AIIMS Pharmacist Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

A 90-minute computer based test of 100 questions, 400 marks, four marks each, four options each.

• Five sections of 20 questions, 18 minutes each. When a section's time is up it closes for good and the next opens. You can't carry time forward or go back.
• A quarter mark off per wrong answer. That's one mark lost against four gained, so a blind guess still gains a quarter of a mark on average.
• English only for Group 12. Requests to change the medium are refused.
• Candidates entitled to a scribe get at least 20 minutes extra per hour.

AIIMS gives the domain in one word, "Pharmacy", set at the level of the essential qualification: a Diploma in Pharmacy. There's no topic list.

The D.Pharm curriculum is the Pharmacy Council of India syllabus under the Education Regulations, 2020: eleven theory courses, 825 teaching hours, plus 600 practical hours and 500 hours of practical training.

Pharmacotherapeutics and Social Pharmacy came in with the 2020 regulations, so older notes may miss them. Pharmacy Law and Ethics covers the Pharmacy Act, 1948.

The other 20 questions are General Knowledge and Aptitude plus Knowledge of Computer, with no further detail published.

Every Group 12 post needs a Diploma in Pharmacy and registration as a Pharmacist under the Pharmacy Act, 1948. A higher degree is fine, but you still need the registration. Indian nationals only. Everything is judged on the closing date of registration.

Age varies by institute

Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute also wants two years' experience in a reputed hospital. The Rural Health Training Centre, Najafgarh wants working knowledge of Hindi.

Age relaxation

A reserved candidate who is only eligible through age relaxation is considered for reserved seats only. One who applies against unreserved vacancies gets no relaxation or lower qualifying mark.

If you work in any government, PSU, autonomous or government-funded body, contractual included, upload a No Objection Certificate by the deadline or you can't sit the exam.

No skill test, no interview. The CBT decides the merit list.

1. CBT. Reach your category's qualifying mark to qualify provisionally.
2. Normalisation if there were several shifts, using percentile scores to seven decimal places.
3. Result and choice filling. Qualified candidates enter institute choices in order of preference.
4. Online seat allocation by merit.
5. Document verification by the allotting institute.
6. Joining.

Don't miss the choice window: if you don't fill choices you aren't considered anywhere, and you're only considered for institutes you chose. If you're allotted a seat and don't report, your candidature for the whole exam is cancelled. Only choose institutes you're eligible for and will join.

The advertisement gives pay levels, not rupee figures. Under the 7th Pay Commission matrix:

64 of the 70 vacancies are at Level 5. The six Dispensing Attendant posts (AIIMS Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Raipur and Patna) need the same qualification. Allowances are those of the appointing institute.

Apply online only at aiimsexams.ac.in through One Time Registration. A duplicate Candidate ID gets the form rejected.

The fee is per group, paid by card or net banking, and not refunded, except that SC and ST candidates who actually sit the exam get it back after the result.

Photo, signature and thumb impression must follow the upload instructions. No corrections by e-mail or letter. Have your documents ready from day one: registration slip, admit card, date of birth proof, category or income certificate, disability certificate, NOC, qualification, and any experience certificate (from the head of the organisation, with dates, pay and duties). No extra time is given at verification.

CRE-5 serves 32 institutions: twenty-two AIIMS, AIIMS-CAPFIMS, ABVIMS and Dr RML Hospital, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, ESIC, ICMR, Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, the Pasteur Institute of India, RHTC Najafgarh, RIPANS Aizawl, and VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital. These had Group 12 vacancies:

By category: 47 UR, 10 OBC, 7 SC, 3 ST, 3 EWS, with six each for ex-servicemen and PwBD counted within those. Group make-up changes: CRE-4 also put Store Keeper (Drug) in Group 12.

The CBT is held across the major states and UTs. Your chosen state is only a preference; AIIMS can send you anywhere. If a group gets fewer than 500 applications, it may be examined only in Delhi and NCR, announced ten days ahead.

The city is announced seven days before the admit card, which comes three days before the exam.

CRE-5, Notice No. 93/2026. Exam dates are tentative and no extensions are given.

CRE-4 was advertised on 11 November 2025, held 22 to 24 December 2025, and its Group 12 result came on 22 January 2026.

Download the admit card from your login on aiimsexams.ac.in three days before the exam. Nothing is posted. Print it and hand it to the invigilator for attendance.

It's generated from what you entered, with no eligibility check, so it only lets you sit the exam.

AIIMS publishes each group's result roll number by roll number, with category, PwBD and ESM flags, gender, marks out of 400 and rank. CRE-4's Group 12 Result Notification No. 18/2026 of 22 January 2026 listed 2,067 names over 45 pages.

Qualifying only invites you to choice filling for seat allocation. Separate notices follow for the allocation itself.

The CRE uses fixed qualifying marks:

Ex-servicemen qualify at their category's mark.

In CRE-4 Group 12, AIIMS didn't limit the list, so the qualifying mark was effectively the cut-off (result):

Flagged PwBD and ESM candidates qualified lower, from 121. The top mark was 380. That's about 59 qualified candidates per vacancy, so rank decides who gets a seat.

Ties: higher domain marks, then fewer wrong answers, then the older candidate, then alphabetical order of name, father's name and mother's name.

Practise against an 18-minute wall. Each section is 20 questions in 18 minutes, about 54 seconds each, and there's no second pass. Sit timed 20-question sets with a hard stop.

Answer before the section closes. A blind guess is worth a quarter of a mark on average, so don't leave blanks when the timer runs down. Marked-for-review questions count only if saved.

Put the hours into Pharmacy. It's 320 of 400 marks and the first tie-breaker. Revise your D.Pharm course, especially Pharmacotherapeutics and Social Pharmacy, which older notes skip, and Pharmacy Law and Ethics.

Read the vacancy table before applying so you know which of the 25 rows you're eligible for. That's the list you'll turn into choices later.

No previous year papers or model papers are available for AIIMS CRE Group 12. AIIMS doesn't release them for any group.

The exam scheme is in each cycle's advertisement on the CRE page, and the CRE-4 Group 12 result shows every qualifier's mark out of 400. The last two cycles were advertised in November 2025 and June 2026.

• AIIMS Examination Section
• Common Recruitment Examination, all cycles
• CRE-5 advertisement, Notice No. 93/2026
• CRE-4 Group 12 result, Notification No. 18/2026
• Notices and Key dates
• Notice No. 35/2023, normalization procedure
• AIIMS New Delhi
• PCI D.Pharm syllabus, ER-2020 and Pharmacy Council of India

Is there a separate AIIMS Pharmacist exam?

No. It's Group 12 of the CRE, shared with Pharmacist Grade II and Dispensing Attendant.

Do I need to be registered before applying?

Yes, under the Pharmacy Act, 1948, by the closing date.

Is there an interview?

No interview or skill test.

Can I go back to a skipped question?

Only within the same 18-minute section.

What score do I need?

160 of 400 for UR and EWS, 140 for OBC, 120 for SC, ST and PwBD. In CRE-4 those were the actual cut-offs.

Does a good rank guarantee a job?

No. Miss the choice window and you're not considered; fail to report after allotment and your candidature is cancelled.

Is the exam in Hindi?

No, English only.