KCET Counselling 2026 (Round 1 Final Seat Allotment OUT): Choice Filling Instructions here

• KCET counselling is conducted online only.  
• In the first step of KCET 2026 counselling, candidates must report to the counselling centre and verify their documents.  
• After document verification, candidates will get the chance to fill out the college & course preferences.  
• In 2026, around 3.3 lakh candidates appeared for KCET, this is highest as per the KCET standards, as previous year (2025) 3.1 lakh candidates registered for the KCET exam. This is expected to make the counselling process lengthy.
• Ranks in KCET exam will is determined based on 50% of KCET marks and 50% marks in 2nd PUC.
• CSE branch is the most desired and popular colleges such as RVCE Bengaluru require ranks under 500 for the CSE course.
• Government engineering colleges have less fees compared to private/unaided colleges.
• If candidates wish to surrender their seat, they must do it only to KEA by online filling the required details. Merely not reporting to th college shall not be presumed as a seat surrender.
• KEA will exercise the KCET counselling seat allotment process considering the rank of the selected candidates, seat availability, college & course preferences, etc.

The Karnataka Examinations Authority released the KCET 2026 counselling dates round-wise. Candidates can check tentative dates below based on the past year's events. 

KCET 2026 Round 1 Counselling Schedule

KCET 2026 First Round Counselling Schedule

Also read:

• Top AI/ML colleges accepting KCET scores for admission: college-wise cutoff, career prospects and more
• How to do KCET option entry: check steps, dates and instructions
• Colleges and branches to target for KCET rank above 50000 

KEA conducts KCET 2026 counselling online. Candidates can check instructions here -

KCET Registration and Document Verification  

Candidates must arrive at the KCET counselling venue with the required documents. Applicants must carry the compulsory documents in their originals along with two sets of photocopies. The authority concerned will check all the documents. If all the documents are found correct, then the candidate will get a slip, which will have a unique ID and password. 

DIRECT LINK: Log in to KCET 2026 First Round Option Entry

KCET Choice Filling & Locking 2026  

After KCET document verification, students will have to log in using a unique id and password. After that, candidates will have to fill out their preference of college and course. A candidate shall be able to check the course-wise, category-wise and college-wise seat matrix at the time of choice filling. Candidates are advised to select their preferences carefully. However, a candidate can modify, add or delete the choices in every round of KCET 2026 counselling. The KCET 2026 option entry link is now available on the website to exercise options. 

Read here:

• What is a KCET verification slip? How to download and use in the counselling process
• KCET 2026 counselling process explained: check details here

KCET Seat Allotment 2026 

The seat allotment result of KCET 2026 will be released at the official website. Candidates have to log in to their accounts in order to download the KCET seat allotment letter. The seat allotment letter of KCET 2026 comprises information such as the Allotted College, Reporting Date, etc.  Read here: KCET seat matrix of government colleges

Also read: KCET insights: here's what students are prioritising for KCET counselling

Reporting to the Allotted College  

In order to confirm admission, candidates need to report to the allotted college on the mentioned date and time. Candidates are advised to carry the other required documents along with the KCET counselling allotment letter to the college for the purpose of verification. 

The KCET choice filling is the most important step of the counselling process. While filling the web based choice filling, candidates must avoid certain mistakes, some of them are mentioned below -

• Never submit a limited list of choices; always fill in maximum options to avoid missing out entirely.
• Do not prioritize colleges based on random trends; research actual cutoffs instead.
• Avoid entering courses you have no intention of joining, as you might get locked into them.
• Never share your secret login credentials with friends or agents.
• Do not forget to save your choices periodically before logging out.
• Avoid waiting until the final hour, as server crashes are common.
• Never skip checking college codes carefully, as similar names often cause costly mix-ups.

While preparing about the KCET choice filling, candidates must begin by downloading official matrix list to check available seats across different categories.

Next they must analyze previous years' cutoff ranks to evaluate their chances at top-tier institutions. Create a physical or digital spreadsheet categorizing your choices into three distinct buckets - 

• Dream colleges at first 
• Realistic targets at second
• Safe backups at the last

Prioritize the list strictly based on your genuine preference, placing absolute top choices at the very peak. Verify exact location, fee structures, and campus placement records of each shortlisted engineering or medical college to ensure a perfect match.

Karnataka Examinations Authority will release the KCET 2026 provisional seat matrix at the official website. The final seat matrix of KCET 2026 will be released on the website. Download the KCET previous year seat matrix from below. The details regarding the KCET seat matrix will be released along with the counselling.

KCET seat matrix 2025 (Past year)

KCET Seat Matrix 2023

KCET Round 1 Seat Matrix 2022

KCET Round 2 Seat Matrix 2021

KCET Round 1 Seat Matrix 2021

KCET Special Category Eligibility List

Download KCET special category eligibility list from the table given below.

Karnataka Examinations Authority releases the KCET 2026 cutoff after the conclusion of the counselling process. The cutoff of KCET 2026 is released separately for all the rounds. Applicants are advised to refer to the KCET previous year cutoff before appearing in the counselling process. 

Also Read:

• Good score and rank in KCET: check cutoff trends, rank for top colleges
• KCET Score Analysis: see what aspirants are expecting, marks vs rank, cutoff expected, etc.