NEET PG 2026 Cut Off Hits Six Year Low: Check NBEM Data and Category Wise Marks

NEET PG 2026 Cut-Off Hits Six-Year Low: What NBEMS Data Says to Medical Aspirants

New Delhi: The qualifying cut-off for NEET PG 2026 is the lowest in six years. For General and EWS candidates, it was 262 marks, and that is a lower raw-score threshold than the comparable qualifying scores published in recent years, where similar marks had been specified.

This is all well and good for medical aspirants, but NBEMS has now revealed the NEET PG 2026 result. Here lies a critical detail – qualifying cut-off is not the same as admission cut-off. Scoring over 262 makes you a General/EWS candidate eligible on the given qualifying criterion – but it by no means determines your admission to an MD, MS or DNB or other postgraduate medical programme.

NEET PG 2026 Cut-Off: Marks Across Categories

NBEMS has maintained the prescribed qualifying percentile criteria for the exam. The corresponding 2026 marks are:

NBEMS stated that the result includes the raw scores and overall NEET PG ranks of the candidates. It also asserted that all the questions in both examination papers were reviewed by the respective faculty, and none was found to be technically incorrect.

How Low Is the NEET PG 2026 Cut-Off?

The general/EWS threshold of 262 marks in 2026 is lower than the comparable qualifying scores – 276 in 2025, 291 in 2023 and 275 in 2022. The initial qualifying score of 302 in 2021 was revised down to 247.

The maximum marks and the availability of a corresponding raw-score cut-off have differed across the years. So these figures should not be treated as a perfectly like-for-like measure of examination difficulty. There is one more wrinkle – the 2021 cut-off was revised downwards to 247 marks after the qualifying percentile was lowered. So describing 2026 as the "lowest in six years" is only accurate if you refer to the initial/standard qualifying scores published for comparable years, not every subsequently revised threshold.

2026 Cut-Off Does Not Mean PG Seats Open Up at 262 Marks

This is where many aspirants can misread the numbers. The qualifying cut-off sets a candidate's eligibility, the admission cut-off is based on the NEET PG rank, specialty, college, category, seat availability, quota and counselling choices. A candidate qualifying at 262 marks therefore cannot assume that the same score secures him/her a specific MD or MS seat.

Importance of Context Around 2026 Figures

NEET PG 2026 was conducted on August 30, 2026. Due to a power failure at two examination centres in Jaipur, a re-examination was held on September 5 for the affected candidates. The final result included the candidates from both the examination sessions.

2026 examination was scored out of 720 marks. Whereas the corresponding cut-off for the 2025 examination was reported against an 800-mark paper. So comparing these raw marks directly may not be very meaningful. Percentile remains a more useful part of the qualifying criterion across years.

What Happens After NEET PG 2026 Result ?

The next major milestones for candidates are the availability of individual scorecards and the answer key. NBEMS has stated that NEET PG 2026 scorecards will be available from October 1, 2026 and the answer key will also be published on or after the that date. The scorecards shall be available for six months from issuance.

For State Quota seats, the respective States and Union Territories will prepare the final and category-wise merit lists, following the applicable eligibility conditions, regulations and reservation policies. For students navigating postgraduate medical admissions, 262 is the qualifying threshold for General/EWS candidates – not a guaranteed admission score. The real counselling picture will materialise from the ranks, the seat matrices, preferences and closing ranks.

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