State-Wise NEET Counselling 2026 Dates in India: Complete Guide

Every NEET-qualified candidate eventually runs into the same realisation: passing the exam was actually the easier part. What follows is a genuinely fragmented national process - one central body handling a slice of the seats, and roughly thirty different state authorities each running their own registration windows, merit lists, choice-filling periods, and allotment rounds, all on their own independent calendars. Trying to track this as a single unified timeline is the single biggest source of missed deadlines every admission cycle. This guide lays out exactly how the system is structured, what's confirmed for 2026 at the national level, and what's known so far state by state, so you can build a realistic personal calendar instead of guessing.

How NEET Counselling Is Actually Structured Nationally

Before looking at individual states, it helps to understand the basic architecture, since almost every confusion candidates run into traces back to not fully grasping this split.

• 15% All India Quota (AIQ), plus 100% of seats at AIIMS, JIPMER, BHU, and other central institutions: handled entirely by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), a single centralised process open to candidates from any state, based purely on NEET All India Rank.

• 85% State Quota seats: handled independently by each state's own counselling authority — usually a Directorate of Medical Education, a dedicated admissions board, or a state health university — open primarily to that state's domicile candidates, with rules varying meaningfully from state to state.

• Candidates eligible for both: should register and track both processes in parallel. They are not mutually exclusive, and a strong AIQ rank doesn't replace the need to also register for your home state's process, or vice versa.

If you've never navigated this dual structure before, this detailed breakdown of MCC's own counselling process is worth reading first, since understanding the national track properly makes every state-specific schedule below easier to place in context.

The National MCC Schedule for 2026

MCC's 2026 counselling runs across four rounds, and the overall shape of the national calendar is now confirmed:

• Round 1: registration, choice filling, and allotment completed in August, with the final Round 1 result published and a Freeze/Float decision required of allotted candidates. Reporting for Round 1 ran from August 22 to 31.

• Round 2: scheduled from August 31 to September 8, 2026, for state quota seats to be reconciled alongside AIQ movement.

• Round 3: scheduled from September 16 to September 26, 2026.

• Stray Vacancy Round: scheduled from October 3 to October 5, 2026, offering a final opportunity for any seats still vacant after the first three rounds.

• Academic session commencement: September 8, 2026, for MBBS and BDS courses.

Round 1 itself didn't go entirely smoothly — MCC had to revise its provisional Round 1 result due to an error in uploading PwD certificates by the Primary Assessment Centre, a reminder that even the national process can shift mid-cycle and is worth checking directly rather than assuming a single announcement is final. Once you do receive an allotment through MCC, understanding exactly what to do next — Freeze versus Float, document upload, physical reporting, and the joining deadline — matters just as much as the schedule itself.

West Bengal

West Bengal's Round 1 counselling, conducted by the Directorate of Medical Education and the West Bengal Medical Counselling Committee (WBMCC), for State Quota, Private Management Quota, and NRI Quota seats, follows this confirmed schedule:

• Notice cum Information Bulletin published: August 11, 2026

• Online registration: August 13 (11 AM) to August 16 (6 PM)

• Online fee payment: August 13 (11 AM) to August 16 (midnight)

• Candidate verification: August 14, 17, and 18, 11 AM to 4 PM

• Verified candidates list and seat matrix: August 19, after 12 noon

• Choice filling and locking: August 19 (4 PM) to August 21 (4 PM)

• Round 1 allotment result: August 25, after 4 PM

• Reporting and admission: August 26–28

• Online seat surrender: September 3

The full breakdown of this schedule, including how private medical and dental college admissions are processed separately in Kolkata, is covered in our dedicated WBMCC Round 1 schedule guide, and a broader overview of how West Bengal's counselling framework works is worth reading alongside it. PwBD candidates in West Bengal specifically should also review the certificate and eligibility requirements covered in our dedicated PwBD guide before registration.

