Kerala

Kerala MBBS and BDS Seat Matrix 2026-27: Round 1 Counselling, Option Registration Opens August 15

Aug 19, 2026

The Government of Kerala has officially approved the seat matrix for MBBS and BDS courses across self-financing medical and dental colleges for the academic year 2026-27. The order — issued on August 10, 2026 — confirms the exact seat distribution across community quota, NRI quota, All India Quota, and government reservation seats for every participating private medical and dental college in the state.

This seat matrix is the document that determines exactly what you are competing for when you exercise your options through the CEE Kerala portal at cee.kerala.gov.in. The option registration window for Round 1 opens on August 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM and closes on August 22, 2026. The Round 1 allotment result is expected on August 22, and the last date for reporting to the allotted college is August 28, 2026.

If you are a NEET UG 2026-qualified candidate who has completed the CEE Kerala KEAM registration and submitted your NEET score on the portal, this article gives you everything you need: the complete seat matrix for all 20 MBBS colleges and 17 BDS colleges, a breakdown of what each quota means, and what you need to do before the August 15 option registration window opens.

Understanding the Kerala Seat Matrix: What the Columns Mean

Before looking at the numbers, understanding what each quota column means is essential for building your option entry list correctly.

Community Seats (up to 50% of total seats): These seats are reserved for candidates belonging to specific religious or linguistic minority communities tied to the institution — Muslim community for Muslim minority colleges, Christian community for Christian colleges, and so on. Community seats within an institution go first to candidates of the institution's associated community. Up to 50% of total seats can be designated community seats. Not all colleges use the full 50% — the exact number per college is what the seat matrix shows.

NRI Quota (up to 15% of total seats): These seats are accessible to NRI/OCI/PIO candidates and are filled by CEE Kerala through the NRI fee structure. Candidates applying for NRI quota must have declared this during their KEAM registration. NRI seats carry significantly higher fees than government or open seats.

AIQ — All India Quota (15% of total seats, irrespective of domicile): These 15% AIQ seats in Kerala self-financing colleges are filled through CEE Kerala's centralised process — not through MCC. Unlike government college AIQ seats which go through mcc.nic.in, the AIQ seats in Kerala private colleges are allotted by CEE as part of the state counselling process itself. These seats are open to candidates from any state regardless of domicile — making them directly relevant to candidates from West Bengal, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, or anywhere else who want to pursue MBBS or BDS in Kerala.

Government Seats (as per reservation norms): These seats follow Kerala's reservation framework — SC, ST, OBC (SEBC sub-categories including EZ, MU, BH, LC, OX, OBC, OBH, OBX, VK), EWS, and General category. Reserved category benefits here apply only to Kerala domicile candidates. For non-Kerala candidates, government seats are accessible under the open/general reservation category within the AIQ pool.

Understanding how your NEET 2026 rank translates to college access across these different quota types is the analytical foundation for building a Kerala option entry list that actually reflects your realistic choices.

Complete MBBS Seat Matrix 2026-27: All 20 Self-Financing Medical Colleges

The following seat distribution is as approved by the Government of Kerala vide G.O. (Kai) No. 224/2026/H&FWD dated August 10, 2026:

Reading the Seat Matrix: What This Means for Your Option Entry

A few patterns in this seat matrix deserve specific attention before you start building your option entry list.

Colleges with zero community seats have larger open pools. Dr. Moopen's Wayanad, Sree Gokulam, P.K. Das, Malabar Medical College, SUT Academy, Sree Narayana, and Al-Azhar have no community seat designation — which means all their non-NRI, non-AIQ seats go into the government reservation pool open to eligible candidates. P.K. Das Institute and Malabar Medical College both have 250 total seats with 175 government seats — among the largest government seat pools in Kerala's private MBBS landscape.

Larger colleges offer more AIQ seats for non-Kerala candidates. KMCT Medical College (38 AIQ), P.K. Das Institute (37 AIQ), Malabar Medical College (37 AIQ), SUT Academy (38 AIQ), Travancore Medical College (30 AIQ), and Al-Azhar (37 AIQ) all offer the largest AIQ pools — making them the most accessible colleges for non-Kerala students who are competing on AIR through the AIQ route.

Kerala is an open state for management quota. Non-Kerala candidates can access management quota seats in Kerala private colleges. While the Kerala state counselling through CEE covers government quota and community quota, management quota seats in private colleges are accessible through a separate process. This makes Kerala relevant not just for Kerala domicile candidates but for students from across the country evaluating private MBBS options.

For West Bengal students building a multi-state counselling strategy, understanding how WBMCC Round 1 counselling runs alongside Kerala CEE in the same August window is essential for coordinating both processes without missing deadlines.

