Short answer
The qualifying percentile is the minimum you need to be eligible for admission: the 50th percentile for General and General-EWS candidates and the 40th percentile for SC, ST and OBC candidates. For PwBD candidates it is the 45th percentile (General/EWS) or the 40th percentile (SC/ST/OBC-NCL). Qualifying only makes you eligible; getting a seat depends on your All India Rank (AIR) in the counselling merit list.
Based on the NEET (UG) 2026 Information Bulletin. The 2027 bulletin hasn't been published yet — rules can change, so check it when it is.
Who this applies to
All NEET (UG) candidates seeking admission to MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BSMS, BUMS and BHMS courses
The rule, explained
The minimum marks are set as percentiles by category: 50th percentile for General and General-Economically Weaker Section (EWS); 40th percentile for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). For Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD), it is the 45th percentile for Unreserved and General-EWS candidates and the 40th percentile for SC/ST/OBC-NCL candidates. The percentile is worked out from the highest marks in the All India common merit list.
If not enough candidates in a category reach the minimum, the Central Government, in consultation with the regulators, may lower the minimum marks for that category. Lowered marks apply only for that academic year.
The same percentiles apply for BAMS, BSMS, BUMS and BHMS courses.
Qualifying is not the same as getting a seat. The bulletin says that appearing and qualifying in NEET (UG) does not give you any right to admission. Admission depends on eligibility, your rank in the merit list, medical fitness and other criteria set by the government, states, universities and colleges.
NTA gives each candidate an All India Rank. Counselling authorities draw up merit lists from these ranks, and admission within each category is based solely on All India Rank. The bulletin does not give the rank or marks needed for any particular seat.
What the official document says
In order to be eligible for admission to Undergraduate Medical Courses for a particular academic year in case of General, General-EWS, it shall be necessary for a candidate to obtain a minimum of marks at the 50th percentile in National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test to Undergraduate Medical Courses held for the said academic year.
National Testing Agency (NTA) · Information Bulletin for NEET (UG) – 2026, PDF page 44 (opens the official site)
To be eligible for admission to under-graduate BAMS, BSMS, BUMS, and BHMS Courses, it shall be necessary for a candidate to obtain a minimum of marks at 50th percentile
National Testing Agency (NTA) · Information Bulletin for NEET (UG) – 2026, PDF page 47 (opens the official site)
Merely appearing and qualifying in NEET (UG) - 2026 does not confer any right to the candidate for admission to Undergraduate Medical Courses.
National Testing Agency (NTA) · Information Bulletin for NEET (UG) – 2026, PDF page 16 (opens the official site)
Admission to Undergraduate Medical Courses within the respective categories shall be based solely on All India Rank as per merit list of NEET (UG) - 2026.
National Testing Agency (NTA) · Information Bulletin for NEET (UG) – 2026, PDF page 35 (opens the official site)