MAH NEET UG 2026 Stray Vacancy Round 1 reporting extended to October 22

The Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell has extended the physical reporting deadline for Stray Vacancy Round 1 of MAH NEET UG 2026 counselling for MBBS and BDS courses (Group A) up to October 22, 2026, 5:30 PM. This extension applies to candidates who have been allotted seats in colleges across Maharashtra.

The decision, communicated via Notice No. 28, also revises the entire schedule for Online Stray Vacancy Rounds 2 and 3 for the academic year 2026-27. This adjustment was necessitated by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), New Delhi, displaying the Final Stray Vacancy Round Selection List for the All India Quota late on October 20, 2026, which later delayed the State Quota’s Stray Vacancy Round 1 selection list.

Revised Schedule for Stray Vacancy Rounds

The Maharashtra CET Cell’s Notice No. 28 supersedes the schedule previously outlined in Notice No. 27, dated October 16, 2026. The revised timeline aims to accommodate the delay caused by the MCC’s late release of the All India Quota selection list, ensuring candidates have adequate time to complete their admission formalities.

All colleges are instructed to treat Saturdays, Sundays, and gazetted holidays as working days to adhere to the updated time schedule. The final joining deadline across all rounds, as per MCC guidelines, remains October 26, 2026.

Reporting Requirements and Penalties

Candidates allotted seats in Stray Vacancy Round 1 must physically report to their respective colleges with all original documents and the requisite fees by the extended deadline of October 22, 2026, 5:30 PM. Fee payments can be made at the allotted colleges using a Demand Draft (DD) or through NEFT and RTGS banking modes.

The deadline to resign a seat without incurring a penalty has also been extended to October 22, 2026, 5:30 PM. Any seat cancelled after this deadline will lead to a penalty as stipulated in the Information Brochure, which may include forfeiture of fees or academic restrictions.

Changes for Subsequent Stray Vacancy Rounds

For candidates participating in the upcoming Stray Vacancy Rounds 2 and 3, fresh choice filling will be mandatory. Choices filled during Stray Vacancy Round 1 will be null and void for Round 2, requiring candidates to submit new preferences. Similarly, choices submitted for both Round 1 and Round 2 will be null and void for Round 3, necessitating another fresh choice filling process.

The first stray vacancy round allotment for NEET UG 2026 was released on the official portal. Fresh choice filling for Round 1 was mandatory between October 17 and 18, 2026. Candidates were eligible to participate if they had registered for Maharashtra NEET UG 2026 counselling and had not received an allotment in earlier Common Admission Process (CAP) rounds, or if they were allotted but chose not to join.

Initial Stray Vacancy Round 1 Schedule

The initial schedule for Stray Vacancy Round 1, as per Notice No. 23 dated October 12, 2026, had different timelines for key events. The seat matrix was initially scheduled for October 14, 2026, with choice filling from October 15 to October 16, 2026. The selection list was initially set for October 17, 2026, and college reporting from October 18 to October 20, 2026, with a reporting deadline of October 20, 2026, at 5:30 PM.

Further reading

• NEET UG 2026 Round 3 admissions conclude for MBBS at Medical College, Kolkata
• WB AYUSH UG round 2 merit list released: admission based on NEET UG 2026 scores
• NEET cutoff: previous closing ranks and marks Next step
• CUET 2027: Register by November 25
• KCET registration 2027 to open tentatively in January, application fee details
• KEAM 2026: Apply for 84 MBBS, 106 BDS stray seats. CEE to announce dates Applications open

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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