What is NEST result date 2026?

NEST 2026 result date was June 24. The link to check the result is updated online at nestexam.in.

NEST exam is for what purpose?

NEST exam is for admission to 5-year Integrated M.Sc. programme in Biological, Chemical, Mathematical and Physical sciences offered at National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) and the University of Mumbai - Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE CEBS).

How to check NEST scorecard?

The exam authority releases the NEST scorecard online. Students have to provide the application number and password to check the scorecard. The NEST scorecard contains total marks and merit rank.

Is NEST for 12th pass?

Yes, candidates who have passed class 12 with PCM or BiPC can appear for NEST. They alos need to obtain 60% marks (55% for SC/ST/ Divyangjan) in aggregate.

What is a good score in NEST?

A good score in NEST is considered to be 150+ marks. However, NEST safe score varies for each categories. To secure admission to the top programs offered at NISER and UM-DAE CEBS candidates belonging to GEN category must obtain 150+ marks, while SC/ST need to obatin 90+ marks.

What is the Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) for NEST exam?

The MAP is the overall cut off percentile obtained by the candidates in the NEST exam. The highest MAP is 100th percentile. It is different for different categories. As 95 percentile for the General category, 90 percentile for OBC category and 75 percentile for SC/ ST/ Divyangjan category students. Applicants need to secure the cutoff marks from the category they belong to; otherwise, they won't be able to pass the exam.

What is SMAS in NEST result?

SMAS is used frequently in preparing the result of NEST exam. The full-form of SMAS is the Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score. It is the cut off marks which applicants need to secure for each section of NEST paper. Since there are different category candidates who appear in the exam hence they have seperate SMAS.

When will the NEST 2027 result be announced?

The NEST 2027 result is expected to be released in June 2027. The result link will be updated online. Candidates can download their scorecard at iiseradmission.in.

What will happen if there is any tie between two students in terms of percentile scores in NEST exam?

The authority will use the tie-breaking rule if two or more students have the same percentile score in the NEST exam. To break the tie, the following criteria will be considered. Marks of the Class 12th exam for tie-breaking. If the tie still exists, the younger candidate will be given preference over others who will be older. Though in most other exams, the older candidates get preference, but in case of the NEST exam, it is different.

NEST Result 2026 (OUT): Download Scorecard (June 25), Merit List, Rank Card & Percentile Score

Updated on Oct 25, 2026 20:47 IST

By Vikash Kumar Vishwakarma

NEST result 2026: NISER and CEBS declared the NEST 2026 result on June 24, 2026. The authority activated the NEST result link on the website nestexam.in. Candidates could check the result through the NEST login portal. The result comprises marks obtained and rank secured in the exam. The qualifying candidates were able to download the NEST scorecard online. The last date to check the result and scorecards was September 30, 2026. The authority conducted NEST exam on June 26, 2026. Check the page for detailed information on the NEST result 2026.

Table of contents

How to Check NEST Result 2026?
NEST 2027 Exam Dates & Schedule
How to Download NEST 2026 Scorecard
What After NEST Result?
NEST Section–wise Minimum Admissible Score 2026
Calculation of NEST Percentile Score for NEST 2026
NEST 2026 Cutoff
NEST 2026 Result FAQs

How to Check NEST Result 2026?

The authority has activated the NEST 2026 result link online. Candidates need to know their login credentials handy before checking the result. The process to check the NEST result 2026 is mentioned below.

Visit the official website of the NEST, nestexam.in.
Candidates will have to click on the NISER and CEBS Score links, respectively.
Enter NEST 2026 Roll Number and Application Number.
Click on the 'Show Scorecard' tab.
Check and download the NEST 2026 scorecard in PDF format and save the file.

NEST 2027 Exam Dates & Schedule

Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of NEST 2027 exam

Dates	Past Exam Dates
01 Aug ' 26	CEBS Counselling: Fifth Round Merit List
01 Aug ' 26 - 04 Aug ' 26	CEBS Counselling: Payment after Fifth merit list
29 Jul ' 26	CEBS Counselling: Forth Round Merit List
View More Past Events (17)

How to Download NEST 2026 Scorecard

NEST scorecard released on June 25, 2026. The link to download the NEST scorecard will be updated here after the official release. Candidates can check the scorecard to know overall marks, percentile scores and merit rank. The authority will consider candidates' scores in the exam to prepare NEST merit list. They will also consider SMAS while preparing the merit list. Details mentioned on the scorecard are mentioned below.

