MCC NEET UG Counselling Security Deposit, Resignation and Debarment Rules Explained

Under the MCC NEET UG 2026 counselling scheme, you keep your security deposit if you leave a Round 1 seat (free exit), but you lose it if you do not join, or join and then resign, a seat allotted in Round 2, Round 3 or the Stray Vacancy Round. The deposit is ₹2,00,000 if you register for deemed universities and ₹10,000 (UR/EWS) or ₹5,000 (SC/ST/OBC/PwD) for AIQ, central university, AIIMS, JIPMER and B.Sc Nursing seats. Round 3 and stray round seats cannot be resigned at all, and not joining them also removes you from any further MCC round.

Every rule below is taken from the revised MCC UG Counselling 2026 Information Bulletin dated 20.08.2026 and the resignation notices MCC posted during the 2026 rounds. New to the process? Start with the MCC NEET UG counselling 2026 guide.

MCC Registration Fee and Security Deposit Amounts for 2026

MCC collects two payments at registration: a non-refundable registration fee and a refundable security deposit. The amount depends on which group of seats you register for, not on the seat you finally get.

Three details that many families miss:

• You pay only the higher fee if you want both. Registering for AIQ and deemed seats means paying the deemed amount once.
• The refund goes back only to the account or card you paid from. MCC will not redirect it to another account, so do not pay through a relative’s or agent’s card and do not close the account until the refund arrives.
• No interest is paid, and the deposit is refunded only after all rounds are over. NRI candidates get refunds only in an NRO account.

For a fuller breakdown of state counselling fees alongside MCC fees, see NEET counselling fees.

Freeze, Float and Upgrade: What Each Option Means in 2026

From 2026, MCC replaced the old system where every candidate had to report to the college to show willingness for upgradation. After a Round 1 or Round 2 allotment you choose one of two options, and both must upload documents once on the MCC portal. “Upgrade” is not a third button; it is what happens when a Float candidate gets a better seat in the next round.

Freeze candidates should carry the full set of documents required for NEET counselling when reporting. One trap: if you Float in Round 1 and are not upgraded in Round 2, you keep the Round 1 seat. But after the Round 3 result, all Float candidates of Round 1 and Round 2 who were not upgraded must report physically at their college. MCC’s notice of 11.10.2026 listed candidates who missed this reporting and stated they cannot claim those seats now.

Fill only choices you genuinely prefer over the seat you hold; this is one of the common MCC choice filling mistakes that cost an MBBS seat.

Round-by-Round: Can You Exit, and Is the Deposit Refunded?

The deposit is also forfeited if admission is cancelled because of wrong registration details or missing documents.

Resignation Windows MCC Actually Opened in 2026

The bulletin allows Round 1 and Round 2 resignation “as per the resignation rules”; MCC announces actual windows by notice. In 2026 these were:

1. 31.08.2026 (Notice No. 16): Round 1 Freeze candidates who had joined could resign from 2:00 PM on 31 August to 1:00 PM on 2 September 2026, without forfeiture, by reporting physically at the college.
2. 12.09.2026 (Notice No. 21): a second window for Round 1 Freeze candidates, from 4:00 PM on 12 September to 6:00 PM on 15 September 2026, without forfeiture. Any resignation after that time was with forfeiture.
3. 13.09.2026 (Notice No. 22): Round 1 Float candidates who were not upgraded in Round 2 could resign online from 2:00 PM on 13 September to 6:00 PM on 15 September 2026, without forfeiture.
4. 17.09.2026 (Notice No. 23): after many requests, MCC again allowed Round 1 and Round 2 Freeze/Float (not upgraded) candidates to resign from 3:30 PM on 17 September to 6:00 PM on 18 September 2026, but with forfeiture of the security deposit.

Each notice required the seat withdrawal slip to be generated on the MCC portal, failing which the resignation is “null and void”.

Leaving an AIQ Seat for a State Quota Seat

The 2026 flow chart lets you take part in state counselling while holding a Round 1 or Round 2 MCC seat. If you are allotted a state seat you want, you must surrender the AIQ seat: Freeze candidates resign at the AIQ college, Float candidates resign online. Round 1 is a free exit; Round 2 is with forfeiture.

Data sharing is strict: MCC’s notice of 10.10.2026 told states to weed out candidates who joined AIQ seats up to Round 3 before their own Round 3, and stray round data is also shared. If you are comparing the two routes, read state quota vs all India quota first.

Debarment Rules: What the 2026 Bulletin Says and What It Does Not

Many students fear that skipping a stray seat means debarment from next year’s NEET. The 2026 MCC bulletin has no such rule. It says:

• Duplicate registration: a candidate who submits more than one registration form is debarred from the NEET UG counselling allotment process and the candidature is cancelled. This is the only use of the word “debarred” in the bulletin.
• Round 3 non-reporting: forfeiture of deposit and elimination from further rounds of counselling.
• Stray round non-joining: forfeiture of deposit and ineligibility for any further rounds.
• Who cannot enter the stray round: candidates who did not register for it, candidates holding a joined seat at that time, and candidates allotted a Round 3 MCC seat who did not report.
• Fake documents: if a PwD candidate’s UDID card or affidavit is found fake, the seat is cancelled and legal action is taken against the candidate.

