NEST Result 2026: Download Scorecard, Merit List, Rank Card & Percentile Score

Registration - 5 Jan '26 - 6 Apr '26

Updated on Jan 8, 2026 17:00 IST

NISER and UM-DAE CEBS will announce the NEST 2026 result online. The authority will update the NEST result date online. The link to check the result of NEST 2026 will be activated on the website, nestexam.in. Students must provide the application number and password to check the exam result. The NEST scorecard consists of the total marks obtained and merit rank. Marks above 160 in the NEST exam are considered good marks. National Entrance Screening Test 2026 will be held on June 6, 2026.

Students whose names are mentioned in the NEST merit list will be considered for admission. The qualifying students must participate in the NEST counselling process. The details regarding the counselling will be updated at the NEST 2026 website.

Table of contents

How to Check NEST Result 2026?
NEST 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule
NEST 2026 Scorecard Details
NEST 2026 Scoring System
NEST Section–wise Minimum Admissible Score 2026
Calculation of Percentile Score for NEST 2026
NEST 2026 Result FAQs

How to Check NEST Result 2026?

The NEST result link will be activated on the official website. Students must keep the login credentials handy to check the NEST exam result. The steps to check the exam result are 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.

Commonly asked questions

Q: When will the NEST 2026 result be announced?

The NEST 2026 result is expected to be out by the fourth week of June. The exact result date has not been announced with the notification. The exam will be conducted on June 6. Generally, NEST result is declared within a few weeks of the exam. Before that, answer keys will be released. Objections can be submitted within the given date. Based on objections received by test-takers, the NEST result will be prepared.

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

If two applicants will score the same percentile marks in the NEST exam, then authority will consider the marks of the class 12th exam for tie-breaking. In case of a tie between the marks of the class 12th exam, then the candidate who will be younger given preference over other who will be older.

Though in most other exams, the older candidates get preference but in case of NEST exam, it is different.

Q: 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.

NEST 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule

Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of NEST 2026 exam

Dates	Upcoming Exam Dates
Jun ' 26	NEST 2026 Answer Key TENTATIVE
Jun ' 26	NEST 2026 Answer Key Objection Window TENTATIVE
Jun ' 26	NEST 2026 Exam Result TENTATIVE
Jul ' 26 - Sep ' 26	NEST NISER 2026 Counselling TENTATIVE

NEST 2026 Scorecard Details

The NEST result will be available as a scorecard. Students have to provide the login credentials to download the NEST scorecard. The scorecard will consist of the overall marks, percentile scores and merit rank. The authority will prepare the NEST merit list based on the marks scored. Also, the best of three section marks is considered to prepare the merit list.

While the merit lists mention overall scores and ranks obtained by the candidates in NEST 2026, the individual scorecards will mention the following details:

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

From 2023 onwards 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). It was different in NEST 2022, where the SMAS of all four subjects were considered for preparing the NISER merit list.

Commonly asked questions

Q: 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.

NEST 2026 Scoring System

Here are the points for NEST Scoring system:

There are four subjects, and each subject is of 20 marks.
The exam is held in one session.
Student's percentile depends on their performance.
The maximum score is 100.
Only the top 3 subjects are counted for the merit list.
150 is the total mark for the merit list.
NEST cutoff is based on 150 marks.

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.

Commonly asked questions

Q: 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.

Ongoing

Registration

Exam Date

Results

Cutoff

Counselling

Calculation of 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 Result FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions on NEST Results

Commonly asked questions

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: How long do nest results take?

NISER and UM-DAE CEBS release the exam results within three weeks from the day of the exam. The links are activated on the NEST website. Students have to provide the required credentials to check the result.

Q: What is the NEST Scoring system?

The NEST Scoring system is based on the following factors.

There are four sections of 60 marks each
Each question carries three marks
One mark will be removed for each wrong answer
Candidates have to attempt at least three sections
Best of the three scores out of four sections will be considered.

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 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.