New Delhi: The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has lowered the qualifying percentile for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Super Speciality (NEET SS) 2025. The qualifying threshold has been reduced from the 50th percentile to the 30th percentile following a Supreme Court order dated September 17, 2026.
Under the revised criteria, candidates who have secured a score at or above the 30th percentile in their respective question paper groups have now been declared qualified in NEET SS 2025. NBEMS has also released revised qualifying cutoff scores for different question paper groups.
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Reduction in Qualifying Percentile of NEET-SS 2025 pic.twitter.com/8oJEQdjvJK
— NBEMS (@NBEMS_Official) September 22, 2026
NEET SS 2025 Revised Qualifying Cutoffs
The revised cutoff scores at the 30th percentile vary across question paper groups. Some of the scores announced by the medical board are:
- Anaesthesiology Group: 249
- Critical Care Medical Group: 254
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology Group: 325
Candidates should note that the change in the qualifying percentile will not affect the question paper group-specific ranks already declared for the examination.
No Change In NEET SS Rank
NBEMS has clarified that there will be no change in the NEET SS question paper group-specific rank announced on January 23, 2026. The board has also stated that candidates will not receive revised scorecards following the reduction in the qualifying percentile.
NEET SS is conducted as a single-window entrance examination for admission to Doctor of Medicine (DM), Master of Chirurgiae (MCh) and Post Doctoral Certificate Course (PDCC) programmes.
Why Was The NEET SS Cutoff Reduced?
The decision to lower the qualifying percentile comes after the Centre informed the Supreme Court on September 17 that it had agreed to reduce the qualifying percentile for NEET SS seats from 50 per cent to 30 per cent.
The move is linked to vacant Super Speciality seats following the second round of NEET SS counselling. In a note submitted before the Supreme Court, the Centre said that 1,857 Super Speciality seats remained vacant after the second counselling round. It also noted that a substantial number of these vacancies were in highly specialised medical and surgical disciplines.
The Centre explained the decision in its submission to the court: “In order to ensure that the available Super Speciality seats do not remain vacant and that the available training capacity is optimally utilised, it has been decided that the qualifying percentile for NEET SS may be reduced from the existing 50th percentile to 30th percentile for the purpose of the proposed Special Stray Vacancy Round,” the centre told the top court.
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Around 6,000 More Candidates Could Become Eligible
The central government said that lowering the qualifying percentile could expand the pool of candidates eligible to participate in the admission process.
Represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, the Centre told the court that the reduction could make approximately 6,000 additional candidates eligible to participate.
With the revised qualifying threshold now announced by NBEMS, candidates who meet or exceed the 30th percentile in their respective question paper groups have been declared qualified. The revised cutoff scores should be checked group-wise, as the qualifying marks differ across disciplines.
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