NEET 2026 Cutoff Marks Released: Category-Wise Scores Explained
NEET 2026 cutoff marks are out. Get category-wise scores for General, OBC, SC, ST and PwD, plus topper details and five-year trends.
AC Team
The wait is over. NTA has released the NEET 2026 results along with the cutoff marks, and students across India are refreshing their screens to check where they stand. If you are one of them, take a breath. Let's walk through the numbers together, no confusing jargon, just plain facts.
What Is the NEET 2026 Cutoff, Exactly?
The NEET cutoff is the minimum score you need to qualify for medical counselling. It is not the score that gets you into a specific college. Think of it as the entry ticket to the stadium, not the seat number. Your actual college depends on your rank, category, and choices during counselling.
This year, the General category cutoff sits at 715-213, based on the 50th percentile rule. For OBC, SC, and ST candidates, the cutoff falls between 212 and 177 marks, using the 40th percentile mark.
Category-Wise Cutoff Table
| Category | Percentile | Cutoff Marks Range |
|---|---|---|
| General/EWS | 50th and above | 715-213 |
| OBC | 40th to 50th | 212-177 |
| SC/ST | 40th to 50th | 212-177 |
| SC/OBC - PwD | 40th to 50th | 193-177 |
| ST - PwD | 40th to 50th | 191-178 |
| General/EWS - PwD | 45th to 50th | 212-194 |
Notice how PwD candidates get a slightly relaxed percentile. This is not a favour, it is fairness built into the system. Every category gets a fair shot based on its own benchmark, not a one-size-fits-all number.
How Does This Year Compare to the Past?
Cutoffs move up and down every year. They depend on how tough the paper was, how many students showed up, and how many seats are on offer. Here is how the General category cutoff has shifted over the last five years.
| Year | General Category Cutoff |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 715-213 |
| 2025 | 686-144 |
| 2024 | 720-162 |
| 2023 | 720-137 |
| 2022 | 715-117 |
The lower end of the cutoff has climbed steadily since 2022. That tells you one simple thing: more students are studying harder, and the competition is not slowing down anytime soon.
Who Topped NEET 2026?
Aryan Gupta claimed AIR 1 this year with 715 marks, which is currently the highest score recorded in NEET 2026. If you scored anywhere close to that, congratulations, you are basically medical college royalty. For the rest of us mortals, there is still plenty of room to secure a good seat, since India has around 1,20,000 MBBS seats spread across government and private colleges.
What Decides Your Final Cutoff Rank?
The score cutoff tells you if you qualify. The rank cutoff tells you which college you can actually get into. These two are different things, and mixing them up causes half the panic every counselling season. Your final admission rank depends on:
- Total number of applicants that year
- Difficulty level of the paper
- Seats available under All India and State quotas
- Number of candidates who cleared the qualifying percentile
As a rough guide, scoring above 670 usually places you in the top 100 ranks nationally. Anything above 550 keeps you in a comfortable zone for many government colleges, though this varies by state and category.
A Quick Reality Check
Qualifying NEET does not guarantee a government MBBS seat. It simply opens the door to counselling. From there, your rank, your category, your home state, and even your choice-filling strategy during counselling all play a part. So if your score sits near the cutoff line, do not lose hope, and do not celebrate too early either. Wait for the counselling rounds to see where you truly land.
Common Questions Students Ask
Does a higher cutoff mean the exam was easier? Not always. A higher cutoff can also mean more students appeared or performed better overall.
Can PwD candidates use the general category cutoff instead? No, PwD candidates follow their own percentile rules, which are slightly relaxed compared to the general list.
Will the cutoff be the same for BDS admissions? The qualifying cutoff applies to NEET overall, but individual BDS colleges may have their own rank requirements during counselling.
Keep your documents ready, track the counselling schedule closely, and remember that this cutoff is just the starting line, not the finish.
