Karnataka MBBS admission 2025-26: quick answer
| What you want to know | Where this guide answers it |
|---|---|
| Can a non-Karnataka student apply? | Yes, but usually through OPN, Other/Q, eligible minority or verified NRI routes—not Karnataka government or GMP seats. |
| What is the lowest Karnataka government-seat fee in the 2025-26 data? | INR 64,350 per year in the listed government-seat fee records. |
| What does OPN mean? | Private Open: an all-India private route under KEA for eligible Indian citizens through NEET merit. |
| Can I use a reserved-category cutoff for a different category? | No. Match the exact KEA category code and its documents. |
| Is a late stray cutoff a safe target? | No. It is a historical endpoint for a specific college, category and round. |
Data snapshot
The Karnataka workbook contains 66 colleges, 1,692 long-form cutoff records, 220 college-route rows, and 66 official-fee rows. The figures below are historical NEET UG 2025 counselling evidence for planning; they are not a promise of a future allotment.
Karnataka MBBS admission: the most important point
MBBS seats in Karnataka are not covered by one single quota or one single cutoff.
The Karnataka Examinations Authority—KEA—conducts counselling for multiple seat categories, including:
- •Government seats in government medical colleges
- •Government-quota seats in private medical colleges
- •Private seats for Karnataka candidates
- •Private Open seats accessible to candidates from across India
- •Religious and linguistic minority seats
- •NRI seats
- •Other or Q-category seats
Therefore, the admission route available to a student depends on:
- 1.NEET UG All India Rank
- 2.Karnataka eligibility or domicile status
- 3.Reservation category
- 4.Rural, Kannada-medium or Kalyana Karnataka eligibility
- 5.Minority or NRI documents
- 6.Annual fee affordability
- 7.The quota selected during KEA option entry
NEET UG qualification is compulsory for MBBS admission, while KEA determines the eligible seat categories and performs the Karnataka counselling process. See the official KEA UG NEET 2025 portal linked below.
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Who should register for Karnataka KEA counselling?
Karnataka-domicile or Karnataka-eligible students
A student satisfying Karnataka’s government-seat eligibility conditions may compete for:
- •Government MBBS seats in government colleges
- •Government-quota seats in private colleges
- •Karnataka reservation categories
- •Rural reservation
- •Kannada-medium reservation
- •Kalyana Karnataka or Article 371J reservation
- •GMP private seats
- •
Students from West Bengal or another Indian state
A non-Karnataka Indian student may generally compete for:
- •OPN private seats
- •Other or Q-category seats
- •Religious-minority seats, subject to minority eligibility and Karnataka priority rules
- •NRI seats, subject to valid NRI eligibility
- •Applicable St. John’s categories, where the institutional rules permit
A non-Karnataka candidate cannot normally claim:
- •Karnataka Government quota
- •Government-quota seats in private colleges
- •GMP seats
- •Karnataka SC, ST, Category 1, 2A, 2B, 3A or 3B reservation
- •Rural reservation
- •Kannada-medium reservation
- •Article 371J reservation
- •
The official KEA guidelines distinguish Government, Private, NRI and Other seats and prescribe different eligibility conditions for each route. See the official KEA UG NEET 2025 portal linked below.
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KEA seat types explained
| KEA seat type | Common description | Who can apply? | Approximate annual fee level |
|---|---|---|---|
| G – Government college | Government MBBS seat | Karnataka-eligible candidates | Usually ₹64,350 |
| G – Government quota in private college | Semi-government seat | Karnataka-eligible candidates | Usually ₹1.41–1.82 lakh |
| P – GMP | Karnataka private quota | Eligible Karnataka candidates | Approximately ₹8.10–25.15 lakh |
The fees are annual figures reproduced from the KEA 2025–26 fee data used for this analysis. Hostel, mess, refundable deposit and miscellaneous college charges may be additional. KEA’s counselling guidelines direct students to follow the officially notified fee structure for the relevant admission year. See the official KEA UG NEET 2025 portal linked below.
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What is a government-quota seat in a private college?
Government-quota seats in Karnataka private medical colleges are often described as semi-government MBBS seats.
The medical college is privately managed, but the seat:
- •is allotted by KEA;
- •follows Karnataka Government-seat eligibility;
- •carries Karnataka category reservation;
- •has a much lower fee than the college’s ordinary private seat; and
- •is usually available only to eligible Karnataka candidates.
For many private colleges, the official annual Government-quota fee was approximately:
- •₹1,53,571, or
- •₹1,56,621
A few newly structured or special institutions had different Government-quota fees.
