NEET MDS Cutoff 2026: Qualifying Cutoff Out, Category Wise Marks and Specialty Wise Closing Rank

The NEET MDS 2026 qualifying cutoff is out at natboard.edu.in. NBEMS declared it on June 2, 2026, with the result. General and EWS candidates need at least 308 marks out of 960 to qualify for counselling. MCC Round 1 seat allotment for AIQ seats is expected by late July 2026.

NEET MDS 2026 qualifying cutoff for General/EWS is 308 marks, up 47 marks from 261 in 2025.

• The General/EWS qualifying cutoff for NEET MDS 2026 is 308 marks (50th percentile) — up 47 marks from 261 in 2025.
• SC, ST, and OBC candidates need 271 marks (40th percentile) to qualify for NEET MDS 2026 counselling.
• UR-PwBD candidates must score at least 289 marks (45th percentile) to qualify.
• MCC manages the 50% All India Quota (AIQ) seats. Round 1 allotment is expected by late July 2026 at mcc.nic.in.
• Each state runs its own counselling for the remaining state quota seats.
• Crossing the qualifying cutoff makes you eligible for counselling. Your All India Rank (AIR) decides which specialty and college you actually get.
• Top specialties like Oral Surgery and Orthodontics fill within the top 400 AIR at premier government dental colleges.

NEET MDS 2026 Cutoff: Important Dates

Upcoming events appear first in the table below. Past events follow in chronological order.

Confirmed dates for upcoming rounds will appear at mcc.nic.in after each allotment cycle.

Factors Affecting NEET MDS 2026 Cutoff

The NEET MDS qualifying cutoff changes every year. Several factors decide where it lands for each category.

• Exam difficulty: A harder paper lowers scores across all candidates. The 2026 exam was tougher than 2025. This pushed the 50th percentile mark up to 308.
• Number of candidates appearing: A larger candidate pool increases competition. NEET MDS 2026 attracted more BDS graduates than recent cycles.
• Total MDS seats available: More seats allow the admission closing rank to go further down the list. Fewer seats push it tighter at the top.
• Ministry revision of qualifying percentile: The Ministry of Health has revised qualifying norms downward in some years. This directly reduces the marks needed to qualify.
• Performance of top candidates: A high topper score compresses the rank distribution. The 2026 topper scored 802 out of 960. This raised the absolute marks at the 50th percentile.
• Category-wise seat distribution: SC, ST, OBC, and EWS seats each have their own closing ranks. The seat count per category shapes how deep that list goes.
• Single-session format — no normalisation: NEET MDS is a single-day exam. There is no score normalisation across sessions. The cutoff reflects raw performance on that one paper.

NEET MDS 2026 Category-Wise Qualifying Cutoff

NBEMS sets the NEET MDS cutoff at a fixed percentile for each category. The marks needed to hit that percentile change every year. Below are the official 2026 figures.

The percentile bands stay fixed year to year. Only the marks that map to those percentiles change. EWS candidates follow the General category threshold at the 50th percentile. OBC candidates applying under the non-creamy layer use the 40th percentile cutoff.

NEET MDS uses 240 questions worth 4 marks each, giving a total of 960 marks. There is a penalty of 1 mark for each wrong answer. Scoring 308 means you performed better than at least half of all candidates who appeared.

NEET MDS Qualifying vs Admission Cutoff

These two terms describe different thresholds. Both matter, but they serve different purposes in your admissions journey.

Scoring 308 marks clears the qualifying bar for General/EWS. But Orthodontics at MAIDS Delhi requires an AIR inside the top 50. The qualifying marks alone are nowhere near enough for that seat.

If you scored around 340 marks and your AIR lands near 3,500, you are still eligible for counselling. You can get seats in moderately competitive specialties like Periodontics at government colleges in that rank range.

NEET MDS 2026 Previous Year Cutoff Trends

The table below tracks General/EWS and SC/ST/OBC qualifying marks year by year. It also shows how much each year changed from the year before it.

