This page lists CMAT previous year question papers for 1 year, 2026 to 2026, with 2 official PDFs (question papers and answer keys). CMAT (Common Management Admission Test) is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and covers Quant/DI, Logical, Language, General Awareness and Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Pick a year below for the paper, answer key and a timed practice plan; confirm dates and pattern on cmat.nta.nic.in.
Explore: Question papers by year · Syllabus & pattern · FAQ
Year-wise question papers
About CMAT
CMAT is the National Testing Agency’s national-level test for admission to management programmes. It is held once a year as a computer-based test.
Pattern
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation | 20 | 80 |
| Logical Reasoning | 20 | 80 |
| Language Comprehension | 20 | 80 |
| General Awareness | 20 | 80 |
| Innovation and Entrepreneurship | 20 | 80 |
| Total | 100 | 400 |
The test is 180 minutes with English-only questions. In CMAT 2026, 53,453 candidates registered and 41,872 appeared.
What is official, and what to check
The NTA’s CMAT site shows only the current cycle: the information bulletin, the provisional-key notice and the final answer key. Provisional keys can be challenged for a short period at Rs 200 per question and the result is compiled on the final key only. Multi-shift papers are normalised by percentile; CMAT 2026 ran in a single shift.
Notes on recent years
CMAT 2026 was held on 25 January 2026, with the provisional key on 31 January, and the final key and result on 17 February.
How to use the key
Use your own recorded responses, which the NTA displays to each candidate, with the final key to verify the raw score. Then split mistakes into the five sections. Every section is 80 marks, so a section where you attempt too few questions costs as much as a weak one.
FAQ
Does the NTA publish CMAT question papers?
Not as public downloads. For each CMAT it shows the provisional answer key and the candidate’s recorded responses with the question paper to registered candidates during a short challenge window, then posts a final answer key. This site hosts the CMAT 2026 final key and bulletin.
What is the CMAT exam pattern?
100 questions in 180 minutes, computer-based and English only: Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, General Awareness and Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 20 questions each. Each question is 4 marks, minus 1 for a wrong answer.
Why is only 2026 covered?
The NTA’s CMAT site has no public archive of old keys. Its archive page lists only information bulletins and a 2021 key-challenge notice, not answer keys, and no earlier key was available from an official source.
Who is eligible for CMAT?
A Bachelor’s degree in any discipline (final-year students can apply if the result comes before admission), Indian citizenship, and no age limit, per the 2026 bulletin.
How should I use the CMAT 2026 key?
Match it to your recorded-response sheet by question ID, recompute your raw score at 4 per correct and minus 1 per wrong, then compare section by section.
Where to get the official papers
The NTA publishes CMAT notices on cmat.nta.nic.in. The files here are copied from that site; each file links to its source.