KEA Issues Warning on Choice-4 Exit Deadline and 5X Penalty; Opt-Out Window Closes Today at 5 PM

KEA has released the KCET Round 3 seat allotment results. Candidates must act by the September 5 till 5 PM to accept seats or opt for Choice-4 to avoid a severe 5X seat-blocking penalty.

KEA Issues Urgent Warning on Choice-4 Exit Deadline and Seat-Blocking Penalty

Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) released the KCET 2026 Round 3 provisional seat allotment result on its official website, cetonline.karnataka.gov.in. Candidates who participated in third round web options entry can log in to verify their provisional allotment status. As this being the final stage, KEA has enforced deadlines and penalties to eliminate malicious seat blocking.

Students who want to back out from this year’s admission process, can choose choice 4 option till 5 Pm today, and those who were allotted seats in round 2 and wanted to upgrade must move ahead with the admission process or else, they will penalized 5x the course fee for maliciously blocking the seat.

Also read: KCET Round 3 Seat Allotment Result 2026 Out: Direct Link to Check Allotment Status here

The announcement marks the final stage of centralized Undergraduate Common Entrance Test (UGCET) counselling process for engineering courses across Karnataka.

The Choice-4 Exit Window ends today

For candidates who have been newly allotted seats for the first time in Round 3, KEA has introduced a narrow window to decline the seat without facing penalties. 

• If a new allottee does not wish to accept provided seat, they must actively opt for Choice-4. Selecting Choice-4 allows candidate to formally exit KCET counselling process completely. 

• The option window to select Choice-4 closes strictly today, September 5, 2026, at 5:00 PM IST. 

• Candidates who reported in Round 2 and entered Round 3 upgradation phase are ineligible for Choice-4; they must proceed with their upgraded or original allotment.

To ensure transparency, KEA has clamped down on seat blocking. Candidates who fail to act responsibly regarding their allotted seats will face severe legal and financial repercussions.

If a candidate is allotted a seat in this final phase and fails to report to the college or attempts to hold the seat while seeking admissions elsewhere unlawfully, they run the risk of attracting a strict 5X seat-blocking penalty.

This includes forfeiture of the seat, heavy monetary fines equivalent to five times the standard government tuition fee, and potential legal disqualification from future state counselling cycles.

Following the closure of the Choice-4 option window, KEA will process the remaining surrendered and vacant seats, re-run the allocation matrix without allowing fresh choice modifications, and publish the final Round 3 seat allotment list shortly.