The Assam NEET counselling process 2026 is run by the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), Assam, through its portal at dme.assam.gov.in. Admission to first-year MBBS and BDS seats in the state’s government medical and dental colleges follows Assam’s gazetted admission rules, the Medical Colleges and Dental Colleges of Assam (Regulation of Admission into 1st year MBBS/BDS Courses) Rules, 2017, as amended up to 2020. The Selection Board that allots seats is chaired by the Director of Medical Education and includes the principals of the government colleges and the Controller of Examinations of Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences.
Assam keeps the counselling itself fairly plain. The weight of the decision sits at the back, in a service bond that is one of the heaviest in the country. Understand the bond and the document-release deposit before you accept a government seat, because those two commitments shape the real cost more than any registration fee does.
How seats are split between Assam and the All India Quota
If you are an Assam candidate you are considered for two separate pools. The state quota, run by the DME, takes the bulk of the seats. A 15% All India Quota is carved out of total seats and run by the MCC through national counselling. Six seats go to a Central Pool, and a small block is set aside for North Eastern states that do not have their own state medical college (Nagaland and Meghalaya in the published rules). Seats surrendered back by the centre after All India counselling return to the state pool.
The rules do not restate a bar on holding an All India seat while in Assam counselling, so track both queues and confirm the live notice for the year. Documents and reservation work differently in each pool, which the categories and documents guides cover separately.
Who is eligible for the Assam state quota
The state quota turns on residence and schooling in Assam, proved by two certificates:
- Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC): in the gazette’s Annexure-I format, certifying 20 years of continuous residency in Assam for the candidate or the father or mother, signed by the Deputy Commissioner of the district. Children of All India Service officers allotted to Assam are exempt from the 20-year rule but must produce a parent’s service certificate instead.
- Study in Assam: a certificate that the candidate studied all classes from Class VII to XII in Assam and passed the qualifying examination from an institution in the state, signed by the Head Master or Principal of each school attended. A period of study outside Assam is relaxable only if a parent was posted out of state as an Assam government, central government or government corporation employee, evidenced by the parent’s employment certificate.
A NEET qualification is the baseline for every pool. One Assam-specific edge: the first and second rankers of the current year’s Assam higher secondary science examination are placed at the top of their category counselling list regardless of NEET rank, provided they have cleared NEET and apply within seven days.
The Assam NEET counselling process 2026 step by step
Counselling runs through the DME, with seats called in order of merit and category. The broad flow:
- Register and apply on the DME portal for the state quota, filling personal, academic and NEET details and your category claim.
- Upload and carry the eligibility set (PRC, study certificate, NEET scorecard, Class 10 and 12 mark sheets, category and special-quota certificates where claimed).
- Pay the counselling fee of ₹500 to the DME at counselling.
- Attend document scrutiny. A committee constituted by the DME verifies every eligibility certificate before a seat is offered.
- Receive a seat by merit and your stated preference order. If your first choice is unavailable, the Board moves to your next preference and so on.
- Report and take admission within the stipulated time, then pay the college fee and lodge your original certificates.
Round dates are not fixed in the gazette; they follow the MCI/DGHS schedule each year. Check the DME portal and notices for the current cycle’s calendar before you plan travel or payments.
Rounds and how an upgrade works
Allotment happens in a first counselling by merit and preference order. A subsequent counselling then re-calls candidates, both those already admitted and those who did not appear, and lets them change college or course, or take a seat that has fallen vacant, again in merit order.
There is no online freeze or float toggle here. You do not lock a choice on a portal and watch it move. An upgrade comes by re-appearing in the subsequent counselling and being re-allotted in order of merit. A seat you are allotted but do not get admitted to within the stipulated time is forfeited automatically and treated as vacant.
The service bond, the part most candidates underestimate
This is the defining feature of an Assam government seat. Joining a government MBBS seat commits you to five years of Assam government service that must include at least one year of rural posting, against a bond of ₹30,00,000. A government BDS seat carries a ₹20,00,000 bond. Breach the service and you pay the bond amount as compensation.
A 2019 amendment lets the government waive the penalty if you surrender the seat on genuine and justified grounds, with the reasons recorded in writing. That is a discretion, not a right, so do not plan around it.
Deposits, refunds and the document lock
Two money rules decide what leaving costs you:
- Refund on surrender: surrender the seat before the last admission date set by MCI/DGHS and your paid fees are returned after a 10% deduction. Surrender after that date and there is no refund.
- Document-release deposit: your original certificates are held by the college and returned at course completion. If you want them earlier, after the last admission date, you must lodge a bank draft of ₹3 lakh for MBBS (₹2 lakh for BDS), returned only when you resubmit the originals. It is a practical lock against leaving mid-course.
Two more rules bite after you have joined. Staying absent for 20 continuous days after admission, without proper information, forfeits the seat automatically. And if any submitted document is found false, the seat is forfeited at once with no refund of any fee, and criminal proceedings can follow against the candidate and parents.
Money at a glance
| Item | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Counselling fee | ₹500 | At counselling, to the DME |
| Service bond, MBBS | ₹30,00,000 (five years’ service incl. one rural year) | On a government MBBS seat |
| Service bond, BDS | ₹20,00,000 | On a government BDS seat |
| Document-release deposit | ₹3 lakh (MBBS) / ₹2 lakh (BDS), bank draft | To withdraw originals after the last admission date; refunded on resubmission |
| Refund before the last date | Fees minus 10% | Surrender before the MCI/DGHS last admission date |
| Refund after the last date | None | Surrender after the last admission date |
Key differences from All India Quota counselling
| Assam state quota (DME) | All India Quota (MCC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | Directorate of Medical Education, Assam | Medical Counselling Committee |
| Eligibility | PRC + Class VII to XII study in Assam | Open to all India |
| Reservation | Assam state categories (OBC/MOBC, SC, ST plains and hills, EWS) plus state horizontal quotas | UR/OBC-NCL/SC/ST/EWS |
| Upgrade mechanism | Re-appear in subsequent counselling, no online float | Round-based on the MCC portal |
| Service bond | ₹30 lakh MBBS on a government seat | Not set by Assam |
| OBC certificate | Assam OBC/MOBC certificate | Central OBC-NCL certificate required |
The round-by-round exit rules and the full counselling document checklist for Assam are covered in their own guides. Because the gazette’s later annexures sit in a scanned, image-only tail, confirm any change to the bond, deposits or reservation against the current DME Assam rules and the live counselling notice before you report.