XAT 2027 exam date is Sunday, 3 January 2027, conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur. Registration is open from 15 July to 6 December 2026 on xatonline.in. Full dates, pattern and marking.
XAT 2027 exam date is Sunday, 3 January 2027, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and the test is conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur on behalf of XAMI (Xavier Association of Management Institutes) through the official portal xatonline.in. XAT 2027 registration is open from 15 July 2026 and closes on 6 December 2026, so this is the window in which you must submit your application. The Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is the national MBA entrance used by XLRI and 160+ member and associate B-schools.
This guide gives you every confirmed XAT 2027 date, the notification and registration timeline, the exact exam pattern with marking, and the eligibility rules, all in clean tables. It also draws on how our XAT mock series at Quiz4Exam mirrors the live paper, so your practice matches the real part-locked constraints from day one.
The XAT 2027 exam date is Sunday, 3 January 2027, held from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. It is a single computer-based test (CBT) taken once a year on the first Sunday of January, in English only, across test cities in India. XLRI Jamshedpur released the official notification on 9 July 2026, and the admit card is expected around 20 December 2026.
Here are all the key XAT 2027 dates you should lock into your calendar. Treat the admit card date as tentative until XLRI confirms it on xatonline.in.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Notification released | 9 July 2026 |
| Registration opens | 15 July 2026 |
| Registration closes | 6 December 2026 |
| Admit card (expected) | Around 20 December 2026 |
| Exam day | Sunday, 3 January 2027 (2:00 pm to 5:00 pm) |
XAT 2027 registration opened on 15 July 2026 and closes on 6 December 2026 on xatonline.in, one week after XLRI Jamshedpur released the XAT 2027 notification on 9 July 2026. You register once, create a login, fill in academic details, upload a photo and signature, choose your B-school programme preferences, and pay the fee online before the 6 December 2026 deadline.
The registration steps are straightforward: create your account with a valid email and mobile number, complete the personal and academic sections, upload your photograph and signature in the required format, select the XAMI member institutes you want to apply to, pay the application fee, and download the confirmation page. Do not wait for 6 December 2026, since last-day traffic and payment failures are the most common reason serious aspirants miss the form. Fill it early, review every field, and submit with days to spare. XLRI publishes all official updates only on xatonline.in, so ignore any other portal claiming to sell XAT forms or scores.
The XAT 2027 exam pattern is a 180-minute computer-based test of 95 MCQs, split into two parts. Part 1 runs for 170 minutes and holds Verbal and Logical Ability (26 questions), Decision Making (21 questions) and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation (28 questions), a total of 75 questions you can move between freely. Part 2 runs for 10 minutes and holds General Knowledge (20 questions), which you enter only after Part 1 ends. There is no essay, as Analytical Essay Writing was scrapped from 2025 and the duration was cut from 210 to 180 minutes.
| Section | Questions | Part | Marking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal and Logical Ability (VALR) | 26 | Part 1 | +1 correct, -0.25 wrong |
| Decision Making (DM) | 21 | Part 1 | +1 correct, -0.25 wrong |
| Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation (QADI) | 28 | Part 1 | +1 correct, -0.25 wrong |
| General Knowledge (GK) | 20 | Part 2 | +1 correct, no negative marking |
| Total | 95 | 180 minutes |
Decision Making is XAT's signature section, unique among MBA entrances; our XAT question bank builds it as caselet-based business and ethical judgement groups, so you practise the exact scenario style that trips up first-timers. If you also plan to sit CAT, note that the CAT paper is shorter and structured differently: see our CAT 2026 exam date guide, since most XAT aspirants cross-shop the two.
XAT 2027 marking is +1 for every correct answer and -0.25 for a wrong answer in Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making, and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation. General Knowledge gives +1 for a correct answer with no negative marking, and the GK score does not count toward your percentile, it is used only for shortlisting. There is also a -0.10 penalty for each question left unattempted beyond 8 in Part 1, so you cannot simply skip large blocks.
