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The NEET UG 2026 exam is expected to see the highest number of registrations in history. Till March 10, 2026, the total NEET 2026 registration has already crossed 23 lakh and it is expected that by March 11, 2026, this number could cross 26 lakh, making it the highest number of registrations in NEET UG exam ever. This highest number of NEET 2026 registration is mainly due to merging of multiple allied health entrance exams, and inclusion of physiotherapy admissions through NEET UG.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the NEET UG 2026 college entrance test on May 3.
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Over the past five years, NEET registrations have grown from 16.14 lakh in 2021 to over 22.76 lakh in 2025. For NEET 2026, several state level allied health entrance exams such as AP NCET, RPVT, RUHS Paramedical, etc are merged with NEET UG exam. Due to this, several candidates who used to sit for these specific exams now mandatorily need to appear for NEET 2026, potentially increasing the number of total NEET 2026 registrations. This article provides comprehensive details on NEET 2026 expected registrations, factors that could lead to highest registration, and past 5-year registration trends.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts NEET UG every year for admission to undergraduate medical courses such as MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, veterinary, nursing, and other allied health programmes. For NEET 2026, the total number of applicants is expected to surpass 26 lakh, breaking the previous record of 24 lakh registrations seen in 2024.
Allied & Healthcare programs | 20+ Partner Universities & Institutes | 98% placement record
Some of the possible reasons why NEET 2026 could see the highest registrations are -
1. Allied Health Entrance Exams Merged with NEET UG
Several state or institutional entrance exams for healthcare courses are now being merged with NEET UG. Some examples include: AP NCET (Allied Health Science Entrance), RPVT (Rajasthan Pre-Veterinary Test), Certain state-level paramedical entrance exams. With these exams now being replaced by NEET UG, many more students will register for the NEET 2026.
2. Physiotherapy Admissions Through NEET UG
Another major change is that Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) admissions are now being conducted based on NEET UG scores. This adds a large pool of students who previously appeared for separate entrance tests.
As per the latest available data from media sources, the total number of NEET 2026 registrations has crossed 23 lakh. Based on various sources, the trend of total NEET registration 2026 is provided below.
Time Period | Estimated Registrations |
|---|---|
Feb 9 - Feb 15 | ~2 Lakh |
Feb 16 - Feb 22 | ~6 Lakh |
Feb 23 - Mar 1 | ~11 Lakh |
Mar 2 - Mar 6 | ~16 Lakh |
Mar 7 - Mar 9 | ~21 Lakh |
Mar 10 - Mar 11 | ~23 to 26 Lakh |
To get an idea about the approx number of applicants in NEET 2026, the previous year’s data of total registration is provided below.
Year | Registered Candidates | Appeared Candidates |
|---|---|---|
2025 | 22,76,069 | 22,09,318 |
2024 | 24,06,079 | 23,33,297 |
2023 | 20,87,462 | 20,38,596 |
2022 | 18,72,343 | 17,64,571 |
2021 | 16,14,777 | 15,44,275 |
With the total number of registrations expected to cross 26 lakh, NEET 2026 could become the most competitive NEET UG exam so far. As thousands of seats in veterinary, nursing, physiotherapy, and allied health programmes are now being filled through the NEET exam, the level of competition is likely to increase significantly. With such a large number of candidates competing for approximately 1.30 lakh MBBS seats, 28,000 BDS seats, and over 52,000 AYUSH seats, candidates may see the highest-ever NEET cutoff.
On Question asked by student community
NTA is yet to announce the NEET 2026 correction date. Please refer to this article for the latest information about the NEET form correction 2026- https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-correction-window .
Dear Student,
You can check marks required in NEET for Government Colleges category-wise here .
Hello Student,
The admission process will start once the NEET Results are out and the counselling begins in sometime between July and August.
For more informatin you can also go through the link below.
Link - Admission in BPT and BOT through NEET 2026
Hope this was helpful!
Hi, the Karnataka board usually releases the timetable for Exam-1 and Exam-2 first. After seeing the results, they decide whether Exam-3 is needed. If needed, they will release the timetable later.
So at the moment, there may simply be no notification yet, which is why they told you that they
Hey Gaurav, yes you can fill out a declaration/undertaking form in place of the EWS certificate for the NEET 2026 application process to tentatively claim the EWS category. However, you must obtain a valid EWS certificate (issued on or after April 1, 2026, for the 2026-27 session) before the counselling
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