GMAT Exam Dates 2026: Overview
The GMAT is different from exams like the IELTS or CAT. The GMAT Focus Edition is the version you can take now. It is available all year round. You can choose a test centre. Take the GMAT online. Then you pick a date and time that works for you. You do this based on when seats are available.
For students from India who want to go to business school in the UAE, the GMAT exam dates in 2026 are not about looking for a date. The GMAT exam dates are about knowing when you can book your test. You need to know when the seats will be taken. You also need to think about when the universities in the UAE will start their terms and when you can get your visa.
GMAT Exam Dates 2026: Key Highlights
| Particulars | Details |
|---|
| Exam Name | Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), currently the GMAT Focus Edition |
| Conducting Body | Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) |
| Accepted For | MBA, Master's in Management, and other graduate business programmes |
| Test Formats | GMAT at a test centre (Pearson VUE) or GMAT Online |
| Test Duration | 2 hours 15 minutes, plus one optional 10-minute break |
| Sections | Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Data Insights |
| Score Range | 205 to 805 |
| Availability | Year-round rolling appointments, no fixed national dates |
| Test Centre Slots | Available most days of the week, subject to centre capacity |
| Online Slots | Available 24/7 |
| Attempt Limit | Up to 5 attempts in a rolling 12-month period; no lifetime limit |
| Gap Between Attempts | Minimum 16 days |
| Score Validity | 5 years from the test date |
| Booking Mode | Online via mba.com only |
How GMAT Exam Dates Work in India
The GMAT scheduling system is a little different. It does not use a shared calendar for the country. Instead, when you make an account on mba.com and choose a test centre or the online option, you can see the times that are available for that place. So the times you can take the GMAT really depend on the city and even the specific test centre.
- If you want to take the GMAT at a test centre, it is given at Pearson VUE centres in India. These centres usually have appointments available one day a week, but it depends on the centre.
- The GMAT Online is different. You can take it from your private space as long as you have a good internet connection. You can schedule the GMAT Online at any time every day of the week.
Since there is no calendar, if you want to check the GMAT exam dates in India, you have to log into your mba.com account. That is the way to see the real times that are available for the city and format you want. Other websites cannot show you the times for the GMAT. The only way to know for sure is to use the GMAT registration process itself. The GMAT registration process is the way to find out when you can take the GMAT. See the GMAT Registration page for steps.
Booking Window: How Far in Advance Can You Register?
Registration on mba.com opens well ahead of your preferred test date and stays open right up until the day before, but how far you can push it depends on whether you're booking for the first time or changing an appointment you already hold.
| Scenario | Typical Window |
|---|
| Earliest you can book | Up to approximately 6 months before your preferred date |
| Latest you can book | As late as 24 hours before the appointment |
| Rescheduling/cancellation cut-off | Cannot be changed within 24 hours of your appointment |
| Missed appointment | New appointment allowed after a 24-hour wait; full fee applies again |
The 24-hour reschedule/cancellation cut-off and the missed-appointment rule are stated directly in GMAC's Exam Policies and Procedures, so treat those two as fixed GMAC rules rather than reported estimates. Note that rows 2 and 3 both involve 24 hours but run in opposite directions; row 2 is the deadline to book a new appointment, row 3 is the deadline to change an existing one.
Demand is high in India during peak MBA application season, roughly August to November, when test centres in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Pune fill up fastest. It's worth booking two to three months ahead of that window even though the GMAT itself has no fixed exam dates.
GMAT Exam Dates by City in India
Pearson VUE has GMAT test centres in large cities in India. These cities include:
- North:Delhi NCR (New Delhi, Noida, Gurugram), Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow
- West:Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad
- South:Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi
- East:Kolkata
Each GMAT test centre makes its schedule for appointments. So you will not find a list of dates for the GMAT test centres. This is different from the IELTS test, which has a list of dates. You have to check with each GMAT test centre to find out when they are open.
To check dates:
1
Log in to your mba.com account
Use the official GMAC registration portal.
2
Select preferred test centres
Choose up to three preferred test centres in your city.
3
Compare live availability
Compare appointment availability across those centres.
The GMAT Online choice takes away the need to be in a city because the test is taken from a private place with an internet connection.
For people who're already in the United Arab Emirates, the UAE has Pearson VUE official GMAT test centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. When you select your city on your mba.com account, you can see the addresses and the current availability of the GMAT test centres. It is better to use the Pearson VUE centre locator to find the test centres than to look at lists from other websites because the GMAT test centres in the UAE can change. See also GMAT Test Centres.
