NSO Cut Off: Level 2 Qualification Marks, Ranks and Awards

The National Science Olympiad does not have a single pass mark. What students call the NSO cut off is the minimum Level 1 score that took a student into the top 5 percent of the class and so qualified them for Level 2. SOF sets it class by class after every Level 1 round. This page explains the three qualification routes, shows the last published figures and covers how ranks, awards and results work.

Table of Contents

• How Level 2 qualification works

• Previous cut off: 2025-26

• What changes the cut off

• Ranks, awards and results

• How to set your target

How Level 2 qualification works

A student of Classes 3 to 12 moves to Level 2 by meeting any one of these conditions. Classes 1 and 2 have a single level, so there is no qualification step for them.

• Class-wise top 5 percent: The cut off below applies here.

• Zone-wise top 25: The top 25 rank holders of each class from each of SOF's 26 zones. SOF publishes no separate zone-wise marks.

• School topper: The class topper of a school where at least 10 students of that class appeared and the topper scored 50 percent.

Previous cut off: 2025-26

These are SOF's published Level 1 qualifying marks for the 2025-26 session. Level 2 was held on 8 February 2026 for the rest of India and 15 February 2026 for Maharashtra. Classes 3 and 4 were out of 40 marks and the rest out of 60. No 2026-27 cut off exists yet.

The section marks add up to the total in each row, and they show the typical balance of a qualifier. Source: https://sofworld.org/sof-nso-cut-2025-26.

What changes the cut off

Cut-offs change every year with paper difficulty and the number of students who appear in each class. Treat last year's figures as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass. Because the rule is the top 5 percent, a tougher paper lowers the marks needed and an easier one raises them.

Ranks, awards and results

• Ranking: A higher total gives a higher rank. Ties are broken by marks in priority sections, starting with the Achievers Section.

• Rank levels: SOF ranks students at school, city, zone, region and international level.

• Awards: For Classes 3 to 12 the main cash awards and medals depend on Level 2. For Classes 1 and 2 they depend on Level 1. A student receives only the highest award earned.

• Results: SOF says Level 1 results are declared within 8 weeks of the exam, sent to schools and posted on its website. If Level 2 is not held, Level 1 results are final.

The full list of awards is on SOF's awards page: https://sofworld.org/nso/about-nso-exam/awards. Ranking rules are at https://sofworld.org/rankings-2nd-level-qualification.

Use the table for your class as a floor, not a goal, and set a target a few marks above it. Check the section balance too: Achievers marks of 6 to 12 were typical among qualifiers. Take timed papers and compare your section scores with the table. Students can practise with NSO mock tests on Testkart and track their score against these benchmarks before the exam.