Complete BDS Seat Matrix 2026-27: All 17 Self-Financing Dental Colleges

The following BDS seat distribution is as approved in the same G.O. dated August 10, 2026:

6. KMCT Dental College, Kozhikode (Code: KMD) Total: 100 | Community: — | NRI: — | AIQ: — | Government: 100

8. MES Dental College, Perinthalmanna (Code: MED) Total: 100 | Community: — | NRI: — | AIQ: — | Government: 100

9. Malabar Dental College & Research Centre, Malappuram (Code: MLD) Total: 100 | Community: — | NRI: — | AIQ: — | Government: 100

An important observation for BDS candidates: unlike MBBS, most BDS seats in Kerala self-financing colleges have no AIQ designation. KMCT Dental College, MES Dental College, and Malabar Dental College have zero NRI seats and zero AIQ seats — meaning all 100 seats at each are government seats allocated through Kerala's state reservation framework. Non-Kerala candidates have fewer accessible avenues for Kerala BDS through the state counselling process, though management quota remains an option at eligible institutions.

Option Registration Opens August 15: What You Need to Do

Option registration — the choice filling stage of Kerala's Centralised Allotment Process — opens on August 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM at cee.kerala.gov.in. The window closes on August 22. The Round 1 allotment result follows on August 22. Reporting to the allotted college must be completed by August 28.

Before opening the CEE portal to exercise options, confirm the following:

You appear on the Kerala State Medical Rank List. This merit list is prepared by CEE based on your NEET score and eligibility. Only candidates on this list can exercise options. Candidates who completed KEAM registration but did not submit their NEET score by the extended deadline of August 11 at 11 AM will not appear on the rank list and cannot participate in Round 1.

Your profile defects are cleared. Profile defect rectification was extended to August 13 at 11 AM. Any uncorrected defects may affect your option entry eligibility.

You know your NEET UG 2026 rank and category rank. The Kerala merit list rank — which CEE calculates — may differ from your All India Rank. Within Kerala's system, tie-breaking is done through the inter-se merit criteria specified in the prospectus. Confirm your Kerala state rank from the published rank list on cee.kerala.gov.in before exercising options.

You have studied which colleges to include. Option entry in Kerala is a strategic exercise, not just a form-filling task. An important and critical rule: once choices are locked in Kerala's CEE system, they generally cannot be changed. Unlike some other state counselling processes where revisions are possible until the deadline, Kerala's system treats locked choices as final. Exercise your options in the genuine order of preference from the very beginning — do not lock a list you intend to revise.

For candidates simultaneously managing WBMCC Round 1 counselling — where choice filling runs from August 19 to August 21 — the overlap with Kerala's option window (August 15–22) means both processes are active in the same week. Keep both portals tracked separately.

Option Registration Fee and What It Covers

General category candidates must pay Rs. 5,000 as the option registration fee before exercising options. This fee is paid online through the CEE portal. It is important to note that this fee is forfeited if a candidate exits a seat they have already joined — so the decision to surrender a seat after joining should be made only after a better alternative is confirmed.

Candidates who receive an allotment in Round 1 and want to be considered for a better college in Round 2 can exercise the upgrade option — retaining their Round 1 seat while participating in Round 2. This is the strategically correct choice for most candidates who receive an acceptable but not ideal allotment in Round 1. Understanding how mop-up and subsequent rounds work in state counselling processes — and what the consequences of seat surrender versus upgrade are — is preparation that should happen before Round 1 closes.

Kerala Counselling Eligibility: Who Can Apply for What

Kerala's NEET UG counselling has specific eligibility categories that determine which seats you can access:

Kerala origin candidates (Keralites): Eligible for government quota seats, community quota seats (if belonging to the relevant community), and AIQ seats. A candidate is considered Kerala origin if they studied in Kerala for at least two consecutive academic years (Standards 11 and 12, or equivalent) OR if their parent is a government servant posted in Kerala.

Non-Kerala candidates: Eligible for AIQ seats in MBBS colleges (15% of total seats) and management quota seats. Not eligible for government reservation benefits or community quota seats.

NRI/OCI/PIO candidates: Eligible for NRI quota seats with appropriate sponsorship documentation.

Community category: Your community eligibility is based on your religion or community as declared in your KEAM registration — Muslim community for Muslim minority colleges, Christian community for Christian minority colleges, and so on.

For candidates from West Bengal whose rank makes Kerala AIQ MBBS seats a viable option — particularly at larger colleges like KMCT Medical College (38 AIQ seats), SUT Academy (38 AIQ seats), and P.K. Das Institute (37 AIQ seats) — this is a relevant parallel process to the NEET UG 2026 result-based strategy you are building for your home-state counselling.

