MBBS Admission 2026: NEET UG to Seat, AIQ & Gujarat

Quick answer: In India an MBBS seat in 2026 is allotted only through counselling on NEET UG 2026 merit. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC, mcc.nic.in) fills the 15% All India Quota of government colleges plus 100% of deemed universities, central universities, AIIMS and JIPMER. State counselling bodies fill the remaining 85% state-quota seats and the private-college quotas — in Gujarat, that is ACPUGMEC (medadmgujarat.org). As of 14 October 2026, three rounds are over. MCC's final all-India stray vacancy round is open, with registration extended to 4 pm on 16 October. Gujarat's round-3 reporting closed at 4 pm on 14 October. No MBBS admission for 2026-27 can be made after 26 October 2026.

Key takeaways

NEET UG 2026 result (16 July 2026): close to 20 lakh candidates appeared in the 21 June 2026 re-examination; 11.21 lakh qualified, NTA says.
MCC stray round, revised on 14 October 2026: registration until 4 pm and payment until 6 pm on 16 October; choice locking 7 pm–11:55 pm on 16 October; result on 19 October; reporting 19–26 October.
Seats on offer (MCC list of 14 October 2026): 4,068 stray-round vacancies, of which 3,426 are MBBS, 499 BDS and 143 B.Sc Nursing (CareerBox count of the list).
No second chances after round 3: MCC's Notice No. 26 (11 October 2026) lists 2,570 candidates who did not join after round 3 and "cannot claim the seats now".
Fake notice (13 October 2026): MCC says a circulating "percentile reduction" notice for NEET UG counselling is fake.
Gujarat: round-3 fees were due by 3:30 pm on 13 October; reporting with originals closes at 4 pm on 14 October. The state stray round (round 4) is scheduled for 17–21 October.
Hard stop: the last date of joining for all-India and state seats is 26 October 2026; the academic session began on 15 September 2026.

Who allots which MBBS seat in 2026. Source: MCC UG Information Bulletin (revised 20.08.2026); ACPUGMEC Gujarat.

MBBS seat routes in 2026: who runs what

Seat route	Who conducts counselling	Portal
15% All India Quota (AIQ) in state government medical colleges	MCC, DGHS (domicile-free)	mcc.nic.in
100% deemed universities (incl. their NRI seats)	MCC	mcc.nic.in
Central universities (DU, AMU, BHU, incl. institutional/domicile quota), ESIC, IP University colleges	MCC	mcc.nic.in
100% AIIMS and JIPMER	MCC	mcc.nic.in
85% state quota in government colleges	State counselling authority	e.g. medadmgujarat.org (Gujarat)
Private (self-financed) colleges: government, management and NRI quotas	State counselling authority, on NEET merit	e.g. medadmgujarat.org

MCC's bulletin says it "does not allot any seat either on nomination basis or manually". Every seat, including management and NRI seats, goes through counselling on NEET merit. A "direct admission" offer outside it is not a legitimate route. For the national picture, the NMC's 2026-27 matrix puts capacity at 1,40,664 MBBS seats in 839 colleges, excluding Institutes of National Importance.

Step by step: from NEET result to joining a college

Check your NEET UG 2026 scorecard on neet.nta.nic.in. NTA gives the All India Rank. Merit lists, domicile checks and counselling belong to MCC and the states — NTA has no role in them. (Exam details: NEET UG.)
Register separately for each process you want. Do it on mcc.nic.in for AIQ, deemed and central seats, and on your state portal for state-quota seats. A candidate can be in both.
Pay fees and deposits. For MCC's AIQ and central seats, the non-refundable fee is ₹1,000 (₹500 for SC/ST/OBC/PwD) and the refundable deposit ₹10,000 (₹5,000). For deemed universities, they are ₹5,000 and ₹2,00,000.
Fill and lock choices in the window. MCC uses fresh choices from round 2 onwards.
Read the allotment and decide. In MCC rounds 1 and 2 you can join ("freeze") or opt to upgrade ("float"). Upgradation is available only up to round 3.
Report in person with originals before the deadline and get the admission letter. Then check that your joining is recorded.
Do not double-join. States must remove AIQ joiners from their merit lists before their round 3 and stray round (MCC Notice No. 25, 10 October 2026).

From scorecard to seat. Source: NTA press release (16.07.2026); MCC UG Information Bulletin 2026.