Candidate details, including name and roll number
Scores obtained by candidates in the General section
Scores obtained by the candidates in each section they attempted
Total scores obtained by the candidates out of 180 (General section 30 marks+ 50 marks each of the best three subjects)
Percentile scores of the candidates
Merit rank obtained by the candidates

The SMAS score of the best three subject scores from four subjects is considered for the merit list preparation for NEST 2026 (for both NISER and CEBS).

NEST Section–wise Minimum Admissible Score 2026

Candidates can read the following points to understand SMAS for the NEST 2026 exam:

For every section, "20 per cent of the average of the best 100 scores in that section" will be considered as the Section–wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS). For example, if the average of the best 100 scores in the Physics section is 41 out of 50, then SMAS for the Chemistry section would be 41*0.20 = 8.2 marks. Similarly, for other sections.
SMAS for different sections can be of different numerical values.
SMAS for the two sessions, for any particular section, can be of different numerical values.
SMAS for OBC students would be 90 per cent of the respective SMAS for general category students. For example, if the SMAS is 8.6 for general category students in the Chemistry section, then the SMAS for OBC students would be 7.38 (90 per cent of 8.2).
SMAS for SC/ST/Divyangjan students would be 50% of the respective SMAS for general category students. For example, if the SMAS is 8.2 for general category students in the Chemistry section, then the SMAS for SC/ST/Divyangjan students would be 4.1 (50 per cent of 8.2).
A candidate is required to score equal to or above the NEST SMAS in at least three subject sections to qualify for percentile calculation.

What After NEST Result?

After the NEST result is announced, the authority releases the counselling details. NISER & CEBS announced the NEST 2026 counselling dates online. Those who qualify the NEST 2026 exam were considered for the admission process. Candidates had to check the NISER and CEBS website for counselling notifications.

NEST Section–wise Minimum Admissible Score 2026

Candidates can read the following points to understand SMAS for the NEST 2026 exam:

For every section, "20 per cent of the average of the best 100 scores in that section" will be considered as the Section–wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS). For example, if the average of the best 100 scores in the Physics section is 41 out of 50, then SMAS for the Chemistry section would be 41*0.20 = 8.2 marks. Similarly, for other sections.
SMAS for different sections can be of different numerical values.
SMAS for the two sessions, for any particular section, can be of different numerical values.
SMAS for OBC students would be 90 per cent of the respective SMAS for general category students. For example, if the SMAS is 8.6 for general category students in the Chemistry section, then the SMAS for OBC students would be 7.38 (90 per cent of 8.2).
SMAS for SC/ST/Divyangjan students would be 50% of the respective SMAS for general category students. For example, if the SMAS is 8.2 for general category students in the Chemistry section, then the SMAS for SC/ST/Divyangjan students would be 4.1 (50 per cent of 8.2).
A candidate is required to score equal to or above the NEST SMAS in at least three subject sections to qualify for percentile calculation.

SAMS Score 2026

Candidates can check the SAMS cores subject wise below.

Subject Category	UR/UR-Divyang	OBC/OBC-Divyang	SCST/SCST-Divyang
Biology	8.83/8.39	7.95/7.50	4.41/3.97
Chemistry	11.26/10.70	10.14/9.57	5.63/5.07
Mathematics	9.63/9.15	8.67/8.19	4.82/4.33
Physics	9.44/8.97	8.49/8.02	4.72/4.25

Calculation of NEST Percentile Score for NEST 2026

The following process is expected to be followed by the exam officials to calculate the NEST 2026 per cent scores:

There were two sessions of the NEST exam on the same day, i.e. morning session from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm and the evening session from 2 pm to 5:30 pm.
The percentile score will be calculated based on the relative performance of all the qualified candidates in each session of the NEST 2026 exam.
The highest score for each session will be 100th per cent

