GPAT 2026: Dates, Registration, Syllabus, Pattern, Answer Key, Result, Cutoff, Counselling

Students who want to appear in the GPAT exam are curious to know the full form of GPAT must note that it is the Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT). This exam is conducted in online mode for admission to Master of Pharmacy (M.Pharm) programmes.

 

GRADUATE PHARMACY APTITUDE TEST GPAT is a top national-level entrance examination conducted for admission to MPHARM programmes. The GPAT exam score is accepted by 900+ colleges in India for admission to several courses.

Yes, there is no restrictions on the number of attempts that a candidate can give to appear for the GPAT entrance exam. However, there is a lower age limit to appear for the exam. Candidates not less than 17 years of age can only apply for the GPAT exam. The GPAT 2026 application process is generally conducted for a period of 30 days. The GPAT 2026 registration process will be organised online at the official admission portal. It is mandatory to register for the exam in order to apply for the MPharma course.

GRADUATE PHARMACY APTITUDE TEST (GPAT) is a top national-level entrance examination conducted for admission to M.Pharma programmes. The GPAT exam score is accepted by 800+ colleges in India for admission to several courses. Candidates appearing for GPAT exam will have to register at the GPAT website to appear for the exam.

No, candidates are not allowed to carry a calculator or any other electronic gadget to the GPAT exam centre. There is a complete list of things to do and avoid at the GPAT exam centre which candidates are advised to read carefully. Things prohibited at the GPAT test center includes: Any paper having textual material on it such as log tables or any written/printed content, Smartwatches, Mobile Phones or any other electronic devices, slide rules etc. Other rules will be mentioned on the GPAT admit card.

As per the marking scheme of GPAT 2026 exam, each correct answer will be awarded 4 marks and for every incorrect answer -1 mark will be deducted. The GPAT marking scheme clearly mentions that no mark will be deducted for unattempted questions.

The GPAT registration window will open for a period of around 20 days. Students will have to fill the application form before the last date.

Students will be able to modify the GPAT 2026 application once the registration is over.  No offline forms will be available. Students will have to pay the GPAT application fee in online mode only.

No, the student cannot fill out the GPAT 2026 application form directly without registering yourself on the NBEMS GPAT portal. GPAT 2026 registration is mandatory to apply for the national-level entrance exam. GPAT registration might started in April 2026. The application window required candidates to provide personal and academic details as well. 

There is no age limit to apply for the GPAT exam. NBEMS has not kept any upper age limit for the candidates interested in pursuing the MPharma program. However, the minimum age to apply for the GPAT exam is 18 years. Applicants are advised to check the age and education wise criteria.

National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) the exam conducting body of GPAT exam decides and releases the GPAT exam pattern. The GPAT exam syllabus is also released by NBEMS. The GPAT official notification revealed the updated GPAT exam pattern, which remained the same this year as well. Once the official notification is out, candidates can start applying for the exam. The GPAT exam pattern guides the candidates to understand the exam structure and to prepare a sound strategy to crack the pharmacy entrance exam.

National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) conducts GPAT entrance exam in online mode. The MPharma entrance exam is organised at the designated test centers across several cities in India. On the day of the examination, each candidate will be allotted a computer terminal at the exam centre where they will have to input correct answers against the questions being asked in the exam. Candidates will be able to appear for the exam in two shifts: morning and forenoon.

Yes, candidates whose answer is incorrect will score a negative marking of -1 mark each per question. There is no negative marking for the unattempted questions. The maximum marks of the question paper are 500. Candidates will be given 3 hours to complete the test. Carefully attempt the questions to avoid negative marking.

Candidates need to contact the administrative authorities in such situations. However, it is not possible to change the GPAT exam centre once the choices are locked and entered. Even at the stage of GPAT application correction, candidates do not get the option to change the GPAT exam centre.

Yes. Candidates can select the GPAT test centre at the time of registration. Three choices will be given to choose the test centre city. The entrance exam will be held in 110 exam cities in India. Candidates can choose any three preferred exam cities as per their convenience and proximity to their hometown.

Candidates must select 3 preferred test cities from the available choices. The test centres are allotted on first come first serve basis. It is mandatory to select three test centers from which NBEMS will allot the test centre location. The final decision rests with the exam conducting authorities. Candidates cannot make changes cities chosen while getting registered. Therefore, select the test cities carefully.

The GPAT syllabus generally comprises nineteen subjects. Questions from important topics of these subjects are generally seen in the exam as per the previous year trend. There are 5 five sections in GPAT 2026 exam namely Pharmaceutical Chemistry & Allied Subjects, Pharmaceutics & Allied Subjects, Pharmacognosy & Allied Subjects, Pharmacology & Allied Subjects, and other subjects. All the 19 topics are bifurcated among these 5 sections in the exam. There will be objective-type questions in the entrance exam.

