The National Testing Agency has put out a year-by-year data sheet for NEET (UG), and the 2026 numbers tell a clear story: more students signed up, far fewer showed up, and the count of those who cleared the exam slipped from last year. NEET (UG) is the single entrance test for MBBS, BDS and other medical and allied undergraduate seats across India.
For 2026, 22,79,743 candidates registered, a shade above the 22,76,069 of 2025. But only 19,99,895 actually appeared, down from 22,09,318 last year. That gap matters. The number of absentees jumped to 2,79,848, the highest in the eight-year run shown, against just 66,751 in 2025.
The qualified count fell too. 11,21,185 candidates qualified in 2026, compared with 12,36,531 in 2025.
Here is how the top-line figures stack up:
| NEET (UG) | Registered | Appeared | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22,76,069 | 22,09,318 | 12,36,531 |
| 2026 | 22,79,743 | 19,99,895 | 11,21,185 |
Girls stay well ahead. Female candidates dominated the pool again. In 2026, 13,32,914 girls registered and 6,54,049 qualified, against 4,67,134 boys who made the cut. Third gender candidates numbered 14 registered, with 2 qualifying.
Where the qualifiers come from. Uttar Pradesh led with 1,70,770 qualified candidates, edging past its own 2025 tally. Rajasthan followed with 1,33,140, then Maharashtra at 1,07,304. Bihar recorded 68,968 and Karnataka 65,901.
Marks needed to qualify. The cut-offs shifted this year. For the UR/EWS group, students had to land in the 50th percentile or higher, which worked out to a marks band of 715 to 213. For OBC, SC and ST candidates, the qualifying window sat between the 40th and 50th percentile, translating to 212 to 177 marks. A total of 9,96,935 UR/EWS candidates qualified under the first slab.
| Category | Percentile | Marks range (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| UR/EWS | ≥50th | 715-213 |
| OBC / SC / ST | ≥40th but <50th | 212-177 |
| UR/EWS & PwBD | ≥45th but <50th | 212-194 |
| OBC/SC & PwBD | ≥40th but <45th | 193-177 |
| ST & PwBD | ≥40th but <45th | 191-177 |
Language of the paper. English stayed the runaway choice with 18,08,535 registrations. Hindi came next at 3,45,247, followed by Gujarati (49,647), Bengali (38,577) and Tamil (29,845).
Candidates with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) numbered 9,893 registered in 2026, of whom 3,666 qualified. Among Indian nationals, 11,19,699 cleared the exam, alongside 581 OCI and 454 foreign-national qualifiers.
Students chasing a medical seat this year should watch their state counselling authority and the Medical Counselling Committee for the seat allotment schedule, since qualifying is only the gateway to admission.