The final merit list of NISER and CEBS will be based on Section-wise Minimum Admissible Score (SMAS), which is the section-wise cut-off mark and Minimum Admissible per cent (MAP) as under:

Merit List Parameters

Selection Criteria

SMAS

The total score of a candidate = Sum of his score in the General section + scores obtained in 'best three' subjects
For every section, '20 per cent of the average of the best 100 scores in the section will be the SMAS
The numerical value of SMAS varies for each section
Candidates should meet SMAS to qualify for the merit list of NISER and CEBS
For the OBC category, SMAS would be 90% of SMAS for the General category
For SC/ ST/ Divyangjan, SMAS would be 50% of SMAS for the General category

MAP

MAP is applied in addition to SMAS wherein candidates from each category should score equal to or above to rank in the merit list.

The MAP decided for each category is as under:

General category - 95 per cent
OBC category - 90 per cent
SC/ ST/ - 50 per cent
Divyangjan: 5% relaxation

Note: MAP for NEST 2026 will be updated after the declaration of the results.

NEST 2026 Cutoff

Candidates can know the NEST cutoff after the release of the scorecard. There shall be two types of cutoffs: a qualifying cutoff and an admission cutoff. Here, we have provided the NEST cutoff.

SMAS score for NEST 2026

Candidates can check the SMAS score below.

Subject Category	UR/UR-Divyang	OBC/OBC-Divyang	SCST/SCST-Divyang
Biology	8.83/8.39	7.95/7.50	4.41/3.97
Chemistry	11.26/10.70	10.14/9.57	5.63/5.07
Mathematics	9.63/9.15	8.67/8.19	4.82/4.33
Physics	9.44/8.97	8.49/8.02	4.72/4.25

Category-wise MAP for NEST 2026

Category	Percentile
UR/EWS/OBC ~ Divyang	80 ~ 40
SC/ST ~ Divyang	75 ~ 40

NEST 2026 Result FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions on NEST Results

Q: What are the eligibility criteria for candidates seeking admission to NISER and UM-DAE CEBS?

Candidates seeking admission to NISER and UM–DAE CEBS for the Integrated MSc programme 2026–31 should be from the regular science stream in classes 11 and 12. All aspiring candidates must write the NEST 2026 examination. Candidates must have passed the Class 12 examination from any recognised Board in India in the years 2024 or 2025, or should be appearing for the same in 2026. Candidates who are appearing for the board examination in 2026 must pass it by the time of admission into the programme.

Q: What is the marks vs rank for NEST 2026?

NEST marks vs rank helps students know what rank they may score based on their marks. The marks in NEST are converted into percentiles, and then a merit list is prepared. Students with a higher rank have a high chance of admission.

Q: What is minimum admissible percentile in NEST exam for General category candidates?

A candidate is required to score equal to or above a total Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) to get a merit rank. The minimum admissible percentile score varies for different category candidates. For general category applicants need to score 95 percentile marks in NEST exam.

The category wise MAP is mentioned below:

Category	MAP Marks (in Percentile)
General	95
OBC	90
SC/ST and Divyangjan	75

Students who score less than the MAP would neither be allotted any merit rank nor be eligible for admission even though he/she secure SMAS in all sections.

Q: What factors are considered to prepare the merit list for NEST exam?

Merit list rank preparation or the final ranking of the candidates will be based on percentile scores calculated from the best three-section scores. The merit list will be published based on the following criteria:

1. A candidate is required to score more than SMAS in at least three subject sections. Then we say that the candidate is SMAS-qualified.

2. The total score of an SMAS-qualified candidate is the sum of the scores of her/his three best scores from the SMAS securing sections.

3. A candidate is required to score equal to or above a total Minimum Admissible Percentile (MAP) to get a merit rank.

4. If the percentiles of two or more candidates become equal (i.e., in the case of a tie), then the best scores in the sections of the two students would be compared. The student with the higher score would get a better rank.

5. If the tie persists, the students would be given the same provisional rank at the time of declaration of the result, and the tie would be broken by comparing class 12th marks during admission/counselling.

6. If the tie still persists, then the younger student will get a higher rank.

Q: What is the NEST Scoring system?

The NEST Scoring system is based on the following factors.