NEET 2026 age limit is one of eligibility criteria that candidates must fulfill to apply for the exam. The minimum NEET age limit is 17 years and there is no upper age limit in the exam. Also, there is no limit on the number of attempts a student can take the NEET UG 2026 exam. Check here NEET age limit for OBC, General, SC, ST and PwD category.
NEET Age Limit 2026 for General & Reserved Categories
The NEET UG 2026 registration is ongoing on the official website- neet.nta.nic.in. Candidates who fulfill the NEET eligibility criteria 2026 in terms of nationality, age limit and educational qualification can apply for the exam. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has notified the NEET 2026 age limit for general and reserved category candidates, based on the regulations of the National Medical Commission (NMC) and Dental Council of India (DCI). The age criteria plays important role in the exam. Students need to attain the minimum age limit before the completion date. Check below the NEET age limit 2026 for General, OBC, SC, ST and PwD categories. Also, know the details regarding the NEET age limit date of birth, upper age limit, limit on number of attempts, age criteria for girls and foreign nationals, etc.
The NEET notification 2026 clearly states that the NTA reserves the right to withdraw permission to a candidate who is not eligible to appear in the exam even though his/her admit card is issued. Hence, candidates must abide by the age limit guidelines and then fill the NEET application form 2026.
Also Read: NEET Registration 2026 LIVE @neet.nta.nic.in
- NEET 2026 Age Limit in India: Highlights
- NEET Minimum Age Limit 2026
- Category-Wise NEET Age Limit 2026: General, OBC, SC, ST & PwD
- What is the Maximum Age Limit for NEET 2026 Exam?
- NEET Age Limit for Girls
- NEET UG 2026 Limit on Number of Attempts
NEET 2026 Age Limit in India: Highlights
Candidates planning to appear for the NEET UG 2026 exam to get admission to MBBS, BDS, Dental, BAMS, BSMS, BUMS and BHMS courses should go through the highlights of the NEET age limit 2026 in India below-
| Feature |
Details |
|---|---|
| Exam Name |
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) |
| Conducting Body |
National Testing Agency (NTA) |
| Age Criteria By |
NMC & DCI |
| Minimum Age Limit |
17 years |
| Maximum Age Limit |
No upper age limit |
| Minimum Age Completion Date |
On or before 31-Dec-2026 |
| Date of Birth Eligibility |
Born on or before 31-Dec-2009 |
| Age Criteria for OBC, SC, ST, PwD |
Same as for General category |
| Age Limit for Girls |
Same as for boys or male candidates |
Also Read: NEET UG APAAR ID 2026: How to Make it for Registration?
Commonly asked questions
The NEET 2026 cutoff is released along with the results. The NTA released the NEET UG cutoff marks based on the difficulty level. Till then, take a look at the NEET 2025 cutoff for reference.
| Category | Cut off percentile | Cut off marks |
| UR/EWS | 50th Percentile | 715–213 |
| OBC | 40th Percentile | 212–177 |
| SC | 40th Percentile | 212–177 |
| ST | 40th Percentile | 212–177 |
| SC/OBC - PwD | 40th percentile | 193 - 177 |
| ST - PwD | 40th Percentile | 191 - 178 |
The NEET cut off score generally changes every year, based on the exam difficulty level. The NEET 2025 cut off score was reduced from that of 2024. Have a look at the cut off scores of NEET 2025 exam below-
Category | NEET 2025 Cutoff percentile | NEET 2025 Cutoff score |
|---|---|---|
UR/EWS | 50th | 686-144 |
OBC, SC, ST | 40th | 143-113 |
UR/EWS-PwD | 45th | 143-127 |
OBC/SC/St-PwD | 40th | 126-113 |
Candidates need to obtain the NEET exam pass marks to clear the exam. The minimum NEET cutoff percentile that candidates must obtain is shared below-
Category | NEET Cut off percentile |
|---|---|
UR/EWS | 50th |
OBC, SC, ST | 40th |
UR/EWS-PwD | 45th |
OBC/SC/St-PwD | 40th |
The factors that determine the NEET cutoff scores are-
- Total number of appearing candidates
- Difficulty level of the examination
- Performance of the candidates
- Number of seats available:
NEET Minimum Age Limit 2026
The NTA has notified the NEET age limit 2026 in terms of minimum age and upper age limit. The minimum age limit for NEET is 17 years. Candidates who are born on or before December 21, 2009, are eligible for NEET 2026. However, Candidates need to make sure that they complete their age of 17 years before December 31, 2026. Have a look at the details regarding NEET date of birth eligibility and age limit completion date below-
| NEET 2026 Age Eligibility Criteria |
Date |
|---|---|
| Date of birth |
Born on or before December 31, 2009 |
| Age completion date |
on or before December 31, 2016 |
Category-Wise NEET Age Limit 2026: General, OBC, SC, ST & PwD
The age criteria for all the categories remains the same in NEET 2026 exam. There is no NEET age limit relaxation for reserved category candidates. To have a better understanding, have a look at the NEET UG 2026 age limit for General, OBC, SC, ST and PwD categories below-
| Category |
Minimum Age Limit |
Upper Age Limit |
|---|---|---|
| General |
17 years |
No limit |
| OBC |
17 years |
No limit |
| SC |
17 years |
No limit |
| ST |
17 years |
No limit |
| EWS |
17 years |
No limit |
| PwD |
17 years |
No limit |
Commonly asked questions
The NEET syllabus is huge. The 80/20 rule in NEET means that students should study smarter by focusing on 20% of the high-value topics which may form 80% of the NEET question paper.
