NEET 2026 Cutoff: Category-Wise Qualifying Marks and Year-Wise Trends

NEET 2026 qualifying cutoff for General category students is expected to fall between 140 and 165 marks out of 720, based on year-wise trends from 2020 to 2024.

NTA sets NEET qualifying cutoffs as a percentile threshold — 50th percentile for General and 45th for General-PwD — so the actual marks equivalent changes every year depending on paper difficulty and student performance. Crossing the qualifying cutoff only earns you a scorecard; MBBS admission requires a significantly higher score through counselling.

• NEET UG total marks: 720 (180 questions × 4 marks each)
• General (UR) qualifying percentile: 50th percentile
• OBC / SC / ST qualifying percentile: 40th percentile
• NEET 2024 General cutoff: 164 marks; OBC/SC/ST cutoff: 129 marks
• NEET 2026 General cutoff (expected): 140–165 marks based on 2024 trends
• Cutoff varies year to year — lowest was 117 marks (General, 2022); highest was 164 marks (General, 2024)

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What is NEET Qualifying Cutoff?

The NEET qualifying cutoff is the minimum marks you must score to receive a NEET scorecard and be eligible for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and nursing counselling. NTA expresses it as a percentile rather than a fixed score, so the actual marks change each year.

There are two distinct cutoffs every NEET student should know:

• Qualifying cutoff — the minimum marks to obtain a NEET rank and participate in counselling
• Admission cutoff — the closing rank at which the last seat in a specific college and course is filled during counselling rounds

Scoring above the qualifying cutoff does not guarantee admission to MBBS. Your All India Rank determines which colleges and courses you can access through MCC and state counselling.

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NEET 2026 Expected Category-Wise Cutoff

The table below shows expected NEET 2026 qualifying cutoff marks by category, based on 2024 official data and five-year performance trends. These are projected figures; the official cutoff will be declared with the NEET 2026 result on neet.nta.nic.in.

If NEET 2026 is easier than 2024, the cutoff could rise above 165 for General. A tougher paper would push it below 140. The official cutoff is published alongside the result on the NTA portal.

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NEET Cutoff Year-Wise Comparison (2020–2024)

NEET qualifying cutoff marks for General category have ranged from 117 to 164 over the last five years, reflecting how paper difficulty shifts the percentile threshold each cycle. The table below shows official cutoff marks for all four categories from 2020 to 2024.

Key observations from this data:

• 2022 recorded the lowest cutoff (117 for General, 93 for OBC/SC/ST) — the paper was significantly harder that year.
• 2024 recorded the highest cutoff (164 for General) in this five-year window, indicating an easier paper and higher average scores.
• The gap between General and OBC/SC/ST cutoff has stayed consistently around 30–35 marks across years, corresponding to the 10-percentile difference in the qualifying threshold.
• PwD cutoffs follow the same trend but sit between the General and OBC/SC/ST thresholds.

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Factors That Affect NEET Cutoff Each Year

Understanding why the NEET cutoff moves up or down helps you interpret expected figures more accurately:

• Paper difficulty: The single biggest driver. A harder paper depresses scores across all students, lowering the marks that correspond to the 50th or 40th percentile.
• Total students appearing: NEET 2024 saw over 24 lakh students — a larger pool means the 50th-percentile mark can shift even with similar difficulty.
• Number of available MBBS seats: New college approvals expand total seats but do not directly change the qualifying percentile cutoff — they affect admission cutoffs at individual colleges.
• Category-wise student distribution: The proportion of students in each category determines where the 40th and 50th percentile marks fall within that group.
• Syllabus changes or exam format updates: Any revision to the NEET syllabus or question pattern in a given year can shift average performance, and therefore the qualifying cutoff marks.

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NEET Qualifying Cutoff vs College Admission Cutoff

Crossing the NEET qualifying cutoff and securing MBBS admission are two very different benchmarks. The qualifying cutoff (164 marks for General in 2024) is the entry floor — scoring above it earns you a rank and counselling eligibility. Actual MBBS admission in a government college demands a far higher score.

If your expected NEET 2026 score is between 164 and 400, you are likely to qualify and compete for BDS, AYUSH, and private management quota MBBS seats. Scores above 550 improve your chances at government MBBS in most states. These are indicative ranges based on 2024 trends and will vary by state and college.