The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has put out the Round 1 seat matrix for NEET UG 2026 All India Quota (AIQ) counselling — the official list of every seat, college and category on offer this round. For any NEET aspirant, this document is the single most important reference before filling preferences, because it turns guesswork about 'which colleges have how many seats' into hard numbers. The matrix covers 31,728 seats spread across MBBS, BDS and BSc Nursing, and arrives just as candidates are actively filling and about to lock their choices. Getting the timing and the reading of this matrix right can be the difference between a well-planned choice list and a rushed, regret-inducing one.
Download and study the MCC Round 1 seat matrix PDF before locking your choices — it tells you exactly how many seats, in which category and quota, are actually available at each college this round.
What the Round 1 seat matrix actually contains
The seat matrix is a course-wise, college-wise, and category-wise breakup of every AIQ seat on offer in Round 1. It is not a cutoff list or a rank predictor — it is simply an inventory of supply, published so that candidates can align their choices with what genuinely exists rather than with assumptions carried over from previous years.
For NEET UG 2026 Round 1, the total AIQ pool stands at 31,728 seats. Of these, MBBS accounts for 27,292 seats, BDS for 4,068 seats, and BSc Nursing for 368 seats. The matrix further splits these numbers by category — SC, ST, OBC, EWS and open/unreserved — and by special quotas such as persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD) and, where applicable, gender-specific allocations.
- MBBS: 27,292 seats
- BDS: 4,068 seats
- BSc Nursing: 368 seats
- Total AIQ Round 1 seats: 31,728
Which institutions are covered
AIQ counselling conducted by MCC is not limited to a single seat type. It covers the 15% AIQ quota within state government medical colleges, seats in central universities and deemed universities, and dedicated seats reserved under the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) categories. It also includes admissions to AIIMS institutions, JIPMER, and BHU medical courses, all of which are filled through this single centralised process rather than separately by the institutes themselves.
Some of the higher seat counts among AIIMS institutes in this round include AIIMS New Delhi with 132 seats, AIIMS Patna and AIIMS Raipur with 125 seats each, AIIMS Guwahati and ABVIMS & Dr RML Hospital with 100 seats each, and AIIMS Rajkot with 75 seats. These numbers are useful benchmarks, but remember that seat availability at a given rank depends on how many candidates ahead of you also choose that college — the matrix shows supply, not your personal chance.
- AIIMS New Delhi — 132 seats
- AIIMS Patna — 125 seats
- AIIMS Raipur — 125 seats
- AIIMS Guwahati — 100 seats
- ABVIMS & Dr RML Hospital — 100 seats
- AIIMS Rajkot — 75 seats
The counselling clock: dates you cannot afford to miss
Three dates matter most in this round. Choice filling for Round 1 opened on August 8, 2026, giving registered candidates a window to browse the seat matrix and build their preference list on the MCC portal. The choice locking window is scheduled for August 12 to August 13, 2026 — after this, whatever list is in the system, locked or not, gets treated as final. Candidates who leave choices unlocked risk having a random, possibly unwanted, order frozen automatically once the window closes.
Separately, MCC has opened a limited reset option for candidates who made errors while registering — such as wrong personal or category details. This reset window closes on August 12, 2026 at 11 AM, well before the choice-locking deadline, so anyone needing a correction should not wait until the last day.
The Round 1 seat allotment result is due on August 17, 2026. Candidates allotted a seat will then need to follow the reporting instructions issued by MCC, which typically include document verification and fee payment within a specified deadline.
- Choice filling opens: August 8, 2026
- Reset window for registration errors: closes August 12, 2026, 11 AM
- Choice locking window: August 12–13, 2026
- Round 1 seat allotment result: August 17, 2026
How to use the seat matrix while building your list
The most common mistake aspirants make is filling choices based on last year's memory of which college had how many seats, without checking the current matrix. Seat numbers can shift year to year due to new colleges getting recognition, capacity changes, or fresh MCI/NMC approvals, so relying on outdated data can mean wasting choices on seats that no longer exist in the numbers you expect.
A practical approach is to first shortlist colleges you are genuinely willing to join, then cross-check each one against the matrix for the exact number of seats in your category and quota. Only after this verification should you arrange them in order of preference — from most wanted to least wanted — since MCC allotment logic always tries to give you the highest college on your list that your rank qualifies for.
- Verify every shortlisted college against the current matrix, not last year's data.
- Check seat counts specifically for your category (SC/ST/OBC/EWS/open) and any applicable quota (PwBD etc.).
- Order your final list strictly by genuine preference, not by perceived 'safety'.
- Do not leave the list unlocked — an unlocked list can be auto-frozen once the window shuts.
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See My CollegesFrequently asked questions
What exactly is the MCC Round 1 seat matrix for NEET UG 2026?
It is the official PDF listing every AIQ seat available in Round 1 — course-wise, college-wise and category-wise — for MBBS, BDS and BSc Nursing, published by MCC before choice filling.
How many total seats are in the Round 1 AIQ matrix?
31,728 seats in total: 27,292 MBBS, 4,068 BDS, and 368 BSc Nursing seats.
Does MCC counselling cover all medical seats in India?
No. MCC handles the 15% All India Quota seats in state government colleges plus seats in central universities, deemed universities, ESIC, AFMS institutes, AIIMS, JIPMER and BHU. The remaining state quota seats are counselled separately by each state's authority.
What happens if I don't lock my choices by the deadline?
Choices that remain unlocked when the window closes are still treated as final by the system, so there is a real risk of an unintended order being used for allotment. It is safer to actively review and lock your list before the deadline.
Can I still correct my registration details now?
Only through the reset option MCC opened for genuine errors, and only until the stated closing time. After that window shuts, corrections to personal or category details are not expected to be possible for this round.
When will I know if I got a seat in Round 1?
The Round 1 seat allotment result is scheduled for release on the MCC portal, after which allotted candidates must follow the reporting and fee payment instructions within the given timeline.
Should I trust the seat matrix numbers over previous years' cutoff data?
Use the current matrix for how many seats exist this round, but use previous years' closing ranks only as a rough reference for likely competitiveness — actual cutoffs for 2026 will depend on this year's applicant pool and choices filled.
Aspirants currently in the choice-filling window should treat the seat matrix as a working document — cross-check it college by college before finalising any preference order, and lock the list well before the deadline rather than at the last minute. Keep an eye on the MCC portal for the Round 1 result and the reporting instructions that follow it, since missing those steps can cost an allotted seat just as easily as a poorly planned choice list.
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