The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to lower the qualifying cut-off percentile for NEET MDS 2026. The decision was communicated through an official letter dated 12 October 2026 from the Dental Education division of the Ministry.

The Ministry has reduced the qualifying percentile by 20.576 for every category, including General, SC/ST/OBC and UR-PWD. The reduction was made under the DCI MDS Regulations, 2017, and the second proviso to clause 7(1) of the DCI Master of Dental Surgery Course (1st Amendment) Regulations, 2018. The revised percentiles apply to the 2026-27 academic session.

Revised NEET MDS 2026 qualifying cut-off percentile

• General Category (UR/EWS): reduced from 50 to 29.424 percentile
• SC/ST/OBC (including PwD of SC/ST/OBC): reduced from 40 to 19.424 percentile
• UR-PwD: reduced from 45 to 24.424 percentile

The letter was addressed to the Executive Director of the National Board of Examinations (NBE) and the DDG (ME) of the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). The NBE has been directed to publish a revised result according to the lowered percentiles. The MCC has been asked to take appropriate action on a priority basis.

The reduction is expected to widen the pool of candidates eligible for MDS counselling. Candidates who did not qualify earlier but score at or above the revised percentile are likely to become eligible once NBE releases the revised result. Further details on the revised result and the counselling process will follow through the official notices of NBE and MCC.

Candidates are advised to check the official websites of NBE (natboard.edu.in) and MCC (mcc.nic.in) for updates.