Every year, lakhs of medical aspirants appear in the NEET exam and understanding the NEET age limit 2026 before applying is important. NMC, with the National Testing Agency (NTA) as the conducting body, sets the age limit for NEET, which is published in the official information brochure.
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Candidates planning to appear in the NEET exam must go through all the details about the category-wise age limit. Over the years, NEET age limit criteria have gone through many changes, as earlier there was a strict NEET age limit for students, which was later removed by the NMC. To know all about the NEET 2026 age limit, detailed criteria and other information, read the full article below.
Medical aspirants preparing to get into their dream medical college must go through this brief overview of the NEET age limit 2026 to avoid any hassle while applying for the NEET exam 2026.
Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
Exam Name | National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) |
Conducting Authority | |
Academic Year | 2026 |
Minimum Age Completion Date | On or before December 31, 2026 |
NEET Minimum Age Limit 2026 | 17 years |
Maximum Age Limit for NEET 2026 | No upper age limit |
NEET UG Age Limit 2026 | Same for candidates from all the categories |
NEET 2026 Age Limit for Girls | Same as male candidates |
Age for NEET exam calculation basis | Based on date of birth mentioned in Class 10 certificate |
Courses Covered Under NEET | MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BUMS, BSMS |
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The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET 2026), which is a single national-level entrance examination for admission to all the undergraduate medical courses, such as MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BUMS, BSMS, and others. The NEET 2026 age criteria has been set to ensure that the candidate applying for admission is ready for medical education after completing the required academic qualification. Candidates are advised to adhere to the NEET rules and regulations as provided by the authority.
As per the conducting authority, candidates who complete their age of 17 years on or before December 31, 2026, are eligible for the NEET exam. Along with the age limit, candidates need to meet the NEET criteria for 12th percentage. The NEET minimum age limit 2025 is as mentioned in the table below.
For Candidates of General (UR)/General-EWS | Born on or before December 31, 2009 |
For Candidates of SC/ST/OBCNCL/PwBD/PwD Category |
Candidates must know that no relaxation is provided in the NEET 2026 age limit as per the category of the applicant. The age for the NEET exam 2026 is the same for all the candidates irrespective of their category. Check the details in the table below.
Category | NEET Minimum Age Limit | Maximum Age |
|---|---|---|
NEET 2026 age limit for General | 17 years | No limit |
NEET age limit for OBC 2026 | 17 years | No limit |
NEET age limit for SC | 17 years | No limit |
NEET age limit 2026 for ST | 17 years | No limit |
NEET age limit for EWS | 17 years | No limit |
NEET 2026 age limit for PwD | 17 years | No limit |
Also Read: Do’s and Don’ts of the NEET exam
The NEET 2026 age limit for girls is the same as that of male applicants, which is 17 years. The authority does not provide any gender-based NEET age limit relaxation. There is no maximum NEET age criteria 2026 for female candidates either.
NEET does not have any upper age limit restrictions. Earlier, an upper age limit was introduced for NEET along with the maximum NEET attempt limit in 2017, which was removed later by NMC on March 9, 2022.
There is no restriction on the number of NEET attempts. Candidates can appear in the NEET UG exam as many times as they want. Earlier, there were 3 attempts for NEET exam, which were later scrapped by the authority.
Along with the NEET age limit 2026, candidates have to meet the NEET eligibility marks in class 12th too. According to the NEET eligibility criteria, candidates who have passed or are appearing in class 12th with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology from a recognised board. The minimum marks vary by category.
On Question asked by student community
Hello Dear Student,
The NEET 2025 qualifying cutoff score for the ST category was 143–113 marks (40th percentile), while admission to government MBBS colleges typically required a safe score range of 425 to 550+ marks or ranks stretching up to 1,68,000+ depending on the quota and round.
You can check,
Hello Student,
Yes, MCC counselling offers admission to MBBS, BDS, and several allied health science courses under the 15% All India quota, Central University, AIIMS, jipmer, and other participating Institute. However, whether you can get a seat depends on your NEET score, rank, Category, and cut off for preferred course.
Hello, with a NEET 2026 score of 336, AIR 4 lakh, OBC rank 2 lakh, and UP domicile, you can apply for allied health science courses that accept NEET scores. Admission depends on the course, college, eligibility criteria, counselling process, and seat availability.
You can check the list of allied
Hello Dear Student,
Unfortunately, with a score of 378 and an AIR of (3,31,598), you will not be able to secure a government medical seat anywhere in India, including Maharashtra, under both the All India Quota (AIQ) and State Quota.
You can check, find and access more information here:
Hello,
Hello,
Admission depends on the counselling process, category, rank, seat availability, and the cutoff for the current session. Please participate in the respective counselling rounds and check the official counselling schedule and previous year's cutoff before filling your choices.
Thank you.
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