AMCAT Exam 2026: Fees, Test Pattern, Dates, and Eligibility

AMCAT is a year-round aptitude test you can book at 50+ centers across India, with no percentage cutoff and no college-tier filter to register.

The test is run by SHL India, which acquired Aspiring Minds in 2019 and continues to operate AMCAT under both names. The platform feeds scores to a network of employers that use AMCAT as a first-screen tool in their fresher hiring.

This article covers the logistics layer: who can sit the exam, when and where slots are available, what the fee covers, and how the test is structured from a format and timing standpoint. For a topic-by-topic breakdown of what each section actually tests, see the companion module-wise AMCAT syllabus guide.

Who Can Take AMCAT

The eligibility bar is deliberately low. SHL India designed AMCAT as a skills-first screen, not a credentials filter. The practical requirements are:

• Degree: Any graduate (B.E., B.Tech, B.Sc., BCA, B.Com, BA) or a student in the final year of their undergraduate or postgraduate programme.
• Stream: Any engineering branch (CSE, ECE, EEE, Mech, Civil, IT, AIDS) and any non-engineering discipline. AMCAT is used across IT, ITeS, banking, finance, pharma, retail, and manufacturing hiring.
• Percentage: No cutoff. Your AMCAT score is what the recruiter sees, not your CGPA.
• College tier: No filter. Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 colleges are all eligible equally.
• Backlog history: SHL India does not screen for backlogs at registration. Individual companies may ask about backlogs at the application or interview stage, but the test itself is open to all.
• Age: No upper age limit. Working professionals with a few years of experience can also take AMCAT for career transition purposes.

Two points worth knowing before you register. First, you need a valid government ID (Aadhaar, PAN, passport, or driving licence) for center entry. Second, if you are booking an AMCAT through a college placement cell that has a bulk agreement with SHL India, the fee may differ from the standard public rate.

Exam Dates and Test Centers

AMCAT is not a twice-a-year exam like GATE or TCS NQT. Slots run throughout the calendar year, six days a week in most cities.

There are currently 50+ designated test centers across India, concentrated in metro cities (Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi NCR) and in Tier-2 cities that have large engineering college clusters (Coimbatore, Nagpur, Jaipur, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Chandigarh). The full updated list is on the test-center booking page at myamcat.com.

Seasonal Demand

Slots fill fastest during two windows:

• August to November: coincides with the on-campus placement season for final-year students. Companies roll out their drives during this period and students registering for AMCAT want a recent score to attach to applications.
• January to March: a second wave of off-campus drives and lateral hiring by service firms. Students who missed the first wave or want to improve their score typically retake during this window.

If your target companies’ drives start in September, book your AMCAT slot in July. Waiting until August to book for a September drive means fewer center options and more competition for afternoon or weekend slots.

On-Campus vs. Public Test Center

If your college has a partnership with SHL India, you may sit the AMCAT on campus during a scheduled college drive. On-campus drives usually cover the mandatory aptitude sections and one pre-selected domain module (often the IT domain for engineering colleges). If you need a different domain module, or if your college does not run a drive, book directly at myamcat.com.

Registration Steps and Fee Breakdown

Booking the AMCAT takes about 15 minutes online. The flow:

• Step 1: Create an account at myamcat.com with your name, email, phone, and educational details.
• Step 2: Select your preferred test city and center, choose a date and time slot from the available calendar, and pick your optional domain module(s) if applicable.
• Step 3: Pay the exam fee and receive a booking confirmation by email.
• Step 4: Carry your printed or PDF confirmation slip and a valid government ID to the test center on the day.

Fee Structure

Item	Amount
AMCAT base fee (mandatory sections + 1 domain module)	₹1,110
GST (18%)	₹188
Total per sitting	₹1,298
Score report (included)	0
Job recommendations via portal (included for 1 year)	0

If you add a second optional domain module at booking, there is an incremental add-on fee. Check the current per-module pricing at myamcat.com before selecting, as SHL India has revised the add-on rates periodically.

Retest Policy

• You must wait 45 days between sittings.
• Maximum three sittings in any 12-month rolling window.
• Your most recent score, not your highest, is what companies see when you apply through the AMCAT portal. Retake only when your preparation has meaningfully improved.

Test Pattern: Sections, Timing, and Scoring

AMCAT is a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT). The difficulty of each question is determined by how you answered the previous one. Correct answers push the next question to a higher difficulty band; incorrect answers pull it down. This means two candidates in the same test session may see questions of different difficulty levels even within the same section.

Section Structure

Section	Type	Questions	Time
English Language	Compulsory, adaptive	18	16 min
Quantitative Aptitude	Compulsory, adaptive	16	16 min
Logical Reasoning	Compulsory, adaptive	24	35 min
Personality Inventory	Compulsory, non-adaptive	90	25 min
Domain module (e.g., Computer Programming, Electronics)	Optional, adaptive	15–25	20–35 min

Personality Inventory is not scored in the traditional sense; it feeds a behavioural profile that companies may use for job-fit matching but it does not contribute to the percentile score on your certificate. There is no right or wrong answer in the Personality section.

Scoring Mechanics

• Each adaptive section is scored on a 0 to 900 scale, reported as a percentile against the population of test-takers in the same period.
• There is no negative marking. An incorrect answer does not subtract from your score; it adjusts the next question’s difficulty instead.
• You cannot skip questions or return to previous questions within a section. Once you submit an answer, the next question is generated based on it.
• Final scores are available within 24 to 48 hours of the test.

Time Management Reality

The section time limits look generous on paper until you factor in the adaptive mechanics. Easy questions early can lull candidates into slow pacing; then the harder questions at the end catch them short on time. The disciplined approach: spend no more than 60 seconds on any individual question in English and Quant, no more than 90 seconds in Logical Reasoning. If you hit that limit, move on. Unanswered questions at section end hurt your score more than a wrong answer.

For representative questions from past AMCAT sessions and the topic distribution within each section, see the AMCAT previous papers and most-repeated questions article. If you want to understand how AMCAT compares to eLitmus in format and scoring philosophy, the AMCAT vs eLitmus comparison has a side-by-side breakdown.

What Your Score Means and What Comes Next

SHL India shares your score report with employers who have subscribed to the AMCAT hiring network, which covers 3,000+ employers in India per the platform’s published figures. The report shows your percentile in each compulsory section and any domain module you took. Companies use these to set a shortlist; those who score above the cutoff get an interview invitation through the AMCAT portal.

Score validity is one year. The portal lets you apply to job postings directly, and companies can also search for candidates who match their score criteria. There is no fee to apply to jobs via the AMCAT portal; the one-time test fee covers access for the full year.

After You Clear the Aptitude Screen

Clearing AMCAT’s aptitude threshold gets you into the interview funnel, but it is only the first gate. The companies that use AMCAT for volume hiring in IT and ITeS are increasingly running a second screen post-aptitude: coding tests, communication assessments, or (as of 2025 and 2026) specific questions about AI tool fluency. According to SHL India’s employer network reporting, the profile of companies accessing AMCAT scores has shifted toward firms with digital transformation mandates, not just back-office hiring.

If you are planning for a role beyond service-tier IT (analytics, product engineering, or client-facing technology work), the AMCAT aptitude score is table stakes. The next differentiator is whether you can demonstrate practical AI tool skills. The 2026 AI roadmap for Indian engineering students maps out what that second layer actually requires and which skills are verifiable rather than merely listed on a resume.

Candidates who land the better offer letters show up with working projects alongside their test scores. If you want to test the AI-skills layer at low commitment before deciding on a longer programme, TinkerLLM is a ₹299 entry point with hands-on LLM exercises.