Kerala

Kerala's MBBS and BDS admission process, conducted by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE), has already gone through one schedule revision this cycle. The current, revised Round 1 timeline is:

• Option registration and modification: till August 24, 11:00 AM

• First Phase Provisional Allotment: August 25

• First Phase Final Allotment: August 27

• Fee payment and admission: August 28 to September 5, 4:00 PM

• College approval and candidate list submission: September 5, 5:00 PM

This replaced the originally notified schedule, which had registration closing August 20 and final allotment on August 22. Our full guide to Kerala's counselling process covers fee structures, the detailed reservation breakdown, and the complete list of participating government and self-financing colleges, while this update specifically on the schedule revision explains what changed and why it matters for anyone who registered under the original dates. Kerala has also approved seat matrices for at least one newly added college mid-cycle — Palakkad Institute of Medical Sciences, Walayar, added 150 MBBS seats partway through this admission season, a reminder that even a state's participating college list isn't necessarily fixed once counselling begins.

Jharkhand

Jharkhand's counselling, run by the Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (JCECEB) for MBBS, BDS, and BHMS admissions, was also revised mid-cycle:

• Online application submission: extended to August 13

• Application edit window: August 13, 6:00 PM to midnight

• State Merit List publication: August 14

• Round 1 registration and choice filling begins: August 14

• Last date for registration and choice filling: August 19 (unchanged from the original schedule)

• Choice editing: August 20

• Seat allotment letter download: August 22–28

• Document verification and admission: August 23–28

The practical effect of this revision is a genuinely compressed research window — since the front-end dates moved later but the choice-filling deadline didn't, candidates ended up with a noticeably shorter runway to research colleges than the original schedule allowed. Our full breakdown of this compression and what it meant for aspirants covers this in detail, including Jharkhand's specific rule that only RIMS Ranchi and MGM Jamshedpur can issue valid PwBD certificates for this cycle — Civil Surgeon certificates aren't accepted.

Tripura

Tripura's counselling, conducted by the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) through TRMCC, was revised once, shifting nearly every stage of Round 1 later by roughly a week. The current, revised schedule is:

• Fresh registration, payment, and final submission: August 18 (3 PM) to August 27 (11 AM)

• Registration unlocking: up to August 27 (9 AM)

• Remove discrepancy: up to August 27 (11 AM)

• Choice filling: August 27 (2 PM) to August 29 (12 Noon)

• Merit list publication: August 29

• Allotment result: August 31

• Nomination collection from DME office: September 1 (12 Noon) to September 5 (2 PM)

• Physical verification and admission formalities: September 1 (2 PM) to September 5 (5 PM)

• Last date of admission: September 5 (5 PM)

One detail that sets Tripura apart from several other states: nomination letters must be physically collected from the DME office, not downloaded online — worth planning travel around if you receive an allotment. Our full guide to the revised schedule has the complete breakdown, building on our earlier coverage of the original, pre-revision timeline.

Karnataka

Karnataka runs two related but distinct processes through the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) — UGCET for engineering and allied courses, and UGNEET for medical and dental admissions. Both moved through their Round 1/Round 2 provisional results together this cycle:

• Provisional results (UGCET Round 2 and UGNEET Round 1) published: August 23

• Objection window: specific, justified objections only, emailed with justification, before 4:00 PM on August 24

• Final results: declared only after all objections are verified

Karnataka's process also had an earlier registration milestone worth knowing about if you're tracking the full cycle — KEA opened a fresh UGNEET registration window back in July specifically for candidates who hadn't yet registered for CET-2026, with a hard rule that missing that window meant no entry into the first three rounds at all, only the Stray Vacancy Round. Our full coverage of the August provisional result and objection process explains exactly what does and doesn't qualify as a valid objection under Karnataka's rules.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan's counselling, run by the NEET UG Medical & Dental Admission/Counselling Board, headquartered at SMS Medical College, Jaipur, was revised on August 20, extending several key dates:

