Quick Summary:
This blog provides a detailed overview of the expected NEET 2026 qualifying marks for different categories. For the General category, the qualifying percentile is likely to be 50th, with scores ranging between 686 - 144. OBC, SC, and ST candidates may qualify with 40th percentile scores between 143 - 113, while General-PwD candidates are expected to need scores between 143 – 127(45th percentile). The blog also explains the NEET 2026 exam pattern, marking scheme (+4 for correct, -1 for incorrect), and emphasizes that official cutoff marks will be released in June 2026. Achieving these qualifying scores is essential for participating in counseling and securing admission in medical and dental colleges across India.
NEET Qualifying marks can be referred to as the minimum marks for NEET UG exams. The qualifying marks for NEET 2026 are the minimum required marks that are mentioned in the eligibility criteria for taking admission in MBBS. For the general category, the cutoff for NEET 2026 has not yet been disclosed. The NEET qualifying marks for the general category in the 2025 exam were 686 – 144 at the 50th percentile. The NEET qualifying marks are published by the NTA with the announcement of the NEET UG exam result. NEET Qualifying marks 2026 are the minimum marks that are required to be scored by the candidates to clear the NEET 2026 exam. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET UG is conducted for admission to undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH, and BSc courses.
The minimum qualifying marks for NEET UG 2026 to a Bachelor’s degree in Ayurvedic, Unani, and Siddha medicine of a candidate belonging to the SC/ST/OBC category shall be 40th percentile. PWD candidates who come under the General category need to get 45 percentile for NEET. 40 percentile is the lowest percentage of PWD candidates from the SC, ST, and OBC categories who need to score to successfully qualify for the NEET 2026 cut-off. The NEET qualifying marks or cutoff are used to determine a candidate’s eligibility for counselling and seat allotment. In the NEET scorecard, it will specify the minimum marks to qualify NEET exam. It is good to know the NEET qualifying marks, which will help aspirants plan their NEET studies.
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What is the NEET Qualifying Marks 2026?
The NEET 2026 Qualifying Marks are considered as the minimum marks that a candidate must score is known as the cutoff marks. Only those will be eligible for the NEET counselling 2026 who are going to score the NEET UG qualifying marks 2026. The NEET UG qualifying percentile is set by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and published with the result.
NEET UG Official Dates – NEET Cutoff Release Date
It is expected that the NEET UG cutoff will be released in June 2026. NTA has yet to announce the official release dates. Currently, the tentative date on which we can expect the official cutoff of NEET UG 2026 is June. Here, a table is provided that briefly describes the details of the NEET UG Cutoff or qualifying marks release date.
| Event | Date |
| Exam Date | May, 2026 |
| Provisional Answer Key Release | Fourth week of May 2026 |
| Result Declaration & Final Answer Key | By June 2026 |
| Cut-off Release (Tentative) | By June 2026 |
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NEET UG Marking Scheme 2026
NEET consist of 180 questions that are formed from three sections, namely Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. They come as multiple-choice questions. The NEET 2026 exam will be conducted in the pen and paper mode. Students who are planning to appear for the exam should analyse the NEET marking scheme before appearing for the exam.
The NEET UG marking scheme awards +4 marks for each correct answer and deducts -1 mark for each incorrect answer. Unattempted questions receive neither positive nor negative marks. The total marks for the NEET-UG exam are 720. Here is the NEET 2026 exam marking scheme.
| Response Type | Marks Awarded | Marks Deducted |
| Correct Response | +4 | 0 |
| Incorrect Response | 0 | -1 |
| No Response (Unattempt) | 0 | 0 |
NEET UG Cutoff Percentile 2026: Category-Wise
The NEET 2026 cut-off is yet to be announced. The NEET cutoff will probably be available by June 2026, and aspiring candidates can check it online. Cut off is delivered in 2 categories. The NEET cutoff of the first type is the 15% All India quota seats. The second category of NEET cutoff 2026 is for the 85% seats of state quota, where the remaining factor of the available seats is reserved. These percentile scores are important as only the candidates who have cleared the cut-off are eligible for the NEET 2026 counselling and seat allotment.
