PrepMaticExam questions answered · NEET
Is there negative marking in NEET?
On this page
Yes. NEET-UG gives 4 marks for every correct answer and deducts 1 mark for every wrong answer. A question you leave unanswered scores 0, so a blank never costs you anything. This applies to all 180 questions in the paper.
How your score is worked out
Score = 4 × correct answers − 1 × wrong answers. If you answer 120 questions correctly, get 40 wrong and leave 20 blank, your score is 480 − 40 = 440 out of 720.
Notice what a single wrong answer does. Compared with getting that question right, you are 5 marks worse off: you miss the 4 marks and you also lose 1.
When is a guess worth it?
A guess breaks even when your chance of being right is 1 in 5 (20%). At that chance, the 4 marks you might gain are exactly balanced by the 1 mark you might lose, averaged over many questions. Above 20% a guess helps on average; below it, it hurts.
| Options you can rule out | Chance of picking the right one | Average marks from guessing |
|---|---|---|
| None (blind guess) | 25% | +0.25 |
| One | 33% | +0.67 |
| Two | 50% | +1.50 |
A blind guess among four options is only just above break-even, with a large swing either way, so it is not a strategy. Guessing pays when you can honestly remove options, and the table assumes the option you removed really was wrong. If you "eliminate" the correct answer by mistake, your real odds are lower than the table shows.
What to do in the exam hall
- Answer the questions you are sure of first, then return to the doubtful ones.
- Leave a question blank when you cannot remove at least two options.
- Do not change a confident answer on a hunch.
Decide your guessing rule in practice, not on exam day: in full-length mocks, count the marks lost to wrong answers and compare them with what your risky guesses earned. The NEET time management guide fits a second pass into three hours, and NEET mock tests covers analysis.
PrepMatic scores its NEET mocks with the same negative marking, so the result screen shows what your wrong answers cost you.
Will this change in 2027?
The Union Education Minister announced in May 2026 that NEET-UG will become computer-based from 2027 and that the 720-mark format stays. NTA has not yet published the 2027 information bulletin, so confirm the marking scheme there. See NEET exam pattern for the full format, and the NEET guide for everything else.
Official source
The marking scheme is stated in the NEET (UG) information bulletin published by the National Testing Agency at neet.nta.nic.in. Check the latest bulletin before you rely on any detail here.
See which NEET chapters are pulling your score down
Take a free NEET assessment on PrepMatic. It shows where you stand across Physics, Chemistry and Biology, then builds a day-by-day study plan and mock tests focused on your weak subjects.
Start free assessment →Free forever plan · No credit card · 2-minute setupRelated
- Number of questions in NEETNEET-UG has 180 compulsory questions: 45 Physics, 45 Chemistry and 90 Biology, for 720 marks in 3 hours. What changed from the 200-question format.
- NEET exam patternThe NEET-UG pattern: 180 compulsory questions, 720 marks, 3 hours, +4/−1 marking, 13 languages, OMR mode in 2026 and the computer-based test announced for 2027.
- NEET time managementHow to split 180 minutes across 180 NEET questions: time budgets per subject, subject order, a three-round method, guessing maths and OMR habits.
- NEET mock testsWhen to start NEET full mocks, how often to take them, and how to analyse every paper and keep an error log, with a worked example and part vs full tests.
More in NEET
- NEET tie-breaking rulesNEET-UG ties are broken by Biology marks first, then Chemistry, Physics and fewer wrong answers. Age and application number are no longer used. The full order.
- NRI and OCI students and NEETNRIs, OCI/PIO cardholders and foreign nationals can apply for NEET-UG. How OCI/PIO candidates are treated in Tamil Nadu and where the NRI quota sits.
- NEET qualifying percentileNEET-UG qualifies the 50th percentile for General and EWS, the 40th for SC, ST and OBC, the 45th for General-PwBD. See what that meant in marks in 2024 to 2026.
- NEET exam languagesNEET-UG is held in 13 languages. English, Hindi and Urdu are at every centre, regional languages only in their own states. The rule that locks your choice.
- NEET attempts allowedRecent NEET-UG bulletins have reportedly set no cap on attempts. What a repeat year involves, how the 2026 re-exam fits, and where to confirm the rule.
- NEET age limitNEET-UG needs you to be 17 on or before 31 December of the admission year. How the date works, what is reported on an upper age limit and what to verify.
- NEET 2027 computer-based?The Education Minister announced that NEET-UG goes computer-based from 2027 with 720 marks unchanged. What is confirmed, what is not, and how to prepare.
- Other-state students and TN MBBSTamil Nadu's state quota needs a TN Nativity Certificate. Other-state students can compete for the 15% All India Quota, and some count as Open Category.