NEET-UG

Overview

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is the single national-level entrance exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), for admission to MBBS, BDS and other undergraduate medical, dental and allied health-science courses in India. It is a pen-and-paper exam held on a single date in one shift nationwide.

Who can apply

Candidates must have passed or be appearing for Class 12 (or equivalent) with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology and English as core subjects. NTA sets a minimum age of 17 years, calculated as on 31 December of the admission year. Indian nationals, NRIs, OCIs, PIOs and foreign nationals are all eligible to apply, subject to the detailed conditions in the NEET information bulletin for the year.

Exam pattern

NEET-UG 2026 is an offline (pen-and-paper), single-shift exam of 3 hours 20 minutes, held in 13 languages.

Each correct answer carries 4 marks, and there is negative marking for incorrect answers, as prescribed in the NTA information bulletin.

Syllabus

The NEET-UG syllabus covers Physics, Chemistry and Biology from the Class 11 and 12 NCERT curriculum, as prescribed by NTA and the National Medical Commission each year. NTA publishes the detailed syllabus document on neet.nta.nic.in.

Marking and results

NTA releases the provisional answer key online with a window for candidates to challenge specific answers, followed by the final answer key and result. Ties in the total score are resolved using NTA's tie-breaking rules (based on subject-wise performance and other criteria published in the bulletin), and an All India Rank is generated for each candidate.

Important dates

For NEET-UG 2026, online applications were open from 8 February to 8 March 2026, with a correction window from 10 to 12 March 2026, and the exam was held on 3 May 2026. Dates change every cycle and are notified on neet.nta.nic.in.

Fees

For NEET-UG 2026, NTA's published application fee was ₹1,700 for General category candidates, ₹1,600 for General-EWS and OBC-NCL candidates, and ₹1,000 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. Fees are paid online during registration.

How to apply

Candidates register on the official NEET portal (neet.nta.nic.in), fill in personal, academic and category details, upload the required photograph, signature and documents to the specified format, and pay the application fee online. NTA later opens a correction window for candidates to fix errors before the final submission deadline.

After the exam

Once NTA declares results, admission to MBBS/BDS and other NEET-based courses proceeds through separate counselling — All India Quota seats through the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), and state-quota seats through each state's counselling authority — using the NEET-UG All India Rank and score.

Preparation tips

Because Biology carries half the total marks, giving it proportionate revision time alongside Physics and Chemistry pays off. Practising full-length NCERT-based mock tests under the actual 3-hour-20-minute time limit helps build the stamina and pacing NEET-UG needs. Reviewing previous years' NTA-released question papers and official answer keys is more reliable than relying on unofficial sources.

FAQs