NEET Registration 2026: Important Dates, Documents Required, Steps to Fill Application Form

The right preparation for the NEET exam actually begins long before the actual exam date. The primary element of this preparation is to clearly understand the complete registration process to apply for the 2026 exam smoothly. Every year, thousands of medical aspirants miss exam opportunities due to application form mistakes, incomplete documents, and other common mistakes.

At Matrix Academy, we understand the value of smoothly applying for the upcoming NEET 2026 exam, where our mentors individually assist every student in this process. We prepared a blog that contains complete information regarding the complete registration process, important dates, eligibility criteria, application form process, and other associated factors for the NEET UG 2026 exam.

NEET 2026 Exam Overview

National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is a central medical entrance exam to get admission in courses like MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH. The NEET MBBS exam is conducted under the supervision of the National Testing Agency (NTA) to become a doctor from a reputed government or private medical institute.

NEET is a pen-and-paper-based offline exam of 3 hours, conducted by using OMR sheets. For NEET 2026, around 23-26 lakh medical aspirants are expected to appear in this exam to become successful medical doctors. NEET 2026 is expected to follow the same structure as NEET UG 2025, consisting of 3 major subjects: Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.

Important Dates Related to NEET Exam Registration 2026

As of mid-December, there are no official announcements regarding the NEET 2026 exam important dates by the NTA. So, our NEET experts and specialists at Matrix Academy analysed the past year’s trends and created the following table, which combines important tentative dates for the upcoming 2026 exam-

Event	NEET 2026 Exam Expected Date (Tentative Dates)
Releasing Date of NEET 2026 Notification	January/February 2026
Starting Date of Online Registration	February 2026
Last date to submit the Application	Generally, in the First and Second weeks of March 2026
NEET 2026 Application Correction Window	March- April 2026
NEET 2026 Admit Card Release Date	Last Week of April 2026
NEET 2026 Exam Date	First Week of May 2026- 3 May 2026 (Tentative)
NEET 2026 Answer Key Date	May/June 2026
NEET 2026 Result	June 2026
Expected Month of NEET 2026 Counselling	July 2026

Note: You can visit the official NTA website for a detailed analysis of important dates regarding the NEET 2026 exam.

Eligibility Criteria for NEET Exam Registration

According to Matrix Academy, this is the most important section for a medical aspirant because he/she cannot appear in the upcoming 2026 exam without successfully satisfying every factor mentioned in it. These eligibility criteria are broadly announced by the NTA to ensure transparency and fairness to appear in this exam.

A detailed analysis of this eligibility criterion is as follows-

NEET 2026 Eligibility Criteria Factors

Nationality Criteria: Candidate must be eligible under the nationalities: an Indian citizen, NRI, OCI, PIO, or a foreign national.

Age Criteria: At least 17 years old by December 31, 2026. There is no restriction by NTA on the upper age limit of a candidate.

Educational Qualification and Minimum Marks: A NEET aspirant must pass 12th class from a recognised board with Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English as compulsory subjects. General category: 50% in PCB PwD (General): 45% in PCB OBC/SC/ST: 40% in PCB. Note: PCM students can also attempt the NEET exam, but he/she must have Biology or Biotechnology as an additional subject in Class 12

Total Number of Attempts: No limit on the maximum number of attempts for NEET 2026

NEET 2026 Exam Validity: The NEET 2026 exam score is only valid for one academic year.

Note: NEET aspirants should verify any updated criteria once NTA issues the official notification of the 2026 exam.

Documents Required for NEET 2026 Registration

An authentic documentation process is necessary under the checklist designed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). The documents are necessary to verify your identification, and the eligibility criteria are essential to attempt this exam. Missing or false information in documents often leads to rejection or corrections.

NEET 2026 Exam: Necessary and Compulsory Documents	Specifications of Documents (as per NTA trends)
1. Marksheet of 10th class- a compulsory document for DOB proof.	Standard Size for Signature Photo: JPG/JPEG format, 10 to 50 kb.
2. 12th class marksheet (appearing or provisional also accepted)	Standard Passport photo: JPG/JPEG format, 10 to 200 kb, Black & white or coloured, 6-8 photos.
3. Passport-size and Postcard-size Photograph	Standard Postcard photo (4×6 inch): JPG, 10 to 200 kb, 6-8 photos.
4. Signature of Appearing Candidate in Scanned Format	Standard Documents (PDF): 50–300 kb
5. Parent/ Local Guardian signature	Scanned Left and Right Hand Fingers& Thumb Impression: 4 to 30 kb, JPG format.
6. Category certificate (SC/ST/OBC/EWS), if applicable
7. PwD Certificate, If Applicable
8. A valid Citizenship certificate for foreign candidates
9. Valid Address Proof (Current and Permanent)

Note: A NEET 2026 candidate must ensure all photos are recently updated, with a clear background without using any filters.

