The National Testing Agency (NTA) declared the NEET UG 2026 results late on Thursday night16 July 2026. Around 20 lakh students appeared for the examination this year, of whom 11.21 lakh qualified for admission to medical, dental, AYUSH and other medical courses.
For the first time since 2020 and 2021, no student achieved a perfect score of 720. Aryan Gupta from Punjab and Panshul Bansal from Haryana emerged as the joint All India toppers with 715 marks out of 720. A total of 19 students scored above 700, while 138 candidates secured more than 690 marks.
Among the top scorers, more than 93% appeared for the examination for the first time. Around 99% of the top rank holders were between 17 and 19 years of age. Of all the qualified candidates, more than 58% are female students and 55.1% are male students.
Students can check their scorecards at neet.nta.nic.in
General category qualifiers down 3%; four key trends
More girls appearing for the exam: Around 839,000 girls registered for NEET in 2019. This figure rose to a record 1.377 million in 2024. However, it declined slightly to 1.310 million in 2025. The success rate has steadily improved, with the pass percentage remaining between 56% and 57% from 2019 to 2025.
Strong performance by the North-East and smaller states: The top 17 students scoring 705 or more marks are from eight states — Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Every North-Eastern state has a state topper. A total of 43 students from Lakshadweep qualified.
Fewer students qualifying: The number of students appearing for NEET has declined for the past two years. While 2.333 million students appeared in 2024 and 2.209 million in 2025, the figure fell to 2 million in 2026. As a result, the number of qualified candidates has also declined.
Sharp rise in cut-off: Compared with 2025, the qualifying cut-off increased significantly across all categories in 2026. For the General/EWS category, the minimum qualifying score rose from 144 to 213 marks. For OBC, SC and ST candidates, it increased from 113 to 177 marks. The share of General category candidates among those who qualified fell by 3% compared with last year.
NEET exam was re-conducted after paper leak allegations
The NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally held on 3 May, was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak. The NTA subsequently conducted the examination again on 21 June.
The re-examination was held in 551 cities across India and abroad at 5,440 examination centres in 13 languages.
The NTA also introduced a major change to the evaluation process this year. For the first time, all stages of evaluation were carried out in parallel instead of sequentially, enabling the results to be declared on schedule. Additionally, the OMR sheet challenge process was separated from the answer key release process for the first time.
NEET UG 2026: Complete timeline from examination to results
3 May 2026: First NEET UG 2026 examination conducted
12 May 2026: Examination held on 3 May cancelled following paper leak allegations
21 June 2026: NEET UG re-examination conducted nationwide
25 June 2026: Provisional answer key released; objection window opened
25–28 June 2026: Candidates invited to submit objections to the answer key
13–15 July 2026: Scanned OMR sheets and recorded responses released
16 July 2026: Final answer key released and NEET UG 2026 results declared
NEET examination to become computer-based from 2027
Following the paper leak controversy, the government has decided to introduce a major change to the NEET examination. From 2027 onwards, NEET-UG will be conducted as a Computer-Based Test (CBT), that is, in online mode. At present, the examination is conducted in offline (pen-and-paper) mode.
Under the new system, students will answer questions on a computer. However, there will be no changes to the syllabus, number of questions, subjects or marking scheme. Candidates will also be provided with mock tests and demo sessions in advance to help them prepare for the new examination format.
The NTA said the results were announced on time to ensure there is no delay in the counselling and admission process for medical colleges.
The examination was conducted in 13 languages, with top scorers emerging from almost all states and Union Territories across the country.
The agency also said that more than 58% of the qualified candidates are women, highlighting strong female participation and performance in this year’s examination.
