NEET Attempt Limit 2026: NTA Rules on Attempts, Age & Eligibility

NEET Attempt Limit 2026: NTA Rules on Attempts, Age & Eligibility

Deep PathakUpdated on 26 Dec 2025, 10:49 AM IST

The NEET attempt limit 2026 is the maximum allowed attempts a candidate can have to appear in the NEET UG exam. Currently there is no NEET attempt limit and any candidate who fulfils the eligibility criteria set by the NTA can give as many attempts as he/she wants. However, for NEET 2026, candidates have only one attempt as the exam will be conducted only one time in 2026. Earlier in 2017, when CBSE was conducting the exam, the attempt limit for NEET was three. However, later on this NEET attempts limit was removed by MCI (Now NMC).

This Story also Contains

  1. NEET Attempt Limit 2026: Overview
  2. NEET 2026 Attempt Limit
  3. NEET Exam Attempt Limit: History
  4. NEET Attempt Age Limit: Complete Guide
  5. NEET Attempt Limit for Droppers
  6. NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026
NEET Attempt Limit 2026: NTA Rules on Attempts, Age & Eligibility
NEET Attempt Limit 2026

NEET 2026 will be conducted by NTA for admission to MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH courses in government and private colleges of India. As it is the single largest entrance for undergraduate admission, knowing the NEET 2026 attempt limit is crucial for students. Aspirants often search for queries like “How many attempts for NEET”, should know that currently there is no attempt limit for NEET. Read the complete article to know comprehensive details about the NEET attempt limit 2026.

NEET Attempt Limit 2026: Overview

Particular

Details

Exam name

NEET UG 2026

Conducting body

NTA

Mode of exam

Offline

Attempts limit

No limit

Age limit

  • Minimum age - 17 years on December 31, 2026

  • Maximum age - No limit

NEET 2026 Attempt Limit

For 2026, there is only one attempt limit for candidates, since the NEET UG exam is conducted once a year. However, candidates fulfilling the NEET eligibility criteria can appear as many times as they want for the exam. The complete details regarding the attempt limit will be provided in the information bulletin of NEET 2026.

NEET Exam Attempt Limit: History

The history of NEET attempts started from 2017 when CBSE was the conducting body of NEET UG. In 2017, CBSE introduced the NEET attempt age limit. As per this, from 2017 onwards, the attempt limit for NEET UG was fixed to “Three”. Alongside this attempt limit, the CBSE also introduced the upper age limit in NEET, and fixed it to a maximum of 25 years.

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However this restriction on the age and attempt limit for NEET was criticised citing this will limit the number of doctors in the country. Later in 2017, the attempt limit from NEET was removed and candidates were allowed to appear for the exam as many times as they wanted.

NEET Attempt Age Limit: Complete Guide

Many aspirants often get confused with the age and attempt limit for NEET. Both the attempt limit and age limit are different. Below is a comparison of NEET attempt limit and age limit.

NEET Attempt vs Age Limit

Parameter

Status (2026)

Details

Attempt limit

No limit

Unlimited attempts allowed

Upper age limit

No limit

Removed by NMC

Lower age limit

17 years

By Dec 31, 2026

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NEET Attempt Limit for Droppers

There is no attempt limit in NEET for droppers. As long as a dropper student meets the eligibility criteria set by the NTA, he/she is eligible for the NEET exam. Till 2017, there were some restrictions on NEET attempts for dropper students, which later on were removed.

NEET Eligibility Criteria 2026

To be eligible for NEET 2026, candidates must fulfil these eligibility criteria -

  • Candidates must have passed or be appearing in Class 12 or equivalent with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English as core subjects from a recognised board.

  • Aspirants should have scored the minimum marks required in PCB: 50% for General (UR), 40% for OBC/SC/ST, and 45% for PwBD (General) candidates.

  • The candidate must be 17 years old on or before December 31, 2026.

  • The candidate must be an Indian citizen, NRIs, OCIs, PIOs, and foreign nationals.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: NEET attempt limit for General category?
A:

There is no attempt limit in NEET for General category candidates. They can attempt NEET as many times as they want.

Q: NEET attempt limit for OBC?
A:

There is no attempt limit for OBC candidates in NEET. They can appear any number of times if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Q: When was the NEET attempt limit removed?
A:

The NEET attempt limit was removed in 2017 by the Medical Council of India, MCI (Now NMC).

Q: Can a candidate attempt NEET 4th time?
A:

Yes a candidate can attempt NEET 4th time. However, the candidate must fulfil the NEET UG eligibility criteria set by the NTA.

Q: How many drops are allowed in NEET?
A:

There is no limit on the number of “Drops” allowed in the NEET UG exam. Candidates can take a “Drop” as many times as they want.

Q: How many NEET attempts are there in a year?
A:

Since NEET is conducted only one time a year, there is only one attempt available in a year.

Q: How many NEET attempts are allowed?
A:

Candidates can attempt the NEET exam as many times as they want. There is no restriction in the NEET attempts limit.

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Questions related to NEET

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to NEET ?

Hello,

Here are good career options for PCB students in India (excluding NEET/MBBS) that have high demand, jobs available, and long-term stability :

1. Biotechnology

  • Study: B.Sc/ B.Tech/ M.Sc in Biotechnology.

  • Jobs: Research, labs, pharma, agriculture biotech.

  • Why: Growing field with many industries.

2. Pharmacy

  • Study: B.Pharm, M.Pharm.

  • Jobs: Pharmacist,

HELLO,

Yes , the NEST exam is generally considered tougher than NEET as it requires more focus towards conceptual understanding and thinking , while NEET generally tests NCERT based knowledge where as in NEST it requires you to have deeper clarity in Physics , Chemistry , Biology and Mathematics.

NEET

Hello,

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to medical and dental colleges in India. Biology is the most important section in NEET as it carries 360 marks, which is half of the total score, with 45 questions each from

HELLO,

Below i am attaching the link through which you can easily access the previous three year question paper of NEET with solutions PDF

Here is the link :- https://medicine.careers360.com/download/sample-papers/neet-previous-year-question-papers-solutions-pdf

Hope this will help you!

Hi there,

Apart from NEET and CUET you can explore the following career paths to

Students pursuing the PCB (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) stream can explore a wide range of options apart from CUET and NEET. Their choices are not just limited to medicine and can expand to include numerous areas