The National Testing Agency has released the NEET Result 2026 on neet.nta.nic.in. The candidates should note that the NEET 2026 Counselling process will start soon. The MCC will soon release the NEET counselling schedule. NEET UG choice filling 20265 will be a crucial part of the counselling process. The choice filling and locking processes must be done on time.See more details on this page.
NEET UG Choice Filling Process
The National Testing Agency has released the NEET Result 2026 on neet.nta.nic.in. The MCC will soon notify the NEET UG 2026 Counselling Schedule for all the eligible candidates. Such candidates will be required to fill their seat and college choices, followed by locking of the seat during the NEET Counselling process. The candidates can see the details about the seat choice filling and locking of seats as the Counselling advances. Both of these activities are important in securing a good seat in a good college.
Also Read: NEET UG 2026 Result OUT LIVE Updates
Which Top Medical College Can You Get with Your NEET 2026 Rank?
Predict your admission chances in top MBBS colleges across India and explore leading institutes such as AIIMS Delhi, JIPMER, MAMC, KGMU and other government and private medical colleges.
The NEET 2026 counselling choice filling and locking will comprise the most crucial steps of the counselling process. As the term suggests, choice filling refers to choosing the preferred course and colleges from the seat matrix released by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), the NEET Counselling authority.
NEET UG counselling dates will be announced by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) soon. A lot of students raise queries regarding the NEET choice filling process. Unless the NEET 2026 counselling choice filling is done correctly, the seat allotment won't be done accurately. This article by Shiksha.com brings you detailed information regarding the NEET UG choice filling and locking processes.
There will be four rounds of MCC NEET counselling, which are as follows:
- Round 1
- Round 2
- Round 3
- Stray Vacancy Round
The number of rounds of counselling will vary according to the vacant seats. In the context of the NEET Counselling Process, choice filling is the initial phase where candidates have to select the seats and order it according to their preference. Choice locking is the final confirmation stage where students have to submit the pre-selected choices, and MCC would allot a seat only based on the list of choices and preferences.
Till 2022, in the four rounds of NEET UG counselling, the choice-filling process was applicable for the first three rounds only. However, from last year onwards, the choice-filling process is applicable till the last and final round.
- NEET UG Counselling 2026 Choice Filling and Locking Expected Dates
- NEET 2026 Counselling Seat Matrix
- NEET 2026 Counselling Overview
- How to Fill Choices For NEET UG Counselling 2026?
- Factors to Check for NEET UG 2026 Choice Filling
NEET UG Counselling 2026 Choice Filling and Locking Expected Dates
MCC has announced the NEET UG counselling 2026 choice filling and locking dates. The following table brings the round-wise dates of the NEET UG 2026 choice filling and locking.
| Choice Filling & Locking Events |
Dates |
|---|---|
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 1 Choice Filling |
25-July-2026 (tentative) |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 1 Choice Locking |
05-Aug-2026 (tentative) |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 2 Choice Filling |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026Round 2 Choice Locking |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 3 Choice Filling |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 3 Choice Locking |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Stray Vacancy Round Choice Filling |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Stray Vacancy Round Choice Locking |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 5 Choice Filling |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 5 Choice Locking |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 6 Choice Filling |
To be Notified |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 6 Choice Locking |
To be Notified |
Commonly asked questions
In case candidates are not allotted any seat in the second round of the NEET UG counselling, the earlier allotted seat in Round 1 will be retained. However, on up-gradation of a seat in the second round, the earlier allotted seat in Round 1 will automatically be cancelled and allotted to another candidate. Therefore, candidates are advised to fill in only higher choices or any other choice which they prefer over the earlier allotted seat, for second round.
Till last year, candidates were provided N95 masks at the NEET exam centre which was mandatory to be used by candidates. They had to dispose of their own masks before entering the exam centre at the designated bin. However, since the intensity of Covid has reduced as compared to the last two years, this year candidates may not be provided masks at the centre. The information will be confirmed after the release of the NEET admit card. However, it is recommended that they wear face masks for the entire duration. This should be done to ensure their and other test-takers' safety.
