NEET Counselling 2026: What's Confirmed, What's Expected, and How the MCC Process Works
NEET UG 2026 has been anything but normal: the 3 May exam was cancelled over paper-leak allegations, the re-exam happened on 21 June, and results arrived on 16 July — nearly three weeks later than usual. As of late July, MCC has not published the counselling schedule, yet many sites still show stale 'tentative 21 July' dates from before the cancellation. Here is what is actually confirmed, what is genuinely expected, and everything about the process, fees and exit rules you can prepare right now.
Confirmed vs expected: the real 2026 timeline
Confirmed: the original 3 May 2026 exam was cancelled (a CBI inquiry was ordered into paper-leak allegations); the re-exam was held nationwide on 21 June 2026; NTA declared results on 16 July 2026 with about 11.2 lakh candidates qualifying.
Not yet announced: the MCC counselling schedule. As of 23 July 2026 there is no information bulletin, no seat matrix and no Round 1 dates on mcc.nic.in — any site showing a firm July date is running pre-cancellation information.
Expected (media projections, not official): the bulletin and Round 1 registration in late July or early August, Round 1 allotment around mid-August, Round 2 in September, Round 3/mop-up and stray vacancy rounds through October. Check mcc.nic.in directly — dates from any other source, including this page, are provisional until MCC notifies them.
The cancellation shifted everything about 3-4 weeks later than 2025. Coaching-site trackers republishing the old tentative schedule are the biggest source of confusion this season.
Who counsels which seats: MCC vs your state
MCC (mcc.nic.in) handles: the 15% All India Quota in government medical and dental colleges, 100% of deemed-university seats, central universities (AMU, BHU, Jamia, DU), AIIMS and JIPMER, ESIC insured-person seats, and AFMC Pune registration.
Your state authority handles the remaining 85% of government-college seats plus private colleges in the state — for example UP NEET (upneet.gov.in), Maharashtra's CET Cell, or Karnataka's KEA. The two run in parallel with separate registrations and fees.
Register for both MCC and your state process if eligible — they are independent, and skipping one halves your options. Estimate where your score lands with our NEET rank predictor before choice filling.
Fees and security deposits (standing MCC scheme)
MCC's 2026 bulletin isn't out, so these are the standing amounts from the current MCC scheme — very likely to carry forward, but confirm in the bulletin when it drops.
AIQ / central universities / AIIMS / JIPMER: ₹1,000 non-refundable registration plus ₹10,000 refundable security deposit for General/EWS; ₹500 plus ₹5,000 for SC/ST/OBC/PwD.
Deemed universities: ₹5,000 non-refundable registration plus ₹2,00,000 refundable security deposit for all categories. Registering for deemed automatically covers AIQ too — you pay only the higher deemed fee, not both.
Deposits are refunded after all rounds conclude unless forfeited under the exit rules below.
The process, step by step
- Register on mcc.nic.in (UG Medical Counselling) with your NEET roll/application number during the round's window.
- Pay the registration fee and security deposit online.
- Fill and lock your college and course choices before the deadline — unlocked choices auto-lock, and choices reset every round, so you fill them fresh each time.
- Wait for the provisional seat allotment result and download the allotment letter.
- Report physically to the allotted college within the reporting window (usually about a week) with your original documents.
- If you don't want the seat: take free exit (Round 1 only) or opt for upgradation into the next round.
The exit rules that protect (or cost) your deposit
Round 1 is free exit: if you're allotted a seat and don't report, there's no penalty and your deposit is safe.
Round 2 onwards: not joining an allotted seat, or exiting after allotment, forfeits the security deposit — ₹10,000 for AIQ, ₹2 lakh for deemed.
Mop-up and stray rounds are strictest: stray-round allottees must join; walking away risks both forfeiture and debarment from further counselling this year. Upgradation is allowed from Round 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 (your old seat is auto-surrendered if upgraded), and fresh registration opens in Rounds 2 and 3 for those who never registered.
Within the All India Quota: 27% OBC-NCL, 10% EWS, 15% SC, 7.5% ST, plus 5% horizontal PwBD reservation.
Documents to keep ready
- NEET UG 2026 admit card and scorecard/rank letter
- MCC provisional allotment letter (once allotted)
- Class 10 certificate (date-of-birth proof) and Class 12 certificate + marksheet
- Photo ID (Aadhaar/PAN/passport/voter ID) and 6-8 passport photos matching the NEET form
- Caste (SC/ST/OBC-NCL), EWS or PwD certificate, if applicable
- NRI sponsorship + embassy documents if claiming NRI quota — note the new 2026 rules below
- Fee payment receipts
What's genuinely new in 2026
Seats have expanded sharply: India now has roughly 1.3-1.37 lakh MBBS seats after NMC approved about 9,900 new seats and 25 new colleges for 2026-27 — meaningfully better odds at the same rank than two years ago.
Stricter NRI-quota conversion: an MCC notice dated 27 May 2026 enforces Supreme Court criteria — the NRI sponsor must be a parent, first-degree relative, or legally documented guardian, with proof at counselling. Casual Indian-to-NRI conversions are effectively closed.
And for next year's aspirants: NTA has announced NEET UG moves to computer-based testing from 2027.
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