How NEET-MDS counselling works: MCC rounds, Freeze and Float, deposit and exit rules

NEET-MDS is the entrance exam for MDS (dental PG) seats in India. NBEMS runs the exam. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) fills the All India seats, and each state fills its own state quota seats. This page explains the MCC part in plain words.

Jump to: which seats · the exam and rank · the rounds · Freeze and Float · leaving a seat · fee and deposit · reservation · documents · state counselling

Which seats MCC fills

• All India Quota (AIQ): 50% of the MDS seats in government dental colleges of every state. Anyone can apply, whatever their home state.
• Deemed universities: 100% of their seats, in every round. These are paid seats. They have no reservation for OBC, SC, ST, EWS or PwD. Some have Jain or Muslim minority seats.
• NRI seats: 15% of the PG seats in deemed universities, for candidates with NRI documents.
• Central universities: Delhi University, Aligarh Muslim University and Banaras Hindu University. Half the seats are All India Quota. The other half is an internal quota for the university’s own BDS graduates. MCC’s 2026 allotment results also list seats under an IP University quota and Jamia Millia Islamia quotas.
• Armed Forces (AFMS) institutes: for candidates on the list sent by the Armed Forces.

MCC does not fill the state quota (the other 50% in government colleges) or seats in private dental colleges. Your state’s own counselling does that. See state counselling below.

The exam and your rank

• NEET-MDS has 240 questions. Each right answer gives 4 marks and each wrong answer takes away 1. The total is 960.
• NEET-MDS 2026 was held on 2 May 2026. The result was declared by the NBEMS notice of 2 June 2026.
• To qualify in 2026 you needed 308 marks (General and EWS, 50th percentile), 289 (General PwBD, 45th percentile) or 271 (SC, ST, OBC, 40th percentile).
• Your NEET-MDS rank is your place among everyone who took the exam. In 2026 NBEMS does not publish a separate All India 50% quota rank.
• A state makes its own merit list from the same marks. A state rank is a different number and cannot be compared with your NEET-MDS rank.
• You need a BDS degree, dental council registration and a 12-month internship finished by the cut-off date. The NBEMS and MCC bulletins give 31 May 2026 for NEET-MDS 2026. MCC’s user guide mentions 30 June 2026; check MCC’s latest notice before you register.

AIIMS New Delhi does not take NEET-MDS. The dental seats at AIIMS, JIPMER and PGIMER are filled through INI-CET, a separate exam.

The rounds

MCC runs four rounds: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3 and a Stray Vacancy round. You fill fresh choices in every round.

Round 3 and stray round dates are from MCC’s revised schedule of 30 September 2026. Dates can change again, so check MCC’s site.

Freeze and Float (new in 2026)

When you get a seat in Round 1 or Round 2, you choose one of two options.

• Freeze: you are happy with the seat. You go to the college and join. You do not take part in upgrades.
• Float: you want to try for a better seat in the next round. You upload your documents and they are checked online. You do not have to go to the college yet.

• You can move up from Round 1 to Round 2, and from Round 2 to Round 3. Not after that.
• If you are upgraded, your earlier seat is gone. You cannot go back to it.
• After Round 3, everyone with a seat must go to the college and join.
• A seat joined in Round 3 cannot be resigned or upgraded, and you cannot take part in the stray round.

Leaving a seat

If you hold a seat from a state counselling, MCC removes you from Round 3 and the stray round. MCC shares its list of joined candidates with the states.

Registration fee and security deposit

• If you apply for both, you pay only the deemed university amounts.
• The amounts were the same in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
• The deposit comes back only after all rounds end, to the account you paid from.
• MCC does not fix college fees. Each college and state sets its own tuition fee, stipend and service bond. An All India Quota seat in a state college can carry that state’s bond, so check before you fill choices.

Reservation

• All India Quota and central university seats: SC 15%, ST 7.5%, OBC (non-creamy layer, central list) 27%, EWS 10%.
• PwD: 5% within each category. You need an online Eligibility Certificate from an MCC disability board.
• Deemed university seats: no category reservation.
• The internal quota at AMU has no category reservation. The internal quota at BHU has the usual one.
• Unfilled reserved seats are converted to other categories only in Round 3. In Round 1 and Round 2 a reserved seat stays with its category.

Documents at joining

• MCC allotment letter.
• NEET-MDS admit card and rank letter from NBEMS.
• BDS mark sheets and degree certificate.
• Internship completion certificate.
• Dental council registration certificate.
• Proof of date of birth and a photo ID.
• Category, EWS, PwD or NRI documents, if you claim that seat.

State counselling

The state quota in government dental colleges and the seats in private dental colleges are filled by each state’s own counselling. You register for it separately. States set their own domicile rules, fees and bonds, and some (such as Tamil Nadu) use their own rank list.

See the seats for your rank

Closing ranks show how far down each seat went last time. See NEET-MDS closing ranks by branch, or put in your rank and category in MDS options to see which MCC and state seats fit.

Sources

• MCC NEET-MDS Counselling 2026 Information Bulletin and Counselling Scheme
• MCC NEET-MDS 2026 counselling schedule (14 August 2026)
• MCC revised schedule for Round 3 and the stray round (30 September 2026)
• MCC notice on resignation of Round 1 and 2 seats (25 September 2026)
• NBEMS NEET-MDS 2026 Information Bulletin
• NBEMS notice: NEET-MDS 2026 result (2 June 2026)

Rules, amounts and dates are re-issued every year. Read the bulletin for your own year.