Every year, lakhs of NEET UG aspirants from Bihar chase one number: the cutoff rank that decides whether they walk into Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), IGIMS Patna, or another government medical college in the state. If you’re one of them, you already know that a single mark can push you from a “sure shot” seat to a long wait in the second round.
This guide breaks down the Bihar NEET UG Cutoff 2026 in plain language — how the state quota and All India Quota (AIQ) systems work, what last year’s opening and closing ranks at top colleges like PMCH and IGIMS looked like, who is eligible for Bihar’s counselling, and the important dates you need to track through the UGMAC process run by BCECEB. Whether you’re a first-time NEET candidate or a dropper aiming for a repeat attempt, this article gives you a realistic, data-backed picture of what it takes to secure an MBBS or BDS seat in Bihar this year.
What Is the Bihar NEET UG Cutoff?
The Bihar NEET UG cutoff is the minimum rank or score at which the last candidate got admitted to a particular course, college, and category during a counselling round. It is not one fixed number — it changes every round, every category, and every college.
Two cutoffs matter for Bihar candidates:
Qualifying cutoff — the minimum percentile set by NTA to simply qualify NEET UG (this doesn’t guarantee a seat).
Admission/closing cutoff — the actual rank at which seats stop being allotted in a specific college during counselling.
Scoring above the qualifying cutoff only makes you eligible to sit for counselling. Getting an actual seat at a college like PMCH or IGIMS depends entirely on your rank compared to the closing rank of previous years — and on how you fill your choices.
How Bihar’s Medical Counselling Works (UGMAC vs AIQ)
Bihar’s MBBS and BDS admissions run through two parallel tracks:
15% All India Quota (AIQ): Managed by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) at the national level. Open to candidates from anywhere in India, including Bihar domiciles.
85% State Quota (UGMAC): Managed by the Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (BCECEB) through the Under Graduate Medical Admission Counselling (UGMAC) process, reserved mainly for Bihar-domicile candidates.
This split matters a lot for strategy. A general-category candidate might miss the AIQ cutoff at PMCH by a few thousand ranks but still comfortably clear the state quota cutoff for the same college, because far more seats are reserved for Bihar residents.
Bihar NEET UG Cutoff 2026: Latest Updates
The NEET UG 2026 cycle has run later than usual this year. A re-examination was conducted on June 21, 2026, which pushed back the entire downstream schedule, including Bihar’s counselling. BCECEB has already issued two counselling-related notices — one in early April and another in late June 2026 — but as of mid-July, the board is still finalising the detailed UGMAC 2026 schedule, which is expected to follow shortly.
Because official 2026 college-wise cutoffs are only released after each counselling round concludes, the most reliable way to plan right now is to study last year’s (2025) opening and closing ranks as a benchmark, which is what serious aspirants and counsellors do every admission cycle.
Top Bihar Medical Colleges — Opening & Closing Ranks
Here’s how the general category (All India Quota) MBBS cutoff looked in 2025 for some of Bihar’s most sought-after government medical colleges. Use these as a realistic reference point for 2026 planning.
College
AIQ General Opening Rank (2025)
AIQ General Closing Rank (2025)
Patna Medical College & Hospital (PMCH)
~3,797
~12,398
IGIMS, Patna
~2,596
~8,317
Nalanda Medical College (NMCH), Patna
—
~6,106–10,728
A few practical observations from these numbers:
PMCH remains one of the toughest seats to crack in Bihar, with its AIQ closing rank tightening from around 4,329 in 2024 to a wider band by the final round of 2025 — reflecting rising competition each cycle.
IGIMS Patna is generally considered the second-most competitive government medical college in the state after PMCH, and its state-quota (UGMAC) general category closing rank sat around 6,924 in 2025.
Reserved-category candidates (OBC, SC, ST, EWS) get considerably relaxed ranks — for instance, SC candidates at PMCH were admitted at ranks well beyond 40,000 in 2025.
Private and management-quota seats across Bihar’s medical colleges close at much higher ranks, sometimes running into several lakhs, since seat availability there depends on demand within a narrower applicant pool.
These figures shift every year based on how many candidates appear, the difficulty of that year’s paper, and how many new seats are added. Treat them as a directional guide, not a guarantee.
Eligibility Criteria for Bihar NEET UG Counselling
Before you register for UGMAC 2026, check that you meet these basic requirements:
Age: Minimum 17 years by December 31 of the admission year.
Qualifying exam: Passed Class 12 (or equivalent) with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English as core subjects.
