NEET UG round 3: 2,570 candidates did not join their seats — and cannot claim them back
The Medical Counselling Committee has listed 2,570 candidates who did not physically join a seat after all-India round 3, more than 2,000 of them for MBBS. Reporting closed on 9 October and the seats are lost. MCC has also told states to remove everyone who joined an all-India seat before allotting their own round-3 and stray seats.
The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) of the Directorate General of Health Services posted two notices this weekend that matter to anyone still in the NEET UG 2026 admission race, at the all-India or state level.
2,570 names on the not-reported list
MCC Notice No. 26, dated 11 October 2026, lists candidates who were required to join their college in person after round 3 but did not. That includes those allotted a seat in round 3 and those who had kept a round-1 or round-2 seat with the float option. Reporting ended on 9 October, and MCC says these candidates "cannot claim the seats now".
- The list has 2,570 entries: about 2,055 MBBS, 401 BDS and roughly a hundred B.Sc Nursing seats.
- About 1,420 are all-India quota seats and 893 are deemed-university (self-financed merit) seats. The rest are open, NRI, Delhi University, IP University and minority quotas.
- Around half are marked "Retained" — candidates who held a seat from an earlier round but never turned up. The other half are fresh round-3 allotments marked "Not Reported".
These seats go back into the pool, so the stray vacancy round should have more of them than the last vacancy list showed.
States must weed out AIQ joiners first
MCC Notice No. 25 (10 October) reminds every state counselling authority that, under a Supreme Court direction, anyone who joined an all-India quota seat up to round 3 must be removed from state merit lists before states run their round-3 and stray-vacancy allotments. States download the joined list from MCC's data-sharing portal.
- If you joined an AIQ seat: you will not get a state seat now. Do not count on switching.
- If you lost an AIQ seat by not reporting: check whether your security deposit is forfeited and whether you are still eligible for the stray round. Read the bulletin's rules before registering.
- If you are still waiting: the fresh vacancies help you. Keep your state registration active and your documents ready.
What to do now
Search the not-reported PDF for your roll number if you were allotted a seat in round 3 and are not sure your joining was recorded. If your name is there by mistake, contact your college and MCC ([email protected]) at once, with your joining receipt. Then read the stray-round schedule on the MCC site.
CareerBox News Desk — reporting on the Medical Counselling Committee’s Notices No. 25 (10 October 2026) and No. 26 (11 October 2026) on NEET UG counselling 2026. Official portal: mcc.nic.in/ug-medical-counselling/. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.