NEET PG Allotment 2026: Reporting, Free Exit, Upgradation

The NEET PG allotment for Round 1 is published on 24 October 2026, and reporting runs from 26 October to 2 November 2026. Round 1 is the only round with a free exit, so a candidate who does not join loses nothing. From Round 2 onwards, not joining forfeits the security deposit.

NEET PG allotment: key takeaways

• Round 1 carries a free exit and no other round does. If you do not report against a Round 1 freeze allotment, the Medical Counselling Committee treats it as a free exit and you can log in again for Round 2 with the same registration details.

• Freeze and Float decide what you must do next. A freeze candidate reports physically at the college. A float candidate who wants to keep the seat and still upgrade completes document verification online instead, which is new this year.

• Saying no to upgradation closes Round 2 to you. If you are satisfied with the Round 1 seat and mark willingness for upgradation as No, you are not eligible to take part in Round 2.

• From Round 2 the deposit is at risk. The security deposit of a candidate allotted in Round 2 or later who does not join, or who surrenders the seat, is forfeited.

• Round 3 seats cannot be resigned at all. Candidates can exit a Round 1 or Round 2 seat under the resignation rules, but a Round 3 seat cannot be resigned or exited.

• The deposit is large at deemed universities. It is Rs. 25,000 for an unreserved All India Quota candidate and Rs. 2,00,000 for anyone choosing deemed universities.

NEET PG allotment 2026 at a glance

What is the full NEET PG allotment schedule for 2026?

All four rounds are already dated. The Medical Counselling Committee published the schedule on 7 October 2026, so you can plan the whole of November and December now rather than waiting for each round.

Dates are from the All India Quota PG counselling schedule 2026 issued by the Directorate General of Health Services. Note that the academic session begins on 20 November 2026, while Round 3 reporting runs into December, so later joiners start behind.

What happens on NEET PG allotment day?

On 24 October the result appears on the Medical Counselling Committee website against your registration number. The allotment letter names the college, the course and the quota. Nothing is automatic after that. The seat is provisional until you either report in person or complete online verification, depending on the option you chose.

You do not pay the college on the portal. Tuition, bond and stipend terms are set by the institution, and the Committee states that it takes no responsibility for the fee or bond information colleges publish. Read the bond before you travel, not after.

Freeze or Float after the NEET PG allotment?

Every candidate holding a Round 1 seat is put into one of two groups by the willingness they give for upgradation.

This is the change worth knowing about this year. Until 2025 every candidate who wanted to upgrade had to physically reach the allotted college, complete admission formalities and have the institute submit the willingness. For 2026 the Committee moved float candidates to online document verification, so a candidate upgrading from Round 1 to Round 2 no longer has to make the journey twice.

How to report after a NEET PG allotment, step by step

1. Download the allotment letter from the Committee website. It names your college, course and quota, and the college will ask for it at the desk.

2. Decide freeze or float before you travel. The willingness you record changes whether you report in person or verify online, and it cannot be undone later in the round.

3. Collect the original documents. Colleges check originals, not copies, and a missing certificate at the counter can cost the seat within the stipulated time.

4. Report inside the window, 26 October to 2 November 2026. The window does not extend, and all Saturdays, Sundays and gazetted holidays are treated as working days.

5. Read the bond and fee terms before signing. These come from the college, not from the Committee, and vary widely between government, deemed and private institutions.

6. Check that the admission is generated online. The college must record your admission through the intra-MCC portal. Any admission taken offline is not accepted and the seat is treated as vacant.

7. Keep the acknowledgement. Institutes verify joined candidate data and share it with the Committee on 3 November 2026, and your record must appear in that return.

That last step is the one families overlook. A letter on college paper is not an admission. If the college did not put you through the portal, the Committee will show the seat as vacant for the next round.

What is free exit in NEET PG counselling?

Free exit means walking away from a Round 1 seat without losing your security deposit or your place in the process. If a candidate does not report at the allotted institute in the Round 1 freeze category, the Committee treats it as a free exit, and the option exists in Round 1 only. Candidates who use it log in again with their earlier registration details and take part in Round 2 without registering afresh.

There is a trade. Once you let the Round 1 seat go, you cannot claim it back. If Round 2 gives you nothing better, the seat you walked away from is gone.

