 31 October 2026. A retake has its own window, from 3 November to 17 December 2026.
20 August 2026
Registration opens
Create your account and start the NMAT 2026 application form.
31 October 2026
Registration and scheduling close
Last date to submit the form, pay the fee and pick your exam date, city and mode. Closed for a first attempt.
3 Nov to 17 Dec 2026
Retake registration and scheduling
Window for a second or third attempt.
GMAC lists the same closing date, 31 October 2026, for NMAT dates covering registration and scheduling. Both are closed for a first attempt. Rescheduling a booked slot stays open until 17 December 2026.
Eligibility Criteria for NMAT Registration 2026
GMAC sets no bachelor's percentage and no age limit for taking NMAT. Anyone who registers and pays the fee can sit the exam. That is the whole GMAC-side eligibility test.
This "50% in bachelor's, 45% for SC/ST/PwD" figure is not a GMAC rule. Many guides quote it anyway. Individual NMAT-accepting institutes set this requirement on their own. Confirm the exact number on your target institute's page, not on NMAT's.
Final-year students can register for NMAT 2026 without any restriction. Getting admitted still depends on finishing your degree before your institute's own deadline. That is an institute matter, not a GMAC one.
How to Register for NMAT 2026?
Step 1: Create your account
Go to mba.com and register with your name, email ID and phone number. This gives you login access to the NMAT candidate dashboard.
Step 2: Fill the application form
Enter your personal details, academic history, work experience if any, and your preferred B-schools. Check spellings here carefully, since some personal details cannot be changed once you submit.
Step 3: Pay the registration fee
Pay ₹3,000 plus applicable taxes for your first attempt. Payment confirms your registration and opens up test scheduling on your dashboard.
Step 4: Self-schedule your test date, city and mode
Log back into the dashboard and pick a test date inside the exam window, your preferred city, and your mode of taking the test: at a test centre, or Online Proctored at Home. Centres are allotted first-come-first-served based on the address on your form, so schedule early if you have a preferred city.
Step 5: Save your confirmation
Download your registration and scheduling confirmation for your records. Your admit card releases 7 days before your own scheduled exam date, not on one shared date for every candidate.
NMAT 2026 Registration Fee
| Fee head | Amount |
|---|---|
| First attempt | ₹3,000 + applicable taxes |
| Each retake | ₹3,000 + applicable taxes |
| Rescheduling an already-booked slot | ₹1,200 + applicable taxes |
| Score reports (first 5) | Included in the registration fee |
| Each additional score report beyond 5 | ₹400 + applicable taxes |
NMAT gives you three attempts a year, not three tries at one shared score. Whether a second ₹3,000 attempt is worth paying for depends on where you are applying. It has nothing to do with how the exam works.
NMIMS, the largest NMAT-accepting institute, counts only your first valid attempt. Not your best attempt, and not your most recent one. If NMIMS is your main target, a retake fee buys you nothing there. Treat your first attempt as the one that decides your score. Prepare fully before you sit it, rather than planning to fix it later.
Some other NMAT-accepting institutes do consider retake scores under their own policy. SDA Bocconi, Shiv Nadar University and Amity Business School Noida are examples. If one of these is your actual target, plan for a second ₹3,000 attempt from the start. Treat it as a plan, not a last-minute fallback.
There is no single "best score" rule across all 60 NMAT-accepting institutes in India. GMAC's own website confirms this varies school to school. Check your specific target's NMAT results policy first, then decide how many attempts to pay for.
Documents Required for NMAT Application Form 2026
A recent photograph that meets the NMAT photo specification (details in the next section).
- One valid photo ID, such as Aadhaar, PAN, passport, driving licence or voter ID.
- Education certificates and mark sheets, since institutes verify these later in their own admission process, not at the registration stage itself.
- Your personal, academic and work-experience details ready at hand, since the application form asks for all of these in one sitting.
NMAT 2026 Photo and Signature Specifications
Your photograph must meet a specific set of rules. Get this wrong and your form gets flagged.
- Not older than 6 months.
- Format: JPG, JPEG or PNG.
- Background: white or light coloured.
- Face straight and centered, eyes open, top of the shoulders visible.
- File size: under 1 MB.
GMAC does not publish exact pixel dimensions for the photo anywhere. Stick to the rules above and a standard passport-style photo will clear the check.
No signature specification exists for NMAT
GMAC does not publish any signature-upload specification for NMAT, unlike CAT or XAT, which both do. If you are searching for a signature file size, format or dimension requirement for NMAT, there isn't one. NMAT's registration process does not ask for a signature upload the way those two exams do.
NMAT Form Correction 2026: How to Edit Application Form
Only some fields can be edited after you submit
After submissionCategory, native language, education, work experience and additional information can be edited. Address and other personal details cannot be changed. Review your form before you pay.
A narrow set of fields stay open for editing, at no fee:
- Category
- Native language
- Education details
- Work experience
- Additional information
You can also add a new school preference and update your communication and data-sharing preferences after you have paid.
Address and every other personal detail cannot be changed after you submit the form, under any circumstances. Check these fields twice before you pay, since payment is the point of no return for them. NMAT cut-offs should also be checked for your target institutes before finalising your application.
Commonly asked questions
Answers to what readers ask most often.
Q: What is the NMAT 2026 registration fee for the first attempt?
It is ₹3,000 plus applicable taxes. Data Sources: mba.com/exams/nmat/about/important-dates-fees.
Q: Is NMAT 2026 registration still open?
No, first-attempt registration and scheduling closed on 31 October 2026. Retake registration and scheduling are open from 3 November to 17 December 2026. Data Sources: mba.com/exams/nmat/about/important-dates-fees.
Q: How much does a retake cost for NMAT 2026?
A retake costs the same as a first attempt, ₹3,000 plus applicable taxes, and you pay it again for each retake. Data Sources: mba.com/exams/nmat/about/important-dates-fees.
Q: Is there a fee to reschedule my NMAT test date?
Yes, rescheduling an already-booked slot costs ₹1,200 plus applicable taxes. Data Sources: mba.com/exams/nmat/about/important-dates-fees.
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