NEET UG round 3 registration opens tomorrow — and the clock is in server time
All India Quota registration for round 3 runs 22 to 27 September, with payment closing at 6:00 pm on the 27th and choice filling at 12 noon on the 28th. The result is on 30 September and reporting runs to 9 October.
Round 3 of All India Quota counselling for MBBS, BDS and B.Sc. Nursing opens on Tuesday, 22 September. It covers the 15% All India Quota plus the whole of the deemed and central universities, AFMC, the AIIMS institutions and JIPMER — and for most candidates still without a seat, it is the last round with a normal choice-filling process before the stray round.
The full timetable
- Seat matrix verification by institutes: 21 September — this is why the matrix you saw yesterday may change overnight.
- Registration and payment: 22 to 27 September. Registration closes at 3:00 pm on 27 September; the payment facility stays open until 6:00 pm the same day.
- Choice filling: 23 to 28 September, closing at 12 noon on 28 September.
- Choice locking: from 7:00 pm on 27 September to 12 noon on 28 September.
- Processing of allotment: 28 to 29 September.
- Result: 30 September.
- Reporting at the allotted institute: 1 to 9 October.
- Institutes verify joined candidates' data: 10 October.
Two things that catch people out
First, every one of those cut-offs is server time, not the time on your phone. A payment gateway that takes four minutes to settle at 5:58 pm on the 27th is a payment that may not count.
Second, registration and choice filling are separate windows that only partly overlap. Registering on the 27th leaves you a single day to build a list you will live with for five and a half years. Anyone who is going to enter round 3 should be registering on the 22nd or 23rd, not on the last afternoon.
Weekends are working days
The committee has directed all participating institutes and colleges to treat Saturdays, Sundays and gazetted holidays as working days for the whole counselling period. If your reporting date falls on a Sunday, the college is expected to be open — and you are expected to be there.
CareerBox News Desk — reporting on the round 3 schedule for NEET UG 2026 counselling issued by the Medical Counselling Committee, Directorate General of Health Services. Official portal: mcc.nic.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.