IISER Counselling 2026: Process, Documents, Withdrawal & SAF

IISER counselling process includes form filling, choice filling, seat allotment, payment of seat acceptance fees, and reporting to the admitting institute. The process is explained below.

Fill up Counselling Application Form

Candidates need to apply for the IISER counselling 2026. They have to provide the personal details, rank or score. IISER counselling form will show the seat matrix of IISERs.

Make Preference List

The next part of the process is to make a preference list of participating institutes and courses. The preference order must be from the most preferred (first preference) to the least preferred (last preference). The list should have at least one IISER programme. "A candidate will be considered ONLY for those IISER programs which are on the candidate’s preference list. Consequently, a candidate will not be considered for admission to an IISER program that is not mentioned in the candidate’s preference list," mentions the admission authorities.

Check IISER Entrance Exam Counselling Seat Allotment List

After the application form and preference list are submitted, a seat allotment list will be declared, mentioning the list of participating institutes with their allotted institute and course. 

Download IISER Offer Letter

Candidates allotted seats will have to download the seat allotment letter by logging in to the admission website with their registration credentials. The letter must be preserved till the admission formalities are completed. 

Pay IISER Seat Acceptance Fee

Next, candidates have to accept the offer sent to them only after they pay the prescribed seat acceptance fee (SAF) by the stipulated date and time. Payment of SAF also confirms that a candidate intends to join one of the IISERs. They also have to visit the allotted institute for the verification of documents and payment of the admission fee to complete the admission process. In case they are not satisfied with the allotted seat, they can withdraw it and participate in the next round. 

Freeze or Float Allotted Seats

After accepting the offer and paying the SAF, the candidate can exercise two options:
(a) Candidate can FREEZE the seat (they will not participate in further rounds of counselling)
(b) Candidates can FLOAT (they will participate in further rounds of counselling to get their higher preferences). The FLOAT option is activated by default for those who pay the SAF. A student choosing to FLOAT will be considered for seat allocation again in the next round. If they are eligible to secure a seat in an IISER that is higher in their preference list than the currently accepted one, they will be offered that seat. If the preferred seats are already filled, then the candidate will not be considered for the further rounds of counselling. 

Note: The official website states, “If your application number was there in the first round and not here, then it means that you are not floated and your original offer is valid. If your application number appears both in the first and second rounds, it means that you have been floated to an IISER of your higher preference, and this allocation is only valid.”

After the confirmation of admission, all candidates can report to their allotted IISERs as per the prescribed schedule along with the necessary documents.

Documents Required for Verification

Candidates have to bring the following documents to the allotted IISER institute during the final admission process. 

• IISER Entrance Exam 2026 Admit Card.
• IISER Entrance Exam 2026 Rank Card.
• Category Certificate (if applicable).
• Class 10 Marksheet.
• Class 12 Marksheet.
• Kashmiri Migrant Certificate (if applicable).
• OCI/PIO/Foreign National Citizenship supporting document.

All the documents should be furnished in the original, and should be valid. 

After the declaration of the IISER 2026 counselling seat allotment list, candidates whose AIR rank falls within the released closing rank list will then have two options: accept or reject the seat. Candidates can check out how to fill out the decision-making form by following the process:

• Visit the IAT 2026 official website and login to your registered account with the help of login credentials i.e., username and password.

• Click on the submit reference tab present on the left corner of the system.

• Next “Click Here to Submit Your Decision”

• Next, click “OFFER LETTER” to download your offer letter

• You will see this kind of offer letter once you click “Click here to download the offer letter”. This is a sample offer letter.
• Click “DECISION MAKING” and then click “Click Here to View Allotted Seat”

• Click “Generate OTP” to go to the next page

• Enter the captcha to receive the OTP

• Check your registered mobile number and/or email ID for the OTP
• Validate the OTP received on your registered mobile number and/or email address 
• Once the OTP is validated successfully, this pop-up will come
• After validating the OTP, you need to select one of the options. Candidates who received their 1st choice will not see the FLOAT (I WANT TO ACCEPT AND FLOAT MY SEAT PREFERENCE) option
• Please select the option carefully and click “Proceed”. Once submitted, NO FURTHER CHANGES WILL BE ALLOWED.

