JoSAA Choice Filling 2026 - Dates, Process, Freeze, Float, Slide, Withdraw
Students can fill out the choice of their desired courses and colleges during the JoSAA choice filling process 2026. Check out the important dates, process, and other aspects related to the JoSAA choice filling process.
JoSAA Choice Filling 2026: Candidates who have passedJEE Main 2026will need to register using their JEE Main 2026 registration number and password. Similarly, candidates who have passed JEE Advanced 2026 must enter their JEE Main 2026 registration number and JEE Advanced 2026 password to register for JoSAA counselling 2026. Candidates must fill out their preferences for the institutes and courses they wish to enrol in after completing the JoSAA 2026 registration process. Only those candidates who register and fill out their choices for the JoSAA counselling 2026 within the stipulated period will be considered for a seat. A centralised JoSAA 2026 counselling process will be used to allocate seats based on JEE Main/JEE Advanced 2026rankings.
The following article will provide an overview of the complete details related to JoSAA Choice Filling 2026, including dates, process, freeze, float, slide, withdraw, and much more.
JoSAA Choice Filling 2026 Direct Link
Candidates can fill up their choices of courses and institutes by clicking on the direct link below.
JoSAA 2026 Choice Filling Direct Link |
What is JoSAA 2026?
JoSAA, also known as Joint Seat Allocation Authority, is set up by the Education Ministry to manage the admission to 114 tertiary institutes approved by the Government of India. Through the JoSAA Counselling process, the eligible candidates will be provided admission to various IITs, NITs, IIITs, and otherGFTI colleges in India. After the registration, the registered students will be eligible for JoSAA choice filling 2026.
JoSAA Choice Filling 2026 Highlights
Here is a table highlighting the key points of the JoSAA choice-filling process:
Highlights | Details |
|---|---|
Choice Filling Platform | JoSAA 2026 official website - josaa.nic.in |
Mode of JoSAA choice filling 2023 | Online |
Participating Institutes | 23 IITs, 31 NITs, IIEST Shibpur, 26 IIITs, and 47 GFTIs (Total: 127) |
Next Step after Choice Filling | Document verification and reporting to assigned college |
Choice Filling Start Date | June 2, 2026 (Tentative) |
Choice Filling End Date | TBA |
Also read:NIT ECE Cutoff 2026
JoSAA 2026 Choice Filling Dates
The students who are interested in taking admission through JoSAA counselling will have to register and fill in their choices before the last date. Thus, it is important for the students to stay updated with the JoSAA counselling schedule 2026 so that they don't miss out on upcoming events.
Please Note: The JoSAA 2026 schedule will be officially announced after the JEE Advanced 2026 results are declared. All dates mentioned below are tentative and based on previous year patterns. Candidates must verify exact dates on the official JoSAA website (josaa.nic.in) once released.
Also read:List of Documents Required for JoSAA Counselling 2026
Events | JoSAA Counselling Dates (Tentative) |
|---|---|
JoSAA 2026 registration and choice filling | June 2, 2026 |
Mock seat allocation Round 1 | June 9, 2026 |
Mock seat allocation Round 2 | June 11, 2026 |
JoSAA 2026 round 1 seat allotment | June 14, 2026 |
Document verification and reporting for round 1 | June 14 to June 18, 2026 |
JoSAA 2026 round 2 seat allotment | June 21, 2026 |
Document verification and reporting for round 2 | June 21 to June 25, 2026 |
JoSAA 2026 round 3 seat allotment | June 28, 2026 |
Document verification and reporting for round 3 | June 28 to July 2, 2026 |
JoSAA 2026 round 4 seat allotment | July 4, 2026 |
Document verification and reporting for round 4 | July 4 to 8, 2026 |
JoSAA 2026 round 5 seat allotment | July 10, 2026 |
Document verification and reporting for round 5 | July 10 to 14, 2026 |
JoSAA 2026 round 6 seat allotment | July 16, 2026 |
Document verification and reporting for round 6 | July 22, 2026 |
JoSAA Eligibility Criteria 2026
Candidates seeking admission via JoSAA Counselling 2026 must abide by certain eligibility norms which have been mentioned below.