In GPAT exam, generally there are 125 objective-type questions with 4 or more response options. Instead of writing the answer, the candidate has to choose the correct response from the options given and mark it. The exam pattern of GPAT 2026 clearly states that the medium for the examination will be English only. Any requests for a different medium/ language will not be entertained by the NBEMS.

GPAT 2026 syllabus will be released on the official website. Candidates can check and download the GPAT syllabus from the Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm.) Course Regulations. There are 5 five sections in GPAT 2026 exam namely Pharmaceutical Chemistry & Allied Subjects, Pharmaceutics & Allied Subjects, Pharmacognosy & Allied Subjects, Pharmacology & Allied Subjects, and other subjects. Candidates will get overall 180 minutes (3 hours) to attempt the questions in the exam.

The best books for GPAT exam include:

• KD Tripathi's Essentials of Medical Pharmacology (Pharmacology)

• Morrison & Boyd Organic Chemistry (Pharmaceutical Chemistry)

• Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy (Pharmaceutics)

• GPAT Cracker by SIA Publications (Overall preparation)

These books cover the GPAT syllabus comprehensively and help in concept building.

No, coaching is not mandatory if you have a solid self-study plan for GPAT exam. Students who have access to GPAT preparation books PDF, previous year papers, and mock tests. However, online courses can help with structured learning.

Students should follow GPAT preparation online free by following some popular websites. 

Students who want to appear in the GPAT exam and want to get an idea about the type of questions asked in the exam must solve GPAT mock tests. By solving questions from the GPAT mock test, one can increase their chances of qualifying for the exam. Various online websites offer the GPAT mock test link, which can be used to practise. 

 

GPAT admit card could be downloaded from the official website of GPAT at natboard.edu.in. All important updates related to the GPAT hall ticket were published on this website for the candidates. The user ID, password and captcha was required to download the admit card.

Only those candidates who make the GPAT application fee payment successfully are issued GPAT admit card. 

Yes, applicants who miss their login details of GPAT exam to download the admit card are advised to retrieve it by entering the basic details like candidate's name, father's name, mother's name, date of birth, and security pin. Students can recover both their application ID and password to download the GPAT 2026 admit card. 

GPAT 2026 admit card will be released at the official website of GPAT by the NBEMS. The admit card will be made available in online mode to all the applicants. Candidates who successfully completed the GPAT registration process by paying the application fee are able to download the GPAT hall ticket 2026.

NBEMS the official exam conducting body is the responsible authority to release the GPAT cutoff at the official website. The GPAT cutoff will also be released by the participating institutes that accept GPAT scores. NBEMS doesn't conduct the counselling for M.Pharma admissions. It will be responsible for releasing the merit list of GPAT 2025 along with the result mentioning the status of qualifying, name of candidates. Once the GPAT cutoff is announced by individual colleges/institutes, candidates can check the cutoff score on their individual websites to seek admission in the preferred course and college.

NBEMS released the GPAT cutoff at the official website. The GPAT cutoff marks vary each year, as it depends on various factors while deciding the marks. The separate category-wise GPAT 2025 cutoff is given below: 

General – 216

EWS - 172

OBC- 168

SC - 119

ST- 85

NBEMS releases the GPAT scorecard every year on the official website. Some of the popular details mentioned in the GPAT scorecard 

•  Name of the candidate
• Roll number 
• Category
• Application number
• Total score in percentile
• Validity of the scorecard
• All-India rank
• Qualifying status.

When two or more candidates get the same or equal marks in the GPAT exam, this situation is known as a tie-breaker. In this scenario rank will be allotted by assessing marks in Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Chemistry fewer negative responses in the paper, and lastly the one older in age will be given preference. NTA has set the rules and guidelines in the prospectus issued at the time of registration. For further clarification, candidates can refer to the GPAT brochure.

Candidates need to visit the official website of GPAT exam. After this, students need to click on answer key challenge option. Provide their registration number and password/DOB. Enter Security Pin and then click on View Question Paper. Check the provisional GPAT answer key and match the recorded responses with it. In case the candidate is not satisfied with any of the responses provided in the provisional answer key, they are free to challenge it within the stipulated time frame.

Candidates are advised to visit the GPAT official website, Click on View Question Paper to view or challenge the Answer keys. Thereafter, click on the link Click to view /Challenge Answer Key. To challenge the option, use any one or more of the Option IDs given in the next four columns by clicking the check box. Save your Claims before moving to the next screen. Upload supporting documents in which you can select Choose File and upload. Click on Save your Claims and pay fee After the fee payment, the challenges will be saved.

The AIR rank in the GPAT result is secured on the basis of marks and percentages obtained in the GPAT exam. The GPAT result is published on the official website. Candidates will be able to check the merit list which will be published in PDF format at the official website. The AIR of the exam takers will be mentioned on the merit list and on the GPAT scorecard.

