If you took NEET UG on June 21, 2026, the admission process officially begins now. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), which runs seat allotment for 15% All India Quota (AIQ) MBBS/BDS/BSc Nursing seats and 100% seats at AIIMS, JIPMER, and central universities, has opened registration for round 1 counselling starting August 5, 2026. State quota counselling — the other 85% of government seats plus most private and deemed college seats — follows on separate state-run schedules. This year also brings a genuine procedural change: the entire process, including document upload and seat upgrades between rounds, is now conducted online without candidates needing to visit any college in person. Getting your paperwork and choice list ready before registration opens will save you from last-minute stress during a tightly timed window.
AIQ registration for NEET UG 2026 counselling is open from August 5, 2026, with round 1 seat allotment expected around mid-to-late August — so prepare your documents, fee, and college choice list now rather than waiting.
Two counselling tracks: AIQ and State Quota
NEET UG admission runs on two parallel tracks. MCC conducts the All India Quota counselling for 15% of MBBS/BDS/BSc Nursing seats in every state, plus all seats in AIIMS, JIPMER, ESIC, AFMC, and central universities such as DU, BHU, AMU, and Jamia Millia Islamia. This is a single, centralised process for candidates from anywhere in the country.
The remaining 85% of government seats in each state, along with most private and many deemed university seats, are allotted by that state's own counselling authority. A candidate who wants both AIQ and a home-state seat must register separately for each — MCC registration does not automatically enrol you in your state's process, and vice versa.
- AIQ (via MCC): 15% seats in state government colleges + 100% AIIMS/JIPMER/central university seats
- State Quota: 85% seats in state government colleges, most private and many deemed colleges
- Each state (Karnataka, Telangana, and others) publishes its own registration dates, separate from MCC's
- You can pursue both simultaneously by registering for each portal individually
AIQ Counselling: Round 1 Schedule
MCC has laid out a four-stage process for round 1: online registration, choice filling and locking, seat allotment, and reporting to the allotted institute. Candidates should treat the registration deadline as firm — late submissions are not accepted, and missing round 1 registration means waiting for round 2, by when many seats will already be filled.
- Registration opens: August 5, 2026
- Choice filling and locking: begins the day after registration opens and closes shortly before the seat allotment result
- Round 1 seat allotment result: mid-August 2026
- Reporting/joining at allotted college: within a few days of the result, ending around August 22, 2026
- Three regular rounds are planned in total, followed by a stray vacancy round to fill any seats left over
What's genuinely new in the 2026 process
The most practical change this year is that MCC has removed the requirement to physically report at a college to confirm admission before the next round. Previously, a candidate allotted a seat had to travel to that college, submit documents in person, and pay fees on campus before they could even opt for an upgrade in a later round. That physical-reporting step has been dropped for round-to-round transitions.
Under the new system, once you get a seat, you choose either 'Freeze' (keep this seat, exit further rounds) or 'Upgrade/Willing to Upgrade' (keep this seat provisionally while trying for a better one in the next round) entirely online. Document upload is also fully digital now, and this applies even to NRI-category candidates, who earlier had additional in-person requirements.
This should meaningfully reduce the travel and waiting-in-line burden that used to fall on candidates and parents, especially those allotted a seat far from home. It doesn't change eligibility or merit — it only changes the mechanics of confirming and upgrading a seat.
Registration fee and refundable security deposit
The counselling fee has two parts: a non-refundable registration fee and a refundable security deposit that is returned (or forfeited, in specific cases such as not joining after confirming a seat) at the end of the process. The amount differs by category and by whether you are applying to a government-quota seat or a deemed university seat.
| Category / Seat type | Registration Fee | Refundable Security Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Unreserved / EWS (AIQ, Central Universities, AIIMS, JIPMER, B.Sc Nursing) | ₹1,000 | ₹10,000 |
| SC / ST / OBC (same seat categories) | ₹500 | ₹5,000 |
| Deemed university seats (any category) | ₹5,000 | ₹2,00,000 |
Documents to keep ready before registration
Since the process is fully digital this year, having clean, correctly-oriented scanned copies ready before you sit down to register will save time. Blurry or incorrectly sized uploads are a common reason for verification delays.
- NEET UG 2026 admit card and rank/scorecard
- Class 10 marksheet and certificate
- Class 12 marksheet and certificate
- A valid photo ID proof
- Category certificate (SC/ST/OBC/EWS/PwD, as applicable) and transfer certificate
- Recent passport-size photograph
A quick look at where the seats are
MBBS, BDS and BSc Nursing seat availability is heavily concentrated in a handful of states, largely because these states have historically approved the most medical colleges. Candidates aiming for state quota seats should check their own state's total capacity and cutoff trends before finalising their choice list, since a strong AIR (All India Rank) in a low-capacity state can still mean a tougher fight than a moderate rank in a high-capacity one.
- Karnataka: roughly 15,395 seats across MBBS/BDS/Nursing programmes — the highest of any state
- Uttar Pradesh: around 14,000 seats
- Tamil Nadu: around 13,999 seats
- Maharashtra: around 13,099 seats
- Telangana: around 10,250 seats
2 minute · Free preview
Which MBBS colleges can your NEET rank actually get?
See the real colleges your rank can reach — every state and All India Quota — with official closing ranks and the exact fee for each seat.
See My CollegesFrequently asked questions
Do I need to register on MCC and my state portal both?
Yes. MCC's registration only covers All India Quota seats and central institutions like AIIMS and JIPMER. If you also want to be considered for your home state's government or private college seats, you must register separately on that state's counselling website.
How many rounds of AIQ counselling are there in 2026?
There are three main rounds, followed by an online stray vacancy round to fill seats still vacant after round 3. You can request an upgrade to a better seat only up to the end of round 3.
Do I still need to visit the college in person to confirm my seat?
No. This year MCC has made the entire process online — document upload, seat confirmation, and requests to upgrade to a better seat in the next round can all be done from the portal without travelling to the college.
What happens if I get an AIQ seat but want to switch to a state quota seat later?
You can, but you must formally surrender your AIQ seat by submitting a resignation at the institute where you were admitted before joining the state-allotted seat.
Is the counselling fee refundable?
The registration fee itself is non-refundable, but the separate security deposit (₹5,000–₹10,000 for AIQ/central seats, or ₹2,00,000 for deemed universities) is refundable at the end of the process, subject to MCC's rules on forfeiture if you don't join after confirming a seat.
Are AIIMS and JIPMER seats part of this same registration?
Yes. AIIMS (100% open seats) and JIPMER (a mix of All India and Puducherry-domicile state quota seats) are filled through this same MCC counselling process, not a separate one.
What reservation applies at AIIMS?
AIIMS follows SC 15%, ST 7.5%, OBC 27%, EWS 10%, and PwD 5% reservation, along with a small number of seats reserved for foreign nationals.
The most useful thing an aspirant can do right now is get every document scanned and ready, decide on a realistic choice list based on your AIR and last year's opening/closing ranks, and register well before the deadline rather than at the last hour. Keep checking MCC's official site for the exact round 1 dates in your case, and track your state's counselling authority separately if you're also aiming for a state quota seat.
Plan your admission with free AI tools
Turn your NEET score into a rank, then into the exact colleges you can get.