New Delhi: The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has announced the schedule for NEET-UG 2026 counselling, with the first round of counselling under the All India Quota (AIQ), Deemed and Central Universities set to commence on August 4. The 2026–27 academic session for undergraduate medical courses will begin on September 8.
According to the counselling calendar, the first round of AIQ counselling will be held from August 4 to August 17, while candidates must report and complete the joining process by August 22. Verification of joined candidates’ data by the MCC will be carried out on August 23.
The first round of State Quota counselling will take place from August 13 to August 22, with the last date for joining fixed as August 28. State counselling authorities will verify candidates’ data by August 29.
The second round of AIQ counselling is scheduled from August 24 to September 2, followed by candidate data verification on September 9. The corresponding State Quota counselling will be conducted from August 31 to September 8, with verification by state authorities on September 15.
The third round of AIQ counselling will be held between September 10 and September 18, while State Quota Round 3 will take place from September 16 to September 26. The final date for joining after the third round will be September 26 for AIQ candidates and October 1 for State Quota candidates.
The stray vacancy round for AIQ institutions is scheduled from September 28 to October 3, while State Quota stray vacancy counselling will be conducted from October 3 to October 5. The last date for joining after the stray vacancy round has been fixed as October 10, 2026, for both AIQ and State Quota admissions.
The MCC has directed all participating medical colleges and institutions to strictly adhere to the counselling timeline and treat all Saturdays, Sundays and Gazetted Holidays as working days to ensure the admission process is completed within the prescribed schedule.
The counselling process covers admissions to MBBS, BDS and other undergraduate medical courses under the All India Quota, Deemed Universities, Central Universities and participating State Quota institutions. The academic session for the 2026–27 batch is scheduled to commence on September 8, 2026.