NEET UG 2026 Cut-off and Qualifying Marks, Category-wise

"NEET cut-off" is used for two different things. One is the qualifying cut-off that NTA publishes with the result: the minimum score you need to be eligible for counselling. The other is the closing rank or score at which seats actually fill in MCC or state counselling. This post covers the first one, using only NTA's own figures, and explains how it relates to the second.

NEET UG 2026 at a glance

NEET (UG) 2026 was held on 21 June 2026, and NTA declared the result on 16 July 2026. Separately, a 14 July 2026 NTA public notice covers the refund of the examination fee for the NEET (UG) 2026 examination held on 3 May 2026. These are the headline numbers from NTA for the 21 June exam:

• Registered: 22,79,743 candidates
• Appeared: 19,99,895
• Qualified: 11,21,185
• Highest score: 715 out of 720, shared by two candidates
• Score spread: 19 candidates scored above 700, 1,492 scored 650 or more, 10,160 scored 600 or more and 90,780 scored 500 or more

The exam was held in 13 languages at 5,440 centres in 551 Indian cities and 14 cities abroad.

NEET UG 2026 qualifying marks, category-wise

The qualifying standard is a percentile, not a fixed mark, so NTA publishes a marks range for each category after the result. In NTA's table, the bottom of each range is the minimum score that met the percentile.

So the minimum qualifying score in 2026 was:

• 213 for UR and EWS candidates
• 177 for OBC, SC and ST candidates
• 194 for UR/EWS candidates with a benchmark disability (PwBD)
• 177 for OBC, SC and ST candidates with a benchmark disability

How to read the "candidates" column. NTA's table does not spell this out, but the figures suggest the UR/EWS row counts every candidate who scored 213 or more, whatever their category. That row (9,96,935) is far larger than the number of General and EWS candidates who qualified (2,91,133 and 95,026, per NTA's category-wise table), and the eight rows add up exactly to the 11,21,185 total. On that reading, the OBC, SC and ST rows count only reserved-category candidates who scored between 177 and 212: 5,12,014 OBC candidates qualified in total, of whom 81,111 fall in the 212–177 band, which implies the rest scored 213 or more.

NEET qualifying marks: 2024, 2025 and 2026 compared

The percentile rules have not changed across these three years. The marks have, because a percentile depends on how everyone else scored.

Three things stand out:

• The 2026 minimum for UR/EWS went up by 69 marks over 2025, from 144 to 213. The OBC/SC/ST minimum went up by 64 marks, from 113 to 177.
• Fewer candidates took the exam. 22,09,318 appeared in 2025 and 19,99,895 in 2026, and 12,36,531 and 11,21,185 qualified. Because the standard is a percentile of the candidates' scores, a smaller field generally means fewer qualifiers.
• A higher qualifying mark is not a simple measure of difficulty. Since the UR/EWS line is the 50th percentile, a higher mark in 2026 reflects higher scores across the group that year. Do not use one year's qualifying mark as a target for the next.

Qualifying cut-off vs admission cut-off

This is where most confusion comes from.

The NTA qualifying cut-off decides only whether you are eligible to take part in counselling. NTA's press release says its job is to conduct the exam, declare the result on the eligibility criteria provided by the National Medical Commission (NMC), and issue the All-India Rank. It adds that merit lists, category lists, domicile and counselling are for the admitting and state authorities, and that NTA has no role in them.

The admission cut-off is the rank or score of the last candidate given a seat in a particular round, college, course, quota and category. It is decided by counselling, not by NTA:

• MBBS and BDS, All-India Quota: the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), at mcc.nic.in.
• State quota seats: each state's own counselling authority, with its own domicile and reservation rules.
• BAMS, BUMS, BSMS and BHMS, All-India Quota: AACCC.
• NEET (UG) scores are also used for B.Sc. (Hons) Nursing and for BVSc and AH under the VCI quota.

Closing ranks are a counselling matter and differ by college, round, quota and category. We do not list them here. Check the official counselling websites for the round you care about.

The gap between the two numbers is large. In 2026, a UR candidate needed 213 to qualify, but 90,780 candidates scored 500 or more. Qualifying puts you in the counselling pool. Your rank decides what, if anything, you are offered.

What these numbers mean for 2027 aspirants

• Do not aim for the qualifying mark. It only gets you into counselling. What you are offered depends on your rank, category, quota and the seats available in each round.
• Expect the qualifying mark to move. In three years the UR/EWS minimum was 162, 144 and 213. It is set by the percentile, not chosen in advance.
• Know your category. Your qualifying percentile (50th, 45th or 40th) depends on your category and PwBD status.
• Use the official result data. NTA, MCC and state counselling sites are the only sources that count. NTA's press release warns candidates about calls or messages offering seat blocking or score improvement.

To see where your preparation stands, look at the NEET UG cut-off page for the official figures, go over the NEET UG exam pattern and the marking scheme, and solve NEET UG previous year papers under timed conditions. You can then take subject tests such as the NEET UG physics mock test. All our NEET resources are on the NEET UG page.