CUET PG Counselling 2026: University Wise Registration Open, Merit List and Seat Allotment

CUET PG 2026 counselling is conducted independently by each of the ~203 participating universities and institutions after NTA shared scores from the exam held during March 6–27, 2026. The CUET PG 2026 result was declared on April 24, 2026, and universities are now in various stages of publishing merit lists — Delhi University, BHU, JNU, and the University of Hyderabad (HCU) have already opened or closed registration, while Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) are expected to open their admission portals in late June/early July 2026.

• No centralized counselling authority: NTA only conducts the exam and shares scores; each university manages its own admission and seat allotment independently.
• Over 4.11 lakh students registered for CUET PG 2026; scorecards are available on DigiLocker and the NTA portal.
• 203 institutions participate, including 44 central universities, 37 state universities, 32 deemed universities, and 130 private universities.
• Most universities release 3 rounds of merit lists followed by spot admissions to fill remaining seats.
• Students must register separately on each university’s official portal and pay the respective application or counselling fee before the institution’s deadline.

Reservation of Quotas for CUET PG Counselling 2026

All participating central universities follow the Government of India’s reservation policy as mandated by the University Grants Commission (UGC). State universities and private institutions accepting CUET PG scores may follow state-level or institution-specific reservation norms. The percentages below reflect the central university structure applicable at institutions such as DU, BHU, JNU, HCU, and Pondicherry University.

In addition to the above standard central-university categories, several institutions extend special provisions:

• Kashmiri Migrants (KM): Eligible for extended registration deadlines (up to 30 days beyond the general window), up to 10% relaxation in cutoff percentage, and supernumerary seats in select programmes. Domicile requirements are waived for Kashmiri Migrants at central universities.
• Sports / Extracurricular Supernumerary Quota: Delhi University’s CSAS-PG includes a sports supernumerary quota. Students must produce a valid certificate from a national or state sports federation endorsed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. An additional ₹100 fee is payable at the time of DU CSAS-PG registration.
• JMI Minority Institution Provisions: Jamia Millia Islamia is a minority institution. JMI may apply internal reservation norms for Muslim minority students alongside standard categories. Standard central-university reservation percentages may apply differently here — check JMI’s official prospectus for the exact breakdown.
• AMU Internal Quota: Aligarh Muslim University reserves a portion of seats in certain programmes for students who completed their UG from AMU itself, in addition to open merit seats available to all CUET PG qualified students.

Reservation benefits lower the effective cutoff in each category and may also reduce the application fee at some universities. Always declare your category correctly during university registration — misrepresentation leads to cancellation of admission and may attract legal consequences.

How to Apply for CUET PG Counselling 2026?

Registering for counselling is mandatory — your CUET PG rank and score alone do not guarantee a seat. Since there is no centralized counselling portal for CUET PG, you must register on each target university’s official portal separately, pay the respective fee, and track each institution’s own merit list and reporting schedule. The five-step process below outlines the standard workflow followed by most participating central universities; exact sub-steps, portal names, and deadlines vary by institution.

Step 1: Register on the University’s Official Portal

Visit the official admission or counselling portal of the university you wish to apply to. Most central universities use the Samarth eGov platform (accessible through the university’s own Samarth sub-domain) or maintain a dedicated admission portal. On the homepage, click "New Registration" and enter your CUET PG 2026 Application Number and Date of Birth to link your NTA scorecard. Create a login ID and secure password, then complete your profile with personal details, communication address, and academic history. Save your credentials — you will need them at every subsequent step across multiple rounds and portals.

Step 2: Upload Documents

After creating your account, log in and navigate to the document upload section. Upload clear, high-resolution scanned copies of all required documents in the file formats and size limits specified by the university. Typical requirements include your CUET PG 2026 scorecard, Class 10 and Class 12 mark sheets, all graduation mark sheets, your degree or provisional certificate, category certificates (SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS/PwD if applicable), and recent passport-size photographs. Blurry, cropped, or expired documents will cause your application to fail the university’s document screening step and can result in outright rejection before the merit list stage.

