Which IIMs Require a Separate Application Form?
In India, admissions to MBA/PGP courses are determined by the very challenging and highly competitive CAT exam. It should be noted that passing the CAT does not make you eligible to apply to all IIMs. Some IIMs allow admission only through the CAT score, whereas a few IIMs, like Indore, require students to submit a separate application form after the CAT result declaration. If the student does not fill out this additional application, the CAT score will not be considered by that IIM, however high the score may be. Many students think that after filling out the form, they have applied to all IIMs, but that is not true. Many MBA aspirants make this mistake quite commonly.
This article clearly explains everything MBA aspirants need to know about the IIM selection process beyond CAT. It focuses on the separate IIM application forms, explains which IIMs ask for them, and why filling these forms on time is important for MBA/PGP admissions.
Separate Application Form
A separate application form is an additional online form that some IIMs require candidates to fill out on their official websites, in addition to the CAT application.
Stages of IIM Admissions
Students often get confused during the admission process of IIMs, particularly after the announcement of the CAT results. Although CAT is the compulsory entrance exam for all IIM MBA/PGP programmes, it is merely the first step of a multi-stage selection process. Depending on the IIMs to which a candidate is applying, the procedure may require the candidate to register additionally in the Common Admission Process (CAP) or even go through separate institute-level application forms. Being well aware of these phases is very important because a candidate who is missing any one of them (and has a very high CAT percentile) will get rejected automatically.
1. CAT Registration (Common for All IIMs)
It is a registration done on the official CAT website.
Mandatory for every IIM MBA/PGP programme.
This registration is used to collect:
Personal details
Academic history
Test centre preferences
Individual IIMs may not consider a candidate solely based on the CAT registration.
2. CAP Registration (Only for CAP IIMs)
The Common Admission Process (CAP) is a simple and shared admission system used by many new baby IIMs for their MBA/PGDM courses. Instead of going to different colleges for different interviews, a student attends one single interview (and in some cases a written test). The score from this interview is then shared with all the IIMs that are part of CAP.
From 2026 onwards, some IIMs are no longer part of CAP and have shifted to a new combined system called the Joint Admission Process (JAP). Below is a simple step-by-step explanation of how the CAP process works.
Step 1: Once the CAT results come out, check if you are meeting the "cutoff" (usually 95% overall and 75% in each section) for General students.
Step 2: If you qualify, go to the official CAP 2026 website in mid-January and fill out one form and upload your documents.
Step 3: You only have to appear for one interview. That single score is sent to every IIM that falls under CAP. This saves you from travelling to multiple cities or doing many different interviews. Each IIM checks your interview score along with your past academic marks and work experience.
CAP includes four IIMs. These IIMs are IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Jammu, IIM Sirmaur, and IIM Nagpur. IIM Raipur, IIM Ranchi, IIM Kashipur, and IIM Trichy have shifted to a new process called JAP 2026, while IIM Udaipur follows its own independent interview process.
3. Institute-Level Application (Non-CAP IIMs)
Non-CAP IIMs refer to those Indian Institutes of Management that offer MBA admissions through their own independent, separate application and selection processes. They stand apart from the Centralised Common Admission Process (CAP) as they require unique application forms beyond just the CAT score.
The participating IIMs are:
IIM Ahmedabad
IIM Bangalore
IIM Calcutta
IIM Lucknow
IIM Kozhikode
IIM Indore
IIM Shillong
IIM Rohtak
IIM Mumbai (formerly NITIE)
IIM Amritsar
IIM Visakhapatnam
IIM Raipur
IIMs That Require a Separate Application Form (MBA/PGP)
There are Management Institutes in India that do not consider admission only after CAT registrations; for these separate application is necessary. To take admission in these IIMs, one needs to complete their additional application stage after the CAT results. For these institutions, CAT acts only as an eligibility gateway. Institute-level form is mandatory for consideration. The IIMs that need a separate application form for MBA and Post Graduate Programmes are listed below:
When Do Separate IIM Forms Open?
Students can access the forms, and students must follow some steps and stages when the CAT results are out. The candidates need to know that dates are different every year and vary from one IIM to another.
Note: Please note that dates are different every year and vary from one IIM to another. The candidates are advised to visit the official admission websites of individual IIMs regularly so that they do not miss any separate application deadline.
Common Mistakes Candidates Make While Filling Separate IIM Forms
There are many MBA aspirants who miss IIM interview calls not because their CAT percentiles are low, but because they have made application mistakes that could have been avoided. One common mistake is to think that just registering for CAT equals completing the application process of IIM, while in fact, this is not the case for non-CAP IIMs.
Also, many applicants fail to submit their applications by the strict deadlines of the institutes, which are hardly ever extended under any circumstances. Furthermore, discrepancies in academic or work-experience details between the CAT form and the individual IIM forms may be noticed and considered as a reason for the candidate's disqualification during the shortlisting or interview processes. It is very important to be careful, punctual, and consistent in all your applications if you want to remain eligible in the IIM admission process.
Incorrectly Assuming That the CAT Application Is All They Need - Some candidates wrongly think that registering for CAT is equivalent to completing the application for all the IIMs.
Unaware of the Separate Application Deadline - Usually, the deadlines are very strict, and they get extended.
Different Academic or Work Experience Entries at CAT and IIM Forms - Having different information on the CAT form and the IIM form might be regarded as an attempt to deceive and lead to disqualification.
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