NEET Counselling 2026: The Full MCC Round-by-Round Schedule, Fees, and Exit Rules
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. MCC has published the full counselling calendar, all four rounds of it, and has since rescheduled every one of them: Round 1 results came on 19 August, and Round 2 moved almost a fortnight, running 3–8 September with results on 11 September and reporting 12–18 September. Round 3 registration closed on 27 September and its result came on 30 September, with reporting at allotted colleges running to 9 October. The online stray vacancy round is next — registration 12–14 October, result 17 October, and 26 October is the last date of joining. Here is the round-by-round timeline as it stands today, AIQ vs state quota, fees and deposits, free-exit rules, and everything you can prepare right now.
The full MCC counselling calendar for 2026
How we got here: 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.
Round 1 (revised 13 August): registration and payment 5–15 August 2026 — registration closes at 2:00 PM and the payment window at 5:00 PM on 15 August. Choice filling runs 6 August to 6:00 PM on 17 August, with locking open 10:00 AM–6:00 PM on 17 August. Seat allotment is processed on 18 August, the result is out on 19 August, and reporting at the allotted college runs 20–25 August. MCC extended this round to give candidates more time to register and fill choices; the dates it replaced were a result on 17 August and reporting 18–22 August.
Round 2 (rescheduled): registration and payment 3–8 September 2026, choice filling 3–9 September with locking from 4:00 PM on 8 September to 10:00 AM on 9 September, seat allotment processed 9–10 September, result on 11 September, and reporting at the allotted college 12–18 September, with verification of joined candidates on 19 September. This replaced the 25–29 August window in MCC's original schedule, which never ran.
Round 3 (now official, running now): seat matrix verification 21 September 2026; registration and payment 22–27 September, with registration closing at 3:00 PM and the payment window at 6:00 PM on 27 September. Choice filling runs 23–28 September until 12:00 noon, with locking from 7:00 PM on 27 September to 12:00 noon on 28 September. Seat allotment is processed 28–29 September, the result is out on 30 September, and reporting at the allotted college runs 1–9 October, with verification of joined candidates on 10 October. These dates come from MCC's schedule dated 14 September 2026, which replaced the original 11–15 September window. What does not change: Round 3 seats cannot be resigned or exited, and joining through Round 3 ends your participation in any further counselling.
Online stray vacancy round (now official): registration and payment 12–14 October 2026, with registration closing at 3:00 PM and payment at 6:00 PM on 14 October. Choice filling runs 12–15 October until 10:00 AM, with locking from 4:00 PM on 14 October. Seat allotment is processed 15–16 October, the result is out on 17 October, and reporting runs 19–26 October 2026 — 26 October is the last date of joining and the end of the MCC process. This replaced the 28–30 September registration window in the 1 August schedule.
Every round above now follows an official MCC notice. Rounds 1 and 2 were each reissued after the original UG AIQ Counselling Schedule 2026 of 1 August 2026, and Round 3 and the stray round were reissued together on 14 September 2026 — Round 3 moved about eleven days later than first planned. MCC has revised this calendar three times already this year, so check mcc.nic.in before acting on any single date. We update this page each time MCC issues a notice.
Nothing carries over between rounds: registration, payment and choice filling all start again each time, and choices reset. If you never registered for Round 1 or Round 2, you can still register fresh for Round 3 in its 22–27 September window. What you cannot do is join late — every round's registration shuts early on its last day (3:00 PM on 27 September for Round 3), and MCC does not reopen it.
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 (from the 2026 bulletin)
These are the amounts in MCC's UG Information Bulletin 2026, published 1 August 2026 — unchanged from last year's scheme.
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.
- If you are keeping the seat (a FREEZE candidate), report physically at the allotted college within the reporting window with your original documents. If you want to try for a better seat next round (a FLOAT candidate), give your upgradation willingness online instead — MCC does not require float candidates to report in person.
- 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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