MCC releases NEET SS 2025 special stray vacancy round schedule

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) on September 23, 2026, released the schedule for the Special Stray Vacancy Round of NEET SS 2025 counselling. This round is intended to provide a final opportunity for eligible candidates to secure seats in DNB and MCh/DM super speciality courses across India. The schedule is available on the official MCC website, mcc.nic.in.

The NEET SS examination, conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE), serves as the entrance test for these super speciality medical programmes. The MCC conducts the counselling process online, which involves multiple rounds including the initial rounds and subsequent stray vacancy rounds, as per the ‘Postgraduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2019’, which amended the ‘Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000’ under Section 33 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

NEET Ss Counselling Process and Eligibility

The NEET SS counselling process is a multi-stage procedure that includes registration, choice filling, seat allotment, and reporting to the allotted institutes. Candidates interested in participating in the Special Stray Vacancy Round must register on the MCC website by providing their NEET SS exam details and personal information. A non-refundable registration fee of ₹5,000 and a refundable security deposit of ₹2,00,000 are required.

The security deposit is refunded if a candidate does not join the allotted seat or surrenders it within the stipulated time. Only candidates who registered for NEET SS 2025 and remained unallotted or did not exit with a seat in previous rounds are eligible for the stray round. Once a seat is allotted in the stray round, no further rounds or upgrades will be available, and failure to report within the specified period will result in forfeiture of the seat.

Previous Counselling Round Schedules

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has conducted several rounds of counselling for NEET SS 2025 prior to the Special Stray Vacancy Round. Round 1 registration and fee payment were open from March 10 to March 15, 2026. Choice filling and locking for Round 1 took place from March 14 to March 18, 2026, with seat allotment processing occurring in March 2026. The final result for Round 1 was declared on March 18, 2026, and candidates were required to report to their allotted colleges between March 19 and March 25, 2026.

Following Round 1, the Round 2 counselling saw payment and registration facilities available from March 28 to April 3, 2026 (until 12:00 PM). Choice filling and locking for Round 2 were conducted from March 29 to April 4, 2026 (until 11:55 PM), with an additional window on April 4, 2026 (3:00 PM – 11:55 PM). Seat allotment processing for Round 2 was on April 7, 2026, and the final result was expected on the same date. Reporting to allotted colleges for Round 2 was expected to conclude by April 16, 2026. The Stray Round for NEET SS 2025 counselling had its registration from July 24 to July 27, 2025, with choice filling ending on July 28, 2025, and results declared on July 30, 2025. Reporting for this round was from July 31 to August 5, 2025.

NEET Ss 2025 Stray Round Dates and Cutoff Scores

The Stray Round for NEET SS 2025 counselling had its registration process commence on July 24, 2025, and conclude on July 27, 2025. The choice filling window for this round closed on July 28, 2025, with seat allotment results declared on July 30, 2025. Candidates were required to report to their allotted institutes between July 31 and August 5, 2025.

The qualifying cutoff scores for NEET SS 2025 varied across different question paper groups. For instance, the Critical Care Medicine Group had a cutoff of 285 out of 600, while the Respiratory Medicine Group had the highest cutoff at 365. Candidates allotted seats must download their allotment letter, pay the admission fee, and report to the allotted college for document verification.

Further reading

• NEET SS counselling 2025 special stray round: registration from September 25
• NEET SS 2025: Unfilled Tamil Nadu Seats to be Returned, Cutoff Reduction Under Consideration
• NEET SS cutoff: previous closing ranks and marks Next step
• INI CET July 2026 session online seat allocation schedule released
• Ladakh Central Pool MBBS/BDS: Apply by Sep 10 for 2026-27 single merit list Applications open
• NEET SS: complete exam guide

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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