MCC rounds in 2026 and what happens if you don't join

MCC runs four online rounds: round 1, round 2, round 3 and the stray vacancy round. The bulletin's rules on leaving a seat get stricter each round:

Round 1: free exit.
Round 2: if you are allotted a seat and do not join, your security deposit is forfeited.
Round 3: you must join. You cannot resign, you cannot take part in any further counselling, and if you don't report, your deposit is forfeited and you are out of later rounds.
Stray round: fresh registration is needed. Anyone already holding an allotted seat in the central or state lists is removed. A stray-round seat must be joined, or the deposit is forfeited.

The deposit is also forfeited if an admission is cancelled for any reason, such as wrong information at registration or missing documents at reporting.

Round 3's provisional result came out on 30 September (4,685 fresh allotments and 5,168 upgrades). Reporting ran until 9 October. MCC's not-reported list of 11 October has 2,570 names, and those seats return to the pool. Those seats help explain the clear-vacancy list MCC posted on 14 October: 3,426 MBBS seats among 4,068 in all.

The same day, MCC extended the stray round. The original schedule had a result on 17 October; under the revised notice of 14 October:

Stray round step (server time)	Revised date
Registration	Until 4:00 pm, 16 October 2026
Payment	Until 6:00 pm, 16 October 2026
Choice filling	Until 11:55 pm, 16 October 2026
Choice locking	7:00 pm to 11:55 pm, 16 October 2026
Seat processing	17–18 October 2026
Result	19 October 2026
Reporting	19–26 October 2026

Gujarat MBBS admission 2026: the ACPUGMEC process

Gujarat's state-quota and private-college seats are allotted by the Admission Committee for Professional Undergraduate Medical Educational Courses (ACPUGMEC), Gandhinagar, on medadmgujarat.org. The merit list is prepared from the NEET UG All India Rank.

Who is eligible (as officially stated). Candidates must have qualified NEET UG 2026 and passed Std 10 and 12 (Science, B/AB group) from schools in Gujarat. The Gujarat Board, CBSE, CISCE, Cambridge and NIOS all count. They must also hold a Gujarat domicile or have been born in Gujarat. One exception: candidates who took admission in Std 10 outside Gujarat before 23 June 2017. Other listed exceptions include:

children of All India Services officers of the Gujarat cadre on deputation outside the state;
children of Gujarat government employees posted outside the state;
children of defence or paramilitary personnel with Gujarat domicile;
certain Navodaya students;
NRI-quota candidates;
Gujarat-board students from Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli with Gujarat domicile or birth.

Money. The online PIN costs ₹11,000: ₹1,000 non-refundable plus a ₹10,000 refundable security deposit. NRI-quota applicants also pay a ₹10,000 non-refundable processing fee at ACPUGMEC's Gandhinagar office. A first NRI allotment in round 3 needed a refundable deposit of ₹5 lakh.

Seats. ACPUGMEC's 2026 matrix lists 7,500 MBBS seats: 5,891 government quota, 317 AIQ, 430 management and 862 NRI. NMC's matrix of 1 September counts 7,800 MBBS seats across 42 colleges in the state.

How it works. You register, buy the PIN and verify documents at a help centre. Then you fill choices. If you are allotted a seat, you pay the tuition fee (online or at a designated HDFC Bank branch) and report at a help centre — not at the college — with originals. Since round 2, only original documents are accepted; DigiLocker copies are rejected.

Forfeiture. After round 2, 711 candidates lost their deposits for not reporting and were removed from the merit list. Under ACPUGMEC's four-round instructions, a candidate admitted in round 3 cannot take part in any later round, and that admission will not be cancelled. A candidate allotted in round 3 who does not confirm loses the deposit and is out.

Where Gujarat stands on 14 October 2026

Gujarat step (MBBS/BDS)	Date
Round 3 registration closed	4 pm, 30 September
Round 3 choice filling closed	10 am, 10 October
Round 3 allotment published	10 October
Tuition fee payment (online / HDFC)	Until 3:30 pm, 13 October
Reporting with originals at help centre	12 October 10 am – 4 pm, 14 October
State stray round (round 4), as scheduled	17–21 October
Last date of joining	26 October

Gujarat's remaining dates. Source: ACPUGMEC round-3 advertisement (10.10.2026); AIQ and State schedule (14.09.2026).