The total number of exam cities for NEET is 566. The number of NEET exam cities in India are 552 and in abroad are 14. The number of exam cities in India changes every year. The exact number is known through the notification PDF.
Yes, the NEET OMR sheet 2026 has been released on the official website. Candidates can access their OMR response sheets by using the login link.
NEET 2026 Counselling Seat Matrix
The table below brings the seat matrix PDF along with the number of seats for the NEET 2026Counselling Round 1 will be released soon.
Commonly asked questions
The responses marked on the OMR Sheet of NEET are scanned and uploaded on the official website of NTA. The responses marked are read and captured by the machines, which can sometimes lead to smudging of the responses. Therefore, there can be errors in the scanned copy of NEET OMR sheet. If a student finds any such error in their OMR sheet, they have the provision to challenge them. Candidates have to pay a processing fee of INR 200 per response challenged. The steps for challenging the OMR sheet of NEET are given below:
- Go to the official website of NTA NEET
- Login using the NEET application number and password or date of birth
- Click on “OMR Challenge”
- You will see the questions in sequential order
- Select Question (s) for which you wish to challenge the Recorded Response.
- Once you select any Question for Challenge, you will see three options under the column ‘Candidate’s Claim’.
- If you wish to challenge this option, you may use the Options given in the ‘Candidate’s Claim’ column.
- After clicking your desired option, for Physics / Chemistry / Botany / Zoology for NEET (UG) - 2023, scroll down, ‘Submit’, and move to the next screen.
- You will see a screen displaying your challenges.
- Click on ‘Submit' and Pay Fee Finally’.
- Select Mode of Payment and Pay a processing fee of INR 200 for each question/grade challenged. Make payment through Debit/Credit Card/Net Banking/Paytm.
- After successful payment, download/print the Answer Key challenge receipt
The NTA released the NEET OMR sheet 2026 on July 13 and also provided the opportunity to challenge the responses recorded of the candidates till July 15. Candidates can download the OMR answer sheet using the application number and password.
Candidates can know the NEET exam centre 2026 now as the admit card has been released. Candidates must download their hall tickets to know the name and address of the allotted exam centre.
No, the RE NEET 2026 was not postponed. The exam was held as scheduled on June 21.
Explore colleges based on NEET
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
NEET 2026 Counselling Overview
The overview or the highlights of the NEET 2026 counselling are in the table below.
| Particulars |
Details |
|---|---|
| Mode of NEET 2026 Counselling |
Online |
| Types of NEET 2026 Counselling |
Central and States |
| Types of Seat Quota for NEET 2026 Counselling |
All India Quota (AIQ) State Quota (AQ) |
| Ratio of Seat Types of NEET 2026 Counselling |
AIQ – 15% SQ – 85% |
| Institutes Participating in NEET 2026 Counselling |
All government and private medical, dental and certain nursing colleges |
The central and state counselling processes of NEET are conducted by 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) seats for admission to MBBS, BDS and BSc Nursing courses at Central and Deemed Universities, AIIMS, JIPMER and AFMC institutes. On the other hand, the 85 per cent state quota seats for medical admission are conducted by the State Authorities for admission to state medical colleges.
How to Fill Choices For NEET UG Counselling 2026?
Candidates have to follow the steps below to complete the NEET 2026 choice filling and locking process. Prior to that, candidates must complete the registration process and pay the requisite fee for registration as per their category.
- Visit the official website of MCC – mcc.nic.in
-
Click on the ‘New Registration’ tab and click on ‘Sign in’
-
Enter the NEET UG 2026 Roll Number, Password and Security Pin
-
Click on the link ‘Available Choices’.
-
On clicking the “Choice Filling” icon, the choices as per individual criteria of eligibility would be displayed to the candidate on the left side basket and on clicking the button for the required choice, it will be selected. The seats chosen will be removed from the left basket and added to the right basket.
-
Candidates will have to click on the ‘Save & Continue’ tab.
