The candidates appearing for XAT 2026 must know the detailed eligibility criteria so that they can prepare accordingly. The XAT eligibility defines the age limit, educational qualification, and other aspects required to appear for the exam. The XAT Exam 2026 will be held on January 4, 2026. Candidates should get this done before beginning the application process.

• The XAT 2026 has a three-level selection process - an online examination followed by a GD and PI round.
• During the examination, candidates will have to answer a total of 100 questions. There is also a negative marking of 0.25 for every correct answer so candidates must be careful which questions they attempt.
• Candidates need to get marks that cross the Cut-Off marks in the online exam to progress to the next tier.
• The exam is usually scheduled to take place at the first weekend of the month of January.

Check out XAT Answer Key Details here! 

XAT Eligibility Criteria 2026

Here are the details of each of the Eligibility Conditions that all students must be aware of. Candidates should qualify each of these mentioned here to be eligible for application for XAT.

Educational Qualification for XAT

All candidates applying for XAT must hold a bachelor’s degree in any field from any university recognized by the Indian government. Their bachelor’s course should be a minimum of 3 years in duration. There are no for the result of your bachelor’s degree but a candidate must be declared ‘Passed’ for them to be eligible for XAT.

A candidate may even apply if they are currently studying in the last year of their college, but their application would stand as ‘Cancelled’ if they fail to pass in their final result. All backlogs must be cleared before the concerned candidate seeks admission through XAT.

Here are some Tips to Prepare for XAT 2026

XAT Age Limit

There is no age limit for candidates to be eligible for the application in XAT Exam 2026. Candidates of any age fulfilling other eligibility criteria, such as educational qualifications and nationality, may apply for XAT 2026. 

Nationality

Indian individuals are free to apply for Xaviers’ Aptitude Test 2026. They may even apply to other XLRI courses, such as Ex-PGDM, etc., through their scores in GMAT/GRE examinations. For students from abroad, NRIs or Persons of Indian origin may apply to Xaviers’ through their GMAT/GRE scores only.

The following category of people may use their GMAT/GRE scores they got in the period between December 01, 2016, and December 31, 2021, to seek admissions in the following XLRI programs

1. NRI candidates who are interested in applying to BM, HRM, or Ex-PGDM.
2. Indians who are interested in applying to Ex-PGDM.

If you are preparing for the exam then you can download XAT Previous Year Papers here! 

Number of Attempts

There is no limit on the number of attempts an individual is allowed to take for Xavier’s Aptitude Test. Candidates may take the test as many times as they wish, provided they are fulfilling other eligibility such as Nationality, Educational qualifications, etcetera. 

Know which XAT Books to refer to for the test.

Who is Not Eligible for XAT 2026?

The XAT Eligibility is listed by the XLRI. Based on the eligibility mentioned, the following candidates will not be eligible to apply for XAT. Here is the list: 

• 1980s graduates or ones with a 2-year bachelor's degree.
• Candidates who fail to pay their registration fees within the given time limit.
• Candidates whose final year of examination will not end by June 2026.
• Candidates who graduated from an unrecognized institution.

Know when XAT 2026 Results will be announced.

Reservation in XAT 

Xaviers’ Labour Relations Institute does not provide any caste or ethnicity-based reservation for admission to its management courses through the XAT exam. But it does offer a quota for female candidates. The reservation policy may be different in other colleges participating in Xaviers’ Aptitude Test for candidates’ admission to their college. Candidates may check individual college websites to determine their reservation policy. 

There is no concession granted to individuals of SC/ST/OBC or other categories for the application fees of their XAT forms. Neither are there any relaxations whatsoever. Each candidate must pay the same amount of money for their application and share the same eligibility . 

Based on past year observations, it is safe to say that the eligibility for XAT has not been changed in years and will most likely remain the same for the upcoming exam as well. But we strongly advise candidates to keep checking the official XAT website to keep track of any changes in the pattern. We hope you found this article useful. download the Testbook app now to get access to Testbook resources quickly.