MCC NEET PG Round 2: your last-day checklist before choice locking closes

Today, 14 November, is the last day to register and pay for MCC NEET PG Round 2. Registration closes at 3 pm and the payment window at 6 pm. Choice locking opened at 4 pm today and ends at 11:55 pm tomorrow, 15 November. The Round 2 result is due on 17 November.

This checklist covers what to do in the next 36 hours, and the Round 2 rules that cost money if you get them wrong. Every date below is from MCC's revised schedule dated 7 November 2026 and the PG Information Bulletin 2026.

NEET PG Round 2 deadlines at a glance

Source: MCC schedule for Round 2 dated 07.11.2026.

Your 10-point checklist before you lock

1. Check your registration status first. If you registered in Round 1 and got no seat, or resigned, or did not report, you do not register again. Fresh candidates must finish registration by 3 pm and payment by 6 pm today.
2. Fill choices fresh. Round 1 choices do not carry forward. The bulletin says fresh choice filling and locking are needed for Round 2.
3. Know which fee you paid. The AIQ fee is Rs 1,000 (Rs 500 for reserved categories) plus a refundable deposit of Rs 25,000 (Rs 10,000 reserved). Deemed universities need Rs 5,000 plus a Rs 2 lakh deposit. If you want deemed choices, you pay the higher deemed fee.
4. Look at the latest seat lists, not last week's. MCC added and removed seats on 11 and 13 November. The 13 November notice alone added 178 seats and removed 6. Our explainer on the new seats walks through them.
5. Read both vacancy lists. "Clear vacancy" seats were not allotted in Round 1. "Virtual vacancy" seats are held by Round 1 candidates who chose to float; you get one only if that person upgrades.
6. Use the new "AIQ and DNB BOTH" filter. A 12 November notice added this drop-down option so you can see institutes that have both AIQ and DNB seats in one list.
7. Rank honestly, not hopefully. Put the seat you most want at the top, even if it looks out of reach. A choice placed above your current seat costs nothing if you do not get it.
8. Never add a seat you will not join. In Round 2, if you are allotted a seat and do not join, your security deposit is forfeited.
9. Check fees and bonds on the college's own sheet. MCC says it takes no responsibility for fee, bond or stipend data the colleges upload. Confirm with the college, especially deemed universities.
10. Lock early and save the PDF. Choices once locked cannot be changed. Lock by the evening of 15 November, then download and keep the locked-choice PDF and a screenshot.

1. 14 Nov, 3 pm

   Round 2 registration closes

2. 14 Nov, 6 pm

   Payment window closes

3. 14 Nov, 4 pm

   Choice locking opens

4. 15 Nov, 11:55 pm

   Choice filling and locking close

5. 16 Nov

   Seat processing

6. 17 Nov

   Final Round 2 result

7. 18-24 Nov

   Reporting at allotted college

8. 25 Nov

   MCC verifies joined candidates

Source: MCC schedule for Round 2 dated 07.11.2026 (mcc.nic.in).

The Round 2 rules that cost money

Round 2 is a commitment round

The bulletin is clear that each round has its own rules, and Round 1 rules stop applying once Round 2 begins. The big change: the free exit is over.

• If you are allotted a Round 2 seat and do not join, your security deposit is forfeited.
• If you join and later resign a Round 2 seat, the bulletin marks that exit as "with forfeiture". You may still register for Round 3 with a fresh fee.
• If you are upgraded in Round 2, you must take online relieving from your Round 1 seat and join the new one. You lose all claim on the Round 1 seat.
• A seat allotted in Round 3 cannot be resigned at all. Not joining it means forfeiture and removal from further MCC rounds.

Holding a Round 1 seat? Freeze or float

If you chose freeze, you have joined physically and will not be considered for an upgrade. If you chose float, you uploaded documents online and gave willingness to upgrade. Your Round 1 seat now sits in the virtual vacancy list for others.

Only fill choices you truly prefer over your current seat. A float candidate who is upgraded cannot go back.

The money at stake

Source: MCC PG Information Bulletin 2026, FAQ 7 to 9. MCC processes refunds only after all rounds end.

