JEE Main counselling 2026 has officially begun. JoSAA opened registration on June 2, 2026, on josaa.nic.in, and if you hold a valid JEE Main 2026 rank, your next move starts right now.
Thousands of students appear for the JEE Main exams every year, but get a low-value seat during counselling not due to their poor performance, but because they did not understand how the counselling is conducted. Deadlines are missed, options such as Float or CSAB rounds are not utilised, and choices are made incorrectly.
A total of 114 institutes with 48,372 seats are available in the JEE Main seat allotment 2026 and through the JoSAA counselling 2026 process, JEE Main qualifiers can get admission to 32 NITs, 26 IIITs, and 56 GFTIs. Note: Only JEE Advanced rank holders can get the seats in IIT. The NIT pool, the IIIT pool and the GFTI pool are all available to you through your JEE Main rank.
This article covers everything you need in one place: JEE Main counselling date 2026, step-by-step registration guidance, freeze/float/slide options, documents checklist, CSAB special rounds, common mistakes to avoid, and practical tips to help you land the best possible seat.
Read More:
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JEE Main Counselling Date 2026: Complete Schedule at a Glance
The official JEE Main counselling date 2026 is out. Carefully read both of the following tables. The first one provides the essential dates of registration and initial dates, while the second provides a detailed breakdown of each round, so you’ll know exactly what to do and when.
Key Registration and Early Dates
| Event / Activity | Date (2026) | Time (IST) |
| Registration & Choice Filling Begins | June 2, 2026 | Ongoing |
| Display of Mock Seat Allocation 1 | June 8, 2026 | 2:00 PM |
| Display of Mock Seat Allocation 2 | June 10, 2026 | 1:00 PM |
| Last Date to Register and Fill Choices | June 11, 2026 | 5:00 PM |
| Pre-Payment of Seat Acceptance Fee & Document Upload End | June 11, 2026 | 5:00 PM |
| Data Reconciliation, Verification & Validation by JoSAA | June 12, 2026 | — |
| Round 1 Seat Allotment | June 13, 2026 | 10:00 AM |
Note: The last date to register and lock your choices is June 11, 2026, at 5:00 PM. The portal closes automatically; there are no extensions.
Detailed Round-Wise Timeline for All JoSAA 2026 Rounds
After the JoSAA 2026 registration last date closes, there will be five allotment rounds. Every round has its own reporting, fee, withdrawal and query resolution period. Please read through this table and mark off the deadlines that apply to you.
| Counselling Round / Event | Activity Window | Hard Deadline (IST) |
| Pre-Round: Registration | June 2 – June 11, 2026 | June 11; 5:00 PM |
| Round 1 Allotment | June 13, 2026 | 10:00 AM |
| Round 1 Reporting & Uploads | June 13 – June 26, 2026 | June 26; 5:00 PM |
| Round 1 Query Settlement | June 26 – June 29, 2026 | June 29; 5:00 PM |
| Round 2 Allotment | June 30, 2026 | 5:00 PM |
| Round 2 Reporting & Fee | June 30 – July 3, 2026 | July 3; 5:00 PM |
| Round 2 Withdrawal / Exit | July 1 – July 3, 2026 | July 3; 5:00 PM |
| Round 2 Query Resolution | July 3 – July 5, 2026 | July 5; 5:00 PM |
| Round 3 Allotment | July 6, 2026 | 5:00 PM |
| Round 3 Reporting & Fee | July 6 – July 8, 2026 | July 8; 5:00 PM |
| Round 3 Withdrawal / Exit | July 7 – July 8, 2026 | July 8; 5:00 PM |
| Round 3 Query Resolution | July 8 – July 9, 2026 | July 9; 5:00 PM |
| Round 4 Allotment | July 10, 2026 | 5:00 PM |
| Round 4 Reporting & Fee | July 10 – July 13, 2026 | July 13; 5:00 PM |
| Round 4 Withdrawal / Exit | July 10 – July 13, 2026 | July 13; 5:00 PM |
| Round 4 Query Resolution | July 13 – July 15, 2026 | July 15; 5:00 PM |
| Round 5 Allotment (Final) | July 16, 2026 | 5:00 PM |
| Round 5 Reporting & Close | July 16 – July 20, 2026 | July 20; 5:00 PM |
| Round 5 Query / IIT Close | July 20 – July 21, 2026 | July 21; 5:00 PM |
| NIT+ Seat Withdrawal | July 16 – July 20, 2026 | July 20; 5:00 PM |
| Partial Admission Fee (PAF) Payment | July 22 – July 24, 2026 | July 24; 5:00 PM |
| CSAB Special Spot Rounds | Late July – Early August 2026 | TBA |
Who Is Eligible for JEE Main Counselling 2026?