Can you resign a seat after NEET PG allotment?

Yes in Rounds 1 and 2, and no in Round 3. The rules differ by category:

• Freeze candidates resign in person. The candidate reports physically at the allotted institute and submits the resignation within the period the Committee prescribes.

• Float candidates resign online. The candidate logs in on the Committee portal, selects Resignation or Surrender, and submits it inside the stipulated period.

• Round 3 seats cannot be exited. The bulletin states plainly that candidates cannot resign or exit a Round 3 allotted seat.

• Nothing offline counts. No offline admission and no offline resignation is accepted, and a seat vacated by an offline resignation is not returned to the next round.

Once a seat is surrendered, you have no claim on it. Refunds of the security deposit are processed under the counselling scheme after all rounds are complete, not on the day you resign.

How does NEET PG allotment upgradation work in Round 2?

Round 2 is both a fresh allotment round and an upgradation round. The bulletin splits the people who may take part into five groups, and knowing which one you are in tells you what to do.

If an upgrade comes through, the earlier seat is released automatically. If nothing better appears, the Round 1 seat you joined stays with you, which is exactly why the float option exists.

What forfeits your security deposit after a NEET PG allotment?

The deposit is refundable, but four situations end that.

• Not joining a seat allotted in Round 2 or later. The Committee forfeits the deposit of candidates allotted in the second or subsequent rounds who do not join the institution.

• Surrendering a Round 2 or later seat. Surrender for any unforeseen reason carries the same consequence as not joining.

• Admission cancelled for any reason. This includes giving wrong information at registration, or failing to produce the required documents within the stipulated time.

• Wrong eligibility information at any stage. Candidature is cancelled for further rounds and the deposit is forfeited.

One more detail that catches people out. The refund is made only to the account the payment came from, so a candidate who pays from a relative's account should expect the money to return there.

What does NEET PG counselling cost?

The registration fee is never refunded. Only the security deposit is, and only if you have not triggered one of the forfeiture situations above. Our quick guide to PG counselling fees and deposits sets the same figures out slide by slide.

What if you do not report after a NEET PG allotment?

The answer depends entirely on the round, and this is where the free exit rule earns its importance.

• Round 1, freeze. Treated as a free exit. Deposit intact, and you may return in Round 2.

• Round 2. The seat is lost and the security deposit is forfeited.

• Round 3. The deposit is forfeited, no resignation is allowed, and you cannot take part in further rounds.

• Stray vacancy round. The seat simply lapses, and there is no round after it in which to recover.

How much harder has the NEET PG allotment become?

Seats have grown, but the number of people chasing them has grown faster. The Committee publishes both series in its information bulletin.

Seats rose by roughly 26% between 2022 and 2025. Candidates in counselling rose by about 70% over the same period. In 2022 there were about 2.7 candidates for every seat in the process; by 2025 there were about 3.6. That is the real reason a Round 1 seat in a speciality you can live with is worth more than it looks on allotment day.

For where those seats actually sit by speciality and state, see our breakdown of PG seats in India, and for what the next three years look like financially, our figures on the PG resident stipend in India.

If the NEET PG allotment does not go your way

Not every candidate gets a seat, and the alternatives are worth knowing before December rather than after it. The comparison between INI CET and NEET PG covers the separate route into AIIMS, PGIMER, JIPMER and NIMHANS. Our guide to diplomas after MBBS sets out the NMC and NBEMS diploma options, and which course is best after MBBS looks at the wider set, including routes outside India. The mop-up and stray round explainer covers the last chance in the calendar.

Conclusion

The NEET PG allotment on 24 October is a decision point, not a finish line. Round 1 is the only round that lets you walk away for nothing, Round 2 puts your deposit on the table, and Round 3 removes the exit altogether. Decide freeze or float with that asymmetry in mind, report inside the window, and make sure the college records the admission on the portal rather than on paper.

NEET PG allotment: frequently asked questions

Sources

• Medical Counselling Committee, PG medical counselling section

• All India Quota PG counselling schedule 2026, Directorate General of Health Services, 7 October 2026

• PG Information Bulletin 2026, Medical Counselling Committee

• Candidate User Guide, NEET PG Counselling 2026