The percentile scores are calculated from the number of candidates who scored below or equal to a certain score. The formula is:
| Percentile = (Number of candidates with equal or lower score / Total number of candidates) × 100 |
Here is the table for NEET UG Cutoff Percentile 2026:
| Category | Qualifying Percentile |
| General/UR | 50th Percentile |
| EWS | 50th Percentile |
| OBC | 40th Percentile |
| SC | 40th Percentile |
| ST | 40th Percentile |
| UR-PwD | 45th Percentile |
| OBC/SC/ST Pwd | 40th Percentile |
NEET Qualifying Marks 2026
The NTA will release the NEET qualification marks 2026 after the result announcement. Looking at trends from last year, this year the need is to score over 600 marks in NEET for MBBS in government colleges in the year 2026. NEET Cut Off for Government Colleges: It is the opening and closing ranks within which government colleges grant admission. Aspirants must be familiar with the NEET qualification marks 2026 government colleges for future reference.
Read More:
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Category Wise Qualifying Marks for NEET 2026
The NEET passing marks for various categories of candidates will be declared simultaneously with the declaration of NEET results. The NEET UG 2026 examination will carry a total of 720 marks, and questions asked will be 180. Candidates who intend to secure seats in the government medical colleges should be aware of the NEET 2026 cut-off trends to assess their NEET cut-off 2026 rank. NEET UG 2026 Cutoff analysis and expected cutoff are here to help candidates who need to judge their approximate marks in NEET to perform well in an effective manner. NEET UG Cutoff scores are significant as only those who have qualified the Cutoff are eligible for the NEET 2026 counselling and seat allotment.
Check the table below for the expected category-wise qualifying marks for NEET 2026:
| Category | Predicted Cut-off Score Range |
| General/UR | 686 – 144 |
| EWS | 686 – 144 |
| OBC | 143 – 113 |
| SC | 143 – 113 |
| ST | 143 – 113 |
| UR-PwD | 143 – 127 |
| OBC/SC/ST PwD | 126 – 113 |
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Previous Year NEET Cutoff Trends- NEET qualifying marks
NEET cutoff trends and qualifying marks are the two sides of the same coin; aspirants who are going to appear in the upcoming exam are advised to check the NEET qualifying marks of previous years to analyse their admission chances for an expected scorecard/rank. This will also help them know the rise or fall in NEET UG cutoff trends in past years. And, going through the past trends also provides insights into the NEET qualifying score 2026, and candidates can prepare accordingly.
NEET Cutoff 2025
The NEET 2025 Cutoff for OBC, general, SC/ST, and others changes every year. Aspirants securing the cutoff scores as decided by the category will be considered as qualified in the NEET UG exam. The NEET cutoff 2025 for the MBBS government college was slightly on the higher side. Let’s understand the NEET Cutoff 2025 General, OBC and other categories mentioned in the table given below:
| Category | NEET Cut-off Score 2025 |
| UR/EWS | 686 – 144 |
| OBC | 143 – 113 |
| SC/ST | 143 – 113 |
| UR/EWS (PwD) | 143 – 127 |
| ST/OBC/SC (PwD) | 126 – 113 |
NEET Qualifying Marks: Previous Year Analysis
Scoring 400 marks is considered good for candidates belonging to the SC/ST category, and it is considered above average for the candidates belonging to the OBC category and not competitive for the candidates of the General category in the NEET exam. Candidates are required to score a minimum of 50% marks to qualify for the NEET exam. The qualifying marks for NEET 2025 will be released by NTA once the exam is over. In between this time, students can look at the previous year’s data related to qualifying marks in NEET.
- General category NEET qualifying marks 2025: Candidates who belong to the general category were required to score 50 percentile and were required to get a cutoff score between 686 – 144.
- General PWD category NEET qualifying marks 2025: Candidates who come under this category were required to secure 45 percentile and were required to score a cutoff between 143 – 127 to qualify for NEET UG.
