S. Vishnu Sharma
XAT 2026 Registration process is open till 5 December 2025 (Saturday) at ‘https://xatonline.in/’ Candidates interested in taking admission into management courses in XLRI can submit applications for the exam.
Those who are wishing to join management courses in XLRI (Xavier School of Management) can concentrate on this exam which is one of the most popular ones in the country.
XAT 2026 Registration Schedule
XAT 2026 registration started on 10 July 2025 and will be open till 5 December 2025, admit card will be available for download tentatively from 20 December 2025 onwards.
The exam will be conducted from 4 January 2026 (2.00 pm to 5.00 pm) as per XAT 2026 registration schedule.
XAT 2026 Test Centers
These are the cities where applicants of XAT 2026 will be able to appear for the exam. The list of XAT 2026 test centers are mentioned below for the sake of the students:
| Test Centers Are:
Agra, Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Aligarh, Allahabad, Ambala, Amravati, Amritsar, Anantapur, Arrah, Aurangabad City (Maharashtra), Baddi, Balasore, Bareilly, Bhatinda, Bhagalpur, Bhilai Nagar, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Bikaner, Bilaspur, Bengaluru, Berhampur, Chandigarh/Mohali, Chennai, Chikkaballapur, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Darbhanga, Davanagere, Dehradun, Delhi-NCR, Dhanbad, Dhenkanal, Dibrugarh, Durgapur/Asansol, Ernakulam, Gandhinagar, Goa, Gorakhpur, Guwahati, Gwalior, Haldwani, Hazaribagh, Hisar, Hooghly, Hubballi (Hubli), Hyderabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Jammu, Jamshedpur, Jodhpur, Jorhat, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), Kalyani, Kannur, Kanpur, Karimnagar, Kolhapur, Kolkata, Kota, Kottayam, Kurnool, Kurukshetra, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Mehsana, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Muzaffarpur, Mumbai, Mysuru (Mysore), Nagpur, Naharlagun, Nanded, Nashik, Patiala, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Rajahmundry, Rajkot, Ranchi, Roorkee, Rourkela, Salem, Sambalpur, Shimla, Shillong, Sikar, Siliguri, Surat, Tejpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchirappalli, Tirupathi, Tiruvallur, Udaipur, Udupi, Ujjain, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vellore, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, |
There are other prestigious B Schools that offer admission into management courses based on scores in XAT and these institutions are known as XAMI (Xavier Association of Management Institutes).
Passing this test brightens the prospects of gaining entry into well-known b-schools across India. So, those focusing on management studies can apply for this exam.
Point to remember
The official website for the exam is ready and it can be visited with the help of URL ‘https://xatonline.in/’ The candidates can read the information about the exam.
The link to take up XAT 2026 registration is active, candidates can take up XAT 2026 registration and apply for the test.
About the exam
The full name of the exam is Xavier Aptitude Test which is popularly known to all as XAT. It is conducted every year by XLRI of Jamshedpur.
It is a national level exam that has to be passed to gain admission into management courses offered by XLRI and other participating institutions.
XAT 2026 is meant to be conducted for the year 2026. The test will be conducted across 75 cities in India.
Even apart from participating institutions, many other b schools across India offer admissions based on scores in this exam.
XAT 2026 registration eligibility
Candidates willing to take up XAT 2026 registration must have passed Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent from a recognized educational institution located anywhere in India.
Candidates appearing for the final year of their qualifying degree examination and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results can also take up XAT 2026 registration.
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However, they have to pass the exam and provide a proof for it by the time of admission process commencement in XLRI or its associate institutions.
XAT 2026 registration process
The process to take up XAT 2026 registration is online and candidates have to visit the official website of the exam which is accessible at ‘https://xatonline.in/’
1. The URL mentioned above must be typed into the browser and submitted to allow the website to download.
2. Once the website is ready, candidates can click the information brochure and know about the exam.
3. After reading the information, candidates can click the button Register.
4. Clicking the above button will open another webpage with URL ‘https://applications.xatonline.in/?_gl=1*16ozbbt*_gcl_au*NTQ4Mjc4NjIxLjE3NTE4OTAzNjIuODUyMTAzODk3LjE3NTQ2NTcwNzQuMTc1NDY1NzA3NA..*_ga*NTMwNzU1OTg3LjE3NTE4OTAzNjM.*_ga_44L83023B1*czE3NTQ2NTcwNzQkbzQkZzEkdDE3NTQ2NTcxMzQkajYwJGwwJGgw*_ga_35JNMZMMXP*czE3NTQ2NTcwNzQkbzMkZzEkdDE3NTQ2NTcxMzQkajYwJGwwJGgw’
5. When the webpage with above URL opens, candidates can provide the required information and create an account with username and password.
6. Post account creation, candidates can login and start applying for the exam.
XAT 2026 Registration Link is Here
Registration fee
Candidates have to pay XAT 2026 registration fee of Rs 2200 while applying for the exam. Those applying for XLRI programmes, have to pay Rs 200 per programme.
Fee for Indian Candidates applying for PGDM(GM) through GMAT/GRE is Rs. 2500 and Fee for NRI/Foreign/PIO/OCI candidates applying for one or more programmes through GMAT is Rs 5000.
XAT 2026 Admit Card Download Process
Candidates who have successfully completed their XAT 2026 registration will alone be able to download admit card and its process is explained below:
1. Candidates have to visit the official website for the exam at ‘https://xatonline.in/’
2. Once the website is ready, candidates have to click the link for downloading hall ticket which may open another webpage.
3. When another webpage opens, candidates have to type their application number and other required information and submit them to obtain the admit card.
Exam pattern
XAT 2026 will be conducted online as a computer based test where the questions have to be answered on a computer screen at the test centre.
Duration to complete answering is 3 hours 30 minutes. The test will have questions related to Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, General Knowledge, and Essay Writing.
There may be changes in the exam timings or pattern due to various reasons, candidates can visit the official website to know about them.
After XAT 2026 registration
Candidates who have completed their XAT 2026 registration and obtained their admit card can appear for the test.
The exam has to be passed with required qualifying marks which is also known as cutoff scores.
Cutoff score is the minimum marks candidates have to get in the exam to be eligible for next phase of admission.
The score of the candidates in the exam must be either greater than cutoff or equal to it.
Those who pass can appear for the next stage which comprises group discussion, interview, document verification. Those who get the seat can pay the money and join the institution for classes.
Point to remember
It is to note that many institutions accept XAT scores for admission into management programmes offered by them, their admission process and schedule may vary from that of XLRI.
Candidates have to visit the websites of those institutions and obtain information about their admission process before submitting applications there.