GMAT Registration 2026

However, before you access mba.com, there are certain requirements you need to fulfill. GMAC does not provide any formal guidelines regarding age, citizenship, or educational background required to take the GMAT exam; thus, anyone can register on their website. What you do need in place are the practical GMAT registration requirements below.

A valid, unexpired passport is mandatory for Indian candidates, whether you test at a centre in India or take the online exam. GMAC's identification policy confirms that a passport is required whenever you test outside your country of citizenship, and separately states that identification rules vary by testing location, with some locations requiring a passport regardless of citizenship. India falls into this category, and no other Indian government ID, including Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, or driving licence, is accepted at Indian GMAT test centres. If your passport has expired, or is currently with the passport office or an embassy for visa processing, sort that out before attempting to register, since GMAC will not allow you to test without valid identification. Confirm the current rule for your specific city on GMAC's Location-Specific Regulations page before you schedule.

You will also need a valid international credit or debit card. GMAC's official payment page confirms it accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover Network cards. Domestic-only cards, including many RuPay cards issued in India, commonly face issues on international payment gateways of this kind, so confirm with your bank that your card supports international transactions before you attempt payment.

Finally, keep your basic personal details ready: your full name exactly as it appears on your passport, your date of birth, your current address, and your contact information. Academic and professional details such as your degree, GPA, and work experience can be added during registration, but this part is optional and can be skipped or completed later.

There is one important thing to keep in mind when creating your mba.com profile: the name you use on it should be the same as the name in your passport. A mismatch here is one of the most common and easily avoidable reasons Indian candidates run into trouble on exam day.

The fee you pay during registration depends on whether you choose the test centre exam or the online exam. GMAC's own registration guide states the exam fee in the United States is USD 275 for the test centre exam and USD 300 for the online exam, and this base pricing structure is widely reported as consistent for India as well. GMAC's official Exam Payment page requires you to select your country to see the exact fee for your location, and this figure can change, so the numbers below should be treated as a reliable planning estimate rather than a guaranteed final amount.

The 18% GST is not a discretionary charge from GMAC. It follows from Indian tax law covering online services sold by foreign providers to individuals in India, which applies IGST at 18% with no exemption threshold, so treat the total column as a reliable estimate built on a real legal requirement rather than a rough guess. This fee is charged in USD regardless of where you are registering from, and your bank converts it to Indian Rupees at the exchange rate applicable on the day of payment. Because this rate moves daily, and because some banks add a small foreign transaction charge on top, the exact amount debited from your card can vary by a few hundred rupees from one week to the next. Before you pay, check the exact fee for India directly on mba.com's Exam Payment page, since this is the only source that reflects GMAC's current, location-specific pricing.

The registration fee covers your exam appointment and, once your score becomes reportable, lets you send it to up to five programs of your choice for free, within 48 hours of your score becoming available. This is confirmed directly on mba.com. Sending your score to any school beyond that, or after the 48-hour window, requires an Additional Score Report, and GMAC directs candidates to check the current fee for this on its Exam Payment page rather than publishing a fixed figure elsewhere. Charges for rescheduling or cancelling your appointment are separate from this base fee and are covered in detail on our GMAT exam fees page.

At Study From UAE, we often see students underestimate this fee when budgeting for their overall application costs, so it helps to factor in the GST and currency conversion early rather than being surprised by the final amount charged.

You can also register by phone through GMAC's regional customer service line or by mail, though online registration through mba.com is faster and is what nearly all Indian candidates use today.

Since this guide is written for Indian students applying to the UAE, it helps to know how a few UAE-based or UAE-connected business schools actually treat the GMAT once you have registered and taken it.

Admissions criteria at the Abu Dhabi campus of INSEAD are consistent with those of all other INSEAD campuses – there is no official minimum GMAT score requirement; however, INSEAD suggests scoring at least in the 60th percentile on the Verbal section, and in the 66th percentile on the Quantitative and Data Insights section, and the GMAT and GRE scores cannot be waived by any candidate. At American University of Sharjah, an MBA candidate can use either a GMAT score or an AUS MBA Admission Test score without a specified minimum score in either test being required. For admission to the Dubai campus of SP Jain School of Global Management, candidates can submit GMAT, GRE, or CAT scores, or take the SP Jain Aptitude Test if you do not have any of those.

Since requirements and accepted alternatives like this vary by school and program, it is worth confirming your specific target university's current policy before you register, particularly if you are weighing a school's own entrance test against sitting the GMAT.