These seats should not be shown to a non-Karnataka candidate merely because their NEET rank is within the cutoff.
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Private GMP and OPN: do not confuse them
GMP—General Merit Private
GMP is a Karnataka-linked private-seat route.
A student must satisfy the applicable Karnataka eligibility conditions. The candidate is not automatically eligible merely because they are an Indian citizen or have a suitable NEET rank.
Use GMP in a predictor only when:
Karnataka GMP eligibility = verifiedOPN—Open Private
OPN is the principal all-India private-seat route under KEA.
A NEET-qualified Indian student from West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan or another state may compete for OPN seats.
Use:
Quota: Private OPN
Domicile required: No
Selection basis: NEET All India Rank
Reservation: No Karnataka category benefitA non-Karnataka candidate should be compared with the OPN cutoff, not the Government, GM, GMP, SC, ST, OBC or Article 371J cutoff.
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Other or Q-category seats
Other seats are high-fee seats filled through KEA.
They are generally accessible to NEET-qualified candidates from across India, subject to the applicable citizenship and eligibility rules. They are distinct from NRI seats.
Q-category seats may continue to very high AIRs during late vacancy rounds because:
- •the annual fee is high;
- •some students do not report;
- •a seat becomes vacant very late;
- •immediate fee payment may be required;
- •the college or location may be less preferred.
A final Q-seat rank above 10 lakh must not be presented as a normal or safe admission rank.
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NRI quota
NRI seats require separate documentary eligibility.
Depending on the applicable route, KEA may require documents such as:
- •Candidate’s passport
- •Sponsor’s passport
- •Visa or residence permit
- •Proof of NRI status
- •Relationship certificate
- •Sponsorship affidavit
- •NRI or foreign bank documents
- •
A high NEET rank alone does not make a student eligible for NRI quota. KEA publishes separate document requirements for NRI and NRI Ward candidates. See the official KEA UG NEET guidelines and NRI notices linked below.
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Karnataka reservation category codes
Karnataka has a much more detailed category structure than a simple General, OBC, SC and ST system.
Main base categories
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `GM` | General Merit |
| `1` | Category 1 |
| `2A` | Category 2A |
| `2B` | Category 2B |
| `3A` | Category 3A |
| `3B` | Category 3B |
| `SC` | Scheduled Caste |
| `ST` |
Category suffixes
| Suffix | Meaning | Required verification |
|---|---|---|
| `G` | General within the base category | Base category eligibility |
| `R` | Rural reservation | Rural-study documents |
| `K` | Kannada-medium reservation | Kannada-medium study certificate |
| `H` | Kalyana Karnataka | Article 371J certificate |
| `RH` | Rural plus Kalyana Karnataka | Both documents |
Examples
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `2AG` | Category 2A General |
| `2AR` | Category 2A Rural |
| `2AK` | Category 2A Kannada Medium |
| `2AH` | Category 2A Kalyana Karnataka |
| `2ARH` | Category 2A Rural plus Kalyana Karnataka |
| `GMR` | General Merit Rural |
| `GMK` | General Merit Kannada Medium |
A college predictor must preserve the exact KEA category code. It should not automatically treat every Category 2A candidate as eligible for `2AR`, `2AK`, `2AH` or `2ARH`.
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Final Karnataka MBBS cut-off limits—NEET UG 2025
The following are the highest numerical AIRs identified within each major route after considering the available regular and late counselling rounds.
| Seat route | Absolute final AIR identified | Important interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Government college State Quota | 13,00,799 | Extreme special-category PHM result; not a General cutoff |
| Government quota in private colleges | 11,66,383 | Extreme special-category result |
| Private GMP | 7,91,213 | Late result at a selected college |
Official sources and data quality
Use the official notices for the active admission year before registration, option entry, fee payment or reporting. The 2025 workbook distinguishes official final records from the Round 2 provisional fallback retained where a reliably retrievable final medical PDF was unavailable during extraction.
| Source | Link |
|---|---|
| KEA UG NEET 2025 portal | Open the official KEA UG NEET 2025 portal |
| KEA English guidelines | Read the KEA UG NEET guidelines |
| KEA MBBS fee sheet | Open the official KEA MBBS fee notice |
| KEA 2025 allotment records |
How to use this guide safely
- 1.Identify the seat route before looking at a cutoff.
- 2.Verify domicile, category, minority, NRI, gender and special-category documents.
- 3.Compare the exact fee for the active year, including deposits, hostel, mess and other charges.
- 4.Treat the highest AIR in a table as a historical last observed allotment, not a guaranteed admission threshold.
- 5.Recheck the current official notice immediately before registration and fee payment.

