OPENMAT is a national-level entrance exam to get enrolled in courses like MBA and PGDM in IGNOU. Students need to clear the entrance exam to take admission in MBA/PGDM, and the admission is based upon both the OPENMAT score and the graduation score.
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IGNOU OPENMAT 2026: Exam Highlights
IGNOU conducts the OPENMAT exam twice a year, i.e., one for the January session and the other one for the July session. Due to the condition of the 2020 pandemic, OPENMAT was postponed and it was about to happen in April instead of January, but now this date has also been postponed.
The updated dates of IGNOU OPENMAT are yet to be announced and students need to check the official site of IGNOU for the same. Furthermore, IGNOU OPENMAT is conducted by the National Testing Agency and the score of the exam is valid for up to 1 year which means the OPENMAT score of January will be valid in the June session as well.
OPENMAT is an important exam for MBA in Ignou aspirants and these are the major highlights for students below:
| Features | Details |
| Exam Name | OPEN MBA Admission Test or OPENMAT |
| Exam Conducting Authority | Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)/National Testing Agency |
| Exam Conducted for | Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) |
| Exam Mode | Computer-Based Test mode |
| Frequency of exam | Twice a year |
| Exam Duration | Three hours |
| Courses offered | MBA/PGDM (various specializations) |
| Exam Date | April 11, 2021 |
| Score validity | One year (for two sessions)
|
| Official website | www.ignou.ac.in |
OPENMAT Eligibility Criteria
There are certain criteria to check whether the student is eligible for IGNOU OPENMAT or not.
OPENMAT is for courses like MBA and PGDM of IGNOU and hence students need to have some prior educational qualifications to appear for MBA/PGDM entrance.
Educational Qualifications
- A graduation degree of 3 years in any discipline.
- Courses like CA/CS/Cost Accountancy along with the graduation degree.
- The graduation score must be at least 50% for the unreserved category and 45% for the reserved category.
Age Limit
There is no age limit for the OPENMAT exam.
Read: Why MBA through Distance Education?
OPENMAT Important Dates
There are some important dates related to the application and commencement of OPENMAT but unfortunately, IGNOU was not able to conduct the OPENMAT exam on the given date which was 11th April 2021. Hence, there will be a different date for IGNOU OPENMAT that will be announced later.
Events | Dates |
| Application process starts | 03-Mar-2021 |
| Application process ends | 25-Mar-2021 |
| IGNOU OPENMAT 2021 Admit Card | 06-Apr-2021 |
| IGNOU OPENMAT 2021 Exam | 11-Apr-2021 |
Courses offered through OPENMAT
Students often get confused regarding when they need to give an entrance exam for any distance learning course.
Although it is to be very clear that OPENMAT of IGNOU is only constrained to MBA and PGDM programs, still there is this entire list of the programs for which you need to give OPENMAT.
Program Details | Course Duration |
| Master of Business Administration (MBA) | Minimum 2 & Maximum 5 years |
| PG Diploma in Human Resource Management (PGDHRM) | Minimum 2 & Maximum 3 years |
| PG Diploma in Financial Management (PGDFM) | Minimum 1 & Maximum 3 years |
| PG Diploma in Operations Management (PGDOM) | Minimum 1 & Maximum 3 years |
| PG Diploma in Marketing Management (PGDMM) | Minimum 1 & Maximum 3 years |
| PG Diploma in Finance Markets Practice (PGDFMP) | Minimum 1 & Maximum 3 years |
OPENMAT Selection Process
The selection in MBA/PGDM is based on the OPENMAT score and check the given steps to give the OPENMAT exam.
- Online Registration: Students need to register themselves on the website of IGNOU for the OPENMAT exam. The online registration process is pretty simple and includes the following steps:
- Visit the official site of IGNOU.
- Fill the form with required details like contact details, qualifications, chosen program, exam center, and so & so forth.
- Submit fees online.
- Cross-check all the details.
- Submit the application form.
- Download OPENMAT admit card: Students are advised to check the admit card dates timely on the website. Once the admit card becomes available on the IGNOU website, students can download that and have a printed copy of it.
- Appear for OPENMAT exam: IGNOU announces the dates for its OPENMAt exam on the website and students need to appear for it in the exam center chosen by them. Students are required to bring their admit cards on the day of their exam. The exam will be for 3 hours and there will be 200 MCQs from subjects like Quantitative Aptitude, English Language, Reasoning, and General Awareness.
- Time for the OPENMAT result: Students can check their OPENMAT result on the official website of IGNOU by entering their login details. The final admission is based on the OPENMAT cut-offs.
