NEET-MDS Round 3 and the stray round: who can join and what it costs
Based on MCC’s NEET-MDS Counselling 2026 bulletin and schedules (listed under Sources). The documents on mcc.nic.in are the only ones that count. FindMyBranch is not part of MCC.
MCC runs four MDS rounds for All India Quota, deemed university and central university seats: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3 and the stray vacancy round. Round 3 used to be called the mop-up round. The last two rounds have the strictest rules. A mistake here can cost your deposit and your chance at any more MCC seats.
Got your rank? See which seats closed near it.
Check my MDS optionsThe 2026 dates
| Step | Round 3 | Stray vacancy round |
|---|---|---|
| Registration and payment | 3 to 7 Oct (registration till 3 PM, payment till 6 PM on 7 Oct) | 22 to 26 Oct (registration till 3 PM, payment till 6 PM on 26 Oct) |
| Choice filling | 3 to 8 Oct, till 10 AM on 8 Oct | 23 to 27 Oct, till 10 AM on 27 Oct |
| Choice locking | 4 PM on 7 Oct to 10 AM on 8 Oct | 4 PM on 26 Oct to 10 AM on 27 Oct |
| Result | 10 to 11 Oct | 29 Oct |
| Reporting | 12 to 19 Oct | 30 Oct to 5 Nov |
From MCC’s revised schedule of 30 September 2026. Times are server time. Dates can change again.
Round 3 (earlier called mop-up)
Who can take part
- People registering for the first time. They pay the fee.
- People who registered earlier but got no seat in Round 1 or Round 2. They do not register again.
- People who resigned a Round 2 seat, or left a Round 2 seat with forfeiture without joining. They register again and pay again.
- Float candidates holding a Round 1 or Round 2 seat, trying for a better one.
Who cannot
MCC lists candidates who have joined a Round 1 or Round 2 seat, and candidates holding a state quota seat (as per the data the states share), who are not willing to upgrade, as not eligible for Round 3.
How it works
- The seats are those left vacant after Round 2 (not allotted, not joined, not reported), plus virtual vacancies: seats held by Float candidates, which are given out only if their holder moves up.
- Everyone fills a fresh list of choices. Earlier lists are not used.
- If you are upgraded in Round 3, you have no claim on your earlier seat.
The rules that bite
- After the Round 3 result, everyone allotted in Round 3, and every Float candidate who was not upgraded, must report to the college in person.
- A seat joined in Round 3 is final. You cannot resign it or upgrade, and you cannot take part in any later MCC round.
- If you get a Round 3 seat and do not join it, you lose your security deposit and you are out of all further MCC rounds.
- If you registered fresh in Round 3 and got no seat, you can go on to the stray round.
- MCC shares the list of candidates who joined in Rounds 1, 2 and 3 with the states, and the states share theirs.
Seats that change group in Round 3
Reserved seats nobody took are converted in Round 3, and only once no eligible candidate of that group is left. In Round 1 and Round 2 a reserved seat stays with its group.
| Unfilled seat | Becomes |
|---|---|
| ST (PwD) | ST |
| SC (PwD) | SC |
| UR (PwD) | UR |
| OBC (PwD) | OBC |
| ST | SC |
| SC | UR |
| EWS | UR |
| NRI, Jain Minority and Muslim Minority seats (deemed universities) | UR (Self-Financed Merit seats) |
MCC asks candidates to keep these conversions in mind when they fill Round 3 choices.
Stray vacancy round
This is the last round, for seats still empty after Round 3. For deemed universities, MCC runs it for all their seats.
Who can take part
- Only people not holding any seat, or who got no seat, in Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the All India, state or deemed university counselling.
- New candidates can register in the stray round, with the fee.
- People who were given a Round 3 seat and did not join it cannot take part.
- Anyone holding a seat from Rounds 1 to 3 is removed before the stray round is processed. Anyone on a state’s list of allotted candidates is also removed.
The rules
- Everyone registers and fills choices again. Your Round 3 choices are not used.
- If you get a stray round seat, you must report and join it, or you lose your deposit.
- MCC shares the stray round list with the states, and the states share theirs.
- MCC’s 2025 MDS bulletin also said that a stray seat not joined would bar you from the next year’s NEET-MDS counselling. The 2026 bulletin does not repeat that line. Treat a stray seat as one you must join.
Special stray rounds
In 2023 and 2024 MCC also allotted MDS seats in a round it called a “Special Stray” round, after the stray round. MCC’s 2026 schedule lists only the stray round. Whether another round happens, and its rules, would be announced by MCC on mcc.nic.in.
Reading late-round closing ranks
The closing rank is the rank of the last person who got a seat. Stray seats often go at worse ranks than the scheduled rounds. In our 2025 MCC records, 58 open-category seats were also filled in the stray round, and 49 of them went at a worse rank there. That is luck, not something to plan on. FindMyBranch keeps stray-round figures apart and never uses them to sort a seat into very likely, possible or hard. See how to read a NEET-MDS closing rank.
Quick checklist
- Going into Round 3? Only list seats you are happy to keep for the whole course.
- Not joining a Round 3 seat ends your MCC counselling and costs your deposit.
- Holding any seat, MCC or state? You cannot enter the stray round.
- Carry original documents when you report. See the MDS documents checklist.
- More on the money: MDS free exit and security deposit.
See what MDS seats went at your rank in past years. Stray-round figures are shown on their own.
Check MDS optionsSources
- MCC NEET-MDS Counselling 2026 Information Bulletin and Counselling Scheme
- MCC revised schedule for Round 3 and the stray round (30 September 2026)
- MCC NEET-MDS Counselling 2025 Information Bulletin
- MCC MDS counselling archive (allotment results of past years)
Rules are from MCC’s NEET-MDS Counselling 2026 bulletin, dates from its 2026 schedules. The 2025 bulletin is cited only for the line it had and 2026 dropped. Rules and dates are re-issued every year.