Why NEET Cut-offs Move
Seven years of official qualifying marks — 147, 138, 117, 137, 162, 144, then 213. Same rule every year. Here is what actually makes the number rise and fall.
NEET qualifying cut-off, 2020 to 2026
Every figure is the official NTA cut-off for that year. Seven years, one unchanged rule, and a spread of 96 marks between the lowest and the highest.
Hover any year for that year's full result. Both lines move together, every year, because both are percentiles of the same set of scores.
| Year | UR / EWS | OBC / SC / ST | Topper | Appeared | Qualified | Share qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 720 – 147 | 146 – 113 | 720 | 13,66,945 | 7,71,500 | 56.4% |
| 2021 | 720 – 138 | 137 – 108 | 720 | 15,44,275 | 8,70,074 | 56.3% |
| 2022 | 715 – 117 | 116 – 93 | 715 | 17,64,571 | 9,93,069 | 56.3% |
| 2023 | 720 – 137 | 136 – 107 | 720 | 20,38,596 | 11,45,976 | 56.2% |
| 2024 | 720 – 162 | 161 – 127 | 720 | 23,33,162 | 13,15,853 | 56.4% |
| 2025 | 686 – 144 | 143 – 113 | 686 | 22,09,318 | 12,36,531 | 56.0% |
| 2026 | 715 – 213 | 212 – 177 | 715 | ~20,00,000 | 11,21,185 | 56.1% |
2024 shows the revised cut-off. NTA first published 164 and 129, then reduced them to 162 and 127 after the Supreme Court upheld a re-evaluation of a disputed Physics question and the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates were withdrawn.
What actually moves the mark
If the rule never changes, something else must. Four things move the score distribution, and therefore the mark that sits at the 50th percentile.
1. How hard the paper was
This is the largest single factor. A hard paper pulls the whole distribution down and the halfway mark falls with it.
2022 produced the hardest paper of this period and the lowest cut-off in seven years: 117. 2025 was widely rated the toughest NEET since 2016, Physics especially — for the first time no candidate crossed 700, the topper finished on 686, and the cut-off fell to 144.
2. Changes to the paper itself
The rule stayed the same, but the exam did not.
From 2021 to 2024 each subject had a Section B with a choice — 15 questions, attempt any 10 — so a student could walk past what they could not do. NTA removed that choice for 2025: all 180 questions compulsory, and less time. Same syllabus, a much harder paper to score on. Scores fell across the whole range, and the cut-off fell with them.
3. Who sits the exam
The cut-off is the score of the candidate exactly halfway down the list, so it depends on who is in the list.
Candidates appearing rose from 13.67 lakh in 2020 to 23.33 lakh in 2024 — a 71% increase in four years. A cohort that large, and changing that fast, does not keep its middle in the same place.
4. Disruptions to a particular year
Twice in three years an exam did not run its normal course, and both times the cut-off reflected it.
2024: grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates, then withdrawn on the Supreme Court's direction, with a Physics question re-evaluated; the published cut-off was revised down from 164 to 162. 2026: the 3 May paper was cancelled and the exam re-held on 21 June.
The 69-mark jump, honestly
2026 produced the largest one-year move in this period: the UR cut-off went from 144 to 213. It is worth separating what is established from what is being guessed at.
What is established
- The 3 May 2026 paper was cancelled; the re-exam was held on 21 June and the result declared on 16 July.
- Of about 22.79 lakh registered, roughly 20 lakh appeared at the re-test — against 22.05 lakh who had sat the May paper. Close to 2.8 lakh did not return.
- 11,21,185 candidates qualified — 56.1%, the same share as every other year.
- More candidates landed in the middle and upper mark bands than in 2025, so the mark sitting at the 50th percentile rose.
What we will not claim
That the re-exam was an easier paper. We said that here before and it was not a safe thing to say. NTA publishes no difficulty rating, and the published analyses disagree — several rated the June paper moderate to difficult even as the cut-off rose.
What can fairly be said is that the cohort sitting on 21 June had already prepared once for May and then had roughly seven more weeks, and that it was a smaller, more committed group than the one that sat in May. A better-prepared field lifts the middle of the distribution, and the cut-off follows the middle.
Don't aim at the cut-off
It only qualifies you
In 2026, 11,21,185 candidates cleared the cut-off. There are about 1,36,939 MBBS seats in the counselling matrix. Clearing the cut-off puts you in the queue; it does not put you in a college.
It moves, and not gently
147, 138, 117, 137, 162, 144, 213. A student who trained to “just clear the cut-off” on the 2025 number would have missed qualifying altogether in 2026 with the same performance — by 69 marks.
Aim at a rank instead
Set a target rank, work backwards to the score that produces it, and track progress against that. Use the Marks vs Rank tool and the Seat Reality Check together.
Sources. Cut-off marks, appeared and qualified counts: NTA result statistics and press releases, 2020 to 2026. 2024 revision: Supreme Court proceedings and the revised NTA scorecard. 2025 pattern change: NTA's removal of the Section B internal choice. 2026 re-exam attendance and result: NTA re-test figures, 16 July 2026. Computer-based testing from 2027: announcement by the Union Education Minister, 15 May 2026. Paper-difficulty descriptions are published expert assessments, not official ratings — NTA does not rate difficulty. Last reviewed 22 August 2026. If you spot an error, tell us and we will correct it.
A moving target needs a system, not a guess
This is exactly why DNA builds preparation around daily measurement rather than around a number someone hopes to hit in May.