 The approximate subject-wise weightage in GPAT is as follows:

• Pharmacology – 25–30 questions

• Pharmaceutics – 20–25 questions

• Pharmaceutical Chemistry – 15–20 questions

• Pharmacognosy – 10–15 questions

Other subjects (Biochemistry, Microbiology, etc.) – 10–15 questions
This distribution may vary slightly year to year, but the core subjects consistently have the highest weightage.

The exam analysis of GPAT comprised various things in the exam. Some of the factors that contributed to the GPAT exam analysis are the types of the questions, the total number of the questions asked in the exam, sections from which maximum and minimum questions were asked in the exam. 

For last few years, the GPAT exam difficulty level has been moderate to difficult. While the core pharmaceutical sciences questions remain conceptual, the exam has increasingly included application-based and numerical questions, especially in Pharmacology, Pharmaceutics, and Pharmaceutical Chemistry.

A score above 140 is considered to be a good score in GPAT according to the GPAT cutoff score for General category candidates. However, this score varies depending upon the GPAT cutoff for the current year. In case the cutoff touches the mark of 180 then the score of 140 is irrelevant to seek admission in top M.Pharma colleges. Candidates who will be shortlisted in the merit list will be called for further counselling procedure at the participating institutes. Therefore, the cutoff score is the most important deciding factor to get a call for counselling from preferred institute.

Yes, BITS Pilani accepts GPAT scores for admission to MPharm course. Apart from the Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT), BITS Pilani also accepts BITS HD entrance test scores for MPharm admission. 

For post graduation M.Pharma, the candidate must attempt the GPAT-Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test and qualify it. For admission to the B.Pharma program at DPSRU, a minimum aggregate of 55% marks in the Higher Secondary/Intermediate examination with English as one of the compulsory subjects is required. Apart from English, a combination of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and/or Biology (PCM/PCMB) is compulsory. 

Students who aim to qualify the GPAT exam are advised to follow the below-mentioned method to improve the speed. 

• Canidates should practice previous year GPAT papers by keeping a clock near them. 

• Take regular GPAT mock tests

Along with it, one also needs to use shortcut techniques for numerical-based questions to improve the speed. 

Candidates who want to appear in the GPAT exam are advised to start taking GPAT mock tests at least 2 months before the exam, with 1-2 full-length tests per week initially. Applicants also need to increase the frequency to 3-4 mock tests per week in the last month.

The GPAT exam dates will be announced by the exam-conducting authority National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) on the official notification. It will be released on the website at natboard(dot)edu(dot)in. 

The GPAT exam will be conducted in the afternoon shift from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

No, applicants who appeared in the GPAT 2026 exam must note that there is no such procedure of re-evaluation of the GPAT answer sheet 2025. Once the authorities prepared the final GPAT answer key, then evaluation of the candidates is done based on it. 

Hence, there is no such procedure of reevaluation of the GPAT answer sheet. 

Yes, candidates appearing in the final year of Bachelor's Degree BPharma are eligible to appear for the GPAT 2025 exam. Along with checking the educational qualification one must ensure that they fulfill the GPAT eligibility criteria 2025 age wise also. It is recommended to check eligibility details for GPAT before filling the form. 

The memory-based GPAT answer keys are released mainly by coaching institutes. Since the GPAT exam is conducted in online mode only. After the conclusion of the exam, coaching institutes solve questions discussed by various students. Since this GPAT memory-based answer key will be released by taking input from the students, hence there can be some error or mistakes in the questions and answers provided. 

The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy (4 years after 10 2, including lateral entry students) or equivalent from a recognised university. There is no age limit to appear in the exam. Along with this, applicants must be a citizen of India. To know more details about the eligibilty candidates can detailed GPAT eligibility criteria by clicking on this link. 

There are mainly 5 sections in GPAT 2026 exam namely Pharmaceutical Chemistry & Allied Subjects, Pharmaceutics & Allied Subjects, Pharmacognosy & Allied Subjects, Pharmacology & Allied Subjects, and other subjects. The syllabus of the GPAT 2026 entrance examination majorly covers various dimensions of pharmaceutics. This year a new section on computational Biology and bioinformatics has been added to the syllabus.

Students who are planning to appear in the GPAT exam must note that normally the GATE opens around 2 hours before the entry to the examination hall. However one must reach to the GPAT 2026 exam centre atleast half n hour (30 minutes) before so that one can get settle and prepare before appearin in the exam. 

Yes, there is no restrictions on the number of attempts that a candidate can give to appear for the GPAT entrance exam. However, there is a lower age limit to appear for the exam. Candidates not less than 17 years of age can only apply for the GPAT exam. The GPAT 2026 application process is generally conducted for a period of 30 days. The GPAT 2026 registration process will be organised online at the official admission portal. It is mandatory to register for the exam in order to apply for the MPharma course.