KEA Karnataka NEET UG 2026 —
Registration & Linking Extended to 7 August
Karnataka Examinations Authority published the state merit list on 30 July, then on 4 August issued a fresh circular reopening the window. Both new registration and NEET roll number linking now run until 7 August — a second chance for anyone who thought they had missed it.
Last verified · 10 August 2026 · against official counselling portals
The short answer. Karnataka UGNEET 2026, run by the Karnataka Examinations Authority. KEA published the state score list on 30 July 2026, covering 69,170 candidates. On 4 August 2026, KEA issued Circular No. ED/KEA/UGNEET-CR-11/2026, extending both new registration to UGNEET courses and linking of the NEET UG roll number to an existing CET-2026 application, up to 7 August 2026, at cetonline.karnataka.gov.in. Document verification, seat matrix, option entry and Round 1 allotment follow, with dates not yet announced.
KEA UGNEET 2026 —
Timeline So Far
KEA gave you an extra few days — use them. A circular dated 4 August 2026 (No. ED/KEA/UGNEET-CR-11/2026) pushed the roll-number-linking deadline out to 7 August, and reopened new registration to UGNEET courses over the same window. Log in at cetonline.karnataka.gov.in and confirm your NEET UG 2026 roll number is linked to your KEA application. Candidates who appear on the score list but skip the linking step have been treated as ineligible for counselling in past cycles. It takes four minutes. The consequence of forgetting takes a year.
Live update · 7 August 2026 · No. ED/KEA/ADMN/CR-04/2026
UGNEET Round 1 option entry is open, and it closes at 9:00 AM on 13 August. KEA published the medical and dental seat matrix on 7 August and opened option entry at 7:00 PM the same day. Because MCC has published its own schedule for medical and dental, KEA is running UGCET Round 2 and UGNEET Round 1 simultaneously — one combined allotment covering engineering, pharmacy, medical and dental, with provisional results on 19 August 2026 after 10:00 AM.
| Stage | Date & time |
|---|---|
| Seat matrix published — medical and dental | 7 August 2026 |
| Option entry opens — add, modify, delete or re-order | 7:00 PM, 7 August 2026 |
| Option entry closes | 9:00 AM, 13 August 2026 |
| Surrender of a Round 1 allotted seat (CHOICE-1, CHOICE-2) | By 11:00 AM, 13 August 2026 — in person at KEA, Bengaluru |
| Provisional allotment — UGCET Round 2 and UGNEET Round 1 | 19 August 2026, after 10:00 AM |
Two things that catch candidates out. First, medical and dental options can only be added after downloading the verification slip. If your registration requires mandatory verification, you must book a slot, attend it, and only then enter medical and dental options — that sequence takes time you may not have before 13 August. Second, surrendering a Round 1 seat has to be done in person at KEA, 18th Cross, Sampige Road, Malleshwaram, Bengaluru 560012, by 11:00 AM on 13 August, and a penalty applies as per rules. There is no online surrender route, which for a Northeast candidate means booking a flight or forfeiting.
Candidates who never applied for CET-2026, and those who did, can link their NEET roll number. If verification is not required after registration, you can download the verification slip and enter medical and dental options directly. The AYUSH seat matrix had not been received from Government at the time of this notice — medical and dental matrices and fee structures are published, AYUSH is not. Watch kea.kar.nic.in rather than assuming AYUSH will appear in this round.
UGNEET candidates get four choices in this round because it is their first. For UGCET courses in the second round, only CHOICE-1 and CHOICE-4 are available — CHOICE-2 and CHOICE-3 are not. KEA helpline: 080-23460460 · 080-23564583 · keauthority-ka@nic.in
What KEA Allots —
and What It Does Not
| Seat Type | Filled By | Open To | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government college seats, state quota | KEA | Karnataka domicile | Lowest fees in the state; highest closing ranks |
| Government college seats, 15% AIQ | MCC | All India, no domicile bar | Register separately at mcc.nic.in |
| KPCF government quota, private medical | KEA | Karnataka domicile | 40% of seats in participating private colleges |
| KPCF government quota, private dental | KEA | Karnataka domicile | 35% of seats in participating private colleges |
| Management quota, private | College / KEA process | Out-of-state candidates included | The realistic route for a Northeast student |
| NRI category | KEA | NRI, OCI, PIO, foreign nationals | Higher fee bracket; documented sponsor required |
Documents KEA Will Ask For
at Verification
KEA calls candidates for document verification in rank order and publishes the rank range, date and centre in advance. Carry originals plus one self-attested photocopy set of each. Candidates claiming special categories — NCC, sports, defence, ex-defence, Scouts and Guides, CAPF — and NRI or foreign-national applicants must appear physically at the KEA office in Bengaluru.
Details entered in the KEA application are treated as final. KEA does not entertain change requests after the declaration step, so take the draft printout and check every field before you declare.
The Official Notices
Behind This Page
Checked against cetonline.karnataka.gov.in and the KEA circular of 4 August 2026. We list the source so you can verify it yourself rather than taking our word for it — and so you know exactly which notice to look for if a date moves.
How to use this page. Every date here was checked against the official counselling authority's own website on 7 August 2026. State authorities extend and revise deadlines at short notice, sometimes with only a few hours' warning, so treat this page as a starting point and confirm the current date on the official portal before you pay any fee. Orchid Education Foundation is an independent admission guidance firm. We are not an agent of any counselling authority, we cannot influence any allotment, and no seat in India can be obtained without a valid NEET UG 2026 score.
Questions Parents Ask Us
KEA published the UGNEET 2026 score list — the Karnataka state merit rank list — on 30 July 2026, covering 69,170 candidates. On 4 August 2026, KEA issued Circular No. ED/KEA/UGNEET-CR-11/2026, extending both new registration to UGNEET courses and roll-number linking to 7 August 2026. Document verification, the seat matrix, option entry, mock allotment and Round 1 allotment all follow, and KEA has not yet announced dates for them.
No. Candidates who already registered for UGCET-2026 do not file a fresh application. What they must do is link their NEET UG 2026 roll number to the existing CET application through the link on the KEA portal, now extended to 7 August 2026 by KEA's 4 August circular. Skipping that step can knock you out of the counselling entirely even though your registration is valid.
KEA opened a fresh registration window on 17 July for candidates who had not registered under UGCET-2026, and extended the closing date to 30 July 2026. Its notification was explicit that no new registrations would be accepted for Round 2 or Round 3. The only later opportunity KEA normally provides is the Stray Vacancy Round, for which a separate schedule is announced. If you missed the window, look at states still open — Gujarat until 12 August and Puducherry until 6 August.
KEA fills 100% of government seats in state medical and dental colleges, the government-quota share in private colleges — 40% under KPCF in medical and 35% in dental — plus NRI and other defined categories. The remaining 15% All India Quota seats in government colleges are filled separately by MCC. Karnataka has the largest MBBS seat count of any state in the country, which is why students from across the Northeast look at it every year.
Not through the state domicile quota, which is reserved for Karnataka candidates. What is open to an out-of-state candidate is the management quota in private colleges, NRI category seats where a genuine NRI sponsor exists, and deemed university seats through MCC. Karnataka's private colleges have large, long-established Northeast student communities, which matters more than families expect when a seventeen-year-old is 3,000 km from home.
Karnataka Is Big.
Not Every Karnataka Seat Suits You.
Fee, hostel, distance from Guwahati, and whether the college has an existing Northeast student community — we weigh all of it before recommending anything. Talk to us before you commit a deposit.