NEET PG 2026 answer key, result likely before September 30

Lakhs of doctors hoping for admission to medical postgraduate courses are on edge as the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is expected to release the provisional answer key and response sheet for NEET PG 2026 any time now. The exam result is also likely to be declared before September 30, 2026. Candidates who have been calculating their probable scores since late August will soon have the wait for the official answer key end.

The board has not yet announced a fixed date for releasing the answer key, but according to the information bulletin, the result is expected by September 30. Going by this, the answer key could be released either before the result or along with it.

The biggest change this year is that NBEMS will, for the first time, release response sheets for candidates along with the provisional answer key. This will let candidates not only see the correct answers but also log in and check which option they had selected during the exam, helping them accurately estimate their likely score even before the result is out.

Last year, the Supreme Court had directed NBEMS to make public the NEET PG raw score, the policy for releasing the answer key, and the method of marks normalisation, to keep the entire process transparent. This year's decision is being seen as an important step in that direction.

To check the answer key and response sheet, candidates will first need to visit the official NBEMS website, natboard.edu.in. There, under the Examinations tab, they must select NEET PG under Entrance Examinations. Then, in the NEET PG 2026 section, they need to click the application link and log in using their user ID and password. After that, they must open the link for the answer key and provisional response sheet, where the screen will show the question ID, the correct answer and the candidate's own chosen answer. If needed, this sheet can be downloaded and kept safe. Candidates must strictly follow the objection-filing facility and its deadline as given in the board's notification.

The NEET PG 2026 exam was held on August 30 in a single shift from 9 am to 12:30 pm. A total of 2,73,096 candidates had registered for the exam, of whom 2,65,980 actually appeared. The exam was conducted at 1,111 centres across 339 cities in the country. A re-exam was held on September 5 for candidates affected by technical and power issues at some centres in Jaipur. This year, the number of questions was reduced from 200 to 180, though the exam duration remained three and a half hours, or 210 minutes.

The exam is held for admission to MD, MS and PG diploma courses. This year, the counselling process will be conducted for a total of 86,360 PG medical seats, with Karnataka having the highest number of seats. Once the result is out, candidates will be able to check their scorecard and eligibility status on the official website. Following this, the counselling process for admission to PG medical seats will begin for qualifying candidates. Candidates have been advised to keep checking natboard.edu.in for further updates.