MCC counselling rounds: Round 1, 2, 3 and stray
Last updated 8 October 2026.
All India Quota (AIQ) counselling for NEET-PG is run by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) at mcc.nic.in. There are four rounds: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3 (earlier called mop-up) and a stray vacancy round. This guide follows the NEET-PG 2025 information bulletin, released in October 2025. Dates, fees and small rules can change, so read the bulletin for the cycle you are in.
Before round 1
You register on the MCC portal and pay a registration fee that is not refunded, plus a security deposit that is. In the 2025 bulletin, AIQ registration was Rs 1,000 for unreserved candidates and Rs 500 for reserved ones, with a deposit of Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000. Deemed universities were Rs 5,000 with a Rs 2,00,000 deposit. The deposit is refunded only to the account that paid it, with no interest. Then you fill choices and lock them.
Round 1
After the result you can do one of three things:
- Report and join. Go to the allotted college with original documents and complete admission.
- Report and ask for an upgrade. You give willingness for upgrade when you complete admission formalities. If a better choice comes up in Round 2 you move to it. If not, you keep your Round 1 seat.
- Free exit. Do not report. This counts as a free exit, and you can take part in Round 2 without losing your deposit.
If you got no seat in Round 1, you move to Round 2 without registering again.
Round 2
You fill fresh choices; Round 1 choices no longer count. If you are upgraded, you must take relieving from the Round 1 college and join the new one, and you lose any claim to the old seat. From Round 2 onwards the rule changes: if you are allotted a seat and do not report, your security deposit is forfeited. A freshly allotted Round 2 candidate can still give willingness to upgrade to Round 3, after reporting at the Round 2 college.
Round 3
Fresh registration and fresh choices again. Candidates holding a Round 1 or Round 2 seat can take part only if they gave willingness to upgrade. If you are upgraded, you join the new seat and relieve the old one. After you join a Round 3 seat you cannot upgrade or resign through MCC. If you are allotted a Round 3 seat and do not join, you exit with forfeiture of the deposit, and the bulletin says you are eliminated from further MCC rounds. Someone who left Round 2 with forfeiture can return in Round 3 by paying fresh fees.
Stray vacancy round
This round fills what is left. It needs fresh registration and fresh choices; choices from Round 3 are not carried over. It is open to candidates who do not hold any seat. Not joining an allotted stray seat forfeits the deposit, and once you join you cannot resign.
Free exit and forfeiture in short
- Round 1: not reporting is a free exit.
- Round 2 and later: an allotted seat you do not join costs the security deposit, and in Round 3 it also removes you from later rounds.
- A seat cancelled because your documents or details were wrong also forfeits the deposit.
Seat-leaving penalties and bonds set by states and colleges are separate from MCC's deposit. They are different for every college and can be large. Read the MCC bulletin, the college's own notice and, for a state seat, the state's bulletin before you lock choices.
Choice filling tips for each round
- Your Round 1 choices are cleared for Round 2, so do the work again in each round.
- Use the closing ranks for your rank, and read the round they come from: Round 1 closing ranks are the strictest view. See how the predictor works.
- Decide before Round 1 whether you will take a free exit, if the seat is not what you want.
- If you want to hold a seat and still hope for a better one, report, join and give willingness for upgrade. Do not skip reporting.
- Keep documents ready: the original certificates are needed at reporting.
More on ordering your list in the choice filling guide. The official schedule and the full bulletin are at mcc.nic.in.