🏠 Home
Universities
🎓 All Universities 💰 Budget Predictor
More
📝 Exams 🏆 Scholarships 📰 Blogs ✍️ Application Mentorship 🛍️ Dream Admit Store 🛒 Cart 👥 About Us 📞 Contact
Account
🔐 Sign In ✨ Sign Up Free
NEET PG
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test — Postgraduate
📚 Postgraduate Medical Admission Computer-based test (CBT). ⏱ Valid: A given year's NEET PG score is valid only for that year's admission cycle and cannot be carried forward to a later year. Since 2018 (unifying prior separate postgraduate medical entrance exams) ⚡ Widely regarded as extremely competitive given the very high number of MBBS graduates relative to the comparatively limited number of postgraduate seats, particularly for the most sought-after clinical specialities at…
🕐 Last updated: September 7, 2026
📝 Register Now 🌐 Official Site
📝 Register for NEET PG 🌐 Official Website ✍️ Need application help? →
Quick Summary

NEET PG is India's sole entrance exam for MD, MS, and PG Diploma admission, run by the National Board of Examinations — a distinct body from NEET UG's National Testing Agency, with its own separate exam pattern that shouldn't be assumed to mirror its undergraduate counterpart. Its defining structural feature is a strict section-locked format: five sections of 36 questions each, every section automatically closing after exactly 42 minutes with zero ability to revisit it afterward, a pacing discipline that differs meaningfully from NEET UG's free-navigation single time window. Scored out of 720 with standard 4-for-correct, minus-1-for-incorrect marking, Clinical subjects dominate the paper at 150 of 200 questions, though Pre-clinical and Para-clinical content still combine for the other half and shouldn't be under-prepared. Because seat allocation runs entirely through MCC and state counselling based on rank, with no separate interview or holistic review, NEET PG functions as a purely numbers-driven gateway to postgraduate medical training — one where understanding the section-locked pacing constraint matters just as much as mastering the underlying clinical and pre-clinical content itself.

📋 Exam Overview
🎯
Score Range
0 to 720
💳
Fee
₹3,500 (General/OBC/EWS candidates); ₹2,500 (SC/ST/PwD candidates)
📅
Valid For
A given year's NEET PG score is valid only for that year's admission cycle and cannot be carried forward to a later year.
🖥
Mode
Computer-based test (CBT).
🗓
Frequency
Once a year
🏛
Conducted By
National Board of Examinations (NBE)
⚡
Difficulty
Widely regarded as extremely competitive given the very high number of MBBS graduates relative to the comparatively limited number of postgraduate seats, particularly for the most sought-after clinical specialities at top government colleges.
🌍 Accepted By
The sole entrance exam for MD, MS, and PG Diploma admission at every medical college in India, government and private alike, covering roughly 26,168 MD, 13,649 MS, and 922 PG Diploma seats.
The single gate into every MD, MS, and PG Diploma seat in India, run by a different body than its undergraduate counterpart and structured around five strictly sequential, non-revisitable sections
👤 Who Should Take This Exam?
Any MBBS graduate who has completed (or will complete by the government's specified cutoff date) their compulsory rotatory internship and wants to pursue an MD, MS, or PG Diploma in India needs to sit NEET PG, since it's the sole entrance exam for postgraduate medical admission nationwide. Unlike NEET UG, which is conducted by the NTA, NEET PG is run by the National Board of Examinations — a distinct body with its own separate exam pattern, timeline, and administrative process, so a candidate shouldn't assume familiarity with NEET UG's format carries over. The exam's section-locked structure — five sections of 36 questions each, with 42 minutes per section and no ability to revisit a section once time expires — rewards steady, disciplined pacing far more than a strategy of skipping around to easier questions first.
🎓 Education Level
Postgraduate Medical Admission
🌍 Accepted In
India
📝 Exam Structure & Format
Question Types
Multiple-choice questions only.
Language / Medium
English
Total Duration
3 hours 30 minutes
Total Questions
200 questions across five sections of 36 questions each
Sections
Pre-clinical (Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry), Para-clinical (Pathology, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Forensic Medicine), Clinical subjects (Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Orthopaedics, Psychiatry, and others)
⚙️ More format details (timing, marking, equipment)See all ▾
Time Per Section
Each of the five sections gets a fixed 42-minute window; once it expires, the exam moves on automatically and that section can't be revisited.
Negative Marking
Yes — 1 mark deducted for each incorrect answer.
Calculator Allowed
No — calculators and any electronic aids are strictly prohibited.