Minimum marks in Class 12: 50% for General category, 45% for PWD candidates, and 40% for SC/ST/OBC candidates.
NEET UG 2026: Must have a valid, qualifying NEET UG 2026 score card issued by NTA.
Domicile: For the 85% state quota, candidates generally need to prove Bihar domicile through a recognised certificate; AIQ seats are open to all Indian candidates regardless of state.
If you’re unsure about your domicile documentation, sort this out early — delayed certificates are one of the most common reasons candidates lose a counselling round.
Important Dates to Track
Event
Status/Expected Timing
NEET UG 2026 re-exam
Conducted June 21, 2026
BCECEB counselling notices
Issued April 2, 2026 and June 28, 2026
UGMAC 2026 detailed schedule
Expected shortly after NEET UG result finalisation
UGMAC registration
Expected to open in the following weeks; last week of the registration month is typically the deadline
Choice filling & seat allotment
Multiple rounds, followed by document verification and reporting
Because this year’s calendar has shifted due to the re-exam, always cross-check the live schedule on the official BCECEB portal (bceceboard.bihar.gov.in) rather than relying on last year’s exact dates.
Bihar NEET Counselling
Check your NEET UG 2026 result and rank as soon as NTA declares it.
Register on the BCECEB UGMAC portal with your NEET roll number, personal details, and required documents.
Upload documents — Class 10 and 12 marksheets, domicile certificate, category certificate (if applicable), NEET admit card, and passport-size photographs.
Pay the counselling fee, which varies by category.
Fill your college and course choices carefully, ranking them in genuine order of preference — not just by “safe” options.
Wait for provisional seat allotment and check the result on the portal.
Report to the allotted college within the given window for document verification and admission confirmation.
Decide on upgrade or exit if you want to try for a better seat in the next round, understanding the risk of losing your current allotment.
Improve Your Admission Chances
Don’t fill only “dream” colleges. Build a balanced list mixing high-reach, moderate, and safe options based on last year’s closing ranks.
Track category-wise cutoffs, not just the general category number — your effective rank could look very different under OBC, EWS, or SC/ST reservation.
Apply for both AIQ and state quota. Missing the 15% AIQ cutoff doesn’t rule you out of the much larger 85% state quota pool.
Keep documents ready in advance — verification delays are a leading cause of seat forfeiture.
Watch the mop-up and stray vacancy rounds. Seats often open up late in the cycle as candidates upgrade or withdraw.
Common Mistakes Candidates Make
Assuming the qualifying cutoff and the admission cutoff are the same thing — they are not.
Filling too few choices, which limits your options if your first preference doesn’t come through.
Ignoring domicile certificate requirements until the last moment.
Ranking colleges purely by name recognition instead of by realistic rank comparison.
Missing the choice-locking or document verification deadline, which can void an allotted seat entirely.
Latest Trends in Bihar NEET Admissions
Competition for Bihar’s government medical seats has been rising steadily. PMCH’s AIQ closing rank has widened over recent cycles, showing more candidates competing for the same limited seats. IGIMS has also seen high-demand behaviour, with almost no seat vacated once allotted in early rounds — a sign that candidates who get in tend to stay rather than upgrade elsewhere. On the state-run BCECE side (covering allied medical and other UG programmes), the board has moved its exam calendar progressively earlier each year, which is gradually compressing the gap between results and counselling. Expect Bihar’s overall NEET counselling process to keep tightening its own timelines in future cycles too, once the current year’s re-exam disruption settles.
Key Takeaways
Bihar NEET UG admissions run through two tracks: 15% AIQ (via MCC) and 85% state quota (via BCECEB’s UGMAC).
PMCH and IGIMS Patna remain the most competitive government medical colleges in the state, with 2025 AIQ general closing ranks around 12,398 and 8,317 respectively.
The 2026 counselling calendar has shifted later due to the June 21 NEET UG re-exam.
Eligibility depends on age, Class 12 marks, subject combination, and — for state quota seats — Bihar domicile.
Careful choice-filling and document readiness matter as much as your rank.
Conclusion
The Bihar NEET UG Cutoff 2026 will ultimately depend on this year’s exam difficulty, total applicants, and seat matrix — but the fundamentals of the system don’t change. Understanding how AIQ and state quota work together, studying real opening and closing ranks from PMCH, IGIMS, and other top colleges, and staying on top of BCECEB’s counselling calendar gives you a genuine edge over candidates who wait until the last minute. Keep your documents ready, track the official portal regularly, and make your choice list with both ambition and realism.