- Apply for Admission: Candidates who qualify for the exam need to apply for admission to the regional director of the IGNOU regional center. Students can download the admission form from the prospectus of MBA/PGDM and submit it to their regional center of IGNOU. Read: Why An Online MBA?
OPENMAT Exam Centers 2026
State/UT | S.No. | Test Cities |
| Andaman and Nicobar | 01 | Port Blair |
| 02 | Kurnool | |
| 03 | Tirupati | |
| 04 | Vijayawada | |
| 05 | Visakhapatnam | |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 06 | Naharlagun/Itanagar |
| Assam | 07 | Guwahati |
| 08 | Silchar | |
| Bihar | 09 | Darbhanga |
| 10 | Bhagalpur | |
| 11 | Patna | |
| 12 | Purnia (Purnea) | |
| Chandigarh | 13 | Chandigarh/Mohali |
| Chhattisgarh | 14 | Bilaspur |
| 15 | Raipur | |
| Delhi | 16 | Delhi |
| Goa | 17 | Goa |
| Gujarat | 18 | Ahmedabad |
| 19 | Gandhinagar | |
| 20 | Rajkot | |
| 21 | Mehsana | |
| 22 | Surat | |
| 23 | Vadodara | |
| Haryana | 24 | Ambala |
| 25 | Kurukshetra | |
| 26 | Gurugram | |
| 27 | Karnal | |
| 28 | Faridabad | |
| Himachal Pradesh | 29 | Shimla |
| 30 | Hamirpur | |
| 31 | Kangra | |
| Jammu & Kashmir | 32 | Jammu |
| 33 | Srinagar | |
| Jharkhand | 34 | Dhanbad |
| 35 | Jamshedpur | |
| 36 | Ranchi | |
| Karnataka | 37 | Bangalore |
| 38 | Belgaum | |
| 39 | Gulbarga | |
| 40 | Hubli | |
| 41 | Mangaluru | |
| 42 | Manipal | |
| 43 | Mysore | |
| Kerala | 44 | Thrissur |
| 45 | Thiruvananthapuram | |
| 46 | Ernakulam/Kochi | |
| 47 | Kannur | |
| 48 | Kottayam | |
| 49 | Kollam | |
| 50 | KozhiKode | |
| Madhya Pradesh | 51 | Gwalior |
| 52 | Jabalpur | |
| 53 | Bhopal | |
| 54 | Indore | |
| Maharashtra | 55 | Mumbai/Navi Mumbai |
| 56 | Nagpur | |
| 57 | Pune | |
| 58 | Aurangabad | |
| 59 | Nanded | |
| 60 | Nasik | |
| 61 | Amravati | |
| Manipur | 62 | Imphal |
| Meghalaya | 63 | Shillong |
| Mizoram | 64 | Aizwal |
| Nagaland | 65 | Kohima |
| Odisha | 66 | Bhubaneshwar |
| 67 | Sambalpur | |
| 68 | Balasore | |
| 69 | Cuttack | |
| 70 | Rourkela | |
| 71 | Berhampur-Ganjam | |
| 72 | Dhenkanal | |
| 73 | Jeypore | |
| Punjab | 74 | Amritsar |
| 75 | Bhatinda | |
| 76 | Ludhiana | |
| 77 | Patiala | |
| Rajasthan | 78 | Jaipur |
| 79 | Jodhpur | |
| 80 | Udaipur | |
| 81 | Ajmer | |
| 82 | Bikaner | |
| Sikkim | 83 | Gangtok |
| Tamil Nadu | 84 | Chennai |
| 85 | Coimbatore | |
| 86 | Madurai | |
| 87 | Tirunelveli | |
| Telangana | 88 | Hyderabad |
| 89 | Warangal | |
| Tripura | 90 | Agartala |
| Uttar Pradesh | 91 | Lucknow |
| 92 | Varanasi | |
| 93 | Allahabad | |
| 94 | Bareilly | |
| 95 | Ghaziabad | |
| 96 | Noida/Gr Noida | |
| 97 | Agra | |
| 98 | Aligarh | |
| 99 | Kanpur | |
| 100 | Meerut | |
| Uttarakhand | 101 | Dehradun |
| 102 | Roorkee | |
| 103 | Haldwani | |
| West Bengal | 104 | Kolkata |
| 105 | Siliguri | |
| 106 | Kalyani |
OPENMAT Exam Day Guidelines
- Keep the printout of your downloaded admit card, scanned and photocopy of the admit card will not be accepted.
- Reach your exam center at least before 1 hour of the commencement of the exam.
- Carry your ID proofs along with your Photo ID, your ID proofs can be:-
- Aadhar card
- Voter ID card
- Pan Card
- Passport
- Driving license
- You are not allowed to carry any electronic gadget to the exam hall
Read: Salary MBA In India!
