Kerala NEET UG 2026 Stray Vacancy: Option Registration, Fees & Joining Dates

The Kerala Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) has opened a stray vacancy allotment round for MBBS and BDS courses. This round fills seats that became vacant after the third phase of counselling in government and private medical/dental colleges across Kerala. If you are on the Kerala State Medical Rank List and did not get a seat in the first three phases, or if you vacated your seat before 7 October 10 AM, you can now register fresh options for these remaining vacancies. Registration closes on 20 October at 6 PM, and allotment results will be published on 22 October. This is your last chance to secure a medical or dental seat in Kerala for 2026–27.

What is Stray Vacancy Allotment?

Stray vacancy allotment is the final round of seat allocation in Kerala's NEET UG counselling. It fills seats that have become empty in MBBS and BDS courses at government and self-financing colleges after the third phase of allotment. These vacancies arise when candidates who were allotted seats in earlier phases either did not join, or vacated their seats within the prescribed deadline.

This round is open only to candidates whose names appear on the Kerala State Medical Rank List published by the CEE. It is not a separate exam or merit list—it uses your existing NEET rank. The seats filled in this round are final and cannot be changed later, so you must be certain about your choices before registering options.

Who is Eligible to Register for Stray Vacancy?

You are eligible for stray vacancy allotment if you are on the Kerala State Medical Rank List and you meet ALL of the following conditions:

You must NOT be currently admitted in any MBBS or BDS course from Phase I, Phase II, or Phase III allotments. If you are still studying in a seat allotted in any earlier phase, you cannot apply.

You must NOT have been allotted a seat in the third phase allotment. If you received a seat in Phase III, you are ineligible, even if you did not join.

If you vacated (quit) a seat from an earlier allotment, you must have done so on or before 7 October 2026 at 10 AM. Candidates who vacated after this date are not eligible.

You must NOT be on the MCC's list of admitted candidates after the third round of All-India Quota (AIQ) counselling, and you must NOT have been allotted a seat in the AIQ stray allotment. Even if you register options, such candidates will not be considered.

• You are on the Kerala State Medical Rank List
• You are NOT currently admitted in any MBBS/BDS seat from Phase I, II, or III
• You were NOT allotted a seat in Phase III
• If you vacated a seat, you did so on or before 7 October 2026, 10 AM
• You are NOT on the MCC's AIQ admitted list or AIQ stray allotment list

Important Dates: Timeline for Stray Vacancy

The stray vacancy process follows a tight schedule. All dates and times are fixed, and missing a deadline means you lose your chance. Mark these dates clearly in your calendar and set reminders.

Option registration opens on 17 October 2026 and closes on 20 October 2026 at 6 PM. You must complete your registration and pay the fee before 6 PM on 20 October—late submissions will not be accepted. Provisional allotment results are published on 21 October, and the final allotment list is released on 22 October. You then have from 23 October to 26 October at 4 PM to join your allotted college and pay fees. The college must update your admission details in the OAMS system by 26 October at 5 PM.

How to Register Your Options

Registration is entirely online. You do not need to visit the college or submit physical forms. Go to the CEE website www.cee.kerala.gov.in and log in with your credentials. On the home page, click the menu 'Stray Vacancy Option Registration'. You will be taken to a form where you can select the colleges and courses you wish to study.

The key instruction is: give options ONLY to colleges and courses where you genuinely want to study. Do not register options just to 'keep options open' or as a backup. If you register an option and then do not join after getting an allotment, you will face a severe penalty (see the Penalties section below). The system will ask you to specify whether you are registering options for Government MBBS/BDS only, or for both Government and Self-Financing colleges. Your answer determines your registration fee. Once you select this, the fee is locked and cannot be changed.

After you have chosen your options, you must pay the applicable registration fee online to the CEE before you can submit your option form. Payment must be completed before 20 October 6 PM. Once your fee is paid and your options are submitted, you cannot edit or cancel them. Review your choices carefully before submitting.

• Visit www.cee.kerala.gov.in and log in
• Click 'Stray Vacancy Option Registration' on the home page
• Select colleges and courses where you genuinely want to study
• Specify whether you are applying for Government only, or Government + Self-Financing
• Pay the applicable registration fee online
• Submit your option form before 20 October 6 PM
• Do NOT register options you do not intend to join

Registration Fees: What You Must Pay

The registration fee depends on which type of colleges you are applying to. The fee is non-refundable in most cases, so understand the rules before you pay. All fees must be paid online to the CEE before you can register your options.

