XAT 2026 Exam Date (Jan 4): Registration (Ongoing), Admit Card, Syllabus, Pattern

By Admin
25 August 2025

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XAT 2026 exam date is January 4, 2026. XLRI Jamshedpur released the examination date of the MBA entrance exam through an official notice on the website - xatonline.in. The XAT registration process began on July 10 and the last date to fill the XAT application form is December 5. Interested candidates can register themselves on the official website by filling out the application form and paying the XAT registration fees. XAT stands for Xavier’s Aptitude Test and is a national level management exam for admission to MBA/PGDM programs offered by more than 160 business schools in India. Candidates who are willing to appear in the examinations must be aware of XAT 2026 exam dates so that they do not miss out on any of the related events.

XAT 2026 Highlights

Particular	Details
Exam Name	Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) 2026 – conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur
Official Website	xatonline.in
Mode of Exam	Computer-Based Test (online)
Total Duration	180 minutes (3 hours) – includes Part 1 (170 min) + Part 2 (10 min)
Exam Date & Time	Sunday, January 4, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Registration Period	Starts: July 10, 2025 – Ends: December 5, 2025
Admit Card Release	Expected around December 20, 2025
Answer Key Release	Likely in the second week of January 2026
Result Announcement	Tentatively in the third (last) week of January 2026
Exam Pattern – Sections & Qs	Total 95 MCQs across: Verbal & Logical Ability (26), Decision Making (21), Quantitative Ability & DI (28), General Knowledge (20)
Marking Scheme	1 for correct; –0.25 for incorrect; –0.1 for each question beyond 8 consecutive un-attempted ones; GK section has no negative marking
Key Structural Changes	No essay in the main exam—it’s part of the later GD/PI stage; no sectional time limits except GK’s dedicated 10 minutes
Eligibility	Bachelor’s degree (min. 3 years) or final-year students (must complete by June 2026)
Selection/Next Steps	Post results, institutes conduct GD/PI and essay rounds as part of selection process

XAT 2026 Exam Dates

XAT 2026 exam is scheduled to be conducted on January 4, 2026. Candidates can refer to the table below to check other important dates of the exam.

Event	Date / Details
Notification Release	July 10, 2025
Registration Opens	July 10, 2025
Registration Closes	December 5, 2025
Admit Card Release (Expected)	December 20, 2025 (tentative)
Exam Date	Sunday, January 4, 2026, in a single shift from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Answer Key Release	Second week of January 2026 (tentative)
Result Announcement	Third (i.e., last) week of January 2026 (tentative)

XAT 2026 Other Important Dates

XAT Registration 2026

In order to apply for XAT exam, candidates will have to visit the official website - xatonline.in. They must register themselves for the exam by creating a login ID. Using this ID, they can proceed to fill the application form xAT 2026 and make the payment of exam fees. It must be noted that they will not be able to make corrections in their duly filled application form after successful submission of it. Hence, candidates must fill the form carefully.

Check below the registration dates of XAT exam 2026:

Event	Date
Registration Opens	July 10, 2025
Last Date to Fill Application Form	December 5, 2025

XAT Mock Test 2026

XLRI Jamshedpur will also release the XAT mock test on the official website. Only candidates with successful registration will be able to access the tests before the examination. The mock test is designed to help candidates understand the exam pattern, and test structure of the paper. To appear in the XAT mock test, registered candidates will have to log into their XAT account. They can do so by entering the XAT ID and password they created at the time of registration. We can expect 2 XAT mock tests to be released by the examination conducting body before the exam.

Event	Expected Date for XAT 2026	Remarks
Mock Test Release	Last week of December 2026	Usually released ~10 days before the exam on xatonline.in
Mock Test Access Closes	January 3, 2026	One day before the exam
XAT 2026 Exam Date	January 4, 2026	2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

XAT Admit Card 2026

Candidates who have registered must download their respective XAT 2026 admit cards using their login credentials. The admit cards will be made available on December 20, 2025. A digital version of the XAT admit card is not acceptable, so candidates need to ensure they print their XAT 2026 admit cards prior to the day of the exam.

XAT Exam Date 2026

The XAT examination will take place in a computer-based format at designated testing centers. The question paper will consist of 95 questions covering Quantitative Ability, Logical Reasoning, English, General Knowledge, and Decision Making. The XAT 2026 will have a duration of 180 minutes. There will only be one session on the day of the XAT 2026 exam. Candidates are required to attend the exam at the test center specified on their admit card.

XAT Response Sheet 2026

The candidate response sheet and official answer key for XAT 2026 will be issued by XLRI a few days after the examination. Candidates will have the opportunity to contest the official answer key by logging into their accounts. This process is designed to enhance transparency in the formulation of the XAT results. The examination authority will assess all objections and update the provisional answer key if necessary.

XAT 2026 Result Date

The XAT results for 2026 are expected to be announced by the third week of January 2025. Candidates can access their XAT results using their login credentials. The results will be presented in percentile format. The scorecard will be available for download until December 31, 2026.

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