NEET UG 2026 Counselling to Begin on August 4

According to the notified timeline, the first round of counselling for All India Quota, Deemed and Central Universities will be held from August 4 to August 17. The last date for joining is August 22, with verification scheduled for August 23.

The first round of State Quota counselling will take place between August 13 and 22. Verification of joined candidates will be conducted on August 29, a day after the last date of joining.

The second round of All India Quota counselling is scheduled from August 24 to September 2, while the second round of State Quota counselling will run from August 31 to September 8.

After the third round and the stray-vacancy filling process, the final date for joining under both All India Quota and State Counselling is October 10. The academic session for UG courses will commence on September 8.

In a circular addressed to medical colleges, the NTA directed institutions to continue admission-related work even on holidays. “For ensuring faithful obedience of time schedule and also keeping in view the limited time available for conducting counselling, all participating institutes/colleges are directed to treat all Saturdays/Sundays and Gazetted Holidays as working days,” the agency stated.

It added that data of joined candidates will be shared by Directors of Medical Education and State Counselling Authorities with the Medical Counselling Committee for weeding out during seat processing of Round 3.

The NTA had declared the NEET UG 2026 re-test result on July 16. Following student protests over irregularities in the examination originally scheduled for May 3, the Union government recently removed 47 NTA functionaries and announced its intention to initiate legal and criminal action.

The released schedule sets a compressed timeline for counselling and admissions, requiring medical institutions to maintain continuous operations to meet the prescribed deadlines.