Age Limit for NEET UG 2026
Candidates must turn 17 by 31 December 2026 to be eligible. That means anyone born on or before 31 December 2009 meets the age requirement. There is no upper age limit - the National Medical Commission removed it in 2022, so older aspirants can apply without any ceiling. However, this blanket removal only applies to the national eligibility threshold; individual state counselling bodies and institutions can still impose maximum age restrictions for their own seats, and GGSIPU Delhi does exactly that for its MBBS and AYUSH courses. Check the NEET UG 2026 dates page to map age milestones to the exam timeline.
Acceptable age-proof documents include the Class 10 mark sheet, Aadhaar card, passport, or birth certificate. When the Class 10 certificate carries the date of birth, it is the most straightforward document to use during registration and counselling.
GGSIPU Delhi Age Rule - an Important Exception
For MBBS, BAMS, and BHMS seats at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, the maximum age is 25 years as on 31 December 2026 for general category candidates. SC, ST, and OBC candidates get a 5-year relaxation, effectively making the upper limit 30 years. Even if the NMC does not cap age, GGSIPU’s own admission brochure enforces this rule strictly, and no provisional admission is permitted if you cross the age line.
Educational Qualification
You need a Class 12 or equivalent pass with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English from a recognised board. All three science subjects must have a practical component, and theory and practical exams must be passed separately. English can be core, elective, or functional - but it is mandatory. Without English in the qualifying examination, NEET eligibility is lost, regardless of how strong the PCB aggregate is.
Minimum Marks in PCB Aggregate
The aggregate is calculated as (Physics + Chemistry + Biology) divided by three. Practical marks are included. No rounding is permitted; 49.9% does not become 50%. If you have studied Biology as an additional subject and you meet the board’s certification requirements, that is accepted, provided the percentage condition holds. The NEET UG syllabus page maps these subjects to the chapters tested.
Qualifying Examination Codes
NTA uses seven codes to classify how a candidate gained the qualifying certificate. Choose exactly one during the registration process.
- Code 01: Appearing for Class 12 in 2026. You get provisional eligibility but must produce the pass certificate at counselling.
- Code 02: Already passed Class 12 (CBSE, ICSE, State boards) with the required 12-year study cycle.
- Code 03: Intermediate/Pre-degree Science with PCB and English.
- Code 04: Pre-professional/Pre-medical course after higher secondary.
- Code 05: First year of a three-year degree with PCB subjects, having previously passed 10+2 with PCB and English.
- Code 06: B.Sc. graduate with at least two subjects from Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and a qualifying 10+2 with PCB and English.
- Code 07: Foreign or equivalent qualification; needs an AIU equivalence certificate.
Code 01 candidates carry the most risk - if the Class 12 result is delayed or shows a compartment in a PCB subject that is not cleared before counselling, the seat offer can be voided.
Nationality and Citizenship Criteria
Indian citizens are eligible for all seats, including the 15% All India Quota, state quotas, and central institutions. NRIs, OCIs, PIOs, and foreign nationals are also eligible, but the seat pool they can access differs. NRIs and foreign nationals mainly compete within the NRI-supernumerary quota (typically 15% of seats in private and deemed universities) or under institutional-specific norms. OCI candidates, following the Supreme Court order of 3 February 2023, now enjoy rights equivalent to those held before the March 2021 restrictive notification, meaning they can contend for a broader set of seats beyond just the NRI-reserved category, depending on state rules.
Documentary proof at registration:
- NRI candidates: Certificate from the Indian diplomatic mission confirming NRI status.
- OCI cardholders: Scanned copy of the OCI card plus an embassy/consulate certificate.
- Foreign nationals: Valid passport or citizenship certificate.
The formats are standardised in the NTA bulletin’s appendices. Processing embassy certificates can take 1-4 weeks, so start early. AIU equivalence certificates are needed for those who studied under non-Indian boards; online application is at aiu.ac.in, and peak-season processing runs 2-4 weeks.
For exam centres outside India, the application fee is ₹9,500; for domestic centres, general-category aspirants pay ₹1,700, and SC/ST/PwD/third-gender candidates pay ₹1,000.
Attempt Limit and Score Validity
There is no restriction on the number of attempts. Before 2018, the limit stood at three attempts with age ceilings. Now you can appear as many times as you want, whether you are a first-time dropper or a repeat aspirant. Gap years between Classes 11 and 12 or after graduation do not affect eligibility. The NEET UG 2026 score is, however, valid only for the 2026-2027 academic session. Later sessions will need a fresh attempt.
Reservation Policy and PwD Provisions
All India Quota Reservation
EWS eligibility requires family income below ₹8 lakh per annum, agricultural land holding below 5 acres, and residential flat below 1000 sq ft in towns/cities. OBC-NCL candidates need a valid non-creamy layer certificate. Horizontal reservation means the 5% PwD seats are filled from within the respective category.
