NEET SS Special Stray Round Seat Matrix 2025 Released: DM, MCh, DNB SS Vacant Seats and Eligibility

The Medical Counselling Committee has released the seat matrix for the NEET SS 2025 Special Stray Vacancy Round. The 68-page PDF lists DM, MCh and DNB SS seats that remained vacant after Round 2, and candidates can check it in the Super Speciality section of mcc.nic.in.

Why This Round Was Held

MCC is running the round to comply with a Supreme Court order dated 17 September 2026 in Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association & Anr vs Union of India & Ors (W.P. (Civil) No. 771 of 2026). The qualifying percentile was cut from the 50th to the 30th for this round, and NBEMS reportedly implemented the change on 22 September 2026. About 6,000 additional candidates are reported to have become eligible. The lower cut-off applies only to this round and is not a permanent change.

What the Seat Matrix Contains

The matrix lists the course, stream, state, institute, quota, branch, category and total seats. It covers government, private and deemed institutions across speciality groups such as Medical, Surgical, Anaesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and Paediatrics. Tamil Nadu, for example, has several DM, MCh and DNB SS vacancies across government and private institutions.

Before the matrix was released, the Centre told the Supreme Court that 1,857 seats were vacant: 1,094 DM/MCh and 763 DNB SS. The matrix figures may differ. [VERIFY]

Who Can Participate?

This is a non-upgradation round. Candidates can participate if they:

• were not allotted any seat in Round 1 or Round 2, or
• became eligible after the percentile cut, or
• were allotted a seat in an earlier round but did not join it. They must complete fresh registration and pay the applicable fees, because they had exited counselling with forfeiture.

Since upgradation isn't allowed, choose only from the seats in this matrix.

Tamil Nadu In-Service Seats

MCC has said Tamil Nadu's in-service seats, if any remain vacant after the state's stray round, are expected to be returned by the state on 28 September 2026. They will be added to the All India SS Counselling 2025 matrix, so check the latest version before locking your choices.

How to Check the NEET SS Seat Matrix

1. Visit mcc.nic.in.
2. Open the Super Speciality Counselling section.
3. Go to the Special Stray Vacancy Round section.
4. Click the Special Stray Round Seat Matrix link.
5. Download the PDF and check vacancies by state, institute, speciality and course.

Counselling Fee

NEET SS counselling has carried a refundable security deposit of Rs 2,00,000 and a non-refundable registration fee of Rs 5,000, Rs 2,05,000 in total. [VERIFY for this round]

What Happens Next

Registration, choice filling and result dates will appear on the MCC website. One report mentions 30 September 2026 for the allotment result. [VERIFY]