CAT 2026 Application Fee: Category-wise Breakdown & Payment Guide

The final step of the registration process for CAT is its application fee and it is also the one with no room for error. Your form gets locked once it is paid for. This is the actual fee for your category, how to pay it without losing a day-off, suffering from a failed-transaction headache and what that refund policy really means.

But the fee concession is only for SC, ST and PwD candidates who will get about 50% relaxation in fees while EWS and NC-OBC will have to pay the same fee as the General category.

One fee covers everything. One application fee works for all participating institutes —IIMs and other B-schools you have selected when applying, you don't need to pay a fee separately per- institute. You have to write down every programme you genuinely plan on applying to as there is no financial penalty for selecting more institutes, so consider keeping this list as broad as possible.

Read More: CAT 2026 Exam Date & Complete Schedule

What Counts as Your Final Payable Amount

The above fee by category is the base registration cost — what disappears out of your pocket at these categories may be very slightly greater depending on how you pay, as payment gateways apply their own processing fees:

• Net banking: usually a basic fee of about ₹20 per transaction
• Debit/credit card: gateway-side processing fees, which are the same for all bank cards although there may be slight differences based on who issued the card
• UPI: most probably the cleanest option if you want to settle down to the almost accurate booking fee with minimum extra expenses

Treat the amount that appears on the official payment page at what you are actually paying, and not just the category fee plus costs.

How to Pay: Step-by-Step

1. Fill out (personal details, academics, work experience, programme selection and test city preferences) all other sections of your application form in the beginning along with upload documents that are required.
2. On the last payment screen, choose your mode of payment (debit card, credit card, net banking or UPI).
3. Now provide the payment details as prompted — card number, expiry and CVV for cards or UPI ID, net banking credentials depending on the method you selected.
4. Submit and wait for confirmation. Not refresh the page, navigate away from nor submit multiple times while processing a transaction.
5. Upon confirmation, you download your payment receipt and registration acknowledgment. Make sure to print two or more for your own records.

Offline payment is not accepted. There is no alternate route  for fee payment — cash, demand drafts or challans — in CAT registration, it is fully online.

Common Reasons Payments Fail

• Weak or lost internet connection when doing the action
• Insufficient balance or credit limit
• card number / CVV / expiry date/ UPI ID is wrong
• Debit or credit card that has expired
• Going over your own daily transaction limit with your bank
• Server downtime or gate issues with bank server from their side
• Helping students avoid the last-minute rush that creates high server load and error rates in the core registration days

What to Do If Money Is Deducted but Payment Shows Failed

One of the most common CAT registration scares and frequently it's fixable.

• No need to panic and do not pay again straight away. Firstly, check the payment status check on CAT registration portal
• Wait for a few minutes & then refresh:  many "failed" transactions are still in the bank's processing queue and resolve / rectify themselves automatically.
• Save your evidence: bank statement showing the deduction, transaction reference number and screenshot of failure message on CAT portal.
• Do not make multiple attempts to make the payment unless you are informed by the portal that your previous attempt has failed and ask you for retry.
• If the deduction does not reverse or reflect within a reasonable window then reach out to the CAT helpdesk, with your saved evidence. In case the failure is validated on their part, it may refund you via your original payment method.

Refund Policy

The CAT registration fee will not be returned once you have made the payment successfully, and this stands true even if you drop the idea of appearing for it later. Once submitted, there is no cancellation option and the fee paid cannot be transferred to any other candidate or another cycle of CAT.

The only way any refund applies is when a transaction has been demonstrably unsuccessful, specifically funds being deducted but the application is not registered with CAT and even then, it requires verification by the CAT helpdesk instead of automatically.

Before you pay, double-check:

• Your Category Selection is Correct (category changes after payment are difficult and/or may incur extra costs, or may not be permitted at all)
• All your programme and test city preferences are set in stone, as the fee does not change according to how many you select but also post-payment editing of the form is limited.
• All you need is enough balance and your online transaction limits which should be already enabled.

Why Paying Early Is Worth It

The fee stays the same throughout the registration window, but server overloads and payment gateway failures tend to spike right before the deadline, when most candidates rush to register at once. To avoid that gridlock entirely, at no extra cost, pay in early to mid-September rather than in the last few weeks of the window.

FAQs

Q1. What is the CAT 2026 application fee for General category candidates?

₹2,700, similarly applicable for EWS and NC-OBC aspirants.

Q2. What is the CAT 2026 application fee for SC/ST/PwD candidates? 

 ₹1,350 (≈ 50% of the fee for General category)

Q3. Do I pay separately for each IIM I apply to? 

 No. It is a one-time payment for covering your application across all other IIMs and participating institutes selected while registering.

Q4. What payment methods are accepted for CAT 2026? 

 Our Payment methods are Debit, credit, net banking, and UPI. No offline modes like cash, cheque or demand draft are accepted.

Q5. Is the CAT registration fee refundable? 

 On successful payments you will not be charged even if you do not end up appearing for the exam!! Refunds will only be issued for verified unsuccessful transactions where payment was made without successful registration.

Q6. What should I do if my payment fails but money is deducted from my account? 

 To know the payment status on the CAT portal first, make sure not to pay multiple times, keep a copy of transaction proof, and if the amount is not refunded in sometime then contact the CAT helpdesk.

Q7. Are there extra charges on top of the base application fee?

 Yes, it depends on your mode of payment — net banking generally has a flat fee (Rs 20 or so) and cards may carry gateway processing fees. UPI is generally the quickest to pay exactly what a base fee would be.