Step 3: Pay the Application / Counselling Fee

After completing document upload, proceed to pay the prescribed application fee online through the university’s payment gateway using a debit card, credit card, or net banking. Fees differ by institution and category — Delhi University charges ₹250 for General/OBC-NCL/EWS students and ₹100 for SC/ST/PwBD students under CSAS-PG; BHU charges a flat ₹500 under CAP-PG for all categories. Most university-level application and counselling fees are non-refundable regardless of whether you receive an allotment or choose to withdraw. Always save the payment receipt and transaction ID as proof of registration.

Step 4: Choice Filling (Where Applicable)

Some universities — most notably Delhi University under its CSAS-PG system — require you to fill in programme preferences in priority order during a separate choice-filling window. You list programmes from most to least preferred, and the allotment engine uses your CUET PG score, category, and preference order to assign a seat. Universities like BHU, JNU, and HCU skip this step: you apply directly for a specific programme, and the institution publishes course-wise merit lists based on CUET scores. At universities with preference-based allotment, fill at least 10–15 programme choices to maximise your chances across all counselling rounds.

Step 5: Seat Acceptance and Reporting to the University

After the merit list or allotment list is published, check your allotment status on the university portal using your login credentials. If allotted a seat, pay the seat acceptance fee (a portion of which may be refundable) within the university’s stated deadline to hold your place. Download the provisional admission letter and report to the university campus for physical document verification on the date(s) specified in the counselling schedule. Carry all original documents along with self-attested photocopies. After verification, the university issues your final admission confirmation and enrols you for the 2026–27 session.

How to Fill and Lock Choices for CUET PG Counselling 2026?

A formal choice-filling and locking step applies primarily at universities using a preference-ranking allotment system, such as Delhi University’s CSAS-PG portal. At BHU, JNU, HCU, JMI, and AMU, students apply directly for a specific programme and receive a course-wise merit list — there is no separate choice-locking interface at these institutions. The guide below covers the DU CSAS-PG model and similar preference-based portals.

Step 1: Log In to the University’s Counselling Portal

• Open the official university admission portal (for DU: pgadmission.uod.ac.in).
• Enter your Application Number and password or Date of Birth.
• Complete the OTP or CAPTCHA verification and click Login.

Step 2: Navigate to Choice Filling or Programme Preference

• On your dashboard, click "Choice Filling" or "Programme Preference Filling."
• Browse available programmes using filters for subject, college, and mode of study.
• Click "Add" next to each programme you wish to include in your preference list.

Step 3: Arrange Preferences in Priority Order

• Drag and reorder added programmes so your most-preferred option appears at the top.
• When ordering, weigh course content, college reputation, campus facilities, and the CUET score typically needed to secure each programme.
• Add every eligible programme you would genuinely accept — a longer list increases allotment chances across rounds.

Step 4: Save and Preview Your Preference List

• Click "Save" after arranging your choices. You can return, edit, and save again until the choice-filling window officially closes.
• Use the preview screen to confirm all entries appear in the correct priority sequence.

Step 5: Lock Your Choices Before the Deadline

• Once satisfied with your list, click "Lock Choices" or "Final Submit" before the portal deadline.
• A confirmation pop-up will appear — read it carefully and confirm.
• Download and save the locking confirmation page or receipt as proof. Unlocked preferences are not processed in the allotment run.

Once locked, preferences cannot be changed. The allotment engine processes all locked choices after the deadline and publishes seat allotment results on the university portal within the timeframe stated in the counselling schedule.

CUET PG Counselling Documents Required 2026

Carry all original documents along with at least 3 sets of self-attested photocopies to the university for physical document verification. Missing or defective documents at this stage can result in cancellation of your allotment even after the seat acceptance fee has been paid. The list below covers documents required across most participating universities; specific institutions may ask for additional items depending on the programme or quota being applied for.

