NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria
Before submitting an application for the NEET-UG exam, candidates must confirm that they meet the NEET 2024 eligibility requirements. If not, their application will be turned down. The prerequisites established by authorities that applicants must meet before applying and showing up for the exam are known as the eligibility criteria. The eligibility requirements for NEET 2024 specify the requirements and standards for the exam, the qualifying exam and percentage, nationality, age restrictions, the maximum number of attempts, and more.
NEET 2024 Eligibility - Age Limit
Lower Age Limit: Candidates for the NEET exam must be at least 17 years old at the time of application or admission, or must reach that age by December 31 of the year they are admitted to the first year of the undergraduate medical programme. Therefore, candidates must have been born on or before December 31, 2006, in order to be eligible for the lower age limit.
Upper Age Limit: Aspirants to the NEET are not restricted by a maximum age. The NMC has eliminated the prior upper age limit of 25 years (30 for candidates from the reserved category).
NEET 2024 Eligibility - Educational Qualification
- Candidates must make sure they meet the following educational qualifications before submitting an application for the NEET 2024 exam.
- Students who have successfully completed the class 12 qualifying test are eligible to enrol for NEET 2024.
- Candidates must have studied and passed all four sciences in class 12—physics, chemistry, biology/biotechnology, and English.
- Class 12 is the required prerequisite test for NEET, but the cutoff scores differ based on the candidate’s category.
- Candidates must complete the online application in its entirety and include the correct NEET Qualifying Examination Code.
NEET 2024 Eligibility - Qualifying Marks
Category | Qualifying Marks in the Qualifying Exam |
General/GEN-EWS | 50% marks |
OBC/SC/ST Category | 40% marks |
Persons With Disabilities | 40% marks |
NEET 2024 - Qualifying Exam Codes
Candidates must choose a qualifying examination code if they want to apply for NEET 2024. Details about Codes 1 through 7 are provided in the table below.
CODE: 01 | This code must be used by students who are sitting for the Class 12 board test in 2024 and awaiting their board results. However, up to the point of admission, those applicants must have met the prerequisites listed above in order to be eligible for admission. |
CODE: 02 | Candidates must choose this code if they have passed the higher/senior secondary exam or the Indian School Certificate Examination (ISCE), which is equivalent to the Class 12 examination and comes before it after a 12-year study cycle. The final two years of this study must contain science courses like physics, chemistry, biology/biotechnology, mathematics, or any other elective topic with English as a core subject, according to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). Candidates who passed the Class 12 exam in 2021 or earlier and haven’t taken any post-Class 12 courses yet, must choose this code. |
CODE: 03 | This code should be chosen by applicants who have successfully completed their intermediate or pre-degree examination in science from an Indian university, board, or other recognised organisation, with English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and Chemistry as the main subjects and a practical test in science subjects to be included in the course. Candidates must also choose this code if they passed the qualifying class 12 or equivalent examination offered by a state board. |
CODE: 04 | Candidates must have selected this code when applying if they have passed a pre-professional/pre-medical examination after passing either the higher secondary examination, the pre-university exam, or an equivalent exam with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English. The Pre-professional/Pre-medical examination must contain practical exams in these topics as well as English as a required subject. |
CODE: 05 | Candidates must select this code if they are enrolled in a three-year degree programme at an accredited university with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Biotechnology as the primary courses and have passed the first year’s exams, which included practical assessments in all three of the aforementioned topics. Candidates must keep in mind that the required qualifying exam in this case is a University Examination. They had to have passed the 10+2 qualifying test in their core disciplines of physics, chemistry, biology/biotechnology, and english. |
CODE: 06 | Candidates must choose this code during the application process if they passed the B.Sc. A exam from a university recognised in India and have at least two of the following subjects: physics, chemistry, biology (botany, zoology), and biotechnology. Additionally, they must have passed the 10+2 qualifying test in English, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. |
CODE: 07 | Candidates must choose this code if they have passed any other exam deemed to be equivalent to the final two years of 10+2 study (including Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Biotechnology with practical tests in these subjects) and to the Intermediate Science Examination of an Indian University/Board. Candidates who successfully completed the qualifying exam abroad must also choose this code. |
NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria: For NRI/Foreign Students
All eligible candidates for NEET (UG) 2024 include Indian citizens, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), and Foreign Nationals. The eligibility requirements for NEET 2024 for NRI/foreign students are presented here.
