NEET PG 2026 round 1 registration opens 12 October: last date, fees, security deposit, choice locking and result date

Short answer: NEET PG 2026 round 1 registration opens on Monday 12 October on mcc.nic.in and closes at 12 noon on 21 October. The fee must be paid by 3 PM that day. Choice locking runs from 4 PM on 21 October to 10 AM on 22 October, and the round 1 result is due on 24 October. All dates come from the Medical Counselling Committee's (MCC) tentative schedule, issued by DGHS on 7 October, and the fees come from MCC's PG Information Bulletin 2026.

NEET PG 2026 round 1: every date

Source: DGHS notice No. 5151203/2026/ADG(ME), dated 7 Oct 2026. MCC calls the schedule tentative.

After round 1, the same schedule lists round 2 registration for 6–11 November (result 14 November), round 3 registration for 26 November–1 December (result 4 December) and a stray vacancy round from 16 December (result 24 December). The PG academic session starts on 20 November.

Fee and security deposit

You pay a non-refundable registration fee plus a refundable security deposit when you register (MCC PG Information Bulletin 2026, Q7):

• Applying for both AIQ and deemed seats? You pay only the higher amount, the deemed university fee of ₹5,000 plus the ₹2 lakh deposit (Bulletin, Q9).
• When you lose the deposit: you forfeit it if you're allotted a seat in round 2 or a later round and don't join, or if your admission is cancelled for any reason, such as wrong information in your registration or missing documents (Bulletin, 2.10 and Q8).
• When you get it back: if you aren't allotted any seat, the deposit is refunded without interest to the account you paid from, after all rounds are over (Bulletin, Q43 and Q51). Don't close that bank account or card in the meantime.
• Round 1 has a free exit: if you're allotted a seat in round 1, you can choose not to join and take part in round 2 without losing your deposit. You can also join and opt to upgrade (Bulletin, section f–g).

What to do, day by day

1. From 12 Oct: register on mcc.nic.in as a new candidate. You can submit only one registration form; MCC says duplicates lead to debarment (Bulletin, 2.9). Keep the security question and answer you set, because you'll need them to reset your password.
2. By 3 PM on 21 Oct: pay the fee and deposit for your category. Registration without payment isn't complete.
3. 13–21 Oct: fill choices in order of real preference. MCC's software allots seats by merit and the order you set, and AIQ and 50% institutional quota choices are filled in one list (Bulletin, Q44).
4. 4 PM on 21 Oct to 10 AM on 22 Oct: lock your choices. Print or save the locked list.
5. 24 Oct: check the round 1 result on MCC.
6. 26 Oct–2 Nov: if you take the seat, report to the college with original documents. Or choose free exit and wait for round 2.

AIQ vs state quota

MCC counsels only the 50% All India Quota seats and 100% of deemed and central university seats. State quota seats (the other 50% in government colleges, and private college seats) are handled by each state's counselling authority. Karnataka's is KEA, which explains the rise in "kea neet pg registration 2026" searches.

MCC's combined schedule gives a single window for state counselling round 1, 21 October to 2 November, with round 2 from 14 to 23 November. Each state sets its own exact dates, so check your state's counselling website. We haven't listed state-specific dates here because we couldn't confirm them from official notices.

Helpline

MCC's bulletin lists 1800 1027637 and 0120-4073500 for PG counselling and payment questions.