Check if you are eligible before you register; The following is a list of what is required:
- A valid JEE Main 2026 rank to participate in JoSAA counselling 2026 for NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.
- In order to get admission in B.Tech, the candidate should have passed class 12 with 75% marks (65% marks for SC/ST) or be in the top 20 percentile of their respective state board.
- To be admitted to B.Arch programme, candidate must have secured 50% aggregate in class 12 and 50% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
- IIT seats: Only JEE Advanced 2026 rank holders are eligible. Just a JEE Main rank is not enough for the IITs.
Quick Clarity: In case you have cleared JEE Main but not JEE Advanced, there are some reputed NITs and IIITs that you can get into. The total number of seats in JEE Main counselling is 48,372 in 114 premier institutes, which is a large pool to play hard to get in.
Check Out: List of Top NIT Colleges in India – NIRF 2026 Ranking, Fees, Seats, Cutoff & Placements
JEE Main Counselling Process 2026 – Step by Step
The JEE Main counselling process 2026 happens in clear stages. Here is exactly what you need to do, in order.
Step 1: Register on josaa.nic.in
Visit the Josaa.nic.in website. Enter JEE Main 2026 Roll Number. Complete all the personal information correctly and acknowledge the declaration. Make sure your information is accurate when you enter it, otherwise there may be issues during verification, so take (take with a grain of salt idiom synonym) your time (race against time phrase meaning) with this step. Registration once submitted cannot be reversed.
JoSAA 2026 registration opened on June 2, 2026 and the last date to register is June 11, 2026, at 5:00 PM. The portal locks automatically at that time.
Step 2: Online Choice Filling and Locking
This is the most important step in the JoSAA choice filling 2026. Choice filling is where you decide which institutes and branches you want, and in what priority order. Get this right, and the rest of the process becomes much smoother.
- Add all the institutes and branches you are genuinely interested in, from your absolute top choice all the way down to your safety options.
- Fill at least 15–20 choices at all times. The more options, the more opportunities in each round.
- Run Mock Seat Allocation on 8th June and 10th June to see if your current preference list gives you a reasonable allocation. This is a practice run so take it seriously.
- Once you have viewed your mock allotment results, you still have time to make changes before the June 11 deadline. Know how to manipulate the options, add new ones or delete the ones that don’t seem appropriate for your rank.
- Once you lock in choices, you cannot change them. Do not rush this step.
Tip: Fill choices after you have analysed the JoSAA opening and closing ranks of the past year. Please note that do not trust general rank list rather always look at category specific data in josaa.nic.in.
Step 3: Choose Your Seat Option – Freeze, Float, or Slide, and What Do They Mean?
Following each round of JoSAA seat allocation 2026, candidates will be provided with four options to choose the allotted seat. This dictates whether or not you remain in the pool for a better seat in the next round or fix what you have got.
- Freeze: You are happy with your current seat. You accept it and exit all future rounds. The seat is confirmed.
- Float: You keep your current seat but stay in the pool for a better allotment from any institute or branch in the next round.
- Slide: You keep your current seat but stay in the pool only for a better branch within the same institute.
- Withdraw: You give up your seat entirely and exit JoSAA. Choose this only if you are certain you want to go elsewhere.
Expert Tip: Choose Float if your priority is branch over college. Choose Slide if you have already landed your target NIT and just (just in case definition) want a better branch there. Never freeze in early rounds unless you are 100% satisfied you may miss a better allotment in the next round.
