JoSAA 2026 Round Wise Allotment – All 5 Rounds Schedule & Dates

JoSAA 2026 counselling started June 2, 2026. Registration and choice filling closed on June 11, 2026. Round 1 allotment was released on June 13, 2026. All round dates below are confirmed official dates from josaa.nic.in.

Understanding the rhythm of the round-wise schedule — not just the individual dates but the pattern behind them — helps you plan far better than memorizing dates in isolation. Notice that the gap between successive rounds shrinks somewhat as the process progresses: the interval from choice-filling close to Round 1 is the longest single stretch, giving JoSAA time to run the very first full-scale matching across the entire registered candidate pool, while later rounds (Round 2 through Round 5) run on a comparatively tighter cadence since they primarily process incremental upgrades among a candidate pool that's already been through the initial matching once. This tightening cadence is exactly why each round's response window shortens the deeper you get into the process — the system is designed to accelerate toward a final, settled outcome rather than dragging every round out at the same pace as the first.

It's also worth noting what does and doesn't change between rounds. Your original choice list, locked at the end of the choice-filling window, remains fixed for the entire counselling process — you cannot add, remove, or reorder choices after that point, no matter what you learn from Round 1 or Round 2 results. What does change round to round is only your response to your current allotment (Freeze, Float, or Slide) and, naturally, which specific seat you're allotted as the algorithm reprocesses the full candidate pool against everyone's original locked choices. This is precisely why getting your choice list right before the initial lock is so much more consequential than any single round-to-round decision that follows.

*Official dates per JoSAA 2026 schedule. Always verify latest updates on josaa.nic.in.

Mock allotment rounds, held before the real Round 1, deserve more attention than many candidates give them. These are practice runs of the actual matching algorithm using your currently filled choice list, letting you see roughly what seat you'd be allotted if the process ran today — and, crucially, they still occur while you can freely edit your choice list. Using mock allotment results to sanity-check whether your choice ordering matches your actual preferences and risk tolerance, before the list locks permanently, is one of the highest-leverage things a candidate can do in the entire counselling process, since it's the last point where you can meaningfully change strategy based on real feedback from the system itself.

What Happens in Each Round?

• Rounds 1–5: Both IIT/IISc and NIT/IIIT/GFTI seats are allotted. Candidates can Freeze, Float, or Slide.
• Round 5 (July 16): Final round for all institutions — IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. All allottees are automatically frozen after Round 5.
• NIT+ Partial Admission Fee (July 22–24): NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs partial fee/category restoration payment window after Round 5.

Freeze vs Float vs Slide — Which to Choose?

A subtlety worth internalizing about Float versus Slide is that Float gives the algorithm freedom to consider your higher preferences across every institute on your list, while Slide restricts that consideration to branches within the specific institute you're already allotted at. This distinction matters strategically: if your top priority is a specific institute regardless of branch (common among candidates who value the IIT or NIT brand and campus experience above a specific engineering discipline), Slide focuses the system's effort precisely where you want it. If your priority is genuinely about getting into your most-preferred choice on your list wherever it may be — potentially a different institute entirely — Float is the appropriate choice, since it doesn't artificially restrict the system to your current institute alone.