The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is a national-level entrance examination conducted only once a year by the National Testing Agency to provide admission for the MBBS and BDS courses in various medical and dental colleges across the country.
Lakhs of students participate in the NEET UG every year. If you wish to gain admission to an MBBS or BDS course in the academic year 2026-27, you will have to participate in this entrance examination, for which the application form will be released soon at https://neet.nta.nic.in/.
In this article, we have discussed NEET UG 2026 in detail. By reading this article thoroughly, you will find out what the important dates are, who can apply for this entrance exam, what the exam pattern is, how to apply online for it, what you need to pay to apply, and much more.
NEET UG 2026 Overview
The NTA is all set to conduct the NEET UG 2026 for the aspirants seeking admission for MBBS and BDS for academic year 2026-27 at government and private medical and dental colleges, refer to table below to check an overview of this entrance examination.
| Exam Name | NEET UG 2026 |
| Full Form | National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (UG) |
| Conducting Body | National Testing Agency (NTA) |
| Exam Level | National |
| Courses Offered | MBBS, BDS |
| Exam Frequency | Once a year |
| Mode of Exam | Offline (OMR Based) |
| Question Type | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) |
| Total Questions | 180 |
| Total Marks | 720 |
| Exam Duration | 3 Hours |
| Negative Marking | Yes (–1 for wrong answer) |
| Application Mode | Online |
| Academic Session | 2026–27 |
| Official Website | neet.nta.nic.in |
Important Dates
The NTA will disclose the important dates for the NEET UG 2026 along with the release of the official notification. However, you can see the expected schedule in the table given below.
| Event | Date |
| Notification Release | January 2026 |
| Online Application Starts | February 2026 |
| Last Date to Apply | March 2026 |
| Application Correction Window | March 2026 |
| City Intimation Slip | April 2026 |
| Admit Card Release | April / May 2026 |
| NEET UG 2026 Exam Date | May 2026 |
| Answer Key Release | May 2026 |
| Result Declaration | June 2026 |
| Counselling Begins | July 2026 |
Application Form
The National Testing Agency will release the application form for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate 2026 sometime in February 2026, after which candidates will have approximately four weeks to apply.
Exam Date
The NTA has not yet officially announced the exam date for the NEET UG 2026. It is expected that this entrance examination may be conducted by the National Testing Agency on Sunday, May 3, 2026, although this is yet to be confirmed.
Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria to apply for the NEET UG 2026 are given, go through the listed points to check if you are eligible to participate in this entrance examination.
- You are an Indian Nationals, Non-Resident Indians (NRI), Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Foreign Nationals.
- You must have passed your Intermediate or equivalent examination with Physics, Chemistry, Biotechnology or Biology and English from a recognised school or institution.
- Your age must be at least 17 years as of December 1, 2026.
Notes:
- Students who are going to participate in the intermediate examination in the academic year 2025-26 (i.e., 2026) with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology or Biotechnology can apply for this entrance examination.
- There is no upper age limit for applying for this entrance examination; anyone of any age group can apply.
- If you belong to the general category, you must have secured at least 50% marks in the intermediate examination. For SC, ST, and OBC candidates, the minimum requirement is only 40%. If you are a PWD candidate belonging to the general category, the minimum requirement for you is only 45%.
Application Fee
The payment of the application fee is mandatory to apply for the NEET UG 2026. The amount varies category-wise. You can check the table provided to see how much you need to pay to apply for this entrance examination.
| Category | Amount |
| UR | ₹1,700 |
| EWS | ₹1,600 |
| OBC (NCL) | ₹1,600 |
| SC / ST / PwD | ₹1,000 |
| Foreign Nationals | ₹9,500 |
The required application fee needs to be submitted at the time of form submission. You can pay it using a debit card, credit card, net banking, or UPI. It’s important to know that you won’t be able to submit the application without paying this fee.
Exam Pattern
The NTA will conduct NEET UG 2026 in offline mode through OMR sheets, in which a total of 180 MCQs will be asked. These questions will be from three different subjects, the details of which are given in the table below.
| Subject | Number of Questions | Marks |
| Physics | 45 | 180 |
| Chemistry | 45 | 180 |
| Biology (Botany + Zoology) | 90 | 360 |
| Total | 180 | 720 |
You will receive four marks for each correct answer, and one mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer. No marks will be awarded or deducted for unanswered questions.
The total time duration for this entrance examination is 3 hours. If you belong to the PwBD category, you will be given an additional hour. The medium will be English and Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu or Urdu.
How to Apply?
The step-by-step instructions to apply for the NEET UG 2026 are as follows, go through the instructions given below and submit your application form.
- First, go to the official website of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Undergraduate.
- On the official website, you will see an option for new registration; click on it and complete the registration by providing all the required details such as mobile number, name, date of birth, etc.
- Log in using your email address and password to access your application form and accurately fill in all the details, including your educational qualifications.
- Now, you will need to upload your photograph and signature along with all the required documents. Make sure they are in the specified size and format.
- Finally, you will have to pay the application fee. You can use a debit card, credit card, or net banking. After making the payment, click on the submit button to complete the application process.