Thousands of MBBS and BDS seats remain vacant; schedule for stray vacancy round released for these states..

NEET UG Counselling 2026: The admission process for MBBS and BDS courses has now reached its final stage in most states. The 'stray vacancy round' for NEET UG 2026 counselling has been announced. Across several states and union territories, the stray vacancy round is underway to fill vacant MBBS and BDS seats under NEET UG 2026. The respective counselling authorities have issued notices regarding seat matrices, lists of eligible candidates, choice filling, and application procedures. Candidates are advised to visit the official website of the respective state to check the latest schedule. Let us look at the states where the schedule for the 2026 stray vacancy round has been released.

Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, a total of 1,036 MBBS and BDS seats remain vacant under the state quota. The seat matrix for 'Stray Round-1' has been published on the state's official portal. The choice-filling process for this round commenced on October 17. The deadline for choice filling is 11:59 PM on October 18. The schedule is as follows:
Choice filling: October 17 to October 18, until 11:59 PM.
Result of the first round: October 19.
Result of the second round: October 22.
Result of the third round: October 25.
Last date for admission: October 26.

Haryana
According to the seat matrix released on October 17, there are 103 vacant MBBS and BDS seats in Haryana—comprising 78 MBBS seats and 25 BDS seats. Here, too, the choice-filling process began on October 17. The deadline is 11:59 PM on October 19. The schedule is as follows-

Haryana
Registration and choice filling: October 17 to October 19, until 11:59 PM.
Provisional seat allotment: October 21.
Last date for fee submission: October 23, until 8:00 PM.
Document verification and reporting: October 24.
Last date for admission: October 26, until 4:00 PM.

Odisha
The state's official seat matrix lists 56 MBBS seats and 25 BDS seats, totaling 81 seats. The choice-filling process here will begin at 7:30 PM on October 18 and continue until 5:00 PM on October 19. The detailed schedule is as follows-
Choice filling: From 7:30 PM on October 18 to 5:00 PM on October 19.
Seat allotment: October 20.
Reporting: By 10:30 AM on October 22.

Assam

In Assam, the schedule for registration, choice filling, and seat allotment for the stray vacancy round has also been released. It is as follows-
Registration: October 17.
Choice filling: October 18 to October 19.
Seat allotment: October 21.

Jammu & Kashmir
The Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (JKBOPEE) has also initiated the stray vacancy round of counseling for admission to MBBS and BDS courses. Details regarding this are available on the official website, jkbopee.gov.in. This notice was issued on October 16, 2024. The choice-filling process began on October 17, and the deadline is midnight on October 18.

Rajasthan
The schedule for the stray vacancy round for vacant MBBS and BDS seats under Rajasthan NEET UG 2026 has been released. Registration for new candidates commenced on October 16. The deadline for submitting the application fee was 4:00 PM on October 17, while the deadline for submitting both parts of the application was 8:00 PM on the same day. Offline verification of original documents is scheduled to take place from October 18 to October 20, between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM. The provisional combined merit list will be released on October 20. Online choice filling will be open from October 19 to October 21, with choices automatically locked at 11:45 PM on October 21. The tentative seat allotment result is expected on October 22. The period for downloading allotment letters and reporting to the respective colleges is scheduled from October 22 to October 26.

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