NEET PG 2026 Answer Key: NBEMS to Release Provisional Key and Response Sheet Soon, Result on September 30

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is set to release the NEET PG 2026 provisional answer key shortly, and for the first time will publish each candidate's own recorded responses alongside it. The move follows a Supreme Court directive aimed at improving transparency in the postgraduate medical entrance process. Candidates will be able to access both documents by logging in at natboard.edu.in with their registered credentials. The NEET PG 2026 result is scheduled for September 30.

NEET PG 2026 Answer Key: Key Details

More than 2.65 lakh candidates appeared for NEET PG 2026, the single-window entrance test for admission to MD, MS and PG Diploma programs. The exam was conducted on August 30 in one shift, from 9 am to 12:30 pm. A separate re-exam was held on September 5 in Jaipur for around 2,445 candidates whose test was disrupted by a power failure at two centres; NBEMS has said the paper itself was not compromised and has set up a three-member committee, including officials from the Rajasthan government, the Union Health Ministry and the Central Electricity Authority, to look into the outage.

As of now, NBEMS has not announced a specific date or time for the answer key release [VERIFY], though it is expected within days. This is the first year NBEMS will publish the response sheet — showing exactly what each candidate marked for every question — in addition to the answer key itself, in line with a Supreme Court order dated April 29, 2025, in SLP No. 9298 of 2018.

How to Download the NEET PG 2026 Answer Key and Response Sheet

Once released, candidates can access the documents by following these steps:

• Visit the official NBEMS website, natboard.edu.in
• Locate and click the NEET PG 2026 section on the homepage
• Select the answer key/response sheet link
• Log in using your registered user ID (or email) and password
• View the question-wise answer key and your recorded responses on screen
• Download and save the PDF for your records

No separate registration is required — the same credentials used during exam registration will work.

What the Answer Key and Response Sheet Contain

The documents are expected to show, for each of the 180 questions in the exam:

• The question ID number
• The response the candidate originally selected
• The answer NBEMS has marked as correct
• The marks awarded for that question

Having the recorded response alongside the official key lets candidates cross-check their own answer sheet before deciding whether to raise an objection.

Marking Scheme and How to Calculate Your Score

NEET PG follows a straightforward marking formula: four marks for every correct answer, and one mark deducted for every incorrect answer. Unattempted questions earn or lose nothing.

Score = (Number of correct answers × 4) − (Number of incorrect answers × 1)

Once the answer key is out, candidates can apply this formula against their response sheet to estimate a probable score ahead of the official result.

Tie-breaking criteria: If two or more candidates end up with the same score, NBEMS resolves the tie in this order — fewer incorrect answers overall, then fewer incorrect answers section-wise (Sections A through E, in sequence), then higher marks in MBBS professional exams, and finally, the older candidate ranks higher.

Objection Window — What Happens Next

After the provisional key is published, candidates typically get a short window — two to three days — to formally challenge any answer they believe is incorrect, sometimes accompanied by a per-objection fee [VERIFY: fee amount not specified in official communication reviewed]. A subject-expert panel reviews all objections raised, and the final answer key is revised only where a challenge is upheld. The result is then computed against this final key.

NEET PG 2026 Result Date and Counselling

NBEMS has scheduled the NEET PG 2026 result for September 30, per the official information bulletin. Scorecards will be downloadable from natboard.edu.in using the candidate's roll number and password.

Once results are out, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) and respective state authorities will conduct counselling for MD, MS and PG Diploma admissions for the 2026–27 academic session, covering:

• State quota seats
• 50% All India Quota (AIQ) seats
• Seats in private medical colleges, institutions, and deemed universities
• Post-MBBS DNB courses, direct six-year DrNB courses, and NBEMS diploma courses
• Seats in Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) institutions

Counselling registration fees vary by category: candidates in the AIQ/Central University general category pay Rs 1,000, SC/ST/OBC/PwD candidates pay Rs 500, and deemed-university candidates pay Rs 5,000.

NEET PG 2026 Seats at a Glance

Separately, the central government has approved a third phase of its Centrally Sponsored Scheme to expand postgraduate medical education, which is expected to add 5,000 more PG seats by 2028–29.

For reference, the qualifying percentile requirement has stayed consistent in recent cycles — 50th percentile for General/EWS, 45th for General-PwBD, and 40th for SC/ST/OBC candidates — with 2025's cutoff scores (out of 800) at 276, 255 and 235 respectively. NEET PG 2026 cutoffs will only be known once the result is declared.

Official Website

All NEET PG 2026 updates — including the answer key, response sheet, result and scorecard — will be issued exclusively through natboard.edu.in. Candidates are advised to rely only on this official portal and avoid third-party links claiming early access.