Yes, candidates can get MBBS with 80,000 rank. However, such candidates can only take admission in private MBBS colleges, deemed universities or through management/ NRI quota.
Read More:
The NEET 2025 cutoff was released along with the result on June 14, 2025. The NEET cutoff for each candidate category was mentioned on the result PDF. The NTA lowered the NEET cut off 2025 as the level of difficulty was higher and the number of test-takers was lower.
RIMS Imphal cutoff 2022 was 53109 for General category candidates in All India quota for BDS - Bachelor of Dental Surgery. RIMS Imphal admission 2023 to MBBS course is based on NEET 2023 scores followed by NEET Counselling 2023. Conducted by the MCC, NEET UG Counselling is to be held in multiple rounds. Further, NEET cut off varies depending on the category and domicile/quota of the applicant.
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What is the Maximum Age Limit for NEET 2026 Exam?
The NEET UG exam does not have any upper age limit. The NEET upper age limit criteria was removed by the NMC on March 9, 2022. Thus, candidates who are 40 years old or 50 years old and fulfill all other NEET eligibility criteria 2026 can apply for the exam.
Also Read: Documents Required for NEET 2026 Application Form
NEET Age Limit for Girls
For NEET UG 2026 exam, the minimum age limit for girls or female candidates is 17 years. The NEET age limit for girls is the same as that of boys or male applicants. There is no NEET maximum age limit for females. The NTA does not provide gender-based age relaxation norms for females in NEET exam.
Commonly asked questions
The category-wise NEET cutoff percentile is given in the table below:
Category | NEET Cut Off Percentile |
|---|---|
General Category/Unreserved (UR) Category | 50 |
OBC/SC/ST | 40 |
PwD (General/UR) | 45 |
PwD (Reserved) | 40 |
The AIIMS accepts NEET scores for admission to the MBBS. Students need to obtain the NEET cut off percentile and scores to get shortlisted for counselling in AIIMS MBBS course. The NEET 2025 cutoff scores for generally category was 686-144. So, a general category student with 550 marks cannot take admissions to AIIMS.
According to the reports, this year saw the highest number of NEET applications and appearance for the exam. A total of 24,06,079 candidates applied for the exam, out of which 23,33,297 candidates appeared. The exam was originally conducted on May 5, 2024, in 571 cities across India and abroad. A re-test for 1,563 candidates who were awarded grace marks on May 5, was conducted on June 23, 2024. In this exam, 813 candidates had appeared.
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NEET UG 2026 Limit on Number of Attempts
The NTA has not fixed the limit on number of attempts in the NEET UG 2026 exam. Candidates can appear in the NTA NEET exam as many times as they want till they obtain the desired scores.
Read More:
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 5 days ago
NITTE University BDS NEET Cutoff 2026 for Round 4 was 551546 for General AI Category. Check the table below for BDS NEET Cutoff in past years:
| Course | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) | 560271 | 67414 | 551546 |
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
Yes, in many cases. Allied health guides say many institutes admit on Class 12 PCB merit, with no NEET needed. Integral University lists its own entrance test, JUET. But one listing site names NEET for another Lucknow institute. So the rule is not the same everywhere. Read the admission page of your
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
No, you do not need NEET for a B.Sc in Microbiology. For most B.Sc courses, colleges use your Plus Two marks to make the rank list. The University of Kerala says no entrance exam is needed for most of the Microbiology programmes. You apply online through the university's CAP portal.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
If one has a rank of 9K, they might be admitted to the MBBS course at AIIMS Raebareli under SC, ST and PwD categories. The highest accepted ranks for these categories are 27539, 35875 and 156421, respectively according to AIIMS Raebareli NEET cutoff 2026.
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No national exam like NEET is not needed for B.Sc Forensic Science. For a related field, criminology and forensic law colleges in Tamil Nadu, admission is mostly based on merit in the qualifying exam. Some deemed universities may hold their own entrance test or interview.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, in most colleges. NCAHP said NEET UG will not be mandatory for BPT and BOT in the 2026-27 session. Many colleges admit through Class 12 PCB marks or their own tests. Top government colleges like KGMU still use NEET. Check each college's notice. Keep your PCB marksheet ready.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
As far as my experience it is very tough to get MBBS seat in government colleges, but u can try in NRI qouta or any private quota in private medical colleges of Karnataka, because u have rural and HK qouta it can be beneficial to you
S
Beginner-Level 1
Answered a week ago
Usually no. Colleges admit students through CUET, JEE Main, university tests or state engineering exams. Amity Bengaluru's B.Tech Biotechnology also accepts NEET or AMCAT scores. So NEET can help in a few cases. Check each college's list of accepted exams.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Yes, you can in most cases, but the rule has been changing, so check it for your year. In 2026, RUHS held its own B.Sc Nursing entrance exam on May 21, and the result came on June 2. In the 2025 process, B.Sc Nursing admissions in Rajasthan went through RUHS CUET, not NEET. Post Basic B.Sc Nursing a
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Admission to the MBBS programme at Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore is strictly not possible without a valid NEET-UG score. MBBS Programme requires qualifying and appearing for NEET-UG, while for admission to its PG programmes (MD, MS) the CMC Vellore Tamil Nadu accepts the scores of NEET PG.
G
Contributor-Level 10
With MA in English, Rupali has more than 15 years of editorial experience. At Shiksha.com, a subsidiary of Info Edge (India) Limited, she creates content and make prep guides for students preparing for competitive e
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