What this week's MCC notices mean

• Seats added and removed (11 and 13 Nov). The 13 November list adds 161 seats at Sri Venkateswaraa Medical College, Puducherry (a deemed university, self-financed and NRI seats) and 17 at VIMS Bellary. It removes 3 at GMC Osmanabad, 2 at GIMS Greater Noida and 1 at FM Medical College, Balasore. MCC says the updated matrix will be used for Round 2 processing.
• Round 1 candidates not reported (12 Nov). MCC listed 75 Round 1 candidates whose colleges had not completed online admission. Any admission not entered on the portal is treated as "null and void", and the seat goes into the next round. MCC opened the reporting portal once more on 13 November, 12 noon to 2 pm. If you joined a Round 1 seat, check that your admission letter was generated online.
• Choice filling paused (13 Nov). Choice filling was suspended from 12 noon to 2 pm on 13 November to finish that reporting. It resumed afterwards. If you saved choices that day, open your list and confirm they are intact.

Counselling type	Registration fee	Refundable deposit	Forfeited if you do not join
AIQ, UR/EWS	Rs 1,000	Rs 25,000	Rs 25,000
AIQ, SC/ST/OBC/PwD	Rs 500	Rs 10,000	Rs 10,000
Deemed universities	Rs 5,000	Rs 2,00,000	Rs 2,00,000

Source: MCC PG Information Bulletin 2026, FAQ 7-9.

Where Round 1 closed: our data

Round 1 is the best guide you have to Round 2, with one caution: 2026 Round 1 ranks are not directly comparable with 2025's final round, which ran deeper after several rounds and a stray round.

Source: MCC 2026 Round 1 and 2025 final-round allotments, analysed by Career Paathshala. Round 2 2026 data is pending.

Two patterns stand out. Toppers crowded into Medicine: 233 of the top 501 ranks (46%) chose it, and 149 chose Radiology. Only 25 of the top 501 picked Surgery, and only 1 of the top 100 picked OBG. If your rank sits just outside a Round 1 cut-off in Surgery, OBG or Anaesthesia, Round 2 movement plus the added seats gives you a realistic reason to fill those choices. It is not a promise of a seat.

Advice from practising doctors

Doctors in our database keep repeating one point: judge the training, not the label. Residents interviewed on HealthPil and Doctor's Desk advise checking a DNB hospital's patient footfall, OT days and faculty before you lock it. On the Nachiket Bhatia Show, a radiologist made the same case for imaging: a metro DNB with working machines can train you better than a peripheral MD.

Before you lock, call a current resident at your top three colleges. Ask about the stipend, whether it is paid on time, duty hours and the bond.

Branch	2026 Round 1 (AIR)	2025 final round (AIR)
Radiodiagnosis	3058	6656
General Medicine	4703	17190
Dermatology	5628	15146
Paediatrics	9574	18067
General Surgery	14012	24781
OBG	14190	18213
Orthopaedics	15591	23502
Anaesthesiology	24614	35635

Source: MCC allotment data, analysed by Career Paathshala. 2026 Round 1 vs 2025 final round; not like-for-like.

What this means for you

• No seat yet: Fill a long, honest list across MD/MS, DNB and, if you can afford it, deemed seats. Include the branches you would genuinely study. A Round 2 seat you skip costs your deposit.
• Holding a Round 1 seat as a float candidate: Fill only seats you clearly prefer to your current one. An upgrade is final.
• Holding a Round 1 seat as a freeze candidate: You keep your seat and will not be considered for an upgrade in Round 2. Do not resign on impulse; resignation rules now carry costs.
• Thinking about deemed seats: Check the full fee sheet first. Our database puts typical deemed fees at about Rs 30-50 lakh a year in clinical branches, and the Rs 2 lakh deposit is at risk if you skip the seat.
• Also in state counselling: Read our guide on AIQ vs state Round 2 before you lock, because the windows overlap.

Want a second pair of eyes on your list before 11:55 pm on 15 November? Compare branches on Know Your Branch or book a counselling call with our team. We cannot promise a seat, but we can help you avoid a costly mistake.

Change log: Published 14 Nov 2026