Scratch Paper
Yes — a rough sheet is provided at the test centre and must be submitted before leaving.
Breaks Allowed
No breaks between the five sequential sections, since each automatically advances to the next once its 42-minute window closes.
Home Edition
No — NEET PG is administered only at NBE-designated test centres.
📑 Section Details
Pre-clinical and Para-clinical subjects together contribute 100 of the 200 questions, while Clinical subjects — spanning a much wider range of specialities — make up the remaining 150, reflecting how heavily the exam weights applied clinical knowledge over foundational pre-clinical science. Each of the five sections is strictly time-boxed at 42 minutes and, once that window closes, the exam automatically advances to the next section with no way to return — a structural design that removes the option of saving harder sections for later within the exam.
🎯 Scoring System
Score Range
0 to 720
Good / Passing Score
A qualifying percentile — typically the 50th percentile for General category and lower for reserved categories — is set separately each year, meaning the exact qualifying raw score shifts based on that cycle's overall…
See all ▾
A qualifying percentile — typically the 50th percentile for General category and lower for reserved categories — is set separately each year, meaning the exact qualifying raw score shifts based on that cycle's overall performance distribution rather than following one fixed number.
How Scoring Works
Each correct answer earns 4 marks and each incorrect answer deducts 1 mark, across 200 questions, for a maximum possible score of 720. Because the exam is held across multiple shifts, NBE applies a normalization process to raw scores so that candidates in different shifts are compared fairly against each other rather than purely on raw correct-answer counts.
🏆 Minimum Scores for Top Universities
Competitive government medical colleges for sought-after clinical specialities like Radiology or Dermatology typically require scores well above 600 out of 720 in recent years, while less oversubscribed specialities and colleges become accessible at meaningfully lower scores, varying by category and All India versus state quota. Because normalization is applied across shifts, the raw score itself matters less than the resulting percentile, so comparing a specific number against a friend's result from a different shift can be misleading without accounting for that adjustment.
All Sub-Scores
Individual section-wise scores are not typically disclosed to candidates in detail — the primary reported result is the overall score out of 720 and the resulting percentile.
🔼 Score Improvement
NBE does not publish a standardized retake-improvement figure, though a substantial share of each year's candidates are repeat test-takers who didn't secure their preferred speciality or college in a prior attempt.
💳 Registration & Fees
Fee (USD)
₹3,500 (General/OBC/EWS candidates); ₹2,500 (SC/ST/PwD candidates)
Fee (INR)
₹3,500 for General, OBC, and EWS candidates; ₹2,500 for SC, ST, and PwD candidates.
📝 Register Now →
📋 Policies (rescheduling, cancellation, verification, waivers)See all ▾
⏰ Register in Advance
Registration for the 2026 cycle opened July 1 and closed July 21, ahead of the August 30 exam date.
🔄 Rescheduling Policy
NBE does not permit individual rescheduling once a shift and centre are allotted; candidates who miss their allotted shift generally cannot sit an alternate one within the same cycle.
❌ Cancellation Policy
Once submitted, application fees are generally non-refundable.
🔍 Score Verification
Yes — NBE publishes a provisional answer key and allows candidates to raise objections within a fixed challenge window before final results.
📋 Score Audit
Handled through NBE's answer-key challenge process, where candidates can contest specific questions within the published objection window before final results.
↩ Reinstatement Policy
No
🎁 Fee Waiver Criteria
Fee concessions apply automatically for SC, ST, and PwD candidates, reflected directly in the tiered fee schedule.
📅 Exam Dates & Schedule
📆 Available Months
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
🔁 Frequency
Once a year
📊 Results Declared
Results are typically declared within a few weeks of the exam date.
🔄 Retake Policy
No formal cap on the number of attempts or age-based retake restriction, meaning candidates can reattempt in following years without a fixed maximum number of tries.
⏰ Register By
Registration for the 2026 cycle opened July 1 and closed July 21, ahead of the August 30 exam date.
✅ Eligibility & Access
🎂 Age Limit
No upper age limit currently enforced; candidates must complete their compulsory rotatory internship by the government's specified cutoff date for that year's cycle.
🎓 Education Required
An MBBS degree with completion of the compulsory rotatory internship by the specified cutoff date for that admission cycle.
🛂 Citizenship
Open to Indian citizens; foreign nationals with an MBBS degree recognized by the National Medical Commission are also eligible under separate provisions.
More on accommodations, ID, and special versionsSee all ▾
🪪 ID Required
Entry depends on presenting both the admit card and an original photo ID together.
