NEET MDS 2026 counselling: Tamil Nadu invites applications after cut-off lowered, apply by October 19

In short

The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Medical Education and Research has invited applications for NEET MDS 2026 postgraduate dental courses.
The application window for newly eligible candidates closes on October 19, 2026, at 12 noon.
The revision in qualifying percentiles and cut-off scores follows a notice from the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences.
General category candidates now require a minimum of 29.424 percentile and a cut-off score of 234 out of 960.
Existing applicants with lower percentiles are not required to reapply.

The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME), through its Selection Committee, has invited applications from eligible candidates for postgraduate dental (MDS) courses for the 2026-27 academic session. This invitation follows a revision in the qualifying percentiles and cut-off scores for NEET MDS counselling 2026.

The online application window is open until October 19, 2026, at 12 noon, for candidates who have become eligible under the updated criteria. The revision was prompted by a notice issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), New Delhi, which lowered the qualifying percentiles across various categories.

REVISED Eligibility Criteria for NEET MDS 2026

The Selection Committee’s notice covers admissions to MDS courses in government medical and dental colleges, as well as Government Quota, Management Quota, and NRI seats in self-financing dental colleges across Tamil Nadu. Candidates are required to upload all relevant documents as specified in the admission prospectus.

Candidates who had previously submitted applications with lower percentiles and now meet the revised criteria are not required to apply again. The revised minimum qualifying criteria and cut-off scores are as follows:

S.NO	CATEGORY	REVISED MINIMUM QUALIFYING PERCENTILE	REVISED CUT-OFF SCORE (OUT OF 960)
1	General	29.424 percentile	234
2	General Persons with Disability	24.424 percentile	218
3	SC/ST/OBC (including Persons with Disability)	19.424 percentile	200

Background to the PERCENTILE Reduction

The decision to lower the NEET MDS 2026 qualifying percentiles by NBEMS mirrors a similar reduction made by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for NEET MDS 2025. On August 14, the Ministry reduced the NEET MDS 2025 qualifying cut-off percentiles by 19.863 percentiles across all categories. The NEET MDS 2025 entrance examination was conducted on April 19, and its results were announced on May 15.

For NEET MDS 2025, General category candidates needed a 30.137 percentile (197 marks) compared to the original 50 percentile. SC/ST/OBC candidates qualified at 20.137 percentile (168 marks), down from 40 percentile, while General-PWD candidates required a 25.137 percentile (182 marks) instead of 45 percentile. Despite these revised qualifying criteria, the NEET MDS 2025 ranks published in the NBEMS result on May 15 remain unchanged. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) is expected to reopen registration for the 2025 counselling round following these changes. The Dental Council of India had set June 30 as the completion deadline for mandatory internships.

Category	Revised Percentile	Revised Marks	Original Percentile
General	30.137 percentile	197 marks	50 percentile
SC/ST/OBC	20.137 percentile	168 marks	40 percentile
General-PWD	25.137 percentile	182 marks	45 percentile

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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