IIT JAM Counselling 2026: Dates, Process, and Important Updates

IIT JAM Counselling 2026

IIT JAM 2026 counselling will start after the results are announced in March 2026, and the entire process will be conducted online through the JOAPS portal. Students who qualify in JAM 2026 exam, which is scheduled for February 15, 2026, will be eligible to participate in the counselling for admission to MSc, Joint MSc-PhD, MSc-PhD Dual Degree, and Integrated PhD programs at IITs, IISc Bangalore, NITs, and other participating institutes.

The most important step of JAM 2026 counselling process include registering on JOAPS and submitting an admission form. After form submission in April 2026 (tentative), candidates will be allotted seats according to their rank, preference choices, and seat availability, with the results for each round declared online.

Selected students must pay a seat booking fee and choose to accept, upgrade, or reject the offered seat. The physical document verification will be required at the time of joining the allotted institute. The entire IIT JAM counselling process 2026 will be conducted in rounds, and important seat allocation and admission dates, as well as category-wise JAM 2026 cut-offs, will be published on the official JOAPS portal. Tentatively, the last round of counselling is expected to be completed by early July 2026, according to previous years' trends. 

IIT JAM Counselling 2026 Schedule

From the table given below, candidates can take a look at the detailed IIT JAM counselling schedule 2026:

IIT JAM 2026 Counselling Procedure

The complete IIT JAM Counselling 2026 registration process is discussed below:

Step 1: Filling of IIT JAM 2026 Admission Form

Candidates applying for admission in various courses first have to fill out an application form to participate in IIT JAM counselling 2026. For IIT JAM 2026 counselling admission form filling, candidates have to visit the official website of IIT JAM, click on the appropriate link, and enter the login credentials, irrespective of the IISc and IITs where the admission is sought. Next, candidates need to provide the requisite details such as choice of programs in order of preference, academic qualification, aggregate/CGPA, category, etc. The application fee for the JAM 2026 admission form has to be paid online only through using Credit Card/ Debit Card/Net Banking. The application fee will be non-refundable for IIT JAM counselling 2026. After making the payment, candidates need to upload the scanned image on the admission website in the prescribed format.

Note: 

• Only one admission form can be filled during IIT JAM counselling 2026, therefore candidates must be careful while they fill the admission form.
• Candidates belonging to the OBC-NCL category have to submit a valid certificate along with the admission form after the declaration of IIT JAM 2026 result.
• If found incomplete the admission form of JAM 2026 will not be considered for IIT JAM 2026 counselling.

Step 2: Accept or Reject Choices

• In this step of IIT JAM 2026 counselling, candidates have to log in to the official website and make choices from any of the options appearing on the screen. They can opt for the “Accept and Upgrade”, “Accept and Freeze” or “Reject and Quit” option.
• After choosing the option and booking the seat, candidates have to pay the “Seat Booking Fee” through online payment modes using Credit Card/ Debit Card/Net Banking for IIT JAM counselling 2026.
• If a candidate chooses to withdraw, then an amount of INR 1000/- will be deducted from their Seat Booking Fee and the final amount will be refunded.

Step 3: Reporting to the Allotted Centre

• After seat allotment, candidates have to report at the allotted IITs, NITs, and CFTIs along with all the documents required to be submitted at the time of admission for IIT JAM 2026 counselling.
• Candidates who fail to accept the admission offer are not considered for the further admission process for IIT JAM counselling 2026 process.

Note:

• IIT JAM 2026 Third and final admission list will be prepared if seats remain vacant.
• Qualified candidates who are not allotted a seat in the 1st and 2nd admission round for IIT JAM 2026 counselling will remain on the waiting list.
• Anyone who does not accept the acceptance offer from the institute will be removed from the IIT JAM counselling 2026. 

Seat Booking Fee in IIT JAM 2026 Counselling

• In order to get admission into IITs through IIT JAM counselling 2026, candidates who have been allotted seats will have to freeze their seats.
• Candidates will be required to pay the IIT JAM counselling fees 2026 in online mode via Debit Card/Credit Card/Net Banking.
• IIT Bombay will provide a secured gateway for the IIT JAM counselling 2026 process by which the candidates can remit the fee for their admission.

List of Documents Required in IIT JAM Counselling 2026

The candidates are required to carry the following documents in original along with Xerox copies at the time of IIT JAM counselling 2026:

• 10th class mark sheet and passing certificate
• 12th or HSC mark sheet
• Qualifying degree certificate (mark sheets of all semesters)
• National certificate for candidates belonging to general category
• Category certificate (if applicable)
• PwD certificate (if applicable)
• JAM Scorecard and admit card

Important Pointers Regarding IIT JAM Counselling 2026

 The verification of Eligibility Requirements (ERs) and Minimum Educational Qualifications (MEQs) is the mandatory steps to move for IIT JAM counselling 2026. Some other IIT JAM counselling eligibility 2026 & instructions are given below:

• The IIT JAM 2026 counselling admission will be offered only to those candidates who fulfill all IIT JAM 2026 eligibility criteria.
• Apart from this, the admission will depend on the availability of seats in the admitting institutions.
• Without all the documents mentioned below, no candidate will be allowed to participate in IIT JAM counselling 2026.
• The admission in IISc Banglore, IISER Bhopal, IISER Pune, and CCMN Institutes will not be done through common JAM admission process. The candidate must apply for these institutes directly to their undergraduate programmes.

IIT JAM 2026 Counselling: Opening and Closing Ranks

IIT Bombay will also release the opening and closing ranks for IIT JAM counselling 2026. The opening and closing ranks are released online on the official website in four to five different rounds. The IIT JAM rank includes category-wise ranks for admissions in various participating institutions.

Participating Colleges in IIT JAM Counselling 2026

The candidates who qualify IIT JAM 2026 exam are eligible to take admission in different courses offered by all IIT JAM participating institutes 2026. The exam conducting authority conducts the common admission process for admissions to MSc and integrated MSc-PhD courses offered at the different IITs and IISc Bangalore. The candidates can check the list of different courses offered by individual colleges as mentioned below:

Note: The candidates must note that there are other colleges including National Institutes of Technology (NITs), IISERs, etc. besides IITs and IISc that also accept IIT JAM scores. However, the counselling process of the colleges other than IITs and IISc will be held separately.