National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate

NEET UG Eligibility 2024: Check Age Limit, Educational Qualification, Nationality

The National Testing Agency sets the NEET UG eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria are released along with the official notification. There are several factors for eligibility including age, nationality and educational qualification.

Lakshima SareenUpdated on : May 03 2024 14:53 IST

NEET Eligibility 2024

NEET Eligibility 2024: NEET or better known as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is one of the sought-after entrance exams for candidates who are aspiring to be a doctor and a medical professional. Before applying for the exam, candidates must be aware of the NEET eligibility criteria in order to appear for the medical entrance exam. The NEET eligibility criteria are laid out by the National Testing Agency in accordance with the Indian Medical Council Act-1956 and the Dentists Act-1948 as amended in 2018.

All medical aspirants must meet the qualifying requirements for NEET 2024, according to the National Testing Agency. On December 15, 2022, the NTA released the official date for the NEET exam. As per the information, the exam will be conducted on 2023. Aspirants will not be permitted to take the admission exam if they do not meet any of the NEET eligibility requirements.

In an official notice released by the National Medical Commission (NMC) on March 9, it was informed that the upper age limit for candidates has been removed. This means there is no upper age limit for a candidate to apply for the exam. Previously, the age restriction for candidates in the general and reserved categories was 25 and 30 years, respectively.

NEET Eligibility 2024

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is an entrance test conducted for those candidates who want to pursue their careers in the medical field. After clearing the NEET test, candidates can enrol in medical and allied courses, including MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH. Hence, NEET eligibility criteria are an important factor that a student needs to consider while filling out the NEET application form for the entrance test.

As a result, the NEET 2024 prerequisites allude to a basic requirement for a candidate to apply for the above-mentioned courses. Aspirants older than 25 years old are now eligible to apply for NEET because NTA eliminated the upper age limit clause from the eligibility requirements. Before completing the NEET application form 2024, all candidates who desire to sit for this national entrance exam are urged to confirm their eligibility.

NEET Eligibility 2024 for Age Limit

Candidates need to follow the given age limit criteria in order to appear for the medical examination.

Candidates must have completed 17 years of age at the time when they are taking admission or will be the given age on or before this year's 31st December of his or her admission to the first year of the undergraduate medical course.
For candidates who are from general category (UR)/ General-EWS and even those candidates who belong to SC/ST/OBC-NCL/ PwBD Category should be born on or before 31.12.2006

NEET Eligibility Criteria 2024 for Qualifying Marks

Given below are the NEET eligibility criteria for the educational qualification of a candidate or marks obtained in the qualifying exam.

Candidates in the qualifying exam must have passed Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English subjects individually
Candidates who belong to the general category should at least have scored a minimum of 50 per cent in the qualifying examination.
On the other hand, candidates who belong to the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes/ Other Backward are required to attain a minimum score of 40 per cent in the qualifying examination.
Candidates who belong to the general category, however, are applying from under the Persons with Disability (PWD) Quota, must have a minimum score of 45 per cent marks in the qualifying examination.

Minimum Qualifying Marks as per NEET 2024 Eligibility Criteria

The following table showcases the minimum aggregate required in the qualifying exam or as per the evaluation criteria:

Category	Minimum aggregate in the qualifying examination (PCB)
General	50 per cent
General - PWD	45 per cent
SC/ ST	40 per cent
OBC/ Reserved-PWD	40 per cent

NOTE: Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) is likely to revise the minimum aggregate as the new evaluation scheme is expected to be introduced.

How Many Attempts for NEET?

As per the information shared by the National Testing Agency, there is no restriction on the number of attempts for the NEET exams.

NEET Eligibility Criteria 2024 for Candidates Who Belong Form J&K/ Ladakh

Candidates from the UT of J&K/Ladakh are only permitted to apply for seats at Deemed Universities, ESIC, and AFMC and are not eligible to apply for the 15% All India Quota.

NEET 2024 Eligibility Requirements for Applicants Seeking Seats in the State, Deemed, Central, ESIC, or AFMC

The given criteria are related to the seat categories

Candidates who are Indian Nationals, OCIs, NRIs, and PIOs are eligible to apply for state, deemed, central, ESIC or AFMC seats
Candidates who are foreign nationals should first confirm their eligibility before applying for NEET 2024

NEET Eligibility Criteria 2024 for Candidates Who are Applying for 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) Seats

Candidates who are Indian Nationals, OCIs, PIOs, NRIs and foreign nationals can apply for the seats

The updated NEET reservation criteria for OBC, EWS, SC, ST, and PwD categories under the 15% AIQ seats are as follows, as shown in the following table:

Categories	Reservation Percentage
SC	15
ST	7.5
OBC	27
EWS	10
PwD	5

NOTE: Back on July 29, 2021, the government made a historic decision that states that the students belonging to the OBC category will get a 27 per cent quota in NEET (Non-creamy layer), whereas the EWS category will get a 10 per cent NEET reservation. 15 per cent of the quota will be allocated to the UnderGraduate (UG) All India Quota seats (MBBS/BDS) (contributed by the State/UTs to the Central Pool).

NEET Qualifying Examination Codes 2024: Explained

Sl no.	Qualifying codes	Explain code
1	Code 01	This code is for candidates belonging to class 12, who are still waiting for their results and wish to apply for the exam. Such candidates have cleared their class 12 by the time of admission. Else, these candidates will not be considered eligible for application.
2	Code 02	This code is for those candidates who are in their higher/senior secondary exam of the Indian School Certificate Examination. This certificate should be equivalent to a 10+2 higher/senior secondary exam after class 12.
3	Code 03	Candidates who completed their intermediate/pre-degree exam in subjects such as science from an Indian university with subjects including chemistry, physics, biology/biotechnology (including practicals) and also english comes under this code
4	Code 04	Those candidates who have qualified their pre medical examination with subjects such as chemistry, physics, biology/biotechnology as well as English after completing their higher secondary exam can count themselves in this code.
5	Code 05	This code is for candidates who have completed their first year of the three years’ degree in subjects such as chemistry, physics, biology/biotechnology (including practicals) from a recognised Indian university. Also candidates should have qualified for an earlier exam in subjects such as chemistry, physics, biology/biotechnology with English.
6	Code 06	Candidates must have taken B.Sc. examination from recognised Indian university also the aspirant must have qualified the B.Sc. exam with ot less than two of the subjects including chemistry, physics, biology (Botany, Zoology)/Biotechnology. Further, the candidate must have passed an earlier exam with subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English to be eligible for this code.
7	Code 07	Candidates must select this code if they have passed any other exam that meets the requirements for scope and standard (the last two years of 10+2 study in physics, chemistry, and biology/biotechnology, which should include practical tests in these disciplines).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can students who belong to the NIOs category can apply for the NEET 2024.

Yes, candidates belonging to the NIOs category are eligible to apply for the NEET 2024.

If a student had Biotechnology in Class 11 and Class 12, then can they apply for the NEET exam?

Yes, applicants who studied biotechnology in grades 11 and 12 are qualified for the NEET UG 2023.

Do candidates who wish to study abroad for an MBBS degree have to clear NEET?

Yes, NEET is required for applicants who want to study medicine outside of India. In these circumstances, the NEET result will be valid for three years following the date of its announcement.