JJEEPrep.app

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.

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