The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has opened the choice-filling window for NEET UG 2026 Round 3 today, September 23. Candidates registered for this round can now log in and start arranging their preferred colleges and courses on the MCC portal ahead of the September 28 deadline.

Round 3 Process So Far

MCC finalized the tentative Round 3 seat matrix with participating institutes on September 21. Registration and fee payment opened on September 22 and will continue till 3:00 PM on September 27, with the payment facility remaining open until 6:00 PM the same day. Choice filling started today and closes at 12 Noon on September 28, after which choice locking begins the same evening.

Steps to Fill Choices

1. Visit mcc.nic.in and log in using Round 3 registration credentials
2. Navigate to the "Choice Filling" section on the candidate dashboard
3. Search for colleges and courses using state, quota, or category filters
4. Add preferred options one by one and arrange them in order of priority
5. Save the choice list after every update to avoid losing selections
6. Review the final order carefully before the choice-locking window opens

Round 3 Counselling Schedule

• Seat matrix verification: September 21
• Registration and payment: September 22–27 (till 3 PM; payment till 6 PM)
• Choice filling: September 23–28 (till 12 Noon)
• Choice locking: September 27–28
• Seat allotment processing: September 28–29
• Result declaration: September 30
• Reporting to allotted institute: October 1–9
• Institute verification of joined data: October 10

Where Round 3 Picks Up From

Round 2 final results were declared on September 12, with 8,828 seats allotted in total - 7,485 MBBS, 1,057 BDS, and 286 B.Sc Nursing seats. Candidates allotted seats in that round reported to their institutes between September 12 and 18. Seats left vacant after Round 2, together with any newly added colleges or increased intake cleared by the National Medical Commission, now form part of the Round 3 seat matrix. Candidates who already hold a Round 1 or Round 2 allotment are advised to check their current status before filling fresh choices, since upgrade rules differ from those applicable to fresh registrants.

Seat Matrix Background

The NMC has revised the MBBS seat matrix for 2026–27, adding 13,186 MBBS seats across 836 government and private medical colleges - taking the total number of MBBS seats available nationally to 1,40,214. MCC counselling under this cycle covers the 15% All India Quota, along with 100% seats at AIIMS, JIPMER, AMU, BHU, JMI, ESIC institutions, Central Universities, and Deemed Universities.

Resignation and Reporting Rules

Candidates will not be permitted to resign from a Round 3 seat allotted under AIQ, Deemed, or Central University counselling. Once a candidate joins through Round 3, they cannot participate in any further round of the same session, including the stray vacancy round. Candidates who accept an allotted seat but fail to report within the given deadline risk cancellation of their candidature.

What Comes After Round 3

Seats remaining vacant after Round 3 will move into the stray vacancy round. Registration and payment for the stray round are scheduled from October 12 to 14, choice filling will run from October 12 to 15, the result is expected on October 17, and reporting to institutes will take place between October 19 and 26.