Tamil Nadu NEET UG 2026 Counselling Schedule Revised Again

The Selection Committee, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME), Tamil Nadu, has revised the Round 1 NEET UG 2026 counselling schedule for the second time in a week. A notification issued on August 19, 2026, extends online registration, choice filling, and choice locking for MBBS and BDS admissions to 5:00 PM on August 24, 2026. Candidates can check the updated schedule on the official portal, tnmedicalselection.net. The extension applies to Government Quota and Management Quota seats, including NRI and Minority categories, for the 2026-27 academic session.

Key Highlights

• Round 1 registration, choice filling, and choice locking have been extended for the second time, now open till 5:00 PM on August 24, 2026.
• The deadline was first pushed from August 19 to August 20, and has now been moved further to August 24.
• Seat allotment results for Round 1 will be announced on August 25 and 26, 2026.
• Candidates can download their allotment orders from August 27, 2026, onward.
• The revision covers Government Quota and Management Quota seats, including NRI and Minority categories.
• Round 1 covers MBBS and BDS admissions for 2026-27 in government medical and dental colleges, ESIC Medical College, K.K. Nagar, Chennai, self-financing institutions and state private universities.
• Around 9,952 MBBS and BDS seats are available for allotment in this counselling cycle.
• The counselling process is being conducted entirely online through tnmedicalselection.net.

What Has Changed

Tamil Nadu Round 1 counselling opened on August 13, 2026, with registration, choice filling, and choice locking originally scheduled to close on August 19. The Selection Committee first extended this window to August 20, in line with the extended All India Quota (AIQ) Round 1 timeline notified by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). Under that revision, seat allotment processing was to begin on August 21, with results due on August 22.

The window has now been extended a second time. Candidates can continue to register, fill in choices, and lock them until 5:00 PM on August 24, 2026. This pushes the seat allotment result to August 25-26, with allotment orders available for download from August 27. The official notification does not spell out a specific reason for this second extension, though it follows recent additions to the eligible candidate list issued by the Selection Committee under court directions.

Revised Round 1 Schedule

Candidates should treat August 24 as the current working deadline, but should keep checking the official portal, since the schedule has already changed twice this cycle.

Who This Round Covers

Round 1 counselling is open to candidates seeking admission under the 85% Tamil Nadu state quota as well as management quota seats in self-financing medical and dental colleges. It includes seats in Tamil Nadu government medical and dental colleges, ESIC Medical College at K.K. Nagar, Chennai, and state private university medical colleges. Candidates who have already registered and locked their choices under the earlier timeline do not need to register again; the extension only reopens the window for those yet to complete these steps or wishing to revise their choices before the new deadline.

What Candidates Should Do Now

Candidates who have not yet registered or filled in their choices should complete the process on tnmedicalselection.net well before 5:00 PM on August 24. Those who have already locked their choices can review them once more, since the portal allows edits until the final locking deadline. Candidates should also monitor the Notifications section of the official website for any further changes, along with updates on document verification, grievance redressal, and category-wise eligibility lists, several of which have been issued through August.

Official Website / Important Links

• Official counselling portal: tnmedicalselection.net
• Notifications and circulars: tnmedicalselection.net/Notification.aspx