♿ Accessibility
Documented disabilities qualify a candidate for compensatory time and a scribe under government PwD guidelines, arranged at registration.
🔀 Special Versions
PwD candidates get a scribe and compensatory time; no other exam format variant exists.
📐 Subject Variants
The five-section paper is identical for every candidate, regardless of which speciality or PG Diploma they're ultimately aiming for.
🤝 Disability Accommodations
Compensatory time and scribe assistance are available for candidates with benchmark disabilities per government PwD guidelines, arranged through prior application during registration.
🗓 Exam Day Guide
✅ What to Bring
The admit card, an original photo ID, and a passport photo matching the one from registration.
🚫 Prohibited Items
Calculators, phones, and smartwatches don't get through, nor do notes or anything the admit card hasn't cleared.
📋 Exam Day Rules
The gate closes at the allotted shift's reporting time with no late entry afterward, so early arrival matters; biometric verification and frisking are standard at every centre.
After the exam: score reporting and deliverySee all ▾
⏱ Score Reporting
Typically within a few weeks of the exam date.
📤 Score Sending
Results feed directly into counselling processes run by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) for All India Quota seats and by respective state authorities for state quota seats — there is no separate manual score-sending step to individual colleges.
🎓 Score Recipients
Results are accessed directly by the candidate through NBE's portal and used automatically by MCC and state counselling authorities for seat allocation.
📚 Preparation Guide
🗓 Avg Prep Months
9 months
Because Clinical subjects make up 150 of the 200 questions, most effective preparation weights study time heavily toward clinical specialities rather than splitting effort evenly across pre-clinical, para-clinical, and clinical content. Given the exam's strict section-locked format, timed practice specifically simulating the 42-minutes-per-section, no-going-back structure matters as much as content mastery, since many candidates who know the material well still struggle with that specific pacing constraint on first exposure.
💡 Top Tips & Tricks
Since a section automatically closes after 42 minutes with no option to return, working through easier questions within a section first and flagging harder ones for a later pass — but still within that same section's window — tends to work better than trying to solve every question in strict order. Given the 1-mark penalty for a wrong answer, leaving a genuinely unfamiliar question blank is statistically safer than a blind guess, similar to the calculus NEET UG candidates already apply.
Full study plan, resources, and common mistakesSee all ▾
📅 Study Plan
Subject-wise revision heavily weighted toward Clinical subjects fills most of a typical 6-12 month timeline, with full-length mock tests in the final two to three months specifically built around the section-locked format rather than generic timed practice. Disciplined per-section time budgeting deserves just as much dedicated rehearsal as content review, since a section that expires can't be revisited no matter how early a candidate finishes elsewhere.
📖 Recommended Books
Standard reference texts for each clinical and pre-clinical subject, alongside NEET PG-specific question banks published by Marrow and PrepLadder, form the typical preparation base.
🏫 Popular Prep Courses
Marrow, PrepLadder, and DAMS are among the most widely enrolled coaching programmes specifically built around NEET PG preparation.
📱 Popular Prep Apps
Marrow and PrepLadder both offer NEET PG-specific question banks and mock tests aligned with the section-locked format.
✅ Official Practice Tests
NBE publishes official past NEET PG papers on its portal, reflecting the current five-section, section-locked format. — Free — NBE's official past papers carry no cost.
🆓 Free Online Resources
NBE publishes official past NEET PG papers and guidelines on its portal, offering a genuinely free look at the real question format.
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
Underweighting pre-clinical and para-clinical revision because clinical subjects feel more directly relevant to future practice is a common miscalculation, since those two categories still combine for 100 of the 200 questions. Treating NEET PG's format as identical to NEET UG's, given the shared 'NEET' name, is another frequent misjudgment — NEET PG is run by an entirely different body with its own distinct section-locked structure NEET UG doesn't have.
💡 EduAtlasHub Exclusive Insights
🔍 Insider Tips
Pay close attention to image-based questions and the recently introduced mandatory time-bound sections. Prioritize subjects with higher weightage like Pathology, PSM, and Medicine.
⭐ Unique Features
The strict section-locked format — five sections, each expiring automatically after 42 minutes with zero ability to revisit — is a distinctive design not shared by NEET UG or most other major Indian entrance exams, which typically allow free navigation across the entire paper within the overall time limit. Being administered by NBE rather than NTA, despite the shared 'NEET' branding with its undergraduate counterpart, is also a structural quirk that catches candidates off guard more often than the name alone would suggest.
