Candidates must fulfil the KEAM eligibility criteria 2026 before applying for the entrance test. The eligibility criteria for the KEAM 2026 exam will be available soon on the official website of CEE i.e., “cee.kerala.gov.in”.
Go through this article to know the detailed KEAM 2026 eligibility criteria including the minimum educational qualification required, nationality, age criteria, reservation for candidates and many more aspects of the eligibility of this entrance examination.
The Office of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE), Kerala will release the eligibility criteria on the official website. Before applying for the upcoming Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical (KEAM) Entrance test, candidates are suggested to go through the below-given details of its eligibility criteria:
|
Particular |
Details |
|
Academic Qualification |
Passed in 10+2 / equivalent examination. |
|
Age |
Minimum age: 17 years * No maximum age limit is prescribed for Engineering, B.Pharm, Architecture, BAMS, BSMS, BHMS and BUMS Courses. * Age limit prescribed by the Central Councils will be applicable for Medical & Allied Courses. |
|
Nationality |
Should be an Indian citizen. |
* The Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Cardholder and the PIO cardholder will be treated at par with Indian citizens for the limited purpose of admission.
Before proceeding for KEAM registration 2026, candidates are advised to go through the complete eligibility criteria carefully. Candidates must know that as per the eligibility requirements, they need to fulfil the nativity criteria.
The nativity of the candidates seeking admission into professional courses is categorised into 3 parts i.e., Keralite, Non-Keralite Category I and Non-Keralite Category II. The detailed information regarding all three categories is given in this section.
Keralite
Candidates who meet any of the below-mentioned conditions will be considered as Keralites:
* The Children of AIS officers ((Non-Keralites) will not be eligible for any Communal/Special/PwD reservation or fee concession.
Non-Keralite Category I (NK I)
The Non-Keralites are candidates who fulfil any of the following conditions:
* Non-Keralite Category I candidates will be considered for the ‘State Merit’ seats but they will not be eligible for Communal/Special/PwD reservation or fee concession.
Non Keralite Category II (NK II)
Candidates who are not categorised under ‘Keralites’ and ‘Non-Keralite Category I’ come under the ‘Non-Keralite Category II’.
* These candidates are eligible to get admission in engineering courses under both Government and Management quota seats in Government cost sharing engineering colleges and in Self-financing Architecture / Engineering / Unani / Siddha colleges (in condition with fulfilling the specific eligibility criteria).
* Note: Eligible students can start their preparation for KEAM exam on the basis of the KEAM syllabus 2026 and KEAM exam pattern 2026.
As per the KEAM exam eligibility criteria, appearing candidates have to prove their Nativity through official documents. Check the below-given table which consists of the required documents that candidates need to provide as a proof for their Nativity:
|
Category |
Required Documents |
|
Keralite |
Any one of the following documents of the candidates or either of their parents’ is required as a proof (indicating that their place of Birth is Kerala):
* If the candidate is submitting parent’s documents as proof of Nativity, then along with that, they have to give a corroborative certificate to prove the relationship between them and their parents. OR
* Certificate issued by the Revenue officer is also applicable to prove the nativity of the candidate. * The copies of any of the above-mentioned documents need to be Self Attested. |
|
Non-Keralite Category I (NK I) |
OR
OR
|
|
Non-Keralite category II (NK II) |
OR
|
The exam authorities have set the academic eligibility criteria for specific courses. To register for KEAM, candidates must meet all the eligibility parameters that are disclosed by CEE.
The below- given table contains the minimum requirements for admission into specific courses through KEAM entrance exam:
|
Course |
Eligibility Criteria |
|
|
Pharmacy |
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B.Pharm |
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|
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Engineering |
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B.Tech (Agri. Engineering / Food Technology / Dairy Technology / Food Technology) |
|
|
|
Architecture |
||
|
B.Arch |
OR
* There is no provision for Lateral Entry to 2nd year or at any stage during the 5 year of architecture course. |
|
|
Medical and Allied courses |
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|
MBBS |
|
|
|
BDS |
||
|
BAMS |
For BSMS:
For BUMS:
* Those who have not passed the above mentioned language subjects, they have to study Urdu language with Arabic and Mantiq Wa Falsafa (Logic and Philosophy) as a subject during the 1st year of BUMS professional degree course. |
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BHMS |
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BSMS |
||
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BUMS |
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Other Courses |
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B.Sc Hons. (Agriculture / Forestry / Cooperation & Banking) |
|
|
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B.Tech Biotechnology |
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B.F.Sc |
||
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B.Sc Hons. (Climate Change & Environmental Science) |
* 5% relaxation in marks for SC / ST candidates. |
|
|
B.V.Sc. & A.H |
|
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Special Notes to Consider:
Here are some special points students need to consider regarding the above-mentioned course-specific eligibility criteria.
The reservation prescribed for different courses as per the type of institution. Only Indian candidates will be considered for reservation. However, No PIO / OCI candidates will be eligible for any kind of reservation.
Reservations Seats for Different Courses
The reserved seats percentage in Government / Aided / KAU / KVASU / KUFOS colleges that offers Engineering Architecture, Pharmacy, BAMS, Medical and allied courses are as follows:
Mandatory Reservation
This is available for remaining government seats for all courses in Government / Aided / KAU / KVASU / KUFOS Colleges. The classification of reserved seats’ percentage of mandatory reservation for different categories is mentioned in the table below:
|
Category |
Reservation Percentage |
|
State Merit |
50% |
|
Economically Weaker Sections in General Category |
10% |
|
Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) |
30% |
|
Scheduled Castes (SC) |
8% |
|
Scheduled Tribes (ST) |
2% |
Reservation for PwD Candidates
According to the exam authorities and the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the PwD candidates must have at least 40% of specified disability (Locomotor Disability, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment, Speech & Language Disability and others) measurable or immeasurable to apply for the special quota seats.
To avail the reservation, PwD candidates also need to fulfil the minimum functional requirement as well as the category of benchmark disabilities as per the course they are applying for.
* The selection of PwD candidates will be done on the basis of their merit in entrance exam and physical suitability not on the basis of degree of disability.
* Note: To get the detailed information on reservation criteria, candidates can refer to the official prospectus that will be released by the exam authority on the official website that is “cee.kerala.gov.in”.
Yes, the candidate must have completed 17 years of age in order to apply for KEAM 2026.
Yes, candidates belonging from states other than Kerala (All Indian Nationals) are eligible to apply for the KEAM 2026 exam.
To apply for KEAM 2026, the candidates must have qualified Higher Secondary Education with required percentage of marks as per the course.
No, foreign candidates cannot apply for the Kerala Engineering Architecture and Medical exam.
Once the authorities will release the latest updates of the KEAM 2026 exam, candidates can check it on the official website “cee.kerala.gov.in”.
