The eligibility criteria for NEET 2021 are prescribed norms given by the National Testing Agency of India. The NEET exam is conducted by this agency once every year to open the doors to various career opportunities for medical aspirants. It acts as access for medical candidates to seek admission in BDS and MBBS colleges and other medical universities in India.

To apply for the NEET 2021 exam, a candidate must essentially know the eligibility criteria, which comprise educational qualification, age, and reservation category. The primary requirement for a candidate to be eligible for the NEET exam is that the aspirant must pass intermediate or 12th class with the subjects Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English. Another notable point is that if you belong to the General category, then it is compulsory that you have at least 50% marks in your 12th exam. For the candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC category, 40% marks are sufficient in 12th grade.

Age Criteria for NEET 2021

For appearing in NEET 2021 exam, age is an important factor. Read below to find out what are the age requirements for NEET 2021.

1. The minimum age of a candidate appearing in the NEET 2021 must be 17 years on December 31 of the current year means if an aspirant is of the age 16 when appearing for the NEET Exam but completes 17 years by December 31, 2021, then he/she is eligible for appearing in the exam.
2. The limit for the maximum age of a candidate depends on the Reservation category. If the candidate belongs to the General category, then the upper age limit is 25 years. And if the candidate belongs to any other Reserved category (SC/ST/OBC) and PwD, then the limit is 30 years.

According to the official announcement for NEET 2021, the age criteria for each reservation category, in a nutshell, is given below:

Educational Qualification for NEET 2021

 The candidate must have completed his/her 12th class or some other exam equivalent to it with the subjects Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Bio-Technology along with English from any state board or Central Board of Secondary Education or ICSE board.

1. The students who are currently in 12th grade and are aspiring for NEET 2021 can also apply for it but the students have to confer all their certificates which should meet eligibility criteria for educational qualification at the time of admission in any medical course.
2. The qualifying percentage is different according to different reservation categories. Here is a list that summaries all:

• General – 50%
• SC/ST/OBC – 40%
• For Physically Handicapped in General category – 45%
• For Physically Handicapped in SC/ST/OBC category – 40%

Reservation Criteria for NEET-UG 2021

There are seat reservations for different categories to appear in NEET 2021:

1. General-EWS — 10%
2. Scheduled Caste(SC) — 15%
3. Scheduled Tribe(ST) — 5%
4. Other Backward Classes(OBC) — 27%
5. Physically Handicapped — 3%

Eligibility Criteria for State Quota in NEET 2021

Out of total medical and dental seats, 85% are reserved for students under the category of NEET state quota. Candidates of state quota must be Indian residents and should have passed their 12th standard from their respective states.

Eligibility Criteria for All India Quota in NEET 2021

All India Quota candidates are given a 15% seat reservation for admission to various dental and medical colleges in India. The necessary requirements for candidates belonging to this category are – they must be either an Indian Citizen, or a Person of Indian Origin, or a Non-Resident Indian, or a Foreign National. The aspirants from states like Telangana, Jammu, Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh do not come under All India Quota seats. But these candidates can take admission in AFMC, Pune.

In the end, it is important for any medical aspirant to take a look at the official notification for NEET eligibility to avoid any last time confusion or delay in your application form submission for the NEET exam.