🎓 How This Score Impacts Your Application
NEET PG score and rank directly determine MD, MS, and PG Diploma seat and speciality allocation through MCC and state counselling — there is no separate interview or holistic review layered on top for standard admission, making it a purely numbers-driven process similar in spirit to NEET UG. Because clinical speciality preferences are entered during counselling based on rank, the same score can lead to very different outcomes depending on how a candidate ranks that speciality preference relative to available seats.
More insights: country notes, comparisons, myths, examiner tipsSee all ▾
🌍 Country-Specific Notes
NEET PG is administered exclusively within India's postgraduate medical admission framework, with foreign nationals holding a National Medical Commission-recognized MBBS degree eligible under separate provisions distinct from the main domestic candidate pool.
⚖️ Comparison with Alternatives
Unlike NEET UG, which is conducted by the NTA and allows free movement across all questions within its single time window, NEET PG is run by the NBE and locks each of its five sections individually, making time-management strategy fundamentally different between the two exams despite their shared naming convention. Compared to GATE's academic-and-recruitment dual purpose, NEET PG serves the single, narrower purpose of postgraduate medical seat allocation, with no separate professional-recruitment use case attached to it.
🆕 Recent Changes
NEET PG has continued refining its section-locked format and normalization procedures in recent cycles, alongside periodic government adjustments to the internship-completion cutoff date that determines candidate eligibility for a given year's exam.
🔜 Upcoming Changes
No major structural changes to NEET PG's five-section, section-locked format have been announced for upcoming cycles.
🧐 Myths vs Facts
A common misconception, given the shared 'NEET' branding, is that NEET PG follows the same free-navigation format as NEET UG; in reality, NBE's section-locked structure — five sections, each automatically closing after 42 minutes with no way back — makes the two exams' actual time-management demands quite different. Another frequent assumption is that clinical subjects alone determine the bulk of preparation focus needed; pre-clinical and para-clinical subjects still combine for exactly half of the 200 questions, a share worth taking seriously rather than treating as secondary.
📋 Post-Exam Steps
Once results and rank are available, candidates should review the prior year's speciality and college-wise closing ranks from MCC and their relevant state counselling authority to set realistic expectations before entering counselling preferences. Given how much rank can affect actual speciality allocation even within the same overall score band, ranking preferred specialities thoughtfully — rather than defaulting to the most prestigious option regardless of realistic rank — tends to produce a better final outcome.
🎯 Score Uses Beyond Admission
Beyond MD/MS/PG Diploma admission, NEET PG rank is sometimes referenced for certain government scholarship or bond-service placement decisions tied to postgraduate medical seats in specific states.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the NEET PG score valid?+
A given year's NEET PG score is valid only for that year's admission cycle and cannot be carried forward to a later year.
How much does the NEET PG cost?+
₹3,500 (General/OBC/EWS candidates); ₹2,500 (SC/ST/PwD candidates)
How often can I retake the NEET PG?+
No formal cap on the number of attempts or age-based retake restriction, meaning candidates can reattempt in following years without a fixed maximum number of tries.
When are NEET PG results declared?+
Results are typically declared within a few weeks of the exam date.
Which universities accept the NEET PG?+
The sole entrance exam for MD, MS, and PG Diploma admission at every medical college in India, government and private alike, covering roughly 26,168 MD, 13,649 MS, and 922 PG Diploma seats.
Is a calculator allowed in the NEET PG?+
No — calculators and any electronic aids are strictly prohibited.
How should I prepare for the NEET PG?+
Because Clinical subjects make up 150 of the 200 questions, most effective preparation weights study time heavily toward clinical specialities rather than splitting effort evenly across pre-clinical, para-clinical, and…
📝
Register for NEET PG
The single gate into every MD, MS, and PG Diploma seat in India, run by a different body than its undergraduate counterpart and structured around five strictly sequential, non-revisitable sections
Register Now →
📊 Quick Facts
Official Site →
Conducted ByNational Board of Examinations (NBE)
Year Started2018 (unifying prior separate postgraduate medical entrance exams)
CategoryPostgraduate Medical Admission
Emailhttps://natboard.edu.in/
Last UpdatedSeptember 7, 2026
✍️ Need Application Help?
Work with experienced mentors to strengthen your statement of purpose (SOP) and university applications.
Get Expert Help →
🔗 Official Resources
🌐 Official Website 📝 Registration Portal 📋 All Exams Guide 🎓 Find Universities 💰 Find Scholarships