NBE announces revised cutoff scores of NEET MDS 2026 after reduction in qualifying percentiles
New Delhi: The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has announced revised qualifying cut-off scores for the National Eligibility and Entrance Test-Master of Dental Surgery (NEET MDS) 2026, following approval by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that, in a significant development for candidates seeking admission to postgraduate dental courses, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) announced a reduction in the qualifying cutoff percentile for the National Eligibility and Entrance Test-Master of Dental Surgery (NEET MDS) 2026.
As per the official communication, the Ministry decided to lower the qualifying cutoff by 20.576 percentile points across all categories, including General, SC/ST/OBC and Unreserved Persons with Disabilities (UR-PwD), for the academic session 2026-27.
Following this decision, the qualifying percentile for General category candidates has been reduced from 50 to 29.424, while the cutoff for SC/ST/OBC candidates has been lowered from 40 to 19.424. For UR-PwD candidates, the qualifying percentile has been revised from 45 to 24.424.
According to the official notice issued by the NBE in this regard, the qualifying cut-off for the General/EWS category has been reduced from 308 to 234 marks, while the cut-off for General-PwBD candidates has been lowered from 289 to 218 marks. For SC/ST/OBC candidates, including PwBD candidates belonging to these categories, the qualifying score has been reduced from 271 to 200 marks.
NBEMS informed that the NEET MDS 2026 result was originally declared on June 2, 2026. Subsequently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, issued a communication dated October 12, 2026, directing a reduction of 20.576 percentile points in the minimum qualifying criteria for each category.
The revision has been made in accordance with the Dental Council of India (DCI) MDS Regulations, 2017, and the second proviso under Clause 7(1) of the DCI Master of Dental Surgery Course (First Amendment) Regulations, 2018.
The revised qualifying criteria will apply to NEET MDS 2026 admissions for the 2026–27 academic session.
NBEMS has released the following revised qualifying percentiles and corresponding cut-off scores out of 960 marks.
S.NO | CATEGORY | PREVIOUS QUALIFYING PERCENTILE | PREVIOUS CUT-OFF | REVISED QUALIFYING PERCENTILE | REVISED OFF |
1 | General (UR/EWS) | 50th | 308 | 29.424th | 234 |
2 | General-PwBD | 45th | 289 | 24.424th | 218 |
3 | SC/ST/OBC (including PwBD of SC/ST/OBC) | 40th | 271 | 19.424th | 200 |
NBEMS has clarified that the reduction in qualifying percentiles will not lead to any change in the NEET MDS 2026 ranks already published through its result notification dated June 2, 2026.
It may be noted that there is no change in the NEET-MDS 2026 rank as published vide NBEMS result notification. Candidature is purely provisional subject to fulfilment of eligibility criteria as mentioned in the NEET-MDS 2026 Information Bulletin and verification of Face ID/Biometric wherever required, the notice stated.
To view the notice, click the link below
https://medicaldialogues.in/pdf_upload/2026/10/15/nbe-revises-neet-mds-2026-cut-off-scores-lowers-qualifying-marks-across-all-categories-479659.pdf
