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NCET Exam Pattern 2026: Marking Scheme, Domain Subjects & Languages
Candidates who are preparing for the NCET must check the complete NCET 2026 exam pattern. The NTA has already released the detailed NCET exam pattern 2026 on its website- exams.nta.nic.in. The NCET exam pattern tells about the mode of paper, exam duration, and the total number of questions.
This Story also Contains
- NCET 2026 Exam Pattern Overview
- NCET Paper Pattern 2026
- NCET 2026 Marking Scheme
- NCET Language Papers 2026
- NCET 2026 Domain Specific Papers
- NCET Exam Pattern- Other Subjects
- NCET Exam Pattern 2026: Key Points
Understanding the NTA NCET 2026 exam pattern is important to make oneself familiar with the exam interface. In the NCET exam 2026, a total of 181 questions will be asked. Of them, it is compulsory to attempt 160 questions. Marks will be decided based on the 160 questions only. The whole paper consists of 640 marks. There is negative marking also in the paper.
NCET 2026 Exam Pattern Overview
Particulars | Details |
Exam Mode | Computer Based Test |
Medium of question paper | 12 languages |
Total number of sections | 4 |
Total number of asked questions | 181 |
Total number of questions to be attempted | 160 |
Maximum marks | 640 |
Duration of exam | 180 minutes |
NTA NCET 2026 Exam Pattern
Section | Subject/Test | Question to be attempted |
Section I Language | 2 languages to be chosen | Each language paper will have 23 questions Of the 20 questions need to be attempted |
Section II Domain Specific | 3 domain-specific subjects to be chosen | Each domain-specific paper will have 28 questions Of them, 25 questions need to be attempted |
Section III General test | The General Test will have 28 questions, of which 25 need to be attempted. | |
Section IV Teaching Aptitude | Teaching Aptitude will have 23 questions, out of which 20 questions need to be attempted. | |
NCET Paper Pattern 2026
The NCET paper pattern makes the students familiar with the section wise question pattern. In the exam, there are different sections. So, it became helpful for the students to understand the NCET 2026 paper pattern clearly.
NCET 2026 Question Pattern
Sections | Papers | Total questions | Total questions to be attempted |
Section I | Language I | 23 | 20 |
Language II | 23 | 20 | |
Section II | Subject I | 28 | 25 |
Subject II | 28 | 25 | |
Subject III | 28 | 25 | |
Section III | General Test | 28 | 25 |
Section IV | Teaching Aptitude | 23 | 20 |
Total | 181 | 160 | |
NCET 2026 Marking Scheme
There are a total of 160 questions asked from the different sections. There is also negative marking in the paper. The NCET marking scheme is tabulated below.
Particulars | Scheme |
For each correct option | +4 |
For each wrongly marked option | -1 |
For unattempted questions | 0 |
Total marks | 640 |
NCET Language Papers 2026
In Section I, there are a total of 38 languages given. Students can choose any 2 among the given options. The list of all 38 languages, along with their code, is provided below.
Paper Code | Paper Name | Paper Code | Paper Name |
101 | English Language and Literature | 205 | French |
102 | Hindi Language and Literature | 206 | German |
103 | Assamese | 207 | Italian |
104 | Bengali | 208 | Japanese |
105 | Gujarati | 209 | Kashmiri |
106 | Kannada | 210 | Konkani |
107 | Malayalam | 211 | Mithali |
108 | Marathi | 212 | Manipuri- Manipuri Bengali (212) Manipuri Meitei (1212) |
109 | Odia | 213 | Nepali |
110 | Punjabi | 214 | Persian |
111 | Tamil | 215 | Russian |
112 | Telugu | 216 | Santhali- Standard (216) Olchiki (1216) |
113 | Urdu | 217 | Sindhi |
114 | English for Communication | 218 | Spanish |
115 | Hindi for Communication | 219 | Tibetan |
201 | Arabic | 220 | Sanskrit |
202 | Bodo | 221 | Garo |
203 | Chinese | 222 | Khasi |
204 | Dogri | 123 | Pali |
NCET 2026 Domain Specific Papers
List of all the 26 domain specific papers are provided in the table below along with their subject code.
Paper Code | Paper Name | Paper Code | Paper Name |
301 | Accountancy/Book Keeping | 314 | History |
302 | Agriculture | 315 | Home Science |
303 | Anthropology | 316 | Knowledge Tradition-Practices India |
304 | Biology/Biological Studies/Biotechnology/Biochemistry | 317 | Legal Studies |
305 | Business Studies | 318 | Mass Media/Mass Communication |
306 | Chemistry | 319 | Mathematics (319)/ Applied Mathematics (1319) |
307 | Environmental Studies | 320 | Performing Arts- Performing Arts Music (320) Performing Dance (1320) Performing Percussion (2320) Performing Theatre or Drama (3320) |
308 | Computer Science (308) /Informatics Practices (1308) | 321 | Physical Education/National Cadet Corps (NCC)/ Yoga |
309 | Economics/Business Economics | 322 | Physics |
310 | Engineering Graphics | 323 | Political Science |
311 | Entrepreneurship | 324 | Psychology |
312 | Fine Arts/Visual Arts (Sculpture/Painting)/ Commercial | 325 | Sanskrit |
313 | Geography/ Geology | 326 | Sociology |
NCET Exam Pattern- Other Subjects
Subject Code | Subject Name |
327 | Teaching Aptidude |
501 | General Test |
NCET Exam Pattern 2026: Key Points
It is advisable for the aspirants to also read this section along with the exam pattern and paper pattern. This section makes you aware of some of the important points related to the exam pattern.
The NCET exam will be completely conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) Mode.
The exam will be held in 12 mediums. NCET 2026 will be conducted in English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu as per the NEP policy.
There are a total of 38 different languages. Among them, 2 are compulsory to choose.
There are 26 domain-specific subjects. Students will have to choose and appear in 3 domain papers.
There is one General Test, which is compulsory for all the candidates.
The Teaching Aptitude Test is also compulsory for all.
General test paper, teaching aptitude, and subjects will be asked in the chosen medium only.
Students are only required to attempt the specific number of questions as mentioned above. No candidates will be provided with any extra marks for the extra attempts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is the NCET exam pattern?
A:
The NCET exam pattern will be framed for the convenience of the candidates to give them an experience of the exam interface. It contains all the important points for the paper.
Q: How many total questions are asked in the NCET 2026 exam?
A:
There are a total of 181 questions asked in the examinations. Students will have to answer 160 questions, divided into different sections.
Q: What is the maximum time duration provided to attempt the paper?
A:
Students will be provided a total of 180 minutes for the NCET exam 2026.
Q: In the NCET exam, how many sections are there?
A:
In the exam of NCET 2026, there are 4 sections- Language, Domain papers, General Test, and Teaching Aptitude.
Q: Is there any negative marking in the NCET 2026?
A:
Yes, there is a negative marking of -1, one for every incorrect attempt.
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