NEET · Results, cut-off & counselling

Tamil Nadu NEET counselling: rank lists, 69% reservation and the 7.5% quota

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 8 Oct 2026 · 9 min read

Tamil Nadu's MBBS and BDS counselling is run by the Selection Committee of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME&R) in Kilpauk, Chennai, and the merit list is based on your NEET score. For the 2026-27 session, the 36 government medical colleges had about 5,050 MBBS seats (tentative): 753 went to the All India Quota and 4,247 to the state quota, with the rest being ward seats. Seats are filled under a 69% community reservation, and a separate 7.5% preferential quota applies to students from government schools under Tamil Nadu Act No. 34 of 2020. This page is based on the 2026-27 prospectus. The 2027-28 prospectus will come after NEET 2027, and its rules and seat numbers can differ.

Tamil Nadu counselling at a glance (2026-27)

Who conducts counselling, and which seats it covers

The prospectus for 2026-27 was issued under G.O.(D) No. 667 of the Health and Family Welfare Department, dated 5 June 2026. Applications opened on 29 June 2026. The committee is also called the Tamil Nadu Medical Selection Committee.

How the seats are divided:

• Government medical colleges: 15% go to the All India Quota, counselled by MCC (see the NEET counselling process). The other 85% are the state quota.
• "State quota" means that 85% of government-college seats plus all seats in private colleges other than deemed universities.
• Self-financing and state private university colleges: Government Quota is 50% or more, Management Quota is 35% or less and the NRI quota is 15% of the self-financing seats, as the prospectus states.
• Deemed universities are counselled by MCC, not the state.
• CMC Vellore: 30% on the state government-quota merit list, 20% on a list for Tamil Nadu-native Christian minority candidates and 50% as CMC quota, following a Supreme Court order.

2026-27 seat numbers (tentative)

These numbers come from the tentative seat matrix in the prospectus, and they change as seats are added or approved. Treat them as a scale, not a promise.

Who can apply: age, qualification and nativity

• Age: 17 years on or before 31 December 2026 for this session. See NEET eligibility.
• Qualification: pass in Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Biotechnology and English, with at least 50% (General), 40% (SC, ST, OBC), 45% (General-PwBD) or 40% (reserved-category PwBD) in Physics, Chemistry and Biology together, plus the NEET percentile rule. Candidates from boards other than the state boards, CBSE and CISCE need an Eligibility Certificate from the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University.
• Nativity: you must be a native of Tamil Nadu and hold a Tamil Nadu Nativity Certificate. A permanent residence certificate is not accepted. Anyone who sat NEET 2026 as a native of another state cannot apply as a Tamil Nadu native.

The prospectus handles the other cases individually:

• Tamil Nadu natives who studied Class 6 to 12 outside the state may apply with their nativity and community certificates and an undertaking.
• Natives of other states who studied Class 6 to 12 continuously in Tamil Nadu are considered under the open category (clause 8(j)). Natives of other states who studied Class 6 to 12 outside Tamil Nadu, wholly or partly, are barred by clause 11(a).
• Community certificates issued by other states, for the candidate or a parent, are not accepted for reservation.
• OCI/PIO candidates are eligible but only in the open category, with no reservation, following a Supreme Court order of 3 February 2023.

The prospectus notes that the nativity clause is subject to the outcome of writ petitions pending in the Madras High Court. Read the current prospectus for any change.

The 69% community reservation

BC, BCM, MBC/DNC, SC, SCA and ST candidates can also win Open Competition seats on rank. So reserved-category candidates compete for the open seats too, not only for seats in their own category. The Arunthathiyar (SCA) sub-quota is 16% of the SC share under Tamil Nadu Act No. 4 of 2009, which is why you will see it written as roughly SC 15% and SCA 3%. If SCA seats are unfilled they go to other SC candidates, and the reverse also holds. The reserved share adds up to 69%.

The 7.5% quota for government-school students

Tamil Nadu Act No. 34 of 2020 gives preferential admission to students of government schools.

• Who qualifies: students who studied from Class 6 to Class 12 in Tamil Nadu State Government schools and qualified NEET-UG in the same year. If you studied in another type of school for any of those years, read the prospectus definition instead of assuming you are covered.
• Which seats: 7.5% of government seats in government colleges, and of Government Quota seats in self-financing colleges, for MBBS and BDS.
• How it works: the committee publishes a separate 7.5% rank list. Special-category counselling for the 7.5% quota, PwD, sports and ex-servicemen runs ahead of General Category counselling. These are horizontal reservations: seats are taken from within each community compartment, and any that go unfilled revert to general.
• Proof: a bonafide certificate from the school in the prescribed Annexure II format, covering Class 6 to 12, signed by the Headmaster and countersigned by the Chief Educational Officer.

