The State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell, Maharashtra, has released the 'Provisional Seat Matrix for MBBS/BDS Courses – Group A' for NEET UG 2026-27 admissions. This is a college-by-college, category-by-category list of how many seats each government, government-aided, private and minority medical and dental college is expected to offer through the state's Centralised Admission Process (CAP) this year. It covers 42 government and 23 private medical colleges (MBBS), plus 5 government and 23 private dental colleges (BDS). The word 'provisional' matters: the CET Cell has clearly stated these numbers can still change before seats are actually allotted. This is not a final seat allotment or a result — it is a planning document candidates should study before filling their CAP choices.
This is a provisional, subject-to-change seat count for Maharashtra's state MBBS/BDS counselling — use it to understand which colleges and how many seats exist in each category, but do not treat any single college's number as final until allotment.
What exactly has been published
The document is a 'Group A' seat matrix — a detailed table listing every government, government-aided, private and minority medical and dental college in Maharashtra along with its total intake capacity and how that capacity is expected to be split across reservation categories (SC, ST, VJ, NT sub-categories, OBC, EWS, OPEN, PWD, orphan categories, hilly-area categories, and more).
For each college the matrix separately shows seats going to the All India Quota (AIQ — the 15% of government college seats filled through the central MCC counselling, not Maharashtra's own CAP), the Minority quota (seats reserved for a college's declared religious/linguistic minority community), and the GOI quota where applicable, before arriving at the 'Balance' — the seats actually available for Maharashtra's own CAP rounds.
This kind of matrix is published before every CAP round so that candidates know, in advance, roughly how many seats of their category exist in which college, before they lock their choice list.
How many seats are on the table
Across the four blocks in this notice, here is the headline count. These are total sanctioned intake figures as printed in the matrix — actual seats offered in each CAP round will depend on confirmed affiliation and any last-minute correction by the CET Cell.
| College type | Number of colleges | Total seats | AIQ seats (deducted) | Minority seats (deducted) | Balance seats for state CAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government/Govt-aided MBBS | 42 | 5,950 | 950 | 20 | 4,980 |
| Private/Minority MBBS | 23 | 3,149 | 0 (private colleges do not contribute to AIQ) | included within institute/minority quota rows | 3,149 (all through state CAP, including Institute Quota) |
| Government BDS | 5 | 376 | 56 | 3 | 317 |
| Private/Minority BDS | 23 | 2,200 | 0 | included within institute/minority quota rows | 2,200 (all through state CAP) |
Understanding the reservation-category codes used in the matrix
The matrix uses short codes for reservation categories. If you don't know what these stand for, you can misread how many seats actually exist for your category. The notice's own legend defines these codes as follows.
- SC, ST, OBC, EWS, OPEN — the standard caste/economic reservation categories
- VJ / VJA — Vimukta Jati (A), a Denotified Tribe category
- N1 / NTB, N2 / NTC, N3 / NTD — Nomadic Tribes sub-categories NT(B)/NT1, NT(C)/NT2, NT(D)/NT3
- Min — Minority seats (reserved for the college's declared linguistic/religious minority community)
- IQ — Institute Quota (seats a private/minority college fills on its own, still through CAP, not open-market)
- GOI — a Government of India quota shown for a few colleges
- HA (GEN HA / WOMEN HA) — Hilly Area reservation, general and women
- MK — MKB, the Maharashtra–Karnataka Border area reservation
- PWD — Persons with Disability
- ORP — Orphan (Institutional, i.e. children from child-care institutions)
- ORPC — Orphan (Outside Institution, non-institutional orphan category)
Government colleges vs private/minority colleges — the key difference for candidates
Government and government-aided colleges (like Grant Medical College Mumbai, B.J. Medical College Pune, and all the district government medical colleges) hand over 15% of their seats to the All India Quota, which is counselled separately by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), not by Maharashtra's CET Cell. The remaining seats, after removing minority quota where applicable, are what appears in the 'Balance' column for Maharashtra's own CAP rounds.
Private and minority colleges do not contribute seats to AIQ. Their entire capacity — split between state-reserved categories and an 'Institute Quota' portion — is filled through Maharashtra's CAP itself. This means fees, though not covered in this notice, are typically higher in the Institute Quota portion of private colleges than in the government-quota portion.
