CSAB 2026 Special Round – Registration, Dates & Cutoff

The Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) Special Round is conducted every year after JoSAA counselling concludes. It fills the seats that remain vacant in NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs because some JoSAA allottees did not report to their allotted institutes. For thousands of JEE Main 2026 aspirants who missed out on seats in JoSAA, CSAB Special Round 2026 is an important second opportunity.

CSAB Special Round 2026 is expected to begin in late July 2026, approximately one week after JoSAA Round 6 results are declared. The entire process — registration, choice filling, seat allotment, and reporting — takes about 10–14 days.

The following candidates are eligible to participate in CSAB 2026 Special Round:

• Candidates who did not receive any seat in JoSAA 2026 rounds 1–6 and remain eligible for NIT/IIIT/GFTI admission.
• Candidates who received a seat in JoSAA 2026 but did not accept it (i.e., did not report or pay seat acceptance fee).
• Fresh registrations are also accepted — candidates who did not register for JoSAA 2026 can directly participate in CSAB Special Round.
• Candidates must have a valid JEE Main 2026 score and satisfy the age and academic eligibility criteria for respective institutes.

Note: Candidates who accepted a JoSAA seat (paid seat acceptance fee and reported) are generally not eligible for the CSAB Special Round unless they formally withdraw from JoSAA.

To register for CSAB 2026 Special Round, candidates must visit the official CSAB portal at csab.nic.in. The step-by-step process is:

1. Registration: Log in using JEE Main 2026 Application Number and password. New candidates must register with their JEE Main roll number and date of birth.
2. Pay Registration Fee: Pay ₹5,000 (General/OBC) or ₹2,500 (SC/ST/PwD) via net banking, debit card, or UPI. This fee is non-refundable.
3. Fill Choices: Add and arrange institute-branch combinations in order of preference. Up to 150 choices can be saved. Lock choices before the deadline.
4. Seat Allotment: CSAB releases allotment results. Candidates can choose to Freeze (accept), Float (try for a better option in the next sub-round), or Slide (try for a better branch in the same institute).
5. Reporting: Allotted candidates must pay the seat acceptance fee and report to their allotted institute with original documents within the stipulated time.