NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026: Age Limit, Qualification & Attempts

NEET 2026 eligibility criteria is important for candidates who want to apply for the MBBS admissions in 2026-2027. Passing Class 12 is the minimum requirement to be eligible for the exam. Check here the NEET eligibility criteria 2026, including the minimum and maximum age limit, educational qualification, marks required in class 12 and number of attempts.

NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026

NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026: Students must know the eligibility criteria to appear for the NEET UG 2026 exam. The minimum requirement for the NEET exam is that candidates should be Class 12 pass with Physics, Chemistry and Biology subjects. Candidates should be minimum 17 years old to apply for the NEET UG 2026 exam. The NEET age cutoff date 2026 is December 31, 2026, as mentioned in the information bulletin. Check below the detailed NTA NEET eligibility criteria, including qualifying exam code for NEET 2026, minimum age limit, educational qualification, marks required in Class 12 PCB, number of attempts, and NMC updates regarding the eligibility based on previous years’ notification. 

The NEET UG 2026 exam will be held on May 3, 2026, for MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BUMS, BSMS, and BHMS admissions in 2026-27. The National Testing Agency (NTA) notified the NEET 2026 eligibility criteria along with the information bulletin on February 8, 2026.

NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026

Below are the basic or primary eligibility criteria for NEET UG 2026.

• According to the NEET age eligibility, candidates must have attained the age of 17 years at the time of admission or will attain the same by December 31, 2026. Accordingly, the minimum date of birth of candidates should be December 31, 2009. There is no upper age limit for NEET. However, there may be age restriction in NEET 2026.
• Indian nationals/ Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) who wish to pursue MBBS/ BDS from a foreign university also need to be 17 years old and need to qualify NEET exam.

Also Read: NEET 2026 Exam Date

Qualifying Exam Code for NEET 2026 Eligibility

Candidates need to mention NEET qualifying exam code in the NEET form. The table brings the code-wise description of the candidate category which is required to fill out the NEET application form. 

NEET UG 2026 Eligibility Criteria: Age Limit

The minimum age eligibility for NEET is 17 years on or before December 31, 2026. There is no upper age limit. The National Medical Commission (NMC) removed the upper age limit factor for NEET aspirants in 2025. Before that, the upper age criteria for General and reserved category candidates were 25 years and 30 years, respectively. 

NEET 2026 Eligibility Criteria: Educational Qualification

Candidates need to fulfill the NEET eligibility in terms of education and marks to apply for the exam. Have a look at the NEET educational qualification and marks required in Class 12 below.

• Candidates must have passed Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology and English subjects individually in Class 12.
• Candidates must have studied these subject as core or additional subjects.
• Candidates belonging to the General category need to score minimum 50 per cent marks in Class 12 and SC, ST and OBC need to have minimum score of 40 per cent.
• Candidates who belong to the General category and are applying under the Persons with Disability (PWD) Quota, must have a minimum score of 45 per cent marks in the qualifying examination. 

NEET UG 2026 Eligibility: Minimum Marks Required in Class 12 

The table brings the minimum marks required in Class 12 exam or equivalent to be eligible for NEET 2026-

Also Read: NEET 2026 Notification

Eligibility for NEET 2026: Number of Attempts

The NTA has not fixed the maximum number of attempts for the NEET exam. Thus, a candidate can appear for the NEET UG exam as many times as they want to till they obtain the desired scores.

NMC Eligibility for NEET 2026

The NEET eligibility is notified by the National Medical Commission (NMC). The changes in the eligibility, if any, are published on the website- nmc.org.in. It may be noted here that the NMC revised the NEET eligibility criteria in 2024 wherein the candidates who studied Physics, Chemistry, Biology/ Biotechnology and English as additional subjects also became eligible to appear for the NEET exam. Till NEET 2023, only those students who studied these subjects as core subjects were permitted to appear for the exam. 

Also Read: NEET 2026 Preparation Strategy for Class 11 & 12 Students

Who is Eligible for NEET 2026 Counselling?

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is an entrance test conducted for admission to various medical and allied courses, including MBBS, BDS and AYUSH. The admission to these courses is carried out through NEET counselling 2026. Candidates need to fulfil the MCC NEET eligibility to take part in the counselling process. Have a look at the category-wise and college-wise eligibility criteria below and know who is eligible for NEET counselling-

NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026 for Candidates Belonging to the UT of J&K/ Ladakh

Candidates belonging to the UT of J&K/ Ladakh are not eligible to apply for the 15 per cent All India Quota seats and can only apply for the seats of Deemed Universities, ESIC, and AFMC. 

NEET Eligibility for Candidates Applying for State/ Deemed/ Central/ ESIC/ AFMC Seats

The following criteria are related to the seat categories:

• Indian Nationals, NRIs, OCIs and PIOs are eligible to apply for these seats.
• Foreign nationals should confirm their eligibility before applying for NEET 2026.

NEET Exam Eligibility Criteria for Central Universities 

Delhi University (MAMC, LHMC, UCMS): Like all other universities, only 15 per cent seats of the colleges affiliated with Delhi University will be filled through NEET counselling. The remaining 85 per cent of seats will be filled via DU NEET counselling. Candidates who have passed Class 11 and Class 12 from an institute located in Delhi will be able to apply for these 85 per cent seats.

Faculty of Dentistry, Jamia Millia Islamia: The institute offers 50 BDS seats, out of which 47 seats will be filled through the MCC NEET counselling. The remaining three seats fall under the institutional quota and will be allotted to only those candidates who have passed Class 11 and Class 12 from JMI. 

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU): The institute reserves 50 per cent of its seats for candidates who have studied at AMU for the past three years. Only such candidates will be able to apply for the institutional quota seats of AMU. The remaining 50 per cent will be filled through the MCC counselling of NEET.

Banaras Hindu University (BHU): All candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria for NEET MCC counselling can apply for the seats at BHU. There is no special requirement for applying to this institute.

NEET Eligibility for NRI/ Foreign students

NRI or foreign candidates who completed their education from outside India need to fulfill the given NEET exam eligibility to appear for the exam-

• Must have passed the exam equivalent to Class 12 qualification.
• Studied Physics, Chemistry, and Biology and their practical tests with English.
• NRI and OCI candidates need to upload a certificate from the concerned Indian Diplomatic Mission of their residence in support of their claim as an NRI/OCI Candidate.

NEET Reservation Criteria 2026 for UG Counselling

The table brings the NEET reservation criteria for OBC, EWS, SC, ST and PwD categories under the 15 per cent AIQ seats are as follows:

On July 29, 2021, the Government of India made a landmark decision that from the academic year of 2021-22 onwards, there would be a 27 per cent OBC quota in NEET(Non-Creamy Layer) and a 10 per cent NEET reservation for EWS in 15 per cent Under Graduate (UG) All India Quota seats (MBBS/BDS) (contributed by the State/UTs to the Central Pool). 

Read More:

• NEET UG Reservation for OBC, EWS, SC, ST and General
• Documents Required for NEET 2026 Application Form
• NEET Chapter Wise Weightage 2026
• NEET 2026 Preparation Tips, Syllabus and Best Books
• Are NCERT books enough for cracking NEET 2026?
• NEET 2026: Importance of solving the previous years’ question papers/ mock tests