NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026: Check Nationality, Age Limit, Aggregate Score & Qualifications

The NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026 states that students must have achieved 50% marks in 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, Biology / Biotechnology & English. Also, the aspirants must be at least 17 years old. Candidates who wish to appear for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test must meet the prescribed eligibility criteria by NTA which is the exam conducting body.

Go through this article to know the required age limit, nationality, academic qualification, reservation, qualifying exam codes and other important information regarding the NEET UG exam eligibility criteria.

The Indians, Foreign Nationals, OCI, and PIO candidates are eligible to apply for the NEET exam. Candidates are advised to know all the necessary requirements before applying for the entrance test. The NTA i.e., exam authority will soon release the updated NEET exam eligibility criteria 2026 on the official website i.e., “exams.nta.ac.in/NEET”.

Below-given table comprises the detailed eligibility requirements of the NEET UG 2026:

* The Indian Nationals / OCI Candidates who want to pursue UG Medical courses in Medical / Dental institutes in other countries need to qualify NEET.

Along with meeting the eligibility requirements specified above, candidates have to select the qualifying examination codes in their application form. For that, aspirants need to be eligible as per the below-mentioned codes as prescribed by the conducting body of NEET:

Code 01: A candidate who is appearing in the qualifying examination, i.e., class 12 in 2024, whose result is awaited, may apply and appear in the test but he/she shall not be eligible for admission to the Undergraduate Medical Courses if he/she does not pass the qualifying examination with the required pass percentage at the time of first round of Counselling.

Candidates who have appeared or are appearing at the qualifying Examination with English, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology as the main subject and expect to pass the Examination with the required percentage of marks are also eligible to apply and appear in the Competitive Entrance Examination. However, their candidature will be considered only if they provide documentary evidence of having passed the qualifying Examination with the required subjects and percentage of marks.

Code 02: The Higher/Senior Secondary Examination or the Indian School Certificate Examination which is equivalent to class 12 Higher/Senior Secondary Examination after a period of 12 years of study, the last two years of such study comprising of Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Bio-technology (which shall include practical tests in these subjects) and Mathematics or any other elective subject with English at a level not less than the core course for English as prescribed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training after the introduction of the 10+2+3 educational structure as recommended by the National Committee on Education

Code 03: The Intermediate/Pre-degree Examination in Science of an Indian University/Board or other recognized examining body with Physics, Chemistry, Biology /Biotechnology (which shall include practical test in these subjects) and also English as a compulsory subject.

Code 04: The Pre-professional/Pre-medical Examination with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English after passing either the Higher Secondary Examination or the Pre-University or an equivalent examination. The Preprofessional/Pre-medical examination shall include practical tests in these subjects and also English as a compulsory subject

Code 05: The first year of the three years’ degree course of a recognized University with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Biotechnology including practical tests in these subjects provided the examination is a University Examination and the candidate has passed the earlier qualifying examination with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/ Biotechnology with English at a level not less than a core course

Code 06: B.Sc. Examination of an Indian University provided that he/she has passed the B.Sc. Examination with not less than two of the subjects Physics, Chemistry, Biology (Botany, Zoology)/Biotechnology and further that he/ she has passed the earlier qualifying examination with Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English.

Code 07: Any other examination which in scope and standard (Last 02 years of 10+2 Study comprising of Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Biotechnology; which shall include practical test in these subjects) is found to be equivalent to the Intermediate Science Examination of an Indian University/Board, taking Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Biotechnology including practical tests in each of these subjects and English.

* Candidates qualified from Foreign / International Board must ensure that the qualifying exam they have passed is, in scope and standard, as mentioned in Code: 07

* Eligible students can register for the exam and start the preparation for NEET UG exam for which they can rely on the NEET syllabus 2026 and NEET exam pattern 2026.

The admission as per the reserved seats for the Indian students will be based on the rules prescribed by the government of India. The reservation policy mentioned in this section is for the admission to the MBBS and BDS courses through the NEET exam.

The category-wise percentage of reservation seats is mentioned in the table given-below:

*After fulfilling the entire NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026, candidates can proceed for the NEET Registration 2026.

Special Points to Consider:

According to the NEET UG Eligibility Criteria 2026, below-mentioned are some special points which need to be considered in regards with reservation criteria specified above:

• Candidates from Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will get 15% of all India quota seats.
• All the candidates need to submit the required certificates as per the respective categories to claim for reservation seats.
• OBC-NCL candidates should be listed in the updated central list whether they are present in the state list or not.
• According to the section 2(r) of the RPwD Act, 2016 “persons with benchmark disabilities”, only candidates with at least 40% of specified disability will be eligible for reservation.