- Qualifying JEE Advanced 2026 for academic programmes [excluding the preparatory courses] at IITs.
- Candidates should fulfill the following eligibility norms to appear for counselling of B.E or B.Tech programmes: A rank in JEE Main 2026 Paper-1 for B.E./B.Tech. programs at NITs, IIITs, and Other-GFTIs. Qualified Class 12 (or equivalent) exam with Physics and Mathematics as mandatory subjects along with one of the Chemistry/Biotechnology/Biology/Technical Vocational subjects.
- OR Candidates should satisfy the following eligibility norms to apply for JoSAA counselling for the Architecture Programme: Obtain a rank in JEE Main 2026 Paper-2 for B.Arch. with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics for programmes at NITs, IIEST, IIITs, and other GFTIs. Obtain a rank in JEE Main 2026 Paper-3 for B. Planning with Mathematics as a mandatory subject for programmes at NITs, IIEST, IIITs, and Other-GFTIs.
Criteria-Wise Eligibility
Candidates who satisfy one or more of the following criteria mentioned below are eligible to take part in the JoSAA process.
Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
Criterion (i) | Successfully qualified JEE Advanced 2026 exam for academic programs excluding the preparatory courses of various IITs. Must have secured 75% in aggregate for general category candidates and 65% for SC, ST and PwD candidates. Must be within the top 20 percentile of successful students in Class XII board exams. |
Criterion (ii) | Successfully qualified JEE Advanced 2026 exam for preparatory courses at IITs. Must have secured 75% in aggregate for general category candidates and 65% for SC, ST and PwD candidates. Must be within the top 20 percentile of successful students in Class XII board exams. |
Criterion (iii) | Has secured a rank in JEE Main 2026 exam for Paper 1 for BE/B.Tech courses at NITs, IIEST, IIITs and GFTIs. Must have secured 75% in aggregate for general category candidates and 65% for SC, ST and PwD candidates. Must be within the top 20 percentile of successful students in Class XII board exams. |
Criterion (iv) | Has secured a rank in JEE Main 2026 exam for B.Arch Paper for B.Arch course at NITs, IIEST, IIITs and GFTIs. Must have secured 75% in aggregate for general category candidates and 65% for SC, ST and PwD candidates. Must be within the top 20 percentile of successful students in Class XII board exams. |
Criterion (v) | Has secured a rank in JEE Main 2026 exam for B.Plan Paper for B.Plan course at NITs, IIEST, IIITs and GFTIs. Must have secured 75% in aggregate for general category candidates and 65% for SC, ST and PwD candidates. Must be within the top 20 percentile of successful students in Class XII board exams. |
JoSAA 2026 Choice Filling Process
Before heading for JoSAA Registration & Choice Filling 2026, the candidates need to read the process carefully. Every candidate will be allowed for JoSAA Choice Filling 2026 only once. Thus, the candidates must take utmost care while filling in their choice of preference for admission. The below section overviews the step-by-step process for JoSAA 2026 Choice Filling which will help you through the process:
Steps | Process |
|---|---|
Step 1: Registration | Visit the official website and click on the link for JoSAA registration. The candidates will have to log in to the portal using JEE Main or JEE Advanced application number and password. All the details of the candidates will be fetched from the JEE Main/Advanced database; however, students can also modify the information wherever allowed. The candidates are advised to note down the password which will be used for the further JoSAA counselling process. |
Step 2: Choice Filling | After the JoSAA registration, the candidates will have to exercise the JoSAA Choice Filling through which they will have to enter the choice of colleges and courses in which they want to get admission. The candidates can fill as many choices as available to them according to their rank. The choice filling must be done in the order of priority, meaning you have to give the first priority to the college/course which you want the most and so on. |
Step 3: Choice Locking | After the JoSAA choice filling is completed, the candidates will have to lock their choices before the final date. In case any candidate fails to lock the choices, the last saved choices will be automatically locked on the final date. Critical Note on Auto-Locking: While JoSAA will "Auto-Lock" your choices on the final day, do not rely on this. If you are in the middle of reordering or dragging choices when the timer hits zero, the system may lock an unorganized version of your list. Always click "Save & Continue" every 10 minutes and manually lock your final list 2 hours before the deadline. |
Also read:JEE Main Result 2026
Expert Strategy: The 3-Tier Choice Filling Method
Most candidates lose seats not because of their rank, but because of poor ordering. Follow this professional counseling structure:
- Tier 1: The "Dream" Choices (Top 10–15%): Place colleges/branches that closed 2,000–5,000 ranks above yours last year. These are your "long shots" that might hit during the final rounds or spot rounds.