A few colleges are declared minority institutions — for example, the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Jalna and M.A. Rangoonwala Dental College, Pune are listed as Muslim minority colleges. In these colleges, almost the entire non-institute-quota capacity is reserved for candidates from the declared minority community; candidates outside that community can generally compete only for the Institute Quota seats (or AIQ, where applicable). Check a college's minority status before assuming general-category eligibility there.
The traps: why 'provisional' really means provisional
The CET Cell has attached three explicit notes to this matrix, and they matter more than the numbers themselves:
First, the seat position can change based on information received from the institute itself, the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) Nashik, the National Medical Commission (NMC), the Dental Council of India (DCI), or orders of the Hon'ble Courts, or instructions from the State or Central Government.
Second, the Government or the CET Cell Commissioner can change this seat position again before seats are actually allotted in any CAP round.
Third — and most important — a seat shown in this matrix will only actually be allotted after the concerned college receives affiliation from MUHS, Nashik, or the respective professional council. If a college's affiliation is delayed or refused, seats shown here for that college may shrink or disappear entirely by the time of allotment.
In short: use this matrix to understand the landscape of colleges and categories, but always re-check the seat matrix published closer to, and during, each CAP round before finalising your choice list.
Special quota rows candidates often overlook
Beyond the standard caste categories, the matrix carries several rows that are easy to miss but can be decisive for eligible candidates: PWD (Persons with Disability) seats, two separate orphan categories (ORP for institutional orphans and ORPC for non-institutional orphans), and Hilly Area reservation seats (separately for general and women candidates) at several colleges. There is also a small Maharashtra–Karnataka Border area (MKB) allocation and an Institute Quota row at nearly every private college.
If you hold a certificate for any of these categories — disability, orphan status, hilly-area domicile, or border-area domicile — check the specific college rows carefully, since the number of seats in these rows is very small (often just 1 or 2 per college) and varies college to college.
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See My CollegesFrequently asked questions
Is this the final number of MBBS/BDS seats for Maharashtra NEET UG 2026?
No. The notice itself calls this a 'Provisional Seat Matrix' and states that numbers can change based on information from the institute, MUHS Nashik, NMC, DCI, court orders, or government instructions, and again before any CAP round allotment.
Why do government colleges show fewer 'balance' seats than their total capacity?
Because government and government-aided colleges must hand over 15% of seats to the All India Quota (AIQ), which MCC counsels centrally, not the Maharashtra CET Cell. Some also have a small minority-quota deduction. What remains after these deductions is the 'Balance' available for Maharashtra's own CAP.
Do private medical/dental colleges also lose seats to the All India Quota?
No. Only government and government-aided colleges contribute to AIQ. Private and minority colleges' entire sanctioned intake is filled through Maharashtra's own CAP process, split between state reservation categories and an Institute Quota portion.
What does it mean if a college is marked as a minority institution?
It means most of that college's seats (outside the Institute Quota) are reserved for candidates belonging to its declared religious or linguistic minority community. Two examples in this notice are the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Jalna, and M.A. Rangoonwala Dental College, Pune — both declared Muslim minority institutions.
My category has only 1 or 2 seats at a college — is that a typo?
No. Small reservation rows like PWD, Orphan (ORP/ORPC), Hilly Area, and MKB genuinely carry only 1-2 seats per college in this matrix because the underlying eligible population and legal reservation percentage for these categories is small.
What happens if a college doesn't get its affiliation from MUHS or the council in time?
The notice explicitly states that seats will be allotted only after the college receives affiliation from MUHS Nashik or the respective council. If affiliation is delayed or denied, that college's seats shown here can be reduced or removed before or during CAP allotment.
Should I trust this matrix while filling my CAP choice list?
Use it to understand the range of colleges and roughly how many seats exist in your category, but always check the seat matrix published closer to your actual CAP round, since the CET Cell can revise numbers right up to allotment.
Does this notice mention counselling dates or registration deadlines?
No. This particular document is only the seat matrix — it does not carry registration dates, document verification schedules or choice-filling deadlines. Those are announced separately by the CET Cell.
Bookmark this seat matrix as a reference for which colleges exist and roughly how many seats your category may get — but treat it as a starting point, not the final word. Keep checking the CET Cell's NEET UG 2026 counselling page for updated seat matrices before each CAP round, and confirm a college's affiliation status before relying on its seat count.
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