This marking scheme shapes strategy directly. Because a wrong answer costs 0.25 in three sections, blind guessing is punished, but the beyond-8 unattempted penalty in Part 1 means you also cannot leave the paper largely blank; you must attempt a sensible number even if you are not fully sure. General Knowledge is the one section where you should attempt everything, since it carries no negative marking, though it will not move your percentile. Practising under these exact rules is why our XAT mock tests apply per-section negative marking so your scores reflect the real paper.
XAT 2027 eligibility requires a Bachelor's degree of at least 3 years in any discipline from a recognised university. Candidates in the final year of their graduation are also eligible and can apply on the basis of expected completion. There is no age limit and no cap on the number of attempts, so you can appear for XAT as many times as you wish.
Because final-year students are allowed, a large share of the XAT pool is fresh graduates, but the open age rule also makes XAT a genuine option for working professionals moving into an MBA. Confirm any programme-specific requirement of individual XAMI member institutes on their own admission pages, since the base XAT eligibility only qualifies you to take the test.
The XAT score is accepted by XLRI Jamshedpur and more than 160 member and associate B-schools of XAMI across India. XLRI is the flagship institute that conducts the test, and its two-year management programmes are the most sought-after XAT seats, but the same scorecard opens admission to a wide network of other reputed management institutes.
After the exam, your XAT score converts to sectional and overall percentiles (GK excluded from the percentile), and each institute publishes its own shortlist, group discussion and personal interview process. So one XAT 2027 attempt on 3 January 2027 can feed applications to many B-schools at once, which is a strong reason to prepare seriously for a single high-stakes paper. For a complete study plan, read our XAT 2027 preparation strategy guide.
When is the XAT 2027 exam date? XAT 2027 is on Sunday, 3 January 2027, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, as a single computer-based test conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur. It is held once a year on the first Sunday of January, in English only, and the admit card is expected around 20 December 2026 on xatonline.in.
What is the last date for XAT 2027 registration? XAT 2027 registration closes on 6 December 2026 on xatonline.in. It opened on 15 July 2026, one week after XLRI released the notification on 9 July 2026. Fill the form early, since last-day traffic and payment failures are the most common reason aspirants miss the deadline.
What is the XAT 2027 exam pattern? XAT 2027 has 95 MCQs in 180 minutes. Part 1 (170 minutes) has Verbal and Logical Ability 26, Decision Making 21, and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation 28, a total of 75 questions. Part 2 (10 minutes) has General Knowledge 20. There is no essay.
Is there negative marking in XAT? Yes. XAT deducts 0.25 for each wrong answer in Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making, and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, with +1 for correct. General Knowledge has no negative marking. A further 0.10 is deducted for each question left unattempted beyond 8 in Part 1.
What is the XAT 2027 eligibility? XAT 2027 needs a Bachelor's degree of at least 3 years in any discipline from a recognised university. Final-year students can also apply on the basis of expected completion. There is no upper age limit and no cap on the number of attempts, so you can appear as many times as you like.
XAT 2027 is on Sunday, 3 January 2027, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, as a single computer-based test conducted by XLRI Jamshedpur on behalf of XAMI. It is held once a year on the first Sunday of January, in English only, and the admit card is expected around 20 December 2026 on the official portal xatonline.in.
XAT 2027 registration closes on 6 December 2026 on xatonline.in. It opened on 15 July 2026, one week after XLRI released the notification on 9 July 2026. Fill the form early, since last-day traffic and payment failures are the most common reason serious aspirants miss the deadline. Review every field before you submit.
XAT 2027 has 95 MCQs in 180 minutes. Part 1 (170 minutes) holds Verbal and Logical Ability 26, Decision Making 21, and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation 28, a total of 75 questions. Part 2 (10 minutes) holds General Knowledge 20. There is no essay, as Analytical Essay Writing was scrapped from 2025.
Yes. XAT deducts 0.25 for each wrong answer in Verbal and Logical Ability, Decision Making, and Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation, with +1 for a correct answer. General Knowledge carries no negative marking and does not count toward the percentile. A further 0.10 is deducted for each question left unattempted beyond 8 in Part 1.
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XAT 2027 needs a Bachelor's degree of at least 3 years in any discipline from a recognised university. Candidates in the final year of graduation can also apply on the basis of expected completion. There is no upper age limit and no cap on the number of attempts, so you can appear for XAT 2027 as many times as you wish.