Kerala's Reservation Framework for State Seats

Government seats in Kerala self-financing colleges follow the state's reservation framework, which has specific sub-categories that differ from the OBC framework used in most other states. Kerala's SEBC categories include:

EZ (Ezhava, Thiyya, Billava)
MU (Muslim)
BH (Other Backward Hindus — Viswakarma, Kusavan, and related communities)
LC (Latin Catholic and Anglo-Indian)
OX (Other Christians)
OBC (OBC other than those covered above)
VK (Velama, Kamma, Kapu)

SC and ST reservation follows standard constitutional provisions. EWS reservation is 10%.

A critical note from the data: Kerala's specific SEBC sub-category structure is entirely different from OBC classification in other states. A candidate from West Bengal holding an OBC-NCL certificate will not be able to claim any SEBC sub-category benefit in Kerala. For non-Kerala candidates, the only path to government seats in Kerala self-financing colleges is through the AIQ pool or general merit.

For a comprehensive understanding of what documents are required for NEET counselling across different state and central authorities — including which community and reservation certificates are accepted at Kerala CEE versus other processes — that checklist covers the cross-state documentation landscape.

Participating Government Medical Colleges: Not in This Seat Matrix

It is important to clarify what this seat matrix covers and does not cover. The approved seat matrix in the Government Order dated August 10, 2026 covers only self-financing (private) medical and dental colleges. Government medical colleges in Kerala — including Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Kozhikode Medical College, Kottayam Medical College, Thrissur Medical College, Ernakulam Medical College, and Manjeri Medical College — are not included in this seat matrix. Their seats are allotted separately through CEE Kerala under the government quota pool.

Additionally, JIPMER (Puducherry), though geographically in the south, is not part of Kerala's CEE counselling. JIPMER seats go through MCC AIQ counselling at mcc.nic.in — a separate process that must be tracked independently alongside Kerala CEE.

What to Do Before August 15 at 12 PM

Today is August 18. Option registration has already opened on August 15. The window remains open until August 22. If you are a CEE Kerala registered candidate who appears on the Kerala merit list, this is the action sequence right now:

Log into cee.kerala.gov.in using your KEAM credentials
Confirm your Kerala State Rank List position
Pay the option registration fee of Rs. 5,000 online before exercising choices
Study the seat matrix carefully — identify which colleges have AIQ seats if you are a non-Kerala candidate, or which have community seats if you are claiming community category
Exercise options in your genuine order of preference — prioritising government colleges first if accessible at your rank, followed by private college government seats, then AIQ seats at private colleges
Lock choices only after a thorough final review — Kerala's system does not allow revisions after locking

For candidates who need guidance on mapping their specific NEET rank and category to realistic Kerala college options — and coordinating Kerala CEE alongside WBMCC and MCC AIQ simultaneously — a structured counselling session is the most efficient way to build a unified multi-state strategy before any option window closes.

The rank predictor and college predictor tools give a data-driven starting point for understanding which Kerala colleges fall realistically within your rank range before you open the CEE option entry portal.

Scholarships and Financial Planning for Kerala Admissions

Self-financing medical colleges in Kerala carry significant annual fees — ranging from approximately Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh per year depending on the institution and quota. Candidates securing seats at Kerala private medical colleges should research financial support options simultaneously.

National scholarship programmes including the top scholarships for medical students after Class 12 cover both merit-based and income-based schemes accessible to MBBS students at NMC-recognised private institutions, regardless of which state the college is in. West Bengal students admitted to Kerala colleges should verify the Swami Vivekananda Merit Cum Means Scholarship eligibility specifically — the scheme's inter-state applicability depends on the institution's recognition status and the candidate's West Bengal domicile.

The Round 1 Allotment Result Comes on August 22

The Round 1 allotment result is published on August 22, 2026. Every candidate who exercised options before August 22 can log into cee.kerala.gov.in to check their allotment status — which college, which course, which quota category they have been allotted under.

After receiving the allotment, candidates have until August 28 to physically report to the allotted college with original documents, pay the required fee, and complete admission formalities. Missing the August 28 reporting deadline forfeits the Round 1 allotment.

For students also managing NEET counselling documents for multiple state processes simultaneously — the August 26–28 WBMCC reporting window runs in the same calendar as Kerala's August 28 deadline. A consolidated deadline tracker for all active portals is the practical tool that prevents any window from being missed.

The seat matrix is approved. The option window is open. The allotment comes August 22. Act on cee.kerala.gov.in before the August 22 deadline.

All seat matrix data in this article is sourced directly from the Government of Kerala, Health & Family Welfare Department order G.O. (Kai) No. 224/2026/H&FWD dated August 10, 2026, signed by the Additional Secretary. Option registration dates are from the official CEE Kerala notification and verified media reports as of August 18, 2026. All candidates should verify current information at cee.kerala.gov.in before taking any action. The seat matrix may be revised through subsequent government orders.

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