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JEE Main · Counselling

JEE Main Counselling: JoSAA & CSAB

Your rank gets you a seat only through counselling. JoSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) runs a single, centralised process for IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs.

The process, step by step

  1. 1

    Registration

    Register on the JoSAA portal (opens with/after JEE Advanced results, usually June). One registration covers IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs.

  2. 2

    Choice filling

    List every branch+institute you'd accept, in your true order of preference. More choices is safer — you can never be allotted something you didn't list.

  3. 3

    Mock allotments

    JoSAA publishes two mock allotments based on current choices — use them to sanity-check and reorder before choices lock.

  4. 4

    Allotment rounds

    Several rounds (typically 5–6). In each, seats are allotted by rank + category + your preference order.

  5. 5

    Accept & report

    If allotted, pay the seat-acceptance fee and get documents verified online within the deadline — or the seat lapses.

  6. 6

    Freeze / Float / Slide

    Freeze: keep this seat, exit. Float: keep it but consider better options in any institute. Slide: keep it but consider better branches in the same institute.

  7. 7

    CSAB special rounds

    After JoSAA ends, CSAB fills vacant NIT+ seats in special rounds — a real second chance if you missed or dropped out of JoSAA.

Documents to keep ready

  • JEE Main admit card and scorecard
  • Class 10 and Class 12 marksheets/certificates
  • Category certificate (EWS/OBC-NCL/SC/ST/PwBD) in the current format, if applicable
  • Photo ID, passport photos, and the seat-acceptance fee payment method

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Filling too few choices "to be safe" — it only reduces your chances.
  • Ordering choices by predicted cutoff instead of genuine preference.
  • Missing the document-verification or fee deadline after allotment.
  • Freezing early out of anxiety when Float/Slide could upgrade you in later rounds.
  • An expired or wrong-format category certificate — get it reissued before counselling.

Know where your rank lands before you fill choices

Choice filling goes far better when you already know the rank each branch closed at last year. We have the official JoSAA opening and closing ranks for every institute, category and quota wise.

Browse closing ranks by college →

Process as followed in recent JoSAA cycles; round structure and dates are announced each year at josaa.nic.in.