NEET 2026 Qualifiers Decline Across Categories; Check The New Cut-Offs
NEET UG 2026 re-examination results records a significant rise in qualifying cut-offs across categories
NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the category-wise qualifying data for the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, registering a decrease in the number of candidates qualifying across all major categories compared to the previous two years.
A total of 11,21,185 candidates qualified for admission to undergraduate medical, dental, AYUSH, and allied courses in 2026, down from 12,36,531 in 2025 and 13,15,853 in 2024.
The drop in qualified candidates comes alongside a decline in overall participation. Around 20 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, compared to 22.09 lakh in 2025 and 23.33 lakh in 2024, contributing to the lower number of successful candidates this year.
The UR/EWS category continued to account for the highest number of qualified candidates, with 9,96,935 candidates clearing the examination in 2026.
However, this was lower than 11,01,151 qualifiers in 2025 and 11,65,334 in 2024. The qualifying marks range for the category was 715-213 this year, compared to 686-144 in 2025 and 720-162 in 2024.
Students’ data
| Category | Qualifying Percentile Criteria | Year | Marks Range | Total Qualified Candidates |
| UR / EWS | 50th Percentile | 2026
2025
2024 |
715–213
686–144
720–162 |
9,96,935
11,01,151
11,65,334 |
| OBC | 40th but < 50th Percentile | 2026
2025
2024 |
212–177
143–113
161–127 |
81,111
88,692
1,00,876 |
| SC | 40th but < 50th Percentile | 2026
2025
2024 |
212–177
143–113
161–127 |
29,947
31,995
34,420 |
| ST | 40th but < 50th Percentile | 2026
2025
2024 |
212–177
143–113
161–127 |
12,452
13,940
14,414 |
| UR / EWS & PwBD | 45th but < 50th Percentile | 2026
2025
2024 |
212–194
143–127
161–144 |
480
472
473 |
| OBC & PwBD | 40th but < 45th Percentile | 2026
2025
2024 |
193–177
126–113
143–127 |
185
216
269 |
| SC & PwBD | 40th but < 45th Percentile | 2026
2025
2024 |
193–177
126–113
143–127 |
64
48
54 |
| ST & PwBD | 40th but < 45th Percentile | 2026
2025
2024 |
191–177
126–113
142–127 |
11
17
13 |
| Overall Total | N/A | 2026
2025
2024 |
N/A
N/A
N/A |
11,21,185
12,36,531
13,15,853 |
The OBC category recorded 81,111 qualified candidates, down from 88,692 last year and 1,00,876 in 2024. The qualifying marks for OBC candidates ranged from 212 to 177.
Similarly, the number of successful candidates in the SC category fell to 29,947, compared to 31,995 in 2025 and 34,420 in 2024. The ST category also witnessed a decline, with 12,452 candidates qualifying this year against 13,940 last year and 14,414 in 2024.
Among the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories, 480 candidates qualified under the UR/EWS & PwBD category, marginally higher than 472 in 2025 and 473 in 2024.
The OBC & PwBD category recorded 185 qualified candidates, while 64 candidates qualified under SC & PwBD, up from 48 last year. The ST & PwBD category had 11 successful candidates, compared to 17 in 2025 and 13 in 2024.