MHT CET Eligibility Criteria: Who Can Sit and Who Gets a Seat

To sit MHT CET you must be an Indian national who has passed, or is appearing in, the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC, the Class 12 board examination) or an equivalent. Section 4 of the 2026 information brochure also says there is no age limit.

As of 10 October 2026, the CET Cell has published the 2026 brochure and the 2026-27 admission notice. No MHT CET 2027 brochure is on cetcell.mahacet.org yet, so treat the rules here as the latest in force and recheck when the 2027 documents appear. The brochure itself shows that criteria can shift between years, because it points to the 2025-26 criteria in an appendix.

Practical points from the 2026 brochure:

• Groups. You choose PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics), PCB (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) or both. Engineering seats use PCM.
• Attempts. The 2026 format offered two attempts. If you take both, the best of your two total percentile scores counts, not the best subject by subject (section 10).
• Fee. As of the 11 April 2026 brochure, one attempt in PCM or PCB cost ₹1,300 for General candidates. It cost ₹1,000 for reserved category (including EWS) and PwD candidates from Maharashtra, plus orphan and transgender candidates. Both attempts cost ₹2,600 and ₹2,000.
• Paper. The test is 180 minutes, computer-based, held at centres across the state.

For a B.E./B.Tech seat through CAP (explained in our CAP round guide), a Maharashtra State candidate on the standard PCM-based route needs three things, set out in the admission notice dated 2 July 2026.

Two details matter most. The third subject can be Information Technology or Computer Science, so Chemistry is not the only way in. And the 40% concession covers "Reserved categories, Economically Weaker Section and Persons with Disability candidates belonging to the Maharashtra State only". A reserved category candidate from another state still needs 45%.

The score condition is "non-zero", not a pass mark. Section 7 of the brochure states "There is no Negative Marking", so a candidate who attempts the paper properly will clear it. Our guide to guessing without negative marking shows how to use that.

Other routes exist. As of the 2 July 2026 notice, Maharashtra State candidates without Mathematics can still qualify for nine disciplines with Physics, Chemistry and a listed third subject at 45% (40% for the concession groups) and a non-zero PCB score. The nine are Agriculture Engineering, Biotechnology, Food Engineering, Leather Technology, Packaging Technology, Pharmaceutical Engineering, Printing Engineering, Fashion Technology and Textile Chemistry. Holders of a three-year Diploma in Engineering and Technology (45%, or 40% in the concession groups) and of a three-year Diploma of Vocation (D.Voc) in the same or an allied sector have their own route.

The CET Cell checks the 45% rule when you register for CAP after your Class 12 result. Appearing students can sit MHT CET without having the result. The notice asks you to upload documents during CAP registration, where they are verified, and only registered, verified candidates enter the CAP merit list.

Add your marks in Physics, Mathematics and your third subject, divide by the maximum marks for those three papers, and compare the result with 45%, or 40% if you qualify for the Maharashtra concession. Use the maximum marks printed on your own marksheet.

The check, step by step

1. Write down the maximum marks for Physics, Mathematics and your third listed subject, and add them. This is your total.
2. Add the marks you obtained in the same three subjects.
3. Divide obtained by total, then multiply by 100.
4. Pass if the result is 45 or above. Pass at 40 only if you are a Maharashtra State candidate in a reserved category, EWS or PwD, with the certificate. Fail if you are below your threshold.
5. For the exam score, you pass if you appear in all the PCM papers and score above zero.

If each subject is out of 100, the cut-offs are 135 out of 300 (45%) and 120 out of 300 (40%).

Student B shows why "taken together" helps: 38 in one paper does not matter, because the three are pooled. Student C shows how much the Maharashtra concession is worth, and that it depends on being in the right group.

Your candidature type decides which marks threshold and which exam score apply to you. The brochure sorts students into Maharashtra State candidates (Types A to E), All India candidates, Minority candidates and a group exempted from MHT CET.

Maharashtra State types (you may claim only one):

• Type A: you passed the Secondary School Certificate (SSC, Class 10) and HSC, or a diploma or D.Voc, from a recognised Maharashtra institution, or you are domiciled in Maharashtra (officially resident there) or born there.
• Type B: not Type A, but your father or mother is domiciled in Maharashtra and holds a domicile certificate.
• Type C: your parent is a central government employee posted in Maharashtra before the CAP application deadline.
• Type D: your parent is a current or retired Maharashtra government employee.
• Type E: you studied in the Maharashtra-Karnataka border area and your mother tongue is Marathi.

JEE Main is the national engineering entrance exam. If you live outside Maharashtra and have a JEE Main score, MHT CET is optional for you. Maharashtra State candidates and Minority candidates (members of a linguistic or religious minority community from Maharashtra, as notified by the Government) must sit MHT CET for B.E./B.Tech. For Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) and Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D), the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) score is preferred over MHT CET for All India candidates, per the brochure.

Yes, all three can sit MHT CET, because the brochure sets no age limit and asks only for a Class 12 pass or appearance. Whether you claim a seat depends on your marks and score.

• Class 12 students (appearing): protect your Physics, Mathematics and third-subject marks, because they decide the seat. If your pre-board marks are close to 45%, treat the boards as part of your MHT CET plan.
• Droppers and gap-year students: your Class 12 marks are the marks used, and the notice asks for a non-zero score in that admission year's MHT CET. So you sit again for the new year. We run a Droppers/Advance Batch in our MHT CET 2027 courses for this.
• Everyone: the exam score is not a pass mark, but your percentile decides which college you can realistically reach. A raw mark does not convert to a fixed percentile; see why raw marks cannot guarantee a percentile.