NEET SS cut-off cut to the 30th percentile: a special stray round is open until 28 September

The Medical Counselling Committee has opened a special stray vacancy round for NEET SS 2025 super-speciality seats (DM, MCh and DNB SS) for candidates who become eligible now that the qualifying percentile has been lowered from the 50th to the 30th.

Why this round exists

The round complies with the Supreme Court's order of 17 September 2026 in Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association & Anr. v. Union of India, W.P.(C) 771 of 2026. Super-speciality seats had been left vacant after the regular rounds; the lower threshold widens the pool of eligible doctors so those seats can be filled.

The schedule

• Seat matrix verification by institutes: 24 September.
• Registration: 25 September to 3 pm on 28 September. Payment: until 6 pm on 28 September.
• Choice filling: 25 September to 12 noon on 29 September.
• Choice locking: 8 pm on 28 September to 12 noon on 29 September.
• Allotment processing: 29 September. Result: 30 September.
• Reporting: 1 to 6 October 2026.

MCC has told participating institutes to treat Saturdays, Sundays and holidays as working days, which tells you how compressed this is. All times are server time.

Before you register

A stray round is the last chance at these seats, and stray-round seats are typically the ones that went unfilled for a reason: location, stipend, bond conditions or fees. Check each seat's terms (bond, stipend and fee) before you lock it, and read MCC's rules on what happens if you are allotted a seat and do not join.

CareerBox News Desk, reporting on the special stray vacancy round schedule for NEET SS 2025 counselling issued by the Medical Counselling Committee on 23 September 2026, following the Supreme Court’s order of 17 September 2026. Official portal: mcc.nic.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.