If you are registering options ONLY for Government MBBS/BDS courses, you pay ₹10,000 (Rupees Ten Thousand). If you are registering options for BOTH Government and Self-Financing MBBS/BDS courses, you pay ₹25,000 (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand). The fee you pay is determined by the choices you make in the registration form—once you select 'Government + Self-Financing', the system locks you into the ₹25,000 fee.

If you belong to SC/ST/OEC category, or if you have benefits under G.O. (MS) 25/2005/SCSTDD (dated 20 June 2005) or G.O. (MS) 10/2014/BCDD (dated 23 May 2014), or if you are from Sree Chitra Home, Juvenile Home, or Nirbhaya Home, you pay a reduced fee of ₹5,000. However, this concession does NOT apply if you register options in Minority or NRI quota seats in self-financing colleges—in that case, you must pay the full fee.

If you were admitted in an earlier MBBS/BDS allotment and vacated your seat on or before the date specified in the 28 September 2026 notification, you may get a fee credit. If the fee you already paid to the CEE for that earlier allotment is MORE than the stray vacancy registration fee, you do not need to pay again. If it is LESS, you pay only the balance. However, if you paid a fee for a non-MBBS/BDS course (e.g., BDS in an earlier round, then applying for MBBS now), that fee does not count—you must pay the full stray vacancy registration fee.

• Government MBBS/BDS only: ₹10,000
• Government + Self-Financing MBBS/BDS: ₹25,000
• SC/ST/OEC category or eligible homes: ₹5,000 (unless applying for Minority/NRI quota)
• Fee is locked once you submit your category choice—it cannot be changed
• Fee must be paid online before you can register options
• Fee is non-refundable in most cases (see refund rules below)

What Happens to Your Registration Fee After Allotment?

The fate of your registration fee depends on whether you get an allotment and whether you join.

If you get an allotment in a Government Medical or Dental College and you join, your registration fee is automatically carried over (credited) to your tuition fee for the course. You do not get a refund—the fee becomes part of your course fees.

If you get an allotment in a Private Self-Financing Medical or Dental College and you join, your registration fee will be refunded to you after the closing date of admission (i.e., after the joining deadline has passed and the college has finalized admissions).

If you do NOT get any allotment in this round, your registration fee will be refunded.

If you get an allotment but do NOT join within the stipulated time (by 26 October 4 PM), or if you join and then quit the seat after admission, your registration fee is treated as a penalty and will NOT be refunded. You will also face additional penalties as described in the Penalties section.

• Allotted in Government Medical/Dental College + joined: fee credited to tuition fee
• Allotted in Private Self-Financing Medical/Dental College + joined: fee refunded after admission closes
• No allotment: fee refunded
• Allotted but did not join: fee forfeited as penalty
• Joined then quit: fee forfeited as penalty

Joining Your Allotted College: What You Must Do

If you get an allotment on 22 October, you must join your allotted college between 23 October and 26 October at 4 PM. Joining means physically reporting to the college, submitting your documents, and paying the fees shown in your allotment memo. You cannot join after 4 PM on 26 October—the deadline is strict.

When you join, bring all original documents (your NEET admit card, rank card, 10th and 12th certificates, caste/category certificate if applicable, medical fitness certificate, and any other documents the college asks for). The college will verify these and issue you an admission receipt. You must also pay the balance fees if any are due (your allotment memo will show the exact amount).

After you join, the college has until 5 PM on 26 October to update your admission details in the OAMS (Online Admission Management System). This is the college's responsibility, but you should confirm with the college that this has been done.

Once you join, your seat is confirmed. You cannot change your college or course at any point—the notification explicitly states 'The seat received by the candidate through stray vacancy allotment cannot be changed at any instance.'

• Joining period: 23–26 October, 4:00 PM (strict deadline)
• Report to your allotted college in person
• Bring all original documents (NEET card, rank card, certificates, etc.)
• Pay the balance fees shown in your allotment memo
• Confirm that the college has updated your details in OAMS by 26 October 5 PM
• Your seat cannot be changed after joining

Critical Trap: The ₹10–50 Lakh Penalty for Not Joining

This is the most important warning in this notice. If you register options but do NOT join after getting an allotment, you will face a catastrophic penalty. This is not a small fine—it is designed to deter candidates from wasting seats.