Step 4: Pay Seat Acceptance Fee (SAF) and Upload Documents
Once a seat is allotted to you after any round, you must pay the Seat Acceptance Fee online through the JoSAA portal to hold that seat. The JEE Main counselling fee 2026 is as follows:
| Category | Seat Acceptance Fee (SAF) |
| General, OBC-NCL, GEN-EWS | ₹30,000 |
| SC, ST, PwD (all sub-categories) | ₹15,000 |
Partial Admission Fee (PAF) Payment for NIT+ System
If you are holding a seat in the NIT+ system (any NIT, IIIT, or GFTI) at the end of Round 5, there is one final mandatory step before you are done with JoSAA. You need to log back into the JoSAA portal and pay the Partial Admission Fee between July 22 and July 24, 2026, by 5:00 PM.
This is for all candidates with NIT+ seats. Failure to make this payment will cancel your seat automatically.
| Category | Partial Admission Fee (PAF) |
| SC, ST, GEN-PwD, EWS-PwD, OBC-NCL-PwD | ₹20,000 |
| All other candidates | ₹45,000 |
After paying the Seat Acceptance Fee, you also need to upload all required documents through the portal during the reporting window. Plan for all the items ahead of time, so there’s no last-minute scrambling.
Step 5: Document Verification and Reporting
Upon payment of fees for every round, JoSAA officials inspect the documents that you upload, so you should be aware of the documents required for JoSAA counselling. If they found any discrepancy in name, category or certificate format will be identified as a mismatch, they will send you a query that needs to be resolved within the specified query resolution window, which normally falls within 2 days after the reporting deadline.
These windows are short and strict. If you do not respond in time, your seat is automatically cancelled with no way to recover it. Keep a close eye on your email and the JoSAA portal during every reporting period.
Documents Required for JEE Main Counselling 2026
Keep these ready before you start the JoSAA document verification 2026 process. Missing even one document during online reporting can lead to your seat being cancelled:
- JEE Main 2026 Scorecard
- JEE Main 2026 Admit Card
- Class 10 Certificate (for Date of Birth proof)
- Class 12 Marksheet and Passing Certificate
- JoSAA Seat Allotment Letter (download from josaa.nic.in)
- Government-issued photo ID (Aadhaar / Passport / Voter ID)
- Three recent passport-size photographs
- Caste / Category certificate (OBC-NCL / SC / ST / EWS) if applicable
- PwD certificate if applicable
- Fee payment proof/payment receipt
- Crossed bank cheque or passbook image with bank account details
Important: The OBC-NCL certificate should be issued in the central government format and should be recent. Many students fail to secure seats each year, as their OBC-NCL certificate is either out of date or is not in a proper format. Have them verified well in advance of counselling.
JEE Main Counselling Special Round – CSAB 2026
Even after JoSAA counselling 2026 ends, there is still a genuine path forward if you did not get a seat or want to move to a better one. This is exactly where CSAB counselling 2026 comes in.
CSAB (Central Seat Allocation Board) conducts special rounds to fill vacant seats across NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs after all JoSAA rounds are done. There are two types:
- CSAB NEUT: Fills seats in institutes located in the North Eastern states and Union Territories. Open to all eligible JEE Main candidates.
- CSAB SFTI: Covers 18 Self-Financing Technical Institutes. Seat allotment is strictly based on JEE Main AIR.
CSAB Special Rounds for 2026 are expected in late July to early August 2026. Exact dates will be published on csab.nic.in as they are confirmed.
Who Can Apply for CSAB 2026?
- Candidates who registered for JoSAA but did not receive any seat across all rounds.
- Candidates who received a seat in any JoSAA round, whether they accepted it or not.
- Not eligible: Candidates who selected the ‘Not to Participate in Special Round’ option during JoSAA reporting.
CSAB is not a fallback for weak candidates; many students move from average allotments to far better branches and institutes through CSAB rounds. Always keep csab.nic.in bookmarked after JoSAA ends.