• CUET PG 2026 Scorecard — downloaded from exams.nta.nic.in/cuet-pg or retrieved via DigiLocker
• Class 10 (Secondary) Mark Sheet and Passing Certificate — serves as date-of-birth proof
• Class 12 (Higher Secondary) Mark Sheet and Passing Certificate
• Bachelor’s Degree Certificate or Provisional Degree Certificate issued by the graduating institution
• All semester / year-wise graduation mark sheets — individual sheets for each semester or year, not just the final consolidated sheet
• Transfer Certificate (TC) from the institution last attended
• Migration Certificate — required if migrating from a different university or board
• Recent passport-size photographs — carry at least 8 copies; check the university specification for size (typically 3.5 cm × 4.5 cm) and background colour
• Valid government-issued photo ID — Aadhaar Card (preferred), Passport, Voter ID, or Driving Licence
• Category Certificates (SC, ST, OBC-NCL, or EWS as applicable) issued by the competent state or district authority; EWS certificates must be valid for financial year 2026–27
• PwD Certificate from a notified government medical authority — must specify the type and exact percentage of disability
• Domicile Certificate — required by certain state universities for state quota seats or home-state quota provisions
• Kashmiri Migrant Certificate, if claiming KM quota concessions
• Gap Year Affidavit on stamp paper, if there was a break between Class 12 and graduation or between graduation and PG admission — required by some universities
• Sports / Extracurricular Quota Certificate endorsed by a national or state sports federation, if applying under a supernumerary sports seat
• Counselling Fee Payment Receipt — printout or screenshot of the successful transaction confirmation from the university portal

Note: Final-year graduation students must produce their complete final mark sheet and degree certificate by the university’s stated deadline at the time of physical reporting — an interim result or attendance certificate is not sufficient. Failure to produce the final certificate results in automatic cancellation of the provisional admission.

How Much Money is Needed for CUET PG Counselling 2026?

CUET PG counselling involves two distinct types of payments: a non-refundable application or registration fee paid to each university at the time of portal registration, and a seat acceptance or security deposit paid when you receive and choose to accept an allotment. Both amounts vary by institution and category. Since counselling is fully decentralised, budget for each target university separately — fees are charged independently and not pooled.

Non-Refundable Counselling / Application Fee

This fee is charged at the point of registration on the university’s admission portal. It covers application processing and is not returned even if you do not receive an allotment, decline a seat, or withdraw from the process.

Refundable Deposit / Seat Acceptance Fee

When you accept an allotted seat, you pay a seat acceptance or security deposit to hold your place. Part of this is typically refundable if you withdraw by the university’s prescribed cancellation deadline; the administrative processing component is retained. If you withdraw after accepting a seat, the full seat acceptance fee is not refunded — only the refundable security deposit is returned, and only within the stated deadline.

University-Wise CUET PG 2026 Counselling Process

Because CUET PG counselling is fully decentralised, timelines, portal systems, and admission mechanics differ substantially across institutions. The summary below covers the six universities most commonly targeted by CUET PG 2026 students, with status as of June 24, 2026.

Students targeting multiple universities must track separate deadlines, portals, fee receipts, and merit list dates for every institution simultaneously. Missing a single university’s seat acceptance window permanently forfeits that allotment in the current cycle.

Upgrade, Freeze, or Withdraw: What Should You Choose?

Universities that run multiple rounds of seat allotment — primarily DU’s CSAS-PG and, structurally, BHU’s CAP-PG — give students a choice between rounds: upgrade/float, freeze, or withdraw. Making the right call depends on your satisfaction with the current allotment, the round number, and whether you hold any parallel offers from other universities.

Do not withdraw from one university before receiving a confirmed admission letter from another. Overlapping deadlines and staggered merit list dates across universities can leave you without any seat if you withdraw prematurely. If two universities’ deadlines clash, provisionally accept the less-preferred seat, then withdraw from it only after a better allotment is confirmed in writing.

At BHU, the upgrade/freeze framework works differently because each of BHU’s four merit lists is independent: you must accept and pay within 24 hours of your name appearing on any given list. Non-acceptance means that round’s chance is forfeited; the next list gives a fresh opportunity. At JNU, HCU, JMI, and AMU — which typically run a primary merit list followed by a waiting-list round — the upgrade/freeze/withdraw decision is effectively a one-time choice after the main allotment, with any remaining seats filled through a separate spot or waiting-list process.