NEET UG 2025: NTA adds new rule for tie-breaking, check details here

NTA said if a tie remains unresolved after the existing method, an independent expert committee will provide guidance and resolve it through a “random process”.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has added a new rule to break ties in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET UG 2025) scores if the existing ones are not enough to arrive at a conclusion.

Results of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for postgraduate medical courses, NEET-PG 2018 have been declared by the National Board of Examinations.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

In the NEET UG information bulletin, NTA said if a tie between candidates' marks remains unresolved after the existing seven-point method, an independent expert committee will provide guidance and resolve it through a “random process”.

NEET UG 2025 tie-breaking rules

In a situation when two or more candidates obtain equal marks/percentile scores in the NEET UG 2025, the inter-se-merit will be determined as follows:

1. The candidate obtaining higher marks/percentile score in Biology (Botany & Zoology) will be given preference in the All India Rank (AIR) list, followed by
2. The candidate who obtains higher marks/percentile score in Chemistry, followed by
3. The candidate obtaining higher marks/percentile score in Physics followed by
4. The candidate with less proportion of the number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in all the subjects in the test, followed by
5. The candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Biology (Botany & Zoology), followed by
6. The candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Chemistry, followed by
7. The candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Physics.

If these seven criteria are exhausted and the tie still persists, NTA will resolve them through a random process with the guidance of an independent expert committee.

However, this is not the only change to NEET UG 2025. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided to return to the pre-COVID pattern from 2025 onwards.

This means two other significant changes to the exam compared to last year: the number of questions and the time allotted to attempt the test will be reduced.

Optional questions, introduced temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic, will no longer be applicable.

NEET UG 2025 will have 45 questions each from Physics and Chemistry and 90 from Biology (Botany+Zoology). The exam duration will be 180 minutes.

The online registration process for NEET UG 2025 has started at neet.nta.nic.in. The window will close at 11:50 pm on March 7.

The exam will be held offline on May 4, using OMR sheets, in a single shift from 2 pm to 5 pm.

Candidates can check the official website for more details.