If you are at a government school, ask your school about the certificate early, because it needs two signatures and covers seven years of records.

Other special reservations

All of these are horizontal: PwD candidates get 5% of seats in all institutions, children of ex-servicemen get 10 MBBS and 1 BDS seats, and eminent sportspersons get 13 MBBS and 2 BDS seats in government colleges.

Rank lists, rounds and the rules that bite

Tamil Nadu publishes provisional rank lists for the Government Quota, Management Quota and 7.5% categories, followed by round-wise allotment lists, all on tnmedicalselection.net.

• There are four stages: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3 (mop-up) and a stray round.
• You cannot change choices once locked.
• Rounds 1 and 2 allow a free exit before the stipulated date.
• Not joining in Round 3 or later forfeits your security deposit.
• Candidates who have joined up to Round 3, in All India Quota or state counselling, cannot take part in later rounds.

Fees for 2026-27

A government college MBBS seat costs about Rs.18,073 in annual fees, of which tuition is Rs.6,000. BDS is Rs.16,073. The fees for self-financing colleges are in the prospectus.

Documents to have ready

• NEET admit card
• Class 10, 11 and 12 mark sheets
• Transfer certificate
• Proof of study from Class 6 to 12
• Community certificate and Nativity certificate
• A parent's community certificate, for Tamil Nadu-native claims
• Special-category forms where they apply
• The CEO-countersigned bonafide certificate for the 7.5% quota
• An income certificate, if claiming a fee exemption

For 2026-27, the committee announced on 23 July 2026 that there was no need to upload the NEET scorecard.

The 2026-27 timeline

The 7.5% and the 92.5% general quotas run on separate tracks. Dates for the 2027-28 session will be known only when the committee publishes them.

What to do now, if you are aiming at NEET 2027

1. Make sure you can get the right certificates: a Tamil Nadu Nativity Certificate, and a community certificate in your name.
2. Keep records of Class 6 to 12 schooling. Government-school students should line up the bonafide certificate.
3. Read the 2026-27 prospectus once, to know what the process looks like.
4. For what score to aim at, don't use a number from a blog. Use the method in what score a government medical college takes.

PrepMatic for Tamil-medium NEET aspirants

You can choose Tamil as your exam language on PrepMatic, so questions in mock tests are in Tamil. The dashboard and analytics are also available in Tamil. The free assessment of about 15 untimed questions shows your weakest subjects, and the study plan turns your exam date and daily hours into a Today view and a Roadmap. More on writing the exam in Tamil is in NEET preparation in Tamil.

Frequently asked questions

Who conducts NEET counselling in Tamil Nadu?

The Selection Committee of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Kilpauk, Chennai. It publishes the prospectus, rank lists and allotment lists for government and private college seats under the state quota.

What is the 7.5% reservation in Tamil Nadu medical admissions?

It is a preferential quota under Tamil Nadu Act No. 34 of 2020 for students who studied Class 6 to 12 in Tamil Nadu State Government schools and qualified NEET-UG that year. It applies to MBBS and BDS seats and has its own rank list.

How much is the community reservation in Tamil Nadu?

Total reservation is 69%: BC 30% (including 3.5% for BC Muslims), MBC/DNC 20%, SC 18% (including the Arunthathiyar sub-quota) and ST 1%. Open Competition seats make up the other 31%.

Do I need a nativity certificate for Tamil Nadu NEET counselling?

Yes, to apply as a native of Tamil Nadu, you need a Tamil Nadu Nativity Certificate. A permanent residence certificate is not accepted. Rules for natives of other states are listed above and in the prospectus.

How many MBBS seats are there in Tamil Nadu government colleges?

The 2026-27 tentative seat matrix lists 5,050 MBBS seats in 36 government medical colleges: 753 in the All India Quota, 4,247 in the state quota and 50 ward seats. The numbers can change.

Official sources

• Tamil Nadu Medical Selection Committee: notices, rank lists and allotment lists.
• 2026-27 Government Quota prospectus: the document this page is based on.
• Medical Counselling Committee: All India Quota counselling.

Always use the latest prospectus for the session you are applying in. The wider picture is in the NEET guide.

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