State counselling penalties are set by each state’s own bulletin and can differ, so read it before skipping a state stray seat. Guides quoting a blanket “one-year debarment” often mix up state rules, older years or PG counselling.

Special Stray Vacancy Round 2026: Current Status

As of 3 November 2026, MCC has announced a Special Stray Vacancy Round for MBBS and Round 5 for BDS/B.Sc Nursing. Registration and payment run from 2 November to 4 November 2026 (payment until 6:00 PM on 4 November), choice filling until 11:00 AM on 5 November, result on 7 November, and reporting from 7 November to 5:00 PM on 16 November 2026. A Round 6 for BDS/B.Sc Nursing seats is scheduled from 17 November 2026. Check the latest schedule on mcc.nic.in before acting, because MCC revises dates by notice.

How to Read the MCC Seat Matrix Before Choice Filling

1. Check the “Quota” column first. Seats appear under quotas such as All India, Open Seat Quota, Self-Financed Merit Seat, Non-Resident Indian, Delhi University Quota, IP University Quota or Employees State Insurance Scheme, and deemed universities can also have Muslim or Jain minority seats. Fees and eligibility differ by quota, not just by college.
2. Check “Institute Type”. “All India except Central University”, “Central University” and “Deemed University” tell you whose seat it is.
3. Read the category code. OP, BC, SC, ST and EW combine with NO or PH; “OP PH” is an open-category PwD seat.
4. Confirm the fee yourself. MCC publishes college-supplied details under “College Information” but states that it takes no responsibility for fees, bonds or stipends. Confirm with the college before locking choices; locked choices cannot be changed even by MCC.

If you are unsure whether your marks are realistic for a government seat, compare them using NEET marks vs percentile vs rank and the NEET cutoff 2026 for general category. No fixed score is “safe” every year.

Seat Agents and Fake Notices: Official Warnings

The 2026 bulletin states that MCC does not allot any seat on a nomination basis or manually, and advises candidates to fill the form themselves “and not through any agent or third party”. On 13.10.2026 MCC declared a circulating notice on percentile reduction to be fake and repeated that it hosts no website other than mcc.nic.in, that candidates should beware of fake websites and agents, and that fraudulent websites or agents should be reported to MCC.

The National Medical Commission has cautioned that only colleges listed on its website are legally permitted and no college can guarantee admission outside NEET. You can check any college on the NMC college and course search.

Red flags to act on immediately:

• Anyone promising a government MBBS seat through “contacts” or the “MCC office” for money. Allotment is software-based on merit and choices.
• A request to pay the MCC security deposit from the agent’s card or account. The refund will go only to the paying account.
• Offers to “arrange” NRI sponsorship. MCC verifies NRI status online through a document verification committee, needs embassy-issued NRI certificates, notarised sponsorship affidavits backed by an NRE passbook and, for guardians, proof of guardianship under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890.
• Allotment letters sent by WhatsApp or email; real ones are downloaded only from your own MCC login.

Report online fraud on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. If your score is not enough for the seats you want, the honest options are covered in low NEET score options and admission scams to avoid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I lose my MCC security deposit if I leave a Round 1 seat?

No. Round 1 has a free exit. If you do not join, or resign within the window MCC notifies, the deposit is refunded after counselling ends. In 2026 the free resignation windows for Round 1 closed at 6:00 PM on 15 September 2026; resignations in the 17–18 September window were with forfeiture.

How much is the MCC NEET UG security deposit in 2026?

₹2,00,000 for deemed university registration, plus a ₹5,000 non-refundable fee. For AIQ, central universities, AIIMS, JIPMER, AFMC, ESI and B.Sc Nursing it is ₹10,000 for UR/EWS and ₹5,000 for SC/ST/OBC/PwD, plus a registration fee of ₹1,000 or ₹500.

Can I resign a Round 3 or stray round seat?

No. The 2026 bulletin does not allow resignation of Round 3 seats, and a stray round seat must be joined. Not joining either one forfeits the deposit and makes you ineligible for further MCC rounds.

Will I be debarred from NEET next year if I do not join a stray round seat?

The MCC 2026 bulletin does not include any debarment from future NEET or counselling for this. The stated penalty is forfeiture of the deposit and ineligibility for further rounds. State counselling bulletins set their own rules, so check your state’s document separately.

What happens if I choose Float and get upgraded?

Your earlier seat is cancelled automatically and given to another candidate, and you have no claim over it. You join the upgraded college directly. If you are not upgraded, you keep the earlier seat but must report physically after the Round 3 result.

When will MCC refund the security deposit?

Only after all rounds of counselling are complete. MCC publishes the list of eligible candidates, the financial custodian initiates refunds within 15 working days and aims to complete them within 30 days of that list, and banks may take 2 to 15 more days. You do not need to apply separately.

Written by Nishit Kumar

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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