The GMAT Exam Fee in India for the Year 2026
GMAC prices the GMAT in US dollars globally. For candidates paying from India, an 18% GST is added at checkout, and the final INR amount depends on the exchange rate on the day of payment, so there's no single fixed INR figure the way there is for IELTS.
| Format |
Base Fee (USD) |
With 18% GST (USD) |
Approximate INR* |
| GMAT at a Test Centre |
$275 |
~$324.50 |
~₹27,000 to ₹28,500 |
| GMAT Online |
$300 |
~$354 |
~₹29,500 to ₹31,000 |
*Indicative only. The exact INR figure depends on the live USD–INR exchange rate, your card issuer's conversion charges, and GST, all applied at the time of payment. Always confirm the final amount on the mba.com payment screen before completing registration.
Candidates paying from the UAE in AED, or Indian students who've relocated, should note the same underlying logic applies: GMAC bills in USD, and your bank converts to AED at its own rate plus any conversion fee, so budget for some variance rather than a fixed number.
The fee includes sending your official score to up to five business schools if you select them within the specified window around your exam. More detail is on the GMAT Exam Fees page.
Identification Requirement for Indian Test Takers
Passport only: For GMAT test centre appointments in India, a valid, unexpired passport is the only accepted form of identification. Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, voter IDs, and driving licences are not accepted. Your name and date of birth on the passport must exactly match your mba.com registration details. Carry your passport to every appointment; without it, you'll be denied entry and forfeit your exam fee.
When Should You Book Your GMAT Exam for UAE Admissions?
Most UAE business schools run two main intakes:
| UAE Intake | Recommended GMAT Testing Window |
|---|
| Fall Intake (September) | March to May |
| Spring Intake (January) | July to September |
When you are thinking about the university deadline, you also need to think about how long it takes to process your score, which is usually between 3 and 7 business days, and the time it takes to get a student visa for the UAE, which can take a few weeks after you get an offer.
It is a good idea to take the GMAT test at least 4 to 6 months before you want to start at the university.
This gives you time to take the GMAT test again if you need to because you have to wait sixteen days before you can take the GMAT test again, and it also gives you time to finish the rest of your application — like your statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, your resume and the essays for the application.
What Score Should You Be Aiming for When It Comes to the GMAT?
The people at the GMAT test looked at the results of five hundred thirty-one thousand GMAT Focus Edition exams. They found that the average GMAT score is 554.67, which is somewhere in the middle of the 205 to 805 GMAT score scale. If you want to get into a Master of Business Administration programme like the ones that are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business or EQUIS in the United Arab Emirates, you will probably need a GMAT score that's higher than this average GMAT score, for the GMAT test. Each university is different. They decide what GMAT score they want, so you should check the website of the university you want to go to.
Some universities in the UAE do not even require the GMAT if you have work experience. The thing is, the scores that universities want can change, so you should always check what the current score is for the programme you want to get into. You should not just look at some idea of what the score should be; you should look at what your target university wants. The GMAT score is important for the MBA programme you want to get into; make sure you know what score you should be aiming for. The university will have the up-to-date information on their admissions page, so that is where you should look for the GMAT score you should be aiming for. See UAE Universities Accepting GMAT.
The GMAT Focus Edition Is Different from the GRE and CAT or CMAT
The new GMAT Focus Edition started in February 2024. Now it is the version of the GMAT you can take. The GRE is given all year round. So you should book your test date early if you want to take it during a specific time. Most business schools in the UAE accept scores from both the GMAT and the GRE for the programmes. So you need to decide which test is better for you. The GMAT Focus Edition has a lot of math questions. The GRE has a lot of questions. You should think about what kind of questions you're good at and choose the test that suits you better. The GMAT Focus Edition is good if you like math. The GRE is good if you like words and reading.
CAT, CMAT, and MAT, by contrast, follow fixed national test dates and are built around India's domestic MBA admissions cycle; they aren't accepted by UAE universities. For Indian students weighing an international MBA in the UAE against a domestic one, the practical difference isn't just the exam format: a GMAT/GRE-based application runs on your own rolling timeline against UAE intake deadlines, while a CAT-based application is locked to India's fixed exam-and-counselling calendar. Students keeping both routes open should plan their GMAT date independently of CAT prep, since the two exams don't share a testing window.
Rescheduling and Cancelling Your GMAT Appointment
- You cannot make changes to your GMAT appointment within 24 hours of the exam time. If you miss your appointment without cancelling it, you will lose the exam fee.
- The cost of rescheduling your GMAT appointment is usually between $55 and $165. This depends on when you make the change and if you are taking the test at a centre or online. If you cancel your appointment with notice, you will get back $55 to $120 of the original fee. However, you will not get any refund if you cancel within 24 hours.
- These numbers can vary by around $10 to $20, so they are a guide and not final figures. You should check the amount on the mba.com website before you ask to make a change.
- You can make changes to your appointment on the mba.com website or by phone if you are going to a test centre. If you call, you will have to pay $10 for the phone service. More on attempt limits is on the GMAT Retake Policy page.
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