State quotas follow their own reservation percentages; always check the state counselling rules before relying on a state-specific benefit.
Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD)
A benchmark disability of at least 40% under the RPwD Act, 2016, is required. Candidates get a 5% horizontal reservation, compensatory time of one extra hour (total four hours), and a scribe facility upon approval - the scribe must not hold a qualification higher than the candidate’s. The qualifying percentile for general PwD candidates is 45th percentile, and for SC/ST/OBC PwD candidates it is 40th percentile.
PwD certificates must be in the prescribed format from any of the 15 designated centres, which include AIIMS Nagpur, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital Delhi, SMS Medical College Jaipur, IPGMER Kolkata, and Madras Medical College Chennai. Temporary certificates are valid for five years; permanent certificates are issued if the disability is unlikely to change. Submit the certificate early - a missing or expired certificate can delay your seat confirmation.
Special Eligibility Cases
NIOS and Open Schooling
Students from the National Institute of Open Schooling are explicitly eligible. The NMC’s Graduate Medical Education Regulations 2023 and a public notice dated 22 February 2025 confirm this, and the NEET UG 2026 information bulletin removed earlier litigation-linked conditional language. As long as you have the required subjects and marks, the mode of schooling does not disqualify you.
Foreign Boards
Candidates with IB, Cambridge A-Levels, American High School Diploma, or similar qualifications must obtain an equivalence certificate from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). Apply online with transcripts and mark sheets. The equivalence must confirm that the board’s 12th standard matches the Indian 10+2 with PCB and English. Without this certificate, the application cannot proceed.
Compartment and Supplementary Candidates
A compartment in any PCB subject makes the candidate ineligible unless it is cleared before the counselling process begins. If the supplementary result is expected after the counselling rounds start, the seat offer may not be honoured, as most state authorities - including GGSIPU - do not allow provisional admission for result-awaited or compartment cases.
Improvement Exams and Gap Years
Improvement marks from the same board can be used, and you may claim the better of the original and improvement scores during counselling. Gap years do not affect eligibility, so a two-year break after Class 12 does not bar you from appearing.
Medical Fitness
All admitted candidates must pass a medical examination by the constituted medical board of the admitting college. Blind (including colour blind), deaf, and/or dumb candidates are not eligible for MBBS, BAMS, or BHMS at GGSIPU - a point that can surprise aspirants who otherwise meet the age and marks criteria.
Documents Required to Prove Eligibility
During registration and later at counselling, you need a specific document trail. The NEET UG registration page details upload specs, but the eligibility-critical items are:
- Class 10 mark sheet or certificate for date of birth
- Class 12 mark sheet or provisional certificate (if appearing)
- Category certificate (SC/ST/OBC/EWS) issued by a competent authority
- PwD certificate if claiming disability reservation
- NRI/OCI/Foreign national documents as described above
- Domicile certificate for state quota seats
- Valid photo ID: Aadhaar, passport, voter ID, or driving licence
- Medical fitness certificate at the time of admission (issued by a registered medical practitioner)
State-Specific Eligibility Nuances
NTA sets the floor; states and institutes raise the bar. Two prominent examples:
Delhi - GGSIPU
Age ceiling for MBBS, BAMS, BHMS: 25 years for general, 30 for SC/ST/OBC. Must be 17 by 31 December 2026. For state quota seats, candidates must have studied Classes 11 and 12 regularly from a recognised school in Delhi; for the 15% AIQ seats, this domicile condition does not apply. College-wise, 100% counselling for VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, ABVIMS & RML, and ESI PGIMSR Basaidarpur is done by MCC on AIQ lines. North DMC Medical College and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Medical College have an 85% Delhi quota requiring Delhi schooling.
Gujarat
Candidates must have passed Standard 10 and 12 from schools within Gujarat. If born outside Gujarat, a domicile certificate issued by an authorised Gujarat government officer is mandatory. Those who took Standard 10 admission outside Gujarat may get a relaxation; defence and central government service children have alternate documentation routes. Registration is through www.medadmgujarat.org, and a non-refundable registration pin must be purchased first.
Common Mistakes That Disqualify Candidates
- Computing age as on the exam day instead of 31 December 2026.
- Including English or Mathematics marks in the PCB percentage calculation.
- Submitting a compartment mark sheet without clearing the PCB subject before counselling.
- Choosing a qualifying code that does not match the educational pathway - code mismatch can invalidate the form.
- Using an expired category or PwD certificate.
- Omitting the AIU equivalence certificate for foreign-board qualifications.
- Assuming state-specific age limits are not enforced because NMC has no upper limit.
A thorough pre-application check using the NEET UG overview page and the colleges accepting NEET page can help catch these errors before they turn into a seat loss.