KEAM 2027 Eligibility

Updated on 18 October 2026 · Compiled from official Commissioner for Entrance Examinations notices

Eligibility for engineering comes from clause 6 of the 2026 prospectus.

Academic qualification

Pass the Higher Secondary Examination of Kerala or an equivalent exam with Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects and Chemistry as an optional subject, with at least 45 percent marks put together in these subjects. If Chemistry was not studied, Computer Science is considered, then Biotechnology, then Biology.

SC/ST/SEBC and PD candidates need 40 percent instead of 45. No rounding off of percentages is allowed, so 44.9 percent does not become 45.

Age

Candidates must have completed 17 years on 31 December 2026 with no relaxation. There is no upper age limit for engineering, architecture and B.Pharm.

Nativity

• Keralite: candidate of Kerala origin; children of All India Service officers on the Kerala cadre are deemed Keralites without communal or special reservation.
• Non-Keralite Category I (NK I): includes, for example, those who studied the qualifying course in Kerala and are children of non-Keralite parents serving the Government of India or Kerala, or residents of Kerala for five years within the 12 years of study.
• Non-Keralite Category II (NK II) is the remaining non-Keralite group.

Special cases

• Appearing candidates may take the entrance provisionally but must prove eligibility on the date of admission.
• Equivalent boards: marks as shown on the board mark list are used; where only grades exist, the grade covering the minimum percentage is used.
• VHSE Kerala is recognised as equivalent to Higher Secondary.
• Candidates only appearing for a BSc degree are not eligible.
• Architecture: 45 percent in the qualifying exam, or a 10+3 Diploma with Mathematics, plus the minimum NATA score of 2025 or 2026.
• B.Pharm: English with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics or Biology as optional subjects.

Frequently asked questions