The exam conducting body i.e., National Testing Agency (NTA) has reverted the NEET UG Exam Pattern in 2025 to the pre-covid format. as per 2025 The NEET UG exam 2026 should have 180 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) instead of 200. Now, the NEET UG 2026 question paper should include 45 questions in both Physics & Chemistry and remaining 90 questions in the Biology section. Moreover, the exam time has been reduced to 180 Minutes from 3 Hours and 120 Minutes.
National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) is a Pen & Paper-based exam as per the NEET UG Exam Pattern. The test is conducted on a machine gradable Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet. NTA i.e., the National Testing Agency (the exam conducting body) is responsible for conducting the NEET UG 2026 entrance exam.
From this article, get details of NEET UG 2026 paper pattern including the section-wise exam pattern, marking criteria, examination mode, etc.
Students should have a deep understanding of the exam pattern of the past year until the NTA releases the latest NEET pattern 2026. To effectively prepare for the exam, it is essential for the students to know the key points about the NEET UG 2026 exam pattern which are as follows:
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Particular
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Details
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Mode of Examination
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Offline – Pen and Paper-based Test
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Medium / Languages
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13 Languages - English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
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Time Duration
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3 Hours
* Compensatory time of 1 Hour and 5 Minutes for PwD candidates.
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Total Number of Questions
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180
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Type of Questions
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MCQs - Multiple Choice Questions
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Marking Scheme
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- For every right answer: 4 Marks
- For every incorrect answer: -1 Mark
* No negative marking for unanswered questions.
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NEET Total Marks
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720
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* Along with the exam pattern, aspirants are also suggested to refer to the NEET UG syllabus 2026 to score good marks in the test.
NEET Exam Pattern 2026: Section-Wise Details
According to the NEET UG exam 2026 pattern, there will be 4 subjects in the question paper which are Physics, Chemistry, Botany, and Zoology.
From the below-given table, students will learn about the detailed section-wise pattern of the NEET UG exam 2026:
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Section
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Number of Questions (MCQs)
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Marks
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Physics
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45
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180
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Chemistry
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45
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180
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Botany
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45
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180
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Zoology
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45
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180
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Overall
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180
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720
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NEET Exam Pattern 2026: Language Options
From the 13 languages, students are required to choose any one at the time of filling the application form. As per the NEET UG exam pattern 2026, candidates who will be selecting Hindi or any other regional language will be provided with the question paper in English along with the respective chosen language.
The below-given table indicates the language options available at the respective test centre / cities:
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Medium / Language
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Availability in the NEET Exam Centres
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English
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All Examination Centres
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English and Hindi
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All Examination Centres in India
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English and Assamese
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Examination Centres in Assam
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English and Bengali
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Examination Centres in West Bengal, Tripura, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands
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English and Gujarati
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Examination Centres in Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli
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English and Kannada
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Examination Centres in Karnataka
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English and Malayalam
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Examination Centres in Kerala and Lakshadweep
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English and Marathi
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Examination Centres in Maharashtra
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English and Odia
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Examination Centres in Odisha
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English and Punjabi
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Examination Centres in Punjab, Chandigarh, and Delhi/New Delhi (including Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Noida/Greater Noida)
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English and Tamil
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Examination Centres in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands
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English and Telugu
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Examination Centres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
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English and Urdu
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All Examination Centres in India
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NEET Exam Pattern 2026: Facilities for PwBD Candidates
The exam conducting body i.e., National Testing Agency (NTA) provides some special facilities to the candidates belonging to the ‘Person with Benchmark Disability’ (PwBD) category which are as follows:
- Scribe Facility: During the application process, PwBD candidates who are visually impaired or have a disability in the upper limbs or have lost fingers / hands can avail the scribe facility. The minimum eligibility to avail scribe facility is to have at least 40% of a specified disability.
Note: NTA will itself make an arrangement for the scribe to help PwBD students in writing the exam. However, if the students want to bring their own scribe, they are required to submit the Letter of Undertaking in the required format.
- Compensatory Time: Students belonging to PwBD category, whether they are availing the scribe facility or not, will be provided with extra compensatory time of 1 Hour and 5 Minutes to appear for the NEET UG exam.
NEET Exam Pattern 2026: Marking Scheme
From the below-given points, students will learn about the NEET marking scheme 2026:
- For every correct answer, 4 marks will be granted.
- -1 Mark will be negatively marked for a wrong answer.
- No negative marking will be applicable for unanswered / unattempted questions.
- In any case, if there is more than one correct option in a question, 4 Marks will be awarded to those candidates who have marked any one of the right options.
- If a question consists of all right options, 4 Marks will be granted to those students who have attempted it.
- For every subject, if the question is found incorrect / dropped / all the options are wrong, 4 Marks will be provided to all appearing aspirants, whether they have attempted the question or not.
* Candidates who have met the NEET eligibility criteria 2026 and completed the NEET registration 2026 should prepare as per the NEET exam pattern 2026 in order to enhance the test preparation level.
