NEET 2026 Mop-Up Round Explained: Eligibility, Process and Seat Allotment

The Mop-Up Round of the NEET 2026 will provide aspirants with a second opportunity to get into an MBBS, BDS, or other seats remaining vacant after two counseling rounds.

The MCC uses the term Round 3 in its official announcement in place of the All India Counselling Mop-Up Round that students generally refer to as the Mop-Up Round.

At present, the official MCC website provides early notifications regarding the 2026 session. The aspirants must visit the NEET UG 2026 Counseling Notice Board for more details regarding date, fees, and rules.

What is the NEET 2026 Mop-Up Round?

The Mop-Up Round takes place after Round 1 and Round 2 of the NEET counselling.

The available seats after these rounds are filled into the seat matrix for Round 3. Seats that have been added anew could also be considered if the approval comes before the allotment process.

The seat becomes available if:

• The candidate does not join the college he/she is allotted to.
• The candidate gives resignation during the stipulated time period.
• The seat goes unoccupied in an earlier round.
• The candidate gets upgraded to some other college.
• More seats are added by the college itself.
• A reserved seat becomes available as per the counselling guidelines.

The availability of the seats could go on changing until the choice filling period. Therefore, candidates need to refer to the updated seat matrix rather than the old vacancies list.

Is the Mop-Up Round called Round 3?

Yes. MCC called the Mop-Up Round Round 3 in its recent UG counselling scheme. The MCC counselling cycle generally has these stages:

Round 3 and the Stray Vacancy Round are separate stages. Their eligibility rules and consequences are different.

Who conducts the NEET Mop-Up Round?

Round 3 is conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee for the above-mentioned seats under their counselling scheme.

The following seats come under the above-mentioned counseling scheme:

• 15% All India Quota seats of participating government medical & dental colleges
• MBBS seats of AIIMS
• Seats of JIPMER
• Deemed university seats
• Banaras Hindu University seats
• Aligarh Muslim University seats
• Some Delhi University and central institute seats
• ESIC seats of MCC counselling
• Central institute BSc Nursing seats

Registration for AFMC is done through MCC counselling, but the final admission procedure is based on screening & selection criteria of AFMC itself.

The Mop-Up Round for state quota seats, private medical colleges, & other seats under state counselling scheme is organized by state counselling authorities.

MCC Mop-Up Round and state Mop-Up Round

Both the counselling procedures are seen to be the same procedure, but they are different registrations.

For the MCC Round 3, you should register through the MCC counselling portal according to the centralized schedule.

For the Mop-Up Round at the state level, you should register through the counselling portal of the concerned state. There may be differences in domicile criteria, security deposits, and reservation.

Registration through MCC is not going to register you in state counselling.

Who is eligible for the NEET 2026 Mop-Up Round?

It will depend upon the performance in Round 1 and Round 2.

As per the recent scheme by the MCC, the following types of candidates are eligible for Round 3 as per the 2026 bulletin.

Candidates without a seat

Candidates who applied in Round 1 or Round 2 and did not get any seat are eligible.

Such candidates do not have to reapply. They need to make fresh choices during the Round 3 choice-filling period.

New candidates

Any NEET qualified candidate who did not apply for Round 1 and Round 2 is generally eligible to apply for Round 3.

They should pay the registration fees and security deposit as applicable.

Candidates seeking an upgradation from Round 2

Candidates who have joined their Round 2 seat and selected willingness for upgradation are eligible for Round 3.

In case of upgradation, their Round 2 seat will be released and they will have to collect the relieving letter from the earlier college and go to the new allotted college.

Candidates whose admission in Round 2 has been canceled during verification

Candidates may have got a seat under a category which cannot be proved during verification of documents.

The candidate may be eligible in Round 3 under corrected category based on eligibility criteria and ranks.

Candidates not joining their Round 2 seat

Candidates who have got Round 2 seat but did not report to the college are eligible in Round 3 after paying required fees again.

They may lose their previous security deposit.

Candidates resigning from previous seat

Candidates who resigned from previous seat within the stipulated period are generally eligible for Round 3.

Resignation has to be done via online system. Any informal letter handed over to the college does not amount to valid resignation.

These groups of candidates are mentioned as eligible candidates for Round 3 in the recent MCC scheme. However, 2026 information bulletin will define eligibility for this academic year.

Who may be blocked from the Mop-Up Round?

The candidates can lose their eligibility in situations such as:

• Not fulfilling the requirements of NEET UG
• Having a seat in a process that disqualifies them from any future counseling rounds
• Giving wrong information about themselves or the category they belong to
• Registering for counseling through two registrations
• Missing the round 3 registration and choice filling deadline
• Not making the fresh payment as demanded by the college

Candidates involved in the counseling processes of MCC and state counseling must take note of data sharing policy. The allotted and joined candidates’ data will be shared between MCC and state authorities in the latter stages of counseling.

NEET 2026 Mop-Up Round process

Round 3 is done online up to seat allotment. Those candidates who are allotted a seat have to come physically to the college.

The procedure involves registration, payment of fees, choice filling, choice locking, seat allotment, and college reporting.

Step 1: Check the Round 3 schedule

Visit the official portal for counselling and get the latest schedule for round 3.

Look out for:

• Fresh registration start date
• Registration end date
• Last date for fee payments
• Choice filling dates
• Choice locking last date
• Date of seat allocation processing
• Result date
• Last date to report to the college

The dates for counselling process may be extended from time to time. Instead of trusting a screen shot sent through a messaging app, it is better to visit the website of MCC regularly to check any new notices.