In round 3, B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad closed at state general merit number 150 for open government-quota seats. Management seats went as far as 14,143 (full round-3 report). ACPUGMEC also removed 175 candidates who had joined AIQ seats. Round 4 is a fresh-registration round under the state instructions. ACPUGMEC had not posted its round-4 notice when we checked on 14 October. Because MCC moved its stray result to 19 October, watch the notice board for any change to the state dates. Before you report, read the Gujarat paperwork guide.

Other states in brief

Uttar Pradesh: state-quota MBBS/BDS counselling is run by the Directorate General of Medical Education and Training on upneet.gov.in. Its round 2 was re-run in September. We could not confirm its later round dates on the portal on 14 October, so check there directly.
Maharashtra: state-quota counselling is run by the State CET Cell, cetcell.mahacet.org. Use only the notices on that portal.

The national calendar applies to every state: the state stray round runs 17–21 October, and the last joining date is 26 October.

Fake notices: how to verify before you act

On 13 October 2026, MCC called a notice claiming a NEET UG percentile reduction "FAKE". MCC hosts no website other than mcc.nic.in, and candidates should report fake sites or agents. NTA's result release also warns about calls or messages offering admission, "seat blocking" or score changes. Before you act on any notice:

Is it on mcc.nic.in, neet.nta.nic.in or your state portal (medadmgujarat.org in Gujarat)?
Does it carry a reference number and date that match the notice board?
Is anyone asking for money to "confirm" a seat? Counselling never works that way.

MCC's helpline is 7824848020 ([email protected]). NTA's is 011-40759000 ([email protected]).

Documents checklist (MCC, for reporting)

Carry originals plus attested photocopies of:

MCC allotment letter
NEET UG 2026 admit card
NEET UG 2026 result/rank letter
date-of-birth proof if your Class 10 certificate lacks it
Class 10 certificate
Class 12 certificate and marksheet
eight passport photos (same as on the application)
photo ID (Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence or passport)
where applicable: SC/ST, OBC-NCL (central list) or EWS certificate, and the PwD certificate from MCC's Medical Assessment Board

Gujarat's list adds:

school leaving certificate
domicile or birth proof
SEBC non-creamy-layer and EWS certificates issued on or after 1 April 2024
a physical fitness certificate in the prescribed form

Considering study abroad instead? NMC requires NEET for that too — see MBBS abroad and our guide to FMGE, CRMI and permanent registration. For Indian options, browse MBBS colleges, medical colleges and the MBBS course page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the full form of NEET? National Eligibility cum Entrance Test. The medical-entry version is NEET (UG), conducted by the National Testing Agency.

How do I get MBBS admission in 2026 in India? Qualify NEET UG 2026, then register for MCC counselling (AIQ, deemed and central seats), your state's counselling (85% state quota and private colleges), or both. Join an allotted seat by 26 October 2026.

Is MBBS counselling 2026 over? Not yet. As of 14 October 2026, MCC's stray vacancy round is taking registrations until 4 pm on 16 October. The state stray rounds are scheduled for 17–21 October.

What happens if I don't join my round-3 seat? Under the MCC bulletin you forfeit your security deposit and cannot take part in further rounds. Gujarat's rules say the same for its round 3.

How many MBBS seats are there in India? NMC's 2026-27 seat matrix shows 1,40,664 MBBS seats in 839 colleges, excluding Institutes of National Importance. That is the current version as reported on 22 September 2026.

Who is eligible for Gujarat state-quota MBBS seats? Broadly, NEET UG 2026 qualifiers who passed Std 10 and 12 from schools in Gujarat and hold Gujarat domicile or birth, with listed exceptions. Check ACPUGMEC's registration procedure for your case.

Has the NEET UG cut-off percentile been reduced in 2026? No. On 13 October 2026, MCC called a notice claiming a percentile reduction fake.

Sources (checked 14 October 2026)

MCC (mcc.nic.in): UG Information Bulletin (revised 20.08.2026); schedule (14.09.2026); Notices No. 25 and 26 (10–11.10.2026); fake-notice advisory (13.10.2026); stray round extension and vacancy list (14.10.2026)
NTA (neet.nta.nic.in): NEET (UG) 2026 result release (16.07.2026); re-examination notice (15.05.2026)
ACPUGMEC (medadmgujarat.org): 2026-27 registration procedure, document list, four-round instructions, round-3 advertisement (10.10.2026)
NMC (nmc.org.in): MBBS seat matrix 2026-27, via the CareerBox news desk
upneet.gov.in and cetcell.mahacet.org: portals only

Dates and rules change; confirm on the official portal before you act.