-
Candidates may change the order of preference of choices by clicking on the Upper Arrow ./button to move up, the Down Arrow button to move down and the Delete button to delete the pre-selected choice of institutes.
-
The choice Interchange (Swapping) can be carried out by selecting appropriate choices as source and destination to enable their swapping and reordering all the choices.
-
If a candidate desires to delete a specific choice or a group of choices, the candidate can click the appropriate box for deletion of the choice. Further, if the candidate desires to delete multiple choices in one go, he/she can click the appropriate boxes for deletion and confirm the same, so that all unwanted choices can be deleted by this operation.
NEET Counselling 2026 Choice Locking Process
Only the choice filling is not sufficient for getting seats allotted. Candidates need to lock in choices to complete the process. The NEET 2026 choice locking process is given in the steps below:
-
By clicking the Choice Lock Button and confirming the same, the choices could be locked.
-
Choices once locked can’t be unlocked. Therefore, the candidates are advised to exercise choice carefully, as the choices above the allotted choice will be processed in the second round.
-
In case candidates fail to lock choices, choices filled in by the candidate will be automatically locked at 5:00 PM of the last date of locking.
-
On clicking the “Lock Choice” button (active only on notified dates), the submitted choices will be displayed on the screen along with all restrictions, on the choices selected, if applicable.
-
During the locking process, candidates have to enter the password, and then only the system proceeds with the locking of choices.
-
After locking of choices, the following message will be displayed indicating no more choice submissions are possible: “Your Filled Choices have been Locked Successfully. Now you are not allowed to make any modifications to Filled Choices. After taking the printout, press the LOGOUT Button and close all Open Windows related to your session for Security Reasons. Click Below Link to Print Locked Choices.”
-
After locking, candidates can take a printout of locked choices, which includes the locking date and time, IP address of the computer and system-generated Unique Number.
-
After locking the choices, if a candidate logs in again, then the locked choices given by the candidate will be displayed, and the choices cannot be modified or altered.
There is no specific number of choices to enter. Hence, candidates are suggested to make as many choices as they wish. The final seat allotment will be based on the locked choices.
Commonly asked questions
Once a candidate joins second round seat allotted in the NEET UG counselling, he/she will not be allowed to vacate from the allotted second round seat. However if candidates are allotted a seat in Second Round and have not joined the college, then he/she can Exit with Forfeiture of security amount. Moreover, the candidates who have joined up to round 2 of AIQ or state quota will not be eligible to participate in the further rounds of AIQ or state quota.
NEET will be conducted in 13 languages. Till 2020, NEET was held in 11 languages. NTA increased the number of languages or medium to 13 from 2021 onwards. Malayalam and Punjabi are the latest additions. The list of languages are as follows:
- English
- Hindi
- Bengali
- Urdu
- Assamese
- Gujarati
- Marathi
- Odia
- Kannada
- Tamil
- Malayalam
- Punjabi
- Telugu.
The NTA will announce the number of NEET exam centres 2026 in the result PDF. As per the last year’s data, the exam centres were around 5,453. The exam was conducted in 566 cities.
Explore more Medicine & Health Sciences exams with upcoming dates
19 Jul '26
1 Nov '25 - 22 Jul '26
1 Jul '26 - 31 Jul '26
22 Aug '26
Factors to Check for NEET UG 2026 Choice Filling
Candidates will have to keep in mind the following factors while choosing the colleges and locking them:
-
Rank of the Colleges: Before choosing the colleges, candidates will have to check the rank of the medical colleges. It would not be worth selecting a low-rung college as not only do they not have adequate infrastructure, but also lack in terms of faculty and other intellectual resources.
Also Read: Top 20 Medical Colleges in India Based on NIRF Ranking
-
Courses: MCC conducts the NEET UG counselling for three courses, namely, MBBS, BDS and BSc Nursing. Along with the institutes, candidates also need to select the course properly. They should also be careful while choosing the college and course. For example, a number of participating institutes offering BSc Nursing only admit female students. Hence, male candidates choosing such colleges will become invalid.
