🪑 Counselling
NEET PG 2026 Counselling
NEET PG 2026 counselling runs through two parallel tracks — All India Quota (AIQ) conducted by MCC, and State Quota conducted separately by each state’s medical education authority.
AIQ (MCC) vs State Quota
| Track | Conducted By | Seats Covered |
|---|---|---|
| All India Quota (AIQ) | MCC (mcc.nic.in) | 15% of state govt college seats + all central institute (AIIMS/JIPMER-type) seats + deemed/private seats as applicable |
| State Quota | State DME/DGHS | 85% of state government medical college seats, per state domicile rules |
MCC AIQ Counselling Rounds
- Round 1: Registration, choice filling, seat allotment, reporting
- Round 2: Fresh/upgraded choices for unallotted or upgrade-seeking candidates
- Mop-Up Round: For seats still vacant after Round 2
- Stray Vacancy Round: Final round for any remaining vacant seats
Based on the 2025 cycle, expect MCC AIQ registration to open in early-to-mid October 2026, with rounds extending into December.
How Choice Filling & Allotment Work
- Register on the MCC portal and pay the counselling registration/security fee.
- Fill college-and-branch choices in strict order of preference — list realistically, not just aspirationally.
- The allotment algorithm matches your rank against filled choices and seat availability for that round.
- If allotted, either accept and freeze, or (where the round allows) upgrade in the next round while retaining your current seat as a fallback.
- Report to the allotted college within the stipulated window with original documents to confirm admission.
Documents Checklist for Counselling
- NEET PG 2026 admit card and scorecard
- MBBS degree certificate / provisional certificate
- Internship completion certificate
- NMC/State Medical Council permanent registration certificate
- 10th and 12th mark sheets
- Category certificate (if applicable) — OBC/SC/ST/EWS/PwBD
- Domicile certificate (for state quota)
- Passport-size photographs
- Valid photo ID proof
- Migration certificate (if applicable)
Dual Participation Rule
Candidates can register for both AIQ and their home state’s State Quota counselling simultaneously. However, once you accept and join a seat in one track (especially via fee payment/joining), specific rules around withdrawal, forfeiture, and re-entry into other rounds apply and vary by state — always read the seat-acceptance terms carefully before confirming.
NEET PG Counselling vs INICET Counselling
NEET PG counselling is split across AIQ (MCC) and State Quota, run by different authorities with different timelines by state. INICET counselling, by contrast, has no state quota — every seat is filled through a single All-India process run directly by AIIMS. If you clear both exams, be prepared to track two separate counselling systems with different portals, document requirements, and reporting deadlines.
Managing Two Counselling Tracks Simultaneously
Since AIQ and State Quota often run on overlapping but not identical timelines, keep a simple personal tracker of registration deadlines, choice-filling windows, and result/allotment dates for both. Missing a choice-filling deadline in one track because attention was focused on the other is a common and entirely avoidable mistake — set independent reminders for each portal rather than assuming the two processes move in lockstep.
Fee Payment & Seat Withdrawal Basics
Most counselling rounds require a security/registration fee at the start, which is adjusted or refunded (partially or fully, depending on the round and state rules) based on whether you accept, upgrade, or withdraw from an allotted seat. Withdrawal rules tend to get stricter in later rounds — forfeiture of the security deposit and, in some states, penalties for withdrawing after certain rounds are not uncommon. Read the specific counselling authority’s fee and forfeiture policy before registering, since it can differ meaningfully between MCC and individual state processes.