If you register an option, get allotted a seat, and then do not join (or join and then quit), you must pay a penalty of ₹10,00,000 (Ten Lakhs) for MBBS or ₹5,00,000 (Five Lakhs) for BDS. This penalty applies regardless of your family income, nativity, or reservation status. It is the same for everyone.

In addition to the financial penalty, your candidature will be cancelled. You will be debarred from appearing in any entrance examinations conducted by the CEE and from participating in any CEE allotments for up to two years. If you fail to pay the penalty, the CEE will recover it under the Revenue Recovery Act, which means the government can attach your property or income.

The notice is explicit: 'Candidates should give options only to the courses and colleges where they want to study if they get an allotment.' Do not register options as a 'just in case' measure. Register ONLY for colleges and courses you are genuinely willing to join. If you are unsure, do not register that option.

• ⚠️ Penalty for not joining: ₹10,00,000 (MBBS) or ₹5,00,000 (BDS)
• ⚠️ Applies regardless of income, nativity, or reservation
• ⚠️ Your candidature will be cancelled
• ⚠️ You will be debarred from CEE exams and allotments for up to 2 years
• ⚠️ Penalty can be recovered under Revenue Recovery Act
• ✅ Register options ONLY for colleges/courses you will genuinely join

Unallotted Category Seats and Seat Conversions

The notification mentions that 'Unallotted category seats, if any, will be converted during this phase as per existing prospectus conditions.' This means that if certain reserved seats (e.g., SC, ST, OBC seats) remain vacant after the third phase and no eligible candidate from that category is allotted in the stray round, those seats may be converted to the general category or another category as per the rules in the KEAM prospectus.

This conversion is automatic and happens during the allotment process. You do not need to do anything special. If you are a general category candidate and a reserved seat is converted to general, you may become eligible for that seat if your rank qualifies. Similarly, if you are from a reserved category, you may benefit from conversions of other categories. The exact rules are in the KEAM prospectus, which you should review if you want to understand the conversion policy in detail.

AIQ (All-India Quota) Candidates: Special Rule

If you have been allotted a seat through the All-India Quota (AIQ) counselling conducted by the MCC (Medical Counselling Committee), you are NOT eligible for Kerala's stray vacancy allotment. The notification states: 'Those candidates who have been included in the list of admitted candidates shared by the MCC after the third round AIQ Counselling and those candidates who have been allotted seat in AIQ stray allotment as per the list to be shared by MCC will not be considered in the stray vacancy filling allotment, even though options are registered by such candidates.'

This means if you are on the MCC's AIQ admitted list or if you got a seat in the AIQ stray allotment, you cannot participate in Kerala's stray vacancy round, even if you register options. The CEE will not consider your application. If you are unsure whether you are on the MCC's list, check the MCC website (mcc.nic.in) before registering.

• AIQ admitted candidates: NOT eligible for Kerala stray vacancy
• AIQ stray allotment candidates: NOT eligible for Kerala stray vacancy
• Check MCC website to confirm your AIQ status before registering

Contact and Support

If you have questions or face technical issues during registration, contact the CEE helpline. The phone numbers are 0471-2332120 and 0471-2338487. You can also email ceekinfo.cee@kerala.gov.in. All details about allotment, government orders, and the prospectus are available on the CEE website www.cee.kerala.gov.in.

The CEE office is located at 7th Floor, KSRTC Bus Terminal Complex, Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram-695 001. However, given the tight deadlines, it is faster to call or email than to visit in person.

• Helpline: 0471-2332120, 0471-2338487
• Email: ceekinfo.cee@kerala.gov.in
• Website: www.cee.kerala.gov.in
• Office: 7th Floor, KSRTC Bus Terminal Complex, Thampanoor, Thiruvananthapuram-695 001

Frequently asked questions

If you are eligible and interested in stray vacancy seats, act immediately. Register your options on www.cee.kerala.gov.in by 20 October 6 PM, pay the applicable fee, and select ONLY colleges and courses you genuinely want to join. Remember: registering an option you do not intend to join will result in a ₹10–50 lakh penalty and debarment from future CEE exams. If you get an allotment on 22 October, join your college by 26 October 4 PM. For any questions, call the CEE helpline at 0471-2332120 or 0471-2338487.