Steps to Fill the NEET 2026 Application Form

The registration process to appear in the NEET exam every year is a critical process, which demands accuracy, carefulness, and cross-check of the information. At Matrix Academy, our NEET experts clearly integrate personalised assistance, expert guidance, and necessary feedback regarding the application form to eliminate any scope for mistakes. A detailed step-by-step process is mentioned below to fill the NEET 2026 application form as follows-

• Step 1: Open the official NTA website: https://neet.nta.nic.in/ to access the NEET application form: 
• Step 2: On this website, click on the new registration page and read all the necessary instructions carefully.
• Step 3: On this page, you can fill in your basic details (Name, DOB, Age, Gender, ID Proof, Contact Details, and Other necessary information)
• Step 4: You should save the form application number and password for future login.
• Step 5: In this step, you can fill in all details related to academics, city preference, category, and personal details.
• Step 6: Uploading required documents using the correct specifications (photos, signatures, certificates). Before uploading all the documents, this is the final step to verify before the submission.
• Step 6: Final payment of application fee via UPI, net banking, card, or e-challan options.
• Step 7: You can download the final submission page and the fee receipt for the counselling and exam day verification process.

Note: Small errors in the application form may become a solid reason behind rejection of your form and dedication of years, so always review every section carefully before the final submission.

NEET 2026 Application Fees

NTA announced category-based fee criteria for students. For 2026, the exact application fee for each category is not announced yet, but the expected fee based on previous year trends is as follows-

Category	Approximate Fee for NEET UG 2026 Exam
1. General Category	₹ 1700
2. SC/ST/PwD Category	₹ 1000
3. EWS/OBC-NCL Category	₹ 1600
4. International Students	₹ 9500

Note: The above-mentioned NEET application form fee is excluded from GST or other applicable processing fees. So, students must follow the recent updates from the NTA official website.

State-Wise Seat Matrix of NEET 2026 Exam

The NEET exam Seat matrix is an important criterion, which is related to the standard mechanism of seat distribution of courses like MBBS/Ayush/BDS. As per the standard rules of this criterion, the seat division criterion is divided into two major parts as follows-

• 85% medical seats are reserved for state-level medical colleges.
• The remaining 15% seats are reserved for the All-India Quota related to central/deemed medical colleges.

For the NEET 2026 exam, approximately 60,000 government medical seats are available, where some of the top states with the maximum number of medical seats are as follows-

Name of State	Approximate Number of NEET MBBS Medical Seats for 2026 Exam
Andhra Pradesh	3425
Gujarat	4300
Karnataka	4100
Madhya Pradesh	3025
Maharashtra	6050
Rajasthan	4480
Tamil Nadu	5250
Telangana	4390
Uttar Pradesh	5925
West Bengal	4325

The official notification of state-wise MBBS medical seats will be announced by the NTA in a few days, but you can find a state-wise list of MBBS medical colleges to get an idea of individual college-wise seats.

Expected Cutoff Marks for NEET UG 2026 Exam

A deep-level analysis of the cutoff marks range is important to understand the seat allocation criteria related to your desired medical college. According to the cutoff marks, you can also set realistic target goals, where the primary factors influencing the cutoff marks are the difficulty level of the exam, the total government medical seats, and candidate progress. The category-based cutoff marks of the NEET UG 2026 exam are expected to be announced in the second week of June 2026, but the Matrix NEET division analysed the NEET 2025 cutoff marks for your reference-

Category	Year 2025 Cutoff (Marks and Percentile-based)	Expected Cutoff for NEET 2026 Exam (Based on previous year results)
General/EWS	686–144 (50th Percentile)	660-140 (50th percentile)
OBC/SC/ST	143–113 (40th Percentile)	130-105 (40th percentile)
PwD	143–127 (45th Percentile)	125 – 110 (45th / 40th percentile)

Note: For the prediction of the NEET 2026 exam, Matric Academy NEET experts analysed the past year’s cutoff marks by considering the difficulty level of the upcoming exam from moderate to high.

Exam Day Guidelines for NEET 2026 Exam

The NEET 2026 final exam day is crucial, where a small mistake can prevent entry into the centre. So, you should consider the following guidelines for the upcoming NEET 2026 exam-

Particulars	Related NEET 2026 Exam Guideline
Important Documents and Items to Carry	NEET Admit Card (with passport photo as per the standard size)Valid Government Photo ID (Aadhaar, PAN, Driving Licence, Passport, etc.)You can carry a transparent water bottle. Disability certificate (if applicable for PwD candidates)
Reporting Instructions for Exam Day	You should arrive at least 1 hour early before the exam time. Usually, exam centre gates are closed 30 minutes before the exam. You should also prepare for the check-in to enter the exam centre, and always wear clothes according to the NTA guidelines. You should follow the seating arrangements and exam invigilator instructions strictly. No electronic items are allowed in the exam centre.
Items to Carry or Avoid	Allowed Items: Mask and SanitiserTransparent water bottle. Restricted Items: Food itemsStationary itemsElectronic devicesJewellery and metallic accessories
Things to Consider During the Exam	Filling OMR sheets carefully by avoiding mistakes and overwriting. Manage time by prioritising biology, then chemistry and physics. Always remain calm and maintain focus for 3 hours.

Matrix Academy expert mentors always recommend the above guidelines to their students to ensure a smooth and stress-free exam process. 

Conclusion

A successful registration for the NEET 2026 exam ensures a smooth medical journey, where it is important to consider all the important factors to eliminate scope for any kind of mistake. A NEET aspirant must stay informed about documentation requirements, the detailed application process, and a higher level of competition. The guide, prepared by Matrix Academy mentors, provides all the necessary factors to consider related to the NEET 2026 exam on a single page. For official updates from NTA regarding the above-mentioned factors, you should stay updated by tracking official updates from NTA.

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