- OBC, SC and ST category NEET qualifying marks 2025: Candidates who belonged to the ST/ST/OBC categories were required to obtain 40 percentile and a cutoff score between 143 – 113.
- OBC, SC and ST PWD category NEET qualifying marks 2025: Candidates who belonged to the OBC/SC/ST Pwd category were required to score 40 percentile to clear the NEET cutoff, and the qualifying marks in NEET in 2025 for this category were between 126 – 113.
NEET Cut-off Trends: Past Four Years
Candidates should be aware that the qualifying marks for NEET 2026 have been changing each year. These will help in creating a base of realistic targets for aspirants to gauge the probability of being in government medical colleges. Various elements, such as the number of candidates who applied for the exam, the difficulty level of the exam, and the number of seats, are there to influence the NEET marks 2026.
Elaborate NEET qualifying marks from 2021 to 2025 (year-wise and category-wise) NEET cut off are provided below:
| Category | 2025 Cut-off Marks | 2024 Cut-off Marks | 2023 Cut-off Marks | 2022 Cut-off Marks | 2021 Cut-off Marks |
| General (UR/EWS) | 686 – 144 | 720 – 162 | 720 – 137 | 715 – 117 | 720 – 138 |
| OBC/SC/ST | 143 – 113 | 161 – 127 | 136 – 107 | 116 – 93 | 137 – 108 |
| UR/EWS – PwD | 143 – 127 | 161 – 144 | 136 – 121 | 116 – 105 | 137 – 122 |
| OBC/SC/ST – PwD | 126 – 113 | 143 – 127 | 120 – 107 | 104 – 93 | 121 – 108 |
Causes of Change in Qualifying Marks for NEET 2026
- Number of Candidates: If the number of candidates in the examination is more than, it will increase the competition, and that will affect the qualifying marks for NEET 2026.
- Exam Difficulty Level: If the level of the exam is tougher than the overall score will decrease, which will bring down the cutoff marks for NEET. On the other hand, if the level of the exam is simple, then it will raise the overall cutoff score.
- Seat Availability: This is also one of the most prominent factors because the total number of seats available directly influences the overall cutoff score.
- Reservation Policies: Category-based reservation affects the seat allocation, and it also affects the overall cutoff marks because candidates of SC/ST/OBC have to score comparatively lower to qualify for NEET as comparatively to general candidates.
Building an understanding of such trends helps the NEET aspirants in making better strategies in their preparation, it also helps in setting realistic goals and helps to evaluate the scenario of medical admissions that are now becoming highly competitive.
FAQs on NEET Qualifying Marks 2026
Q1. How many marks are required for NEET in 2026?
Ans. The estimated cutoff for general category students is 686 – 144 in NEET 2026 for admission to Government and Private medical colleges in India..
Q2. What are the cutoff marks for NEET 2026?
Ans. Cutoff marks of NEET 2026 are the lowest marks that are required for admission to medical courses. The candidates can look for the release of the NEET cutoff in June 2026 for 15% All India quota seats and 85% state quota seats.
Q3. What are the qualifying marks for NEET 2026?
Ans. The expected qualifying marks for NEET 2026 for the general category are 686 – 144 marks out of a total of 720.
Q4. What will be the qualifying marks for NEET 2026?
Ans. The qualifying marks for NEET 2026 will be announced in June 2026 with the release of the NEET score cards.
Q5. What are the minimum marks to qualify for the NEET 2026 Exam?
Ans. The minimum qualifying marks for NEET 2026 are 686 – 144 for General, 143 – 113 for SC/ST/OBC, 143 – 127 for General-PwD, and the official announcement related to that will be released after the results by NTA.
Q6. How to Check NEET Cutoff 2026?
Ans. You can see category-wise NEET Cut Off 2026 here on the official NTA NEET website, neet.nta.nic.in.
Q7. What are the NEET 2026 Cutoff Determining Factors?
Ans. Various factors influence the NEET UG Cut Off, such as several test-takers, difficulty level, seat availability, etc.
