The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has officially opened the registration window for NEET PG 2025 Round-3 counselling. Following a significant reduction in the qualifying percentile, eligible medical aspirants can now register on the official portal, mcc.nic.in, until January 26, 2026.The seat matrix for this round includes over 28,000 available MD and MS seats across various medical colleges in India. Candidates must complete their fee payment and choice-locking process before the deadline to participate in the seat allotment results scheduled for late January.

In a major update for medical postgraduates, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has officially commenced the MCC registration for the third round of NEET PG 2025 counselling. The portal is active for both fresh candidates and those seeking an upgrade from previous rounds. This phase of the all-India quota admissions has gained immense traction following the National Board of Examinations' (NBE) recent decision to drastically lower the qualifying cut-off, making thousands of additional doctors eligible for the 2025–26 academic session.

Revised Schedule and Cut-off Details

The MCC registration window, which opened on January 15, is set to remain accessible until the afternoon of January 26, 2026. This extension of the admission cycle was necessitated by the revision in percentile scores, which now allows general category candidates with a 7th percentile score to participate. The move aims to fill the high number of vacant clinical and non-clinical seats that remained unoccupied after the conclusion of the second round.

• Registration Deadline: January 26, 2026 (until 3:00 PM).
• Payment Facility: Available until 11:55 PM on the final day of registration.
• Choice Filling: Candidates can select their preferred specializations and colleges until January 26.
• Seat Allotment Result: The counselling notification confirms that the final allotment list will be published on January 29, 2026.

Seat Matrix and Eligibility Criteria

The counselling notification highlights a robust seat matrix for Round-3, featuring a combination of clear vacancies, virtual vacancies, and newly added seats. According to the latest data, there are over 10,000 clear vacancies available for immediate allotment. Aspirants participating in this admission cycle must be cautious with their choices, as those who are allotted a seat in Round-3 but fail to join will face a forfeiture of their security deposit and will be ineligible for further rounds, including the Stray Vacancy round.

• Clear Vacancies: 10,101 seats available due to non-joining or resignations.
• Newly Added Seats: 292 fresh MD/MS seats approved by the NMC for this round.
• All-India Quota: The round covers 50% AIQ seats in government colleges and 100% seats in Deemed and Central Universities.
• Mandatory Documents: Candidates must keep their NEET PG 2025 scorecard,internship completion certificate, and registration certificates ready for verification.

Conclusion

The opening of the MCC registration for Round-3 marks a final opportunity for many to secure a postgraduate medical seat in the current admission cycle. With the revised cut-offs significantly widening the pool of eligible doctors, the competition for clinical branches in premier government institutes is expected to be intense. Aspirants are advised to monitor the counselling notification updates on the official website regularly and complete their choice-locking before the January 26 deadline. Following the seat allotment result on January 29, successful candidates will have a week-long window to report to their respective institutions and finalize their residency specialized training.