-
NEET UG Cutoff: While selecting colleges in the NEET choice filling and locking rounds, candidates must check the previous years’ NEET UG cutoff for those colleges to know their chances of getting a seat allotted at those institutes.
-
Order of Preference: The order of preference during choice filling should be based on factors such as old AIIMS colleges, Deemed Universities, State Universities, new AIIMS colleges, and other government colleges, followed by private colleges.
During the NEET 2026 choice filling and locking rounds, candidates must avoid selecting colleges with very high fees or bond amounts, or those that do not offer PG programmes. Moreover, candidates should prefer colleges with an attached hospital for better exposure.
Read More:
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
Jun '20 | AIIMS MBBS 2020 Results |
May '20 | AIIMS MBBS 2020 Exam |
Jun '20 | JIPMER 2020 exam (tentative) |
7 Jul '26 | FMGE 2026 Result for June Sess... |
28 Jun '26 | FMGE 2026 Exam June Session |
Jul '26 | Special OJEE admit card 2026 r... |
13 Jun '26 - 28 Jun '26 | Special OJEE registrations 202... |
Jul '22 | DAVV CET 2022 Registration |
Jun '26 | PU CET (UG) 2026 Counselling P... |
May '26 | PU CET (UG) 2026 Result |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
Gujarat University cutoff 2026 has not been released yet & will be updated once out. In 2025, NEET Round 1 Closing Rank (General-All India) for MBBS was 889. NEET SS Round 1 Closing Rank (General-All India) in 2025 ranged from 48 - 101. MCh in Gynaecological Oncology became the most competetive co
P
Contributor-Level 9
Answered Yesterday
Candidates can get admission at AIIMS Delhi with out NEET for various courses such as BSc, MSc, MD etc. However, if students want to get admission in MBBS, they must appear for NEET UG entrance exam followed by the counselling process. If the ranking and score obtained in the exam match with the min
G
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
No, Indian students don't need JEE, NEET, or GATE exam score to get a seat at University of Applied Sciences Zwickau. However, instead of this, the university evaluates Indian students' high school or previous university records to determine if they meet the German higher education entrance qualific
K
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
NEET is not mandatory for BSc Nursing in most private colleges in Bangalore. Admissions are usually merit-based on Class 12 marks or through state-level exams like KCET and KEA. However, a few colleges affiliated to RGUHS do their separate entrance exam and a few top colleges like NIMHANS do not acc
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
No, Harvard does not accept NEET/JEE scores for admissions. The university tries to incorporate global standards through tests like standardized tests like the SAT or ACT. Even all India Rank students of NEET/JEE cannot get direct admission to Harvard through ranks. Your non-academic achievements pl
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 4 days ago
No. NEET is mandatory for all MBBS admissions in India, government, private, deemed, or minority institution. The Supreme Court of India has made NEET the single entrance exam for all UG medical admissions across the country, and there are no exceptions.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
No, NEET is not required for BSc Nursing admission. NEET is for MBBS, BDS, and BAMS courses. BSc Nursing has its own set of entrance exams. For government colleges in Delhi, you may need to appear for AIIMS Nursing Entrance Exam, IPU CET, or CUET. For NCR colleges in Haryana and UP, state-level nurs
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No, NEET is not required for B.Pharm admission in Pune or anywhere in Maharashtra. NEET is only required for MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, and other medical courses. For pharmacy courses like B.Pharm and D.Pharm, MHT CET is the relevant entrance exam. However, for Pharm.D, which is a clinical pharmacy doct
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No. Animation colleges in India do not require NEET or JEE scores. These entrance exams are only for medical and engineering colleges respectively. Animation admissions are either based on Class 12 marks, a college-specific entrance test, a design aptitude test, or a portfolio review. Some prestigio
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
NEET is not mandatory for B.Sc Nursing admissions in most of the states, like Tamil Nadu. But some nursing colleges attached to apex medical institutions or deemed universities consider NEET as a part of their selection process. Nerin or more of the colleges consider Class 12 merit. You should alway
T
Contributor-Level 10