New Delhi, September 24, 2026: If you're still hunting for an MBBS, BDS or B.Sc Nursing seat under All India Quota, Deemed Universities, Central Universities, AIIMS or JIPMER, round 3 of MCC's NEET UG Counselling 2026 is a phase you can't afford to ignore.

Registration and fee payment opened on September 22, and choice filling became active from September 23. As of today, September 24, both are still open — so you can complete your registration and also fill or edit your choices.

Deadlines you shouldn't mix up

These dates are all different, so keep them straight:

  • Registration closes: September 27, 2026, 3:00 PM
  • Fee payment closes: September 27, 2026, 6:00 PM
  • Choice filling ends: September 28, 2026, 12:00 Noon
  • Choice locking window: September 27, 7:00 PM to September 28, 12:00 Noon

Seat allotment will be processed on September 28–29, and the Round 3 result comes out on September 30. If you're allotted a seat, reporting at the college happens between October 1 and 9. Remember — all these timings follow MCC server time.

The big news: 183 new seats added

MCC has released a separate PDF titled "Newly Added Seats Round 3 (MBBS BDS)," and it lists 183 brand-new seats. Of these, 83 are MBBS and 100 are BDS — there are no new B.Sc Nursing seats in this list. So don't say "183 MBBS seats added" — it's actually a mix of MBBS and BDS.

Here's where the new seats have landed:

  • 100 BDS seats — Datta Meghe Dental College, Hospital and Research Centre, Nagpur (Maharashtra)
  • 50 MBBS seats — Vinayaka Missions Medical College, Karaikal (Puducherry)
  • 15 MBBS seats — Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Government Medical College, Ahilyanagar (Maharashtra)
  • 8 MBBS seats — Agartala Government Medical College (Tripura)
  • 7 MBBS seats — Late Jagjivan Ram Government Medical College, Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand)
  • 3 MBBS seats — NAMO Medical Education & Research Institute, Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli)

Interestingly, Maharashtra alone accounts for 115 of these new seats — 15 MBBS plus 100 BDS.

Clear Vacancy vs Virtual Vacancy — don't get confused

Along with the new seats, MCC has published two more lists: Virtual Vacancy, with 10,353 seats (MBBS + BDS + B.Sc Nursing), and Clear Vacancy, with 6,703 seats across the same courses.

Here's the important part: please don't add 183 + 10,353 + 6,703 and claim there are "17,239 seats available." That's not how it works — MCC has released these as three separate lists, and treating them as one giant pool can seriously mislead candidates.

So, what's the actual difference between the two vacancy types?

  • Clear Vacancy (6,703 seats): These are seats that are genuinely, fully empty right now and open to anyone based on merit.
  • Virtual Vacancy (10,353 seats): These are "conditional" seats — currently held by students from Round 2 who've opted for an upgrade. If those students move to a better college in Round 3, their current seat opens up for someone else. If they don't get an upgrade, they simply keep their existing seat.

You can absolutely fill choices from the virtual vacancy list too — just remember their availability depends on whether other students upgrade out of them.

Who can take part in Round 3?

Broadly, you're eligible if:

  • You registered earlier but didn't get a seat in Round 1 or Round 2
  • Your Round 2 allotment was cancelled during document verification
  • You'd given willingness for upgradation
  • You got a seat in Round 2 but didn't join, or resigned as per the rules

A rule you really need to know before filling choices

Once you join a seat allotted to you in Round 3 (whether AIQ, Deemed or Central), you generally cannot resign or exit easily, and you won't be allowed to take part in any further counselling. If you do get an upgrade later, your previous seat is automatically cancelled. So, fill your choices carefully, and rank only those colleges and courses you're genuinely willing to join.

You can add, delete or change your choices freely until locking — after that, no changes are allowed. And if you don't get an upgrade, you get to keep your earlier Round 2 seat, if you had one.

Reporting and the state counselling connection

If you're allotted a seat, you must report physically to the college between October 1 and 9. MCC will also share data on joined candidates with the states, and state counselling Round 3 runs more or less in parallel, from September 28 to October 9 — so it's worth tracking both.

Bottom line for today

Choice filling is active right now. If you haven't registered yet, do it by September 27, 3 PM. Keep filling good choices right up to September 28 noon, and go through all three official seat-matrix PDFs on the MCC website (mcc.nic.in — Current Events UG section) before you lock anything in.

Take your time, go through the official schedule and information bulletin carefully, and make thoughtful choices. Best wishes to all NEET UG 2026 aspirants! For official updates, always check mcc.nic.in.