Check Out: List of IIITs in India 2026: NIRF Ranking, Fees, Courses Offered, Seats & Cutoff
Participating Institutes in JEE Main Counselling 2026 – Seat Intake
As per the official JoSAA 2026 Seat Matrix, a total of 114 institutes participate in JEE Main seat allotment 2026 with 48,372 seats available for JEE Main qualifiers.
| Institute Type | Number of Institutes | Total Seats (2026) |
| NITs (National Institutes of Technology) | 32 | 25,162 |
| IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology) | 26 | 11,518 |
| GFTIs (Government Funded Technical Institutes) | 56 | 11,692 |
| Total (JEE Main Pool) | 114 | 48,372 |
Expert Tips to Boost Your Seat Selection in JoSAA 2026
These are things that actually work and help, not just general advice:
- Use the previous year’s opening and closing ranks before filling choices.
- Prioritise the branch over the institute only if your career goal demands it.
- Do not ignore newer NITs.
- Keep CSAB SFTI as a genuine backup.
- Set phone reminders for every round deadline.
- Check the official JoSAA rank predictor.
Check Out: JoSAA Counselling 2026: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Choice Filling & Seat Allotment
Common Mistakes to Avoid During JEE Main Seat Selection
The JEE Mains counselling process has multiple rounds and tight deadlines. These are the mistakes that cost students good seats every single year:
- Locking choices before using both mock allotment rounds. Use the June 8 and June 10 mock results to test your list before the June 11 deadline. They exist specifically for this.
- Filling too few choices. Preferably always focus on 15 to 20 preferences. Students who have fewer choices may end up in seats that are of low priority or no seat at all.
- Ignoring category-specific opening and closing ranks. Check last year’s rank data for your category before finalising choices. Do not go only by the general rank list.
- Freezing too early. If you freeze during Rounds 1 and 2, and do not explore Float, you may not get the better seat in subsequent rounds.
- Missing document upload deadlines. JoSAA is strict. If you miss the query resolution window, your seat gets automatically cancelled with no recovery.
- Assuming JEE Main rank gives IIT access. It does not. IIT seats in JoSAA are exclusively for JEE Advanced 2026 rank holders.
- Skipping CSAB as a backup. Many students overlook CSAB rounds and miss a real upgrade opportunity after JoSAA closes.
FAQs on JEE Main Counselling 2026
Q1. When did JEE Main counselling 2026 start?
JoSAA counselling 2026 registration opened on June 2, 2026, at josaa.nic.in.
Q2. What is the last date to register for JoSAA 2026?
The last date to complete JoSAA 2026 registration and lock choices is June 11, 2026, by 5:00 PM. After this, the window closes automatically.
Q3. How many rounds are there in JEE Main counselling 2026?
There are 5 main rounds of JoSAA seat allotment 2026 for the NIT+ system, followed by CSAB special rounds in late July and August 2026 for any vacant seats.
Q4. What is the counselling fee for JEE Main 2026?
Seat Acceptance fee for all candidates (General/OBC-NCL/EWS) is Rs. 30,000. SC, ST and PwD candidates will pay Rs 15,000. There is no separate registration fee.
Q5. Can I get into an IIT with only a JEE Main rank?
No, for getting admission to IIT through JoSAA counselling, students need to qualify JEE Advanced. With JEE Main rank, students can get into NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.
Q6. What is the difference between Freeze and Float in JoSAA?
Freeze means you accept your current allotted seat and exit all future rounds. Float means you keep that seat but remain eligible for a better allotment from any institute or branch in the next round.
Q7. What happens if I miss the PAF payment deadline?
If you hold a seat in the NIT+ system and miss the Partial Admission Fee deadline of July 24, 2026, your seat is automatically cancelled. There is no way to recover it after that.
Q8. What is CSAB counselling, and who is eligible?
CSAB counselling 2026 fills vacant seats in NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs after all JoSAA rounds end. Any JEE Main qualifier who did not opt out of special rounds during JoSAA reporting is eligible to participate.
Written by: Saumya Sarin, Content Writer at Motion Education
Reviewed By: Educational Counselling & Competitive Exam Expert At Motion
Last Updated: June 2026
Note: For the latest official updates, always refer to josaa.nic.in and csab.nic.in.
