The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has expanded the seat pool available for Round 2 of NEET UG Counselling 2026 by adding 659 new MBBS, BDS and B.Sc Nursing seats, according to an official list published on the MCC website on September 3, 2026. With the addition, candidates participating in Round 2 of the 15 percent All India Quota and 100 percent deemed, central university, AFMC and JIPMER counselling now have a wider set of options to choose from before the seat allotment result is declared on September 11, 2026.
Which Colleges Added New Seats
The newly added seats span several states and institute types. Under the All India Quota, Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences in Naharlagun, Arunachal Pradesh, has added MBBS seats across multiple categories, while Bongaigaon Medical College in Assam and the Autonomous State Medical College in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, have each added a handful of MBBS seats. On the dental side, Government Dental College and Hospital, Ahmedabad, and Government Dental College, Thrissur, have added BDS seats. Nursing seats have also been added at two Delhi institutions, the College of Nursing at Lady Hardinge Medical College and the College of Nursing at Florence Nightingale, both offered exclusively to female candidates. Among deemed universities, several Tamil Nadu institutions, including Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Medical Sciences, Karpaga Vinayaga Institute of Dental Sciences, J R Medical College and Hospital and Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Institute of Medical Sciences, together contribute a large share of the newly added seats, along with Aarupadai Veedu Medical College in Puducherry and Graphic Era Institute of Medical Sciences in Dehradun, which has added both NRI and self-financed category seats.
Round 2 Seat Matrix: Clear and Virtual Vacancies
This addition comes on top of the vacancy position MCC had already published for Round 2, which, according to separate clear-vacancy and virtual-vacancy lists released the same week, showed 11,302 seats under the clear-vacancy category and 12,283 seats under the virtual-vacancy category. Clear vacancies are seats currently available for fresh allotment, while virtual vacancies belong to candidates who may vacate them if they are upgraded to a different seat in this round. In Round 1 of NEET UG Counselling 2026, MCC had offered a total of 31,728 seats, of which more than 29,000 were allotted, leaving the remaining vacancies, together with the newly notified seats, to form the current Round 2 pool.
Latest Update: Choice Filling Briefly Paused
MCC has cautioned candidates that the addition of new seats can affect an ongoing choice-filling window. In a separate notice issued on September 5, 2026, the committee informed candidates that choice filling was being temporarily paused following the addition of further seats reported by participating institutes that day, and would resume after 7:00 PM the same evening once the updated seat matrix was reflected on the portal. This indicates that MCC has continued to add seats in smaller batches even after the initial list of 659 was published, and candidates are advised to keep checking the seat matrix on mcc.nic.in rather than relying on a single downloaded copy.
Background: NEET UG 2026 and Round 2 Counselling
NEET UG Counselling 2026 has been running on a schedule shaped by this year's delayed NEET UG exam cycle, after the original May 3, 2026 exam was cancelled following reports of a paper leak and a fresh exam was conducted on June 21, 2026, with results declared on July 16, 2026. Round 2 counselling itself follows the schedule below.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Verification of tentative seat matrix by institutes | September 1 - 2, 2026 |
| Registration & fee payment | September 3 - 8, 2026 (3:00 PM; payment till 6:00 PM) |
| Choice filling | September 3 - 9, 2026 (till 10:00 AM) |
| Choice locking | September 8, 2026 (4:00 PM) - September 9, 2026 (10:00 AM) |
| Processing of seat allotment | September 9 - 10, 2026 |
| Seat allotment result | September 11, 2026 |
| Reporting & joining at institute | September 12 - 18, 2026 |
| Verification of joined candidates' data | September 19, 2026 |
| Commencement of academic session | September 15, 2026 |
MCC has continued to add seats to the Round 2 matrix in smaller batches even after publishing the main list, so candidates should verify the current seat position on mcc.nic.in immediately before locking their final choices.— Editorial Advisory
Who Can Participate in Round 2
Candidates who were not allotted a seat in Round 1, who did not join their allotted seat, or who wish to be considered for a different seat as part of the upgrade process are eligible to participate in Round 2, subject to the applicable eligibility, category and quota rules published in the NEET UG 2026 information bulletin. Candidates already holding a Round 1 allotment can choose to float for a possible upgrade, in which case their current seat remains provisional until Round 2 results are processed, or freeze it to confirm admission without further participation in this round.
How to Check the Updated Seat Matrix and Apply
- Visit the official website, mcc.nic.in, and open the UG Medical Counselling section
- Download the latest 'Newly Added Seats', 'Clear Vacancy' and 'Virtual Vacancy' PDFs for Round 2 to review the current seat position
- Log in to the registration and choice-filling portal using your NEET UG 2026 credentials
- Complete registration and fee payment, if not already done, within the notified window
- Add or update your college and course choices to include any newly available combinations, then lock your final list before the deadline
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