• Part 2 of the online application: extended to August 21, 8:00 PM

• Revised provisional merit list, plus PwBD/PwD, Defence/Para Military, and NRI candidate lists: August 22

• Certificate verification for Defence/Para Military and NRI candidates: August 24, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, at SMS Medical College, Jaipur

• Choice filling: extended through August 25, auto-locked at 11:55 PM

• Round 1 allotment result: August 29

• Allotment letter download: August 30 to September 5

This gave candidates roughly a week of additional runway compared to the original schedule, which had allotment scheduled for August 22. Our complete guide to this revision covers what changed, the specific verification requirements for Defence, Para Military, and NRI candidates, and how Rajasthan's timeline compares to other states running their own revised schedules this same cycle.

Puducherry

Puducherry's counselling is conducted by CENTAC (Centralised Admission Committee) for MBBS, BDS, and BAMS courses. One notice worth knowing about if you're tracking Puducherry alongside JIPMER: candidates who applied under CENTAC's Government Quota and were also allotted a JIPMER seat under the Internal – Puducherry UT Domicile quota faced automatic removal from CENTAC's Round 1 list, with an option to actively opt back into CENTAC by submitting willingness and a ₹1 lakh caution deposit before August 26, 5:00 PM. Our full coverage of this specific notice explains the decision structure in detail, since staying with JIPMER required no action while switching back to CENTAC required a deliberate, financially significant opt-in.

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh's MBBS and BDS admissions under Competent Authority Quota, conducted by Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences, Vijayawada, run several category-specific verification processes alongside the general counselling timeline. Two worth flagging specifically for this cycle:

• Sports & Games category: physical verification of original certificates scheduled across two days — August 31 for Serial Numbers 1–125, and September 1 for Serial Number 126 onward — at the university's Silver Jubilee Block. Our full breakdown of this schedule covers the required certificate forms in detail, since submitting the wrong form for your specific level of achievement risks rejection even for a genuine accomplishment.

• CAP category (defense-linked quota): a provisional priority list was published August 25, with a grievance window through the Sainik Welfare Department open only until 4:00 PM on August 27. Our coverage of this list explains exactly who qualifies under this Armed Forces-specific category and why paramilitary force wards and other-state Ex-Servicemen wards are excluded.

Other Major States: What's Confirmed So Far

A number of other large states are running their own 2026 counselling processes in parallel, though publicly available scheduling detail for these varies in how granular and finalised it currently is. Here's what's reasonably confirmed as of this writing, framed honestly around how solid each figure actually is:

• Maharashtra: the state's CET Cell conducts counselling for 85% state quota MBBS and BDS seats. The last date to register for Round 1 was reported as August 12, 2026, though candidates should verify this directly given how frequently large states extend registration windows mid-cycle.

• Bihar: BCECEB's Round 1 and Round 2 registration was reported to run from August 10 to August 14, 2026, with the state's own seat matrix released ahead of registration.

• Telangana: Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), Warangal, conducts the state's counselling, and registration for MBBS and BDS seat allocation reportedly commenced August 5, 2026. KNRUHS has indicated it will publish its full detailed calendar shortly after each stage of the national result cycle firms up, so this is worth treating as a rolling schedule rather than a single fixed calendar at this stage.

• Uttar Pradesh: counselling is run by the Directorate General of Medical Education and Training (DGME), UP, based in Lucknow, with registration reported as underway, though a single, fully confirmed date range wasn't consistently available across sources at the time of writing.

• Tamil Nadu: counselling is conducted by the Selection Committee under the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), covering registration, document verification, merit list publication, choice filling, seat allotment, and reporting. Tamil Nadu's process carries some additional, state-specific eligibility nuances around language of instruction and long-term domicile that are worth checking carefully if you're a non-Tamil Nadu candidate considering this state.

• Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh: both run their own state counselling authorities alongside the states above, with schedules that were still finalising at the time of this writing.

For any of these states, the safest approach is to verify directly through the state's own Directorate of Medical Education or counselling board website rather than relying on a single secondary source, since registration windows for large states with high applicant volumes are revised more frequently than smaller states' schedules tend to be.

The Pattern Behind Every State's Process

Despite the very real differences in dates, portals, and specific rules, nearly every state counselling process — the ones covered above in detail and the ones still finalising their calendars — follows a broadly similar structural sequence:

• Registration and fee payment, usually requiring a separate step from simply having qualified NEET, since exam qualification never automatically enrols anyone in counselling

• Document verification, either online, physical, or a hybrid of both depending on the state

• Merit list or seat matrix publication, sometimes issued provisionally with a correction window before a revised or final version follows

• Choice filling and locking, the single highest-leverage step in the entire process, since a short or rushed choice list consistently produces worse outcomes than a well-researched one

• Seat allotment, followed by a decision — Freeze, Float, Accept, Reject, or Upgrade depending on the state's specific terminology — about whether to lock in the current seat or hold out for a better one

• Reporting and document verification at the allotted institute, with a hard joining deadline that generally cannot be extended

• Subsequent rounds, including Round 2, Round 3, a Mop-Up Round, and a Stray Vacancy Round, for seats that remain unfilled after earlier rounds

If you're unfamiliar with how these stages generally connect, this broader explainer of counselling registration, choice-filling, and seat allotment mechanics is worth reading regardless of which specific state you're navigating, and understanding how mop-up and stray vacancy rounds actually work matters just as much nationally as it does for any single state, since a disappointing Round 1 outcome is rarely the final word anywhere in this system.

What to Do Regardless of Which State You're In

A handful of practical steps apply no matter which state or combination of states you're tracking this cycle:

• Register for every process you're actually eligible for, rather than assuming your home state counselling is your only option — MCC's AIQ process runs independently and is worth pursuing in parallel wherever eligibility allows

• Convert your NEET score into a realistic estimated rank early, since understanding how marks translate into rank and genuine college options changes how efficiently you can research colleges once a merit list or seat matrix is published

• Have your documents ready well before any registration window opens, since a complete, verified document checklist prevents the single most common and avoidable delay across every state's process

• Apply the same evaluation discipline to every college on your list, regardless of state — choosing based on genuine fit rather than name recognition consistently produces better outcomes than chasing brand familiarity alone

• PwBD candidates specifically should treat certificate acquisition as an equally urgent, parallel task to registration itself, since eligibility certificate requirements have tightened nationally this cycle, and understanding how PwBD reservation functions across government medical colleges is worth reviewing regardless of which state's specific process applies to you

• Track every deadline independently rather than assuming a shared calendar — as this guide shows, even neighbouring states can be running schedules that differ by more than a week, and a revision in one state's timeline has no bearing on any other state's dates

Key Things to Remember

NEET counselling in 2026 runs on two parallel tracks nationally — MCC's centralised AIQ process, moving through four rounds from August through early October, and 85% state quota counselling, run independently by each state with its own registration windows, merit lists, and allotment schedules. West Bengal, Kerala, Jharkhand, Tripura, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh all have confirmed, detailed schedules this cycle, several of them already revised at least once — while Maharashtra, Bihar, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and other large states are running their own processes with varying degrees of finalised public detail at the time of writing. The single most important habit across every state is treating each process as an independent calendar rather than assuming any shared timeline, verifying dates directly through official sources, and using research time productively — on rank realism, document preparation, and genuine college fit — rather than waiting passively for each next announcement.

This guide compiles the most recent publicly confirmed schedules across MCC and multiple state counselling authorities as of this writing. Counselling schedules, especially at the state level, are revised frequently — always verify current dates directly through mcc.nic.in or your specific state's official Directorate of Medical Education or counselling board website before making any admission-related decision.