NEET UG 2026 Counselling Begins August 4; Academic Session Starts September 8

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has announced the schedule for NEET UG 2026 counselling, marking the beginning of admissions for MBBS and other undergraduate medical courses. The first round of counselling for All India Quota (AIQ) seats is set to commence on August 4, while the counselling for state quota seats will begin later, on August 13.

For deemed and central universities, the initial counselling phase will run from August 4 to August 17, with a deadline for candidates to join their allotted institutions by August 22. The academic session for the incoming 2026-27 batch is scheduled to start on September 8, even as subsequent counselling rounds continue to fill vacant seats.

The detailed schedule includes registration periods, choice filling, seat allotment processing, and reporting deadlines for each round. The first round for AIQ seats involves registration from August 5 to August 12, choice filling from August 6 to August 13, seat allotment processing from August 13 to August 16, and results announced on August 17. Reporting to colleges must be completed by August 22.

Subsequent rounds of counselling are planned, with the second round from August 24 to September 2, and the third round from September 10 to September 18. A stray vacancy round is scheduled from September 28 to October 3. Similar timelines are provided for state quota seats, with the first round running from August 13 to August 22 and candidates needing to join by August 28.