NEET UG choice-filling process is active. Candidates can submit the preference of colleges online. NEET UG choice filling 2026 is 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
Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has commenced the NEET UG choice filling process. Candidates need to complete the registration to exercise the NEET UG choice-filling and locking process. MCC NEET counselling link is updated online on the MCC official website. The last date to exercise the NEET UG choice-filling process is extended to August 17, 2026. Get more information on NEET UG choice filling & locking on this page.
Also Read: NEET UG 2026 Result OUT LIVE Updates
Which Top Medical College Can You Get with Your NEET 2026 Rank?
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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 |
August 6, 2026 |
| NEET UG Counselling 2026 Round 1 Choice Locking |
August 17, 2026 |
| 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.
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
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
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.
Seat matrix for NEET counselling is important for choice filling process. Before filling and locking seat choices for each round of NEET counselling, candidates must go through seat matrix or seat vacancy and then enter their choices. MCC releases seat matrix prior to commencement of counselling process. This is overall seat matrix for all four rounds of counselling. Candidates participating in Round 1 NEET counselling will have to choose from entire gamut of seats. From second round onwards, seat matrix is released in terms of newly added seats and clear and virtual vacancies. With each round of counselling, number of available seats or vacant seats reduces.
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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
The exact numbers of NEET 2027 exam centres will be announced by NTA along with the result details.
The MCC NEET 2026 opening and closing ranks are not available as of now. The MCC NEET Counselling 2026 round 1 cutoff ranks will be published after seat allotment result.
NEET stands for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test. It is a mandatory medical entrance exam for students to take admissions for undergraduate medical courses in India such as MBBS, BDS, BSc and Ayush.
Although earlier NTA was mulling the idea of conducting NEET twice a year, now it has been confirmed that the exam will be held only once a year in a paper-pencil based mode. NTA communicated this information through an RTI response where it was stated that NEET will be conducted once a year. This has quashed the possibility of conducting NEET twice a year. However, the NTA expert committee headed by ISRO Chief K. Radhakrishnan has recommended conducting NEET twice a year, but there has not been any official confirmation on it yet.
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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.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 days ago
Yes, a NEET rank of 1,000 can be considered an excellent rank if you belong to the General AI category. For the aforementioned category, the highest rank acceptable was 222044. On the other hand, for the BDS course, the maximum rank acceptable was 522640. Hence, a NEET Rank of 1,000 could get you ad
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
Here is the table below showing some of the top BSc Nursing college without NEET in Delhi NCR, along with their tuition fees.
| Top Colleges | Tuition Fee |
|---|---|
| Amity University, Gurugram | INR 7.52 lakh |
| Sharda School of Nursing Science & Research | INR 11.08 lakh |
| SGT University, Gurgaon | INR 13 lakh |
| Holy Family College of Nursing | INR 2.4 lakh |
| SVSU - Swami Vivekanand Subharti University | INR 9.95 lakh |
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
In many cases, yes. Some sources say NEET is not compulsory for BPT in Karnataka. Many private colleges admit students on 12th marks. Government and counselling seats may follow a different process. Rules change every year, so read the latest notice before you apply.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Not always. While NEET is common, several Karnataka colleges also accept KCET scores, and some even offer direct admission based on 12th marks. This is different from MBBS, where NEET is compulsory everywhere. So if you missed NEET or didn't score well, you still have other routes into a good nursin
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The Kerala NEET UG Counselling Round 3 was conducted from September 16 to September 26. The deadline for candidates to report and join their allotted college/seat was October 1.
S
Beginner-Level 4
Answered a week ago
Yes, NEET UG is compulsory for any MBBS admission in India, including Bhopal. There is no other entrance exam or backdoor route allowed legally. After NEET, admission happens either via AIIMS-specific counselling or MP state counselling. Management quota seats also require a valid NEET score first.
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Hi.
Yes. You can do many paramedical/allied-health courses in Chennai without NEET.
For Tamil Nadu, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research has a separate admission process for Allied and Healthcare (AHS) UG degree courses, distinct from MBBS/BDS admission. The 2026–27 admission notification
h
Scholar-Level 17
Answered a week ago
Students need to attain a rank of at least 1746 in the NEET exam if they belong to the General AI category. The AIIMS Bathinda NEET Cutoff 2026 is released in the form of ranks. Candiates can check the table below to know the maximum rank required for other categories.
| Category | AIIMS Bathinda NEET Cutoff 2026 |
|---|---|
| General | 1746 |
| OBC | 2185 |
| SC | 18819 |
| ST | 28998 |
| EWS | 2928 |
| PwD | 118549 |
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Most B.Sc Nursing programmes in Uttar Pradesh do require a NEET UG score for admission. Some diploma-level or Post Basic Nursing programmes may accept students through separate state entrance tests instead. Private colleges sometimes have their own entrance criteria too. It's best to check each coll
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Possibly yes, if your college accepts the separate MH B.Sc Nursing CET exam. Not every student needs to clear NEET to get a nursing seat in Maharashtra. Some private institutes rely purely on this state-level test. So a weak NEET score doesn't automatically close the door on nursing.
T
Contributor-Level 10