- Tier 2: The "Realistic" Choices (Middle 60%): This is your core list. Include colleges where the previous year's closing rank matches yours within a ±1,000 range.
- Tier 3: The "Safety" Choices (Bottom 20%): You MUST include at least 10 choices that are significantly below your rank. This ensures you aren't left with "No Seat Allotted" after Round 1.
Expert's Tip:Never list a choice you are not willing to join. JoSAA only moves you upward in your list; you can never go back to a lower-priority choice once a higher one is allotted.
JoSAA Seat Allotment 2026
JoSAA is conducting a centralized counselling process through which the seats will be allocated to the candidates. The JoSAA Seat Allotment 2026 will be done based on the rank obtained by the candidates in JEE Main/Advanced along with their preference of choice filled.
After the seat is allotted to the candidates, they will have the option to either freeze, float, slide, or withdraw their allotted seats. See the below table to understand how these options work:
Option | What It Means |
|---|---|
Freeze | If the candidates are satisfied with the colleges/ courses allotted to them, they can accept the allotment and freeze their seats. |
Float | If the candidate wants to keep the seat allotted but also wants to participate in the next round of counselling, he/she can choose the float option. This way, he/she can choose either seat allotted to them. |
Slide | If the candidate is satisfied with the college allotted but wishes to change the course within the same college, then he/she can choose the slide option. |
Withdraw | If the candidate has accepted the allotment but is not satisfied with the seat allotted & doesn’t want to get admission to the college, he/she can withdraw their seat by visiting the institutes. |
Also read:NIT EEE Cutoff 2026
Important Points for JoSAA 2026 Choice Filling
Check the important details regarding JoSAA choice filling 2026 given below.
- Candidates must fill all the choices in the decreasing order of their preferences
- Candidates must lock their choices; if choices are not locked, the last saved choices will be automatically locked
- Candidates should select the academic programmes carefully
- Candidates should double-check that all the information they input during the JoSAA registration and option-filling processes is accurate. Incorrect information may result in the admission being canceled or rejected.
- The authorities will not allow candidates under any circumstance to change/edit their choices after the deadline is over
- Only during that time will candidates be able to complete the JoSAA choice filling and locking process
- According to the timeline for the release of the JoSAA 2026 seat allotment, students must log in to their candidate's portal to verify the status of their seat allocation
Also Read:JoSAA 2026 Mock Allotment Result
Important Notice for Physical Verification Process and Date Ranges for PwD Candidates in JoSAA 2026
PwD candidates are allowed a longer time duration along with the choice for selection of the institute where they would like to report for physical verification of their PwD status. Each candidate seeking to get the benefit of the PwD category must complete this process by the end of the counselling round in which they are allocated a seat.
Related JoSAA Articles:
We hope that this article on JoSAA 2026 choice filling was helpful and informative. For more updates related to JoSAA counselling, stay tuned to College Dekho.