• Pay the Seat Acceptance Fee (SAF) of INR 35,000 or INR 17,500 as applicable. Note down the transaction number and other banking details once the SAF has been paid
  successfully.

Note: The above snapshots are from the previous year and will be updated once the IISER Entrance Exam Counselling 2026 begins.

During the IISER Entrance Exam 2026 counselling process, seats will be allotted based on the following factors. 

• Seat availability at each IISER in the current allocation round
• IAT 2026 rank obtained by the candidate
• IISER preferences given by the candidate
• The category to which the candidate belongs

The counselling authorities mention, "Admission offers given are provisional. They will be confirmed only after the candidates report to the IISER where they have secured admission and provide all the required documents in original. Requests for extension of date or time for seat acceptance will not be entertained under any circumstances. Published deadlines will be strictly followed. All the announcements related to the admission process will appear on this website."

Candidates can follow the below steps while checking the seat offer at IISERs.

• Visit the exam website - iiseradmission.in
• Click on the login tab
• Enter the registration.
• Click on tab indicating seat allotment result.
• Click on the Edit/View tab.
• You should now see a Decision-Making tab. Click on it.

Note: Read all the instructions carefully before proceeding. Note down the web ID where you have to submit proof of payment.

The Seat Acceptance Fee or SAF is to be paid only after an offer of admission has been made to the candidate. The SAF will have to be paid as per the category entered by the candidate in the application. The category-wise amount is given below. 

• INR 35,000 (INR 25,000 + INR 10,000 (Non-refundable administrative fee) for General/EWS/OBC-NCL categories.
• INR 17,500 (INR 12,500 + INR 5,000 (Non-refundable administrative fee) for SC/ST categories.

Failure to deposit the SAF within the stipulated time will result in the cancellation of the offer. Furthermore, you will not be considered in any subsequent rounds of seat allotment during admission 2024. The amount will be adjusted against the first semester fee of the IISER in which candidates take admission to.

Below are the rules related to withdrawal/ refund of fees:

• The application fee is not refundable.
• Refund policy for the Seat Acceptance Fee is given below :
  1. The candidate can withdraw his/her seat/offer by pressing the button “WITHDRAW OFFER” in the application portal. No other form/method of withdrawal is accepted. Email or phone communication in this regard is not entertained.
  2. Once candidate has withdrawn, he/she will not be considered for further rounds of the admission process. A withdrawn candidate cannot re-enter the admission process under any circumstances.
  3. There are two important withdrawal dates :
     • Round-wise withdrawal (RW) date, and
     • Final withdrawal (FW) date. RW and FW dates can be found below.
  4. If a candidate withdraws from the counselling process before RW deadline, then no cancellation fee will be applicable.
  5. If a candidate withdraws after the RW deadline, but on or before FW, then the non-refundable amount will be deducted.
  6. IISERs and JAC are not liable for losses incurred if your application is not withdrawn in the above manner and on or before the stipulated date and time.
  7. Once a candidate has withdrawn the offer through the counselling portal, the amount due will be returned through the same channel (credit/debit card, bank account, etc.) used to pay the SAF. Such candidates do not have to take any additional steps towards their SAF refund. The refund process will start only after three weeks of the completion of the admission process.
  8. If the candidate does not withdraw on or before the FW deadline, then the SAF will be transferred to the allotted IISER. Any further withdrawal will be taken care of by that particular IISER following the instructions given below.
  9. If the candidate fails to join in person at the offered IISER on the joining date as per the offer letter of the respective IISER, the cancellation fee decided by the concerned IISER will be applicable.
  10. Further, candidates who have paidthe  SAF but fail to show up by the last date of admission fee payment at the concerned IISER will not be considered for further rounds of admission.
  11. If the candidate decides to discontinue after joining any particular IISER, the refund policy of that IISER will be applicable. The Seat Acceptance Fee will eventually be transferred to the IISER which the candidate finally registers at, and the respective IISER will collect the remainder of the fees that may be applicable locally from the candidate upon registration at the particular IISER.