Source: NBEMS NEET MDS Result Notifications, natboard.edu.in

Between 2022 and 2025, the General/EWS cutoff fell by 25 marks. The Ministry revised qualifying norms downward during this period to fill vacant MDS seats. In 2026, the trend reversed sharply. The cutoff rose by 47 marks — the biggest single-year jump in this five-year window.

The gap between the General and SC/ST/OBC cutoff has stayed consistent. In 2022, the gap was 36 marks. In 2026, it is 37 marks. Despite the large overall shifts in both directions, this gap barely moved.

Candidates preparing for NEET MDS 2027 should not use recent low-cutoff years as their baseline. A target of 330 marks or above gives a comfortable qualifying margin for the General/EWS category.

NEET MDS 2026: Specialty-Wise Counselling Closing Rank

Once you clear the NEET MDS cutoff, your AIR determines which specialty you can access in counselling. The table below gives approximate AIQ closing rank ranges for the General category. These are based on 2024–2025 counselling trends. The 2026 closing ranks will update at mcc.nic.in after each counselling round.

These ranges cover AIQ seats at government dental colleges. SC, ST, and OBC category closing ranks are generally much higher (more relaxed) than the General category shown here. Deemed and private dental colleges have separate counselling processes with their own cutoffs.

NEET MDS 2026 Cutoff for Top Colleges

Premier government dental colleges fill most AIQ seats in Round 1. The closing ranks below are based on 2024–2025 counselling data. Treat them as a guide — actual 2026 closing ranks will publish at mcc.nic.in after each allotment round.

AIIMS Delhi now has an MDS programme. Its seats fall outside MCC AIQ counselling. Admission there follows a separate process at aiims.edu.

NEET MDS Tie-Breaking Rules 2026

When two candidates score the same marks, NBEMS uses the following order to assign ranks.

1. The candidate with higher marks in Oral Medicine and Radiology gets priority.
2. If still tied, higher marks in General Surgery, General Medicine, or General Pathology decides.
3. If still tied, the older candidate (earlier date of birth) gets priority.
4. If still tied, the candidate with the smaller application number gets priority.

NBEMS publishes the complete tie-breaking policy in the official Information Bulletin at natboard.edu.in each year. Always read the current year’s bulletin for confirmed rules.

NEET MDS 2026 Counselling Process

MCC conducts NEET MDS counselling for two types of seats. These are the 50% AIQ seats at government dental colleges, and all seats at deemed and central universities. The process runs in rounds.

• Round 1: Open to all qualified candidates. Register at mcc.nic.in, pay the fee, fill your preferences, and lock them before the deadline. MCC allots seats based on your rank and locked choices.
• Round 2: Fresh candidates can register. Candidates allotted in Round 1 who did not join can also re-enter. Remaining seats get allotted based on updated preferences.
• Round 3 / Mop-Up: MCC fills whatever seats remain after Round 2. Fresh candidates and those who forfeited earlier allotments can participate.
• State Quota (50%): Your home state’s counselling authority manages the remaining 50% of seats. Domicile rules and state-specific reservation norms apply. Check your state health department website for dates and the process.

You can register for both AIQ counselling and state counselling at the same time. Accepting an AIQ seat does not block you from state counselling. You must pay the security deposit and report to the allotted college to confirm the seat.

How to Check NEET MDS Cutoff 2026

Follow these steps to access the official NEET MDS 2026 qualifying cutoff from natboard.edu.in.

1. Open natboard.edu.in in your browser.
2. Find the “NEET MDS 2026” section on the homepage.
3. Click on “Result / Cutoff Notification.”
4. The qualifying cutoff PDF opens. It shows marks and percentiles for each category.
5. Save or print the PDF for your records.

To view your scorecard and rank, log in with your application number and date of birth on the same portal. Click “Scorecard” under the NEET MDS 2026 section.

For round-wise counselling allotment results, visit mcc.nic.in and go to the NEET MDS counselling section after each round’s allotment date.