Candidates must know that individual notice is not sent by MCC.

Step 2: Complete fresh registration, when required

Fresh aspirants need to register themselves with their NEET UG credentials.

As per requirement, you might need to provide:

• Application number for NEET
• Roll number for NEET
• Name of candidate
• Date of birth
• Mobile number registered
• Email id registered
• Details regarding category and nationality
• Security question and password

Mobile number and email id should be same as provided in NTA application. OTP and other counseling related messages can be sent through these credentials.

Already registered candidates from previous rounds should login directly into the portal.

Step 3: Pay the counselling fee

The payment generally contains 2 parts:

1. A non-refundable registration fee

2. A refundable security deposit

MCC’s 2025 fee structure was:

These numbers have been quoted from the bulletin 2025. Candidates need to refer to the 2026 NEET UG bulletin for the correct information as it is possible for MCC to change the amount or the payment terms.

It is necessary for you to keep the receipt of the payment made. Verify the status on the portal after payment.

A deduction made by your bank does not always indicate that your counselling fee has been paid successfully.

Step 4: Check the Mop-Up Round seat matrix

Seat Matrix will contain the details of colleges and courses offered for Round 3 allotment. There are 3 kinds of seats that you can encounter:

Vacant Seats

Seats which are vacant from the beginning of the Round 3 allotment process.

Virtual Vacant Seats

Seats which are occupied by the candidates who are looking for upgrades.

A Virtual vacant seat arises when the occupant gets another seat. The seat may be occupied even if there is no upgrade for the candidate.

Additional Seats

Seats which have been added on approval or submission of updated data by colleges.

MCC used to publish separate seat matrices of clear vacancies, virtual vacancies and additional seats during previous Round 3 counseling sessions.

Step 5: Fill fresh choices

Earlier choices do not generally move to the third round. You need to give your fresh list of colleges and courses in the stipulated time frame. Those candidates who will not fill up their fresh choices will not be allotted a college in Round 3.

Choices need to be arranged as per your real preference. For example:

• College of Medicine Government A
• College of Medicine Government B
• College of Medicine AIIMS C
• Deemed University D

Allotment system will see your first choice before proceeding further. Higher preference needs to be put above the lower preference.

How many choices should you fill?

It is not necessary to keep the list too short. List all colleges that you are really prepared for. See its tuition fee, hostels' charges, bond, etc., before listing it.

College ranked 40 on your preference list will get allotted even if the previous 39 colleges are not available to you.

Do not include any college just because there is a seat allotted to it in the matrix. Round 3 allotment has serious repercussions.

Step 6: Lock your choices

Check the order before making it a locked one. To check:

• Name of College 
• Course 
• Quota 
• Category 
• Annual Tuition Fee 
• Availability of Hostel 
• Bond Conditions 
• State and City 
• Choice Order 

The choices can be modified till the active period for filling the choice. Once made a locked choice, it cannot be modified anymore. MCC’s past bulletin had informed the candidates that even MCC cannot unlock the locked choice for individual modification.

Step 7: Seat allotment processing

The counseling software considers the chosen preferences once the window for choosing the preference closes. Seat allocation depends on the following factors:

• Rank in NEET UG examination
• Category of the candidate
• Reservations applicable
• Chosen preference order
• Seats available
• Eligibility for quota
• Eligibility criteria of the institution

Class 12th percentage will not determine your ranking among candidates qualified in NEET. It is only used for checking course eligibility.

The system allocates the maximum available choice as per your rank and category.

Step 8: Download the Round 3 result

Normally, MCC comes up with a provisional result before the allotment result. The candidates must verify:

• All India Rank
• College allotted
• Course allotted
• Category allotted
• Quota
• Remarks, wherever provided

This is because a provisional result gives room for reporting any real anomaly within a limited period.

Once the final result is declared, download the allotment letter through the candidate login.

Step 9: Report to the allotted college

Candidates should join before the joining deadline mentioned on the counselling schedule.

Candidates must contact the college shortly after the announcement of the result. It may take 2 or 3 days for some institutions to complete the process of medical test, document verification, fee payment and admissions.

The MCC does not usually grant extension to an individual candidate for joining.

Mop-Up Round vs Stray Vacancy Round

The candidates allocated Round 3 seats, but do not report, might be rendered ineligible for the Stray Vacancy Round. Another round of elimination can be achieved through sharing of information between candidates having or getting another seat.

------------------------

👉 Also Check - NEET UG Counselling 2026: MCC New Upgrade, Resignation And NRI Quota Rules Explained

👉 Also Check - Top Medical Courses After 12th Without NEET in 2026: High-Salary Options

👉 Also Check - NEET 2026 Choice Filling: Correct Preference Order; Step-by-Step Guide

👉 Also Check - NEET UG Counselling 2026 Guide: MCC Process, Fees, Eligibility, Quotas, and Documents

👉 Also Check - Re-NEET UG 2026 Toppers List Out: Check AIR 1, Top 10, Marks and State-Wise Rankers

👉 Also Check - NEET UG 2026 Result Out: 11.21 Lakh Qualify, Over 58% Are Women

👉 Also Check - NEET UG 2026 MBBS Seat Matrix (Out): 9,911 Seats Added, 25 New Medical Colleges Approved

👉 Also Check - NEET Expected AIR for 700+ Marks: Rank Range and Top College Chances

---

👉 NEET Study Materials