Karnataka’s 2026 medical seat-allotment rules are out: biometric login, tighter exit deadlines, SC internal quota goes live
Source: cetonline.karnataka.gov.in
The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) has released its 2026 method of online seat allotment, the rulebook that turns a NEET-UG rank into a medical or dental seat in the state. It covers the single combined counselling KEA runs for medical, dental, AYUSH, engineering, nursing and pharmacy, so a NEET candidate’s medical options sit on one priority list. The seat is still decided purely by NEET rank and the order of options entered; most of what is new for 2026 is in how the process runs and how strictly exits are policed.
Login and admission are now biometric
Candidates log in to option entry by scanning the QR code on their verification slip, entering an OTP, and clearing a live face-recognition check. At the college, admission is confirmed only after an online face-recognition match and an OTP sent to the candidate’s mobile over WhatsApp, after which the college, not the candidate, downloads the admission letter. The 2025 bulletin described only a user-ID and secret-key login.
Surrender deadlines have tightened
A candidate confirming a seat from another board such as MCC or COMED-K must surrender the KEA seat before the third round begins; the 2025 rule set that deadline at the second-round option-modification stage. A surrender must now be made to KEA in person, where 2025 allowed it in writing. On money, surrendering before the last date for third-round option entry costs a Rs 5,000 processing fee with the balance refunded; surrendering after the final round forfeits the entire fee.
SC internal reservation enters counselling
Following a government order dated 27 April 2026, internal reservation within the Scheduled Caste category now applies to candidates whose income-certificate RD number carries it. Other reservation runs on Karnataka’s existing roster, including the Kalyana-Karnataka (Article 371J) quota.
What stays the same
The structure students already know is unchanged: a 2+1 round system (two regular rounds plus a third casual-vacancy round), a mock allotment before Round 1, and the Choice 1/2/3 decision after each round (accept and exit, hold and seek an upgrade, or reject and re-enter). The option-entry fee is Rs 750 for all Karnataka categories. The college-wise, category-wise seat matrix and 2026 fees come separately before each round, and KEA repeats its standard warning that past cut-off ranks are for reference only and that touts promising seats should be ignored.
Source: KEA UGCET-2026 Method of Online Seat Allotment, dated 20 June 2026. A navigation aid, not the official notification; read the current KEA brochure before filing choices.