The Medical Counselling Committee has announced that the first round of counselling for admission to MBBS and other undergraduate medical courses under the All India Quota will begin on August 4. The academic session for the 2026-27 batch is scheduled to commence on September 8.
According to the counselling schedule, the first round of AIQ counselling for deemed and central universities will take place from August 4 to August 17, with the last date for joining being August 22. The second round of AIQ counselling will be held from August 24 to September 2, followed by the third round from September 10 to September 18.
The stray vacancy round is scheduled from September 28 to October 3, with the last date for joining after the stray vacancy round being October 10. For state quota seats, the first round of counselling will be conducted from August 13 to August 22, with candidates required to join by August 28.
The schedule also provides timelines for verification of joined candidates by the Medical Counselling Committee and state counselling authorities after each round to facilitate seat processing and subsequent allotments. The MCC has directed all participating institutions, state counselling authorities, and designated agencies to strictly adhere to the schedule.
The MCC has introduced several improvements in the NEET-UG 2026 counselling process, including doing away with mandatory physical reporting for candidates opting for seat upgrade and allowing online resignation from allotted seats. Candidates who have been allotted a seat and have opted for upgrade in subsequent rounds will no longer have to physically report to the allotted college merely to complete admission formalities.
Candidates may now submit resignation from their allotted seat through the MCC counselling portal, wherever permissible under the counselling rules and within the prescribed timelines, without the need for physical submission at the allotted institution. Candidates seeking NRI reservation in deemed universities will be able to upload their documents online on the counselling portal.