- Candidates who have studied abroad and want to study medicine in India must have earned at least 50% marks in Chemistry, Physics, English, and Biology/Biotechnology in Class XII, including practical exams in the aforementioned science subjects. The Association of Indian Universities, as per MCI regulations, and the relevant university will determine the candidates’ equivalency.
- Candidates who finished their high school coursework with the IB (International Baccalaureate), GCSE, or Advanced Placement programme are also qualified for NEET.
- IB candidates are also eligible for NEET in India.
- Depending on the applicable laws and rules of the various state governments, institutions, and the government of India, foreign nationals may also be admitted to medical and dentistry colleges.
- To confirm their eligibility, they should contact the relevant state medical and dentistry institutions.
NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria: Number of Attempts
As long as a candidate meets all other eligibility requirements, there are no limitations on the number of times they can take the NEET exam. With changes to the NEET 2024 eligibility standards made in 2018, the limitations on the number of NEET tries were removed. The number of NEET tries is therefore unrestricted.
NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria: For B.Sc Nursing
Candidates should check the following NTA NEET 2024 eligibility requirements if they intend to apply for B.Sc. nursing admission using NEET scores:
- Age: B.Sc. applicants must meet the same age requirements. The age requirement for candidates is 17 as of December 31, 2024.
- Candidates must have met the minimum requirements by passing the English, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology qualifying exams separately.
- Candidates must have obtained a minimum cumulative score of 45% on their class 12 qualifying exam.
The cutoff mark is 40% for students in the reserved category. - To be eligible for NEET 2024, all applicants must have English as a required subject in their 12th grade year.
- Candidates who have passed class 12 in the aforementioned subjects at a State Open School recognised by NIOS are also qualified to sit the exam.
NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria: 15% NRI Quota
There is a 15% allocated special quota for NRIs (Non-Indian Residents), often known as the NRI Quota, in addition to the All India Quota and the State Quota. For students who reside and pursue their education outside of India yet are native citizens, MCI has set aside an NRI quota. Through the NRI Quota, NRI students can easily get accepted into these 15% allocated seats and attend Indian medical colleges. Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) are also included in the NRI Quota, but in order to be eligible for admission, they must pass the NEET UG Exam.
NEET 2024 NRI Quota Eligibility
For the NRI quota, candidates that fit into the following categories are eligible:
- NRIs include people of Indian origin (PIO), Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), and their offspring.
- NRIs are students who are the offspring of State or Central Government employees who are deputised abroad.
- Students of Indian descent who live or study abroad.
- NRIs are sometimes referred to as children of Indian citizens who are studying or working abroad.
- candidates with Indian parentage but foreign birthplaces.
- The NRI classification applies to all of the aforementioned candidates.
Conditions for NRI Quota Eligibility
- For the NRI quota, students must fulfil the aforementioned requirements.
- Candidates must possess a current passport.
- Under the NRI Quota, only legitimate NRIs shall be allocated seats.
- Candidates must have achieved exam success in NEET 2024.
- Applicants for NRI sponsorship must be connected to the person providing the funding by blood, whether that relationship is with the mother, sister, father, brother, aunt, or uncle.
NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria: 15% All India Quota (AIQ)
- A 15% All India Quota Seat is open to Indian Nationals, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO), and Foreign Nationals.
- The 15% All India Quota seats as well as all seats in Deemed Universities, Central Universities, ESIC, and AFMC will be available to applicants who pass the NEET 2024 exam. This NEET counselling will be held by MCI on an all-India basis.
- Candidates from J&K must complete a self-declaration form and submit it with the NEET application form 2024 in order to be eligible for the 15% All India Quota seats. According to the self-declaration on the NEET 2024 application form, the candidate wishes to renounce home state counselling in order to take part in the counselling for the 15% All India Quota seats. Based on the NEET eligibility conditions, these individuals will be qualified for seats at Deemed Universities, ESIC, and AFMC colleges.
- Candidates who completed Class 10 and 12 in Delhi would be eligible for the 85% of DU seats, while AMU students will be the only ones eligible for the institutional quota seats.
NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria: 85% State Quota
Seats in all government colleges of the pertinent states and union territories are included in the 85% state quota. Counselling for these seats will be conducted by the relevant state authorities. Candidates must meet the NEET 2024 eligibility requirements stipulated by each state or union territory body, including residence and other requirements, in order to be eligible for state quota seats.
State/Union Territory policies will also apply to NEET admission to private medical and dental institutions.