Rupali
Rupali Pruthi
Deputy Manager - Editorial
Updated on Feb 11, 2026 17:37 IST
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 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

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

Table of contents
  • 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?

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   Does AIIMS Raipur accept NEET score?
A: 

Yes, AIIMS Raipur accepts NEET scores. There is no other entrance exam conducted by AIIMS Raipur or AIIMS institutes for MBBS admission. Although earlier AIIMS used to conduct its own entrance exam, but it was scrapped in 2020. The admission to AIIMS Raipur takes place through NEET counselling, conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee. AIIMS Raipur seats are a part of the 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) seats. Candidates must secure a NEET score above 700 in order to have a chance to get admission to the MBBS course in this coveted medical institute of India. 

Q:   What is the cutoff for NEET?
A: 

The NEET 2026 cutoff will be released along with the results. The NTA will release the NEET UG cutoff marks based on the difficulty level. Till then, take a look at the NEET 2025 cutoff for reference. 

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

 

Q:   What is the category-wise NEET cutoff percentile?
A: 

 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

Q:   What is the qualifying NEET cut off for General category candidates?
A: 

The qualifying NEET 2025 cutoff marks for General category candidates is 144. Last year it was 162. As expected, the NEET 2025 cutoff for General category candidates is lower than last year. The reason is, the difficulty level of NEET was tougher this year as compared to last year. The competition level has become even higher, along with the increase in the number of seats.

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

Also Read: Is Aadhaar Mandatory for NEET 2026 Registration?

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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

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   When did NTA release the official cutoff for NEET 2025?
A: 

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. 

Q:   What is the NEET cut off for BDS in Dental College RIMS Imphal?
A: 

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.

 

 

Q:   What are the factors affecting NEET cut off for University College of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi?
A: 

University College of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi provides best medical courses and accepts admissions on the basis of NEET scores of an applicant. Every year Students scoring more than 550 marks in NEET are on the safe side for the admissions. Category and reservation system affects the admission process to some extent. Cutoff percentile for general category remains 50th while 40 to 45 for SC, ST and OBC. This cutoff keeps on changing year by year.

Q:   What is the NEET cut off for MBBS in Dr SN Medical College Jodhpur?
A: 

Dr SN Medical College Jodhpur cutoff 2022 was 9251 for General category candidates in All India quota for MBBS - Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. Dr SN Medical College Jodhpur admissions 2023 to MBBS course is based in NEET UG scores followed by the NEET UG Counselling. The MCC, which is the conducting body of NEET UG Counselling will be conducting the counselling in multiple rounds from Jul 29, onwards. In order to be eligible for NEET Counselling 2023, candidates must have a valid NEET UG score. 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.

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   What is the procedure to calculate the NEET percentile score?
A: 

A percentile refers to the comparison between the score of one candidate vis-a-vis the other test takers. It is the percentage of scores that a particular score surpassed. NTA has stated the formula to calculate the NEET percentile, which is given below:

100 multiplied by the Number of candidates with their raw score equal to/ less than the candidate divided by the Total number of candidates who appeared for NEET. 

As per the NEET 2023 result data, the highest percentile obtained was 99.9999019. 

Q:   How many marks are required in NEET to get AIIMS Delhi?
A: 
If a candidate belongs to the General Category, he/she should aim for at least 700+, and in the case of a reserved category, a candidate should aim for at least 675+. This is with regard to marks. In case the candidate wishes to know the same percentile-wise, he/she must score above 99 percentile to secure admission to AIIMS Delhi. Until 2020, students with 650+ score were able to get admission to MBBS at AIIMS Delhi, but the competition has been rising every year.
Q:   What is the NEET cutoff score?
A: 

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

Q:   Can I get AIIMS with 550 NEET scores?
A: 

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. 

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About the Author
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Rupali Pruthi
Deputy Manager - Editorial

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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Answered 17 hours ago

While NEET is mandatory for MBBS and BDS admissions, physiotherapy is a different course altogether, and many top physiotherapy colleges in Pune offer admission without requiring a NEET score at all. SOme of the colleges are mentioned below -

Top CollegesTuition Fee
Sancheti Orthopedic Research Institute and College of PhysiotherapyINR 5.11 lakh
C.M.F.'s College of PhysiotherapyINR 3.44 lakh
St. Andrews College of PhysiotherapyINR 2.56 lakh
Smt. Kashibai Navale College of PhysiotherapyINR 6.71 lakh
Indutai College of Physiotherapy PuneINR 3.49 lakh

Source: Official site of the colleges and may vary.

T

Tasbiya Khan

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 17 hours ago

Hi,

The NEET 2026 exam has been cancelled. The NE Re-exam dates will be released soon. The marks vs rank list can be estimated only after getting the question papers and their difficulty level. Wait for the exam day, we will release such table.

106030206
Rachit Kumar Saxena

Contributor-Level 9

Answered 17 hours ago

Hi,

The National Testing Agency defines the eligibility criteria for all the categories in the information bulletin. You can get the desired information here - https://www.shiksha.com/medicine-health-sciences/articles/neet-eligibility-criteria-blogId-22479

S

Saakshi Kumar

Contributor-Level 6

Answered 17 hours ago

Hi,

We do not provide such consultancy. Please check in your area medical colleges and ask the first year MBBS students to get the right guidance.

R

Rashmi

Contributor-Level 6

Answered 18 hours ago

Hi,   You can get all the information about RUHS BSc Nursing and associated colleges here - https://www.shiksha.com/search? q=RUHS&s []=17&sb []=70&ed []=et_20&ex []=13943&pn=1&rf=examPage&apk=true&skr=false&rURL=false&pt=search_page

R

Raj Shukla

Contributor-Level 6

Answered Yesterday

Currently, NEET is not compulsory for BPT admission in most colleges in Lucknow. However, from 2027 onward, NEET UG will be compulsory for physiotherapy admissions, so students looking to apply in the next few years need to be aware of the same and plan accordingly.
 
Source: The above info. taken fro

...Read more

T

Tasbiya Khan

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 2 days ago

For your information NEET UG 2026 had been cancelled.

However if are willing to do BVSC you have to do a separate councilling for that go To official website.

 

U

Usman Lone

Beginner-Level 1

Answered 2 days ago

Absolutely, a BSc in Biotechnology can be a good backup, especially from a top college such as Ramniranjan Jhunjunwala College of Arts, Science, and Commerce. It has shown decent outcomes for its BSc in Biotechnology course. Its tuition fee is ~INR 87K, with an average salary of INR 2,36,705, as per

...Read more

S

Syed Aquib Ur Rahman

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 2 days ago

Christian Medical College, Vellore admissions to medical courses, especially MBBS is not possible without NEET score. Even for the management quota, NEET score is required. However, if a student is apply for non-medical courses, such as MSc/ Diploma, etc., NEET requirement may be waivered.

A

Anupama Garg

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 2 days ago

The National Testing Agency will soon release the NEW Dates for the NEET 2026 exam. The NEET 2026 exam held on May 3 was cancelled by the NTA. The new RE-NEET exam dates will be released soon.

N

Nishtha Shukla

Contributor-Level 6