Doctors applying for postgraduate medical seats under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category have a short window this week. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) says the PwD portal for Round 1 of PG Counselling 2026 went live on 1 October, and the Primary Medical Assessment Board will stay open until 5:00 PM on 9 October.
An appeal track opens today. The Appellate Medical Assessment Board will assess candidates from 10:00 AM on 5 October to 5:00 PM on 12 October 2026, according to MCC Notice No. 1 dated 28 September 2026. The notice tells candidates to read the PG Information Bulletin for the process of appealing for reassessment.
The three dates to note are simple. The PwD portal has been active since 1 October. Primary board assessment ends at 5:00 PM on 9 October. Appellate board assessment runs from 10:00 AM on 5 October to 5:00 PM on 12 October. MCC asks candidates to keep checking mcc.nic.in for any change.
Why this year's assessment is different
The boards are working under new rules. On 16 September the National Medical Commission (NMC) issued its Guidelines on Assessment of Persons with Benchmark Disabilities for Admission to the Post Graduate Medical Courses, 2026. MCC has posted the full NMC guidelines on its PG counselling page. They apply to MD, MS and DNB admissions made through NEET PG.
The certificate itself gets a new name. What designated boards issue for PG admission has usually been called a disability certificate. Under the 2026 guidelines it will be known as an Eligibility Certificate, because NMC wants it to certify a candidate's eligibility for a PG course on the basis of functional assessment, not merely the existence or extent of a disability.
NMC describes the framework as discipline-specific and competency-driven. Boards look at functional competency: whether a candidate can acquire and perform the essential competencies of the chosen course, with or without reasonable accommodation or assistive technology. The commission says it is balancing rights under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 against academic standards and patient safety, and it singles out surgical branches and emergency work as areas where procedural skill and speed count.
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences has already said it will follow these guidelines for PG admissions this year. Dalimss reported that step on 30 September in NBEMS adopting the NMC PwBD assessment guidelines.
Who should go to a board this week
Any NEET PG 2026 candidate who plans to claim a PwD seat in MCC's Round 1 should treat the primary board as the first step, not an extra. The MCC notice is addressed to all candidates applying under the PwD category and asks them to visit the Primary Medical Assessment Centre within the stated time.
Those who disagree with the primary board's finding can go to the appellate board. The two windows overlap from 5 to 9 October, so a candidate assessed early in the week has room to appeal before 12 October. Someone who reaches the primary board only on 9 October will have three days left for an appeal, which is a good reason not to leave the first visit to the last afternoon.
The notice does not name the assessment centres. Take the centre list and the appeal steps from the PG Information Bulletin and the PwD portal on mcc.nic.in, not from lists forwarded in coaching groups, which may carry last year's centres.
Getting ready for the visit
The wider timeline helps explain the hurry. The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences declared the NEET PG 2026 result on 24 September and released scorecards on 1 October, the same day the PwD portal opened. Round 1 registration is the next step, and PwD candidates need their board outcome in hand by then.
Keep the NEET PG 2026 admit card and scorecard at hand. The roll number and application details will be needed for both the assessment and counselling registration.
Carry the existing disability certificate or UDID details, recent medical records on the condition and any assistive device you use in clinical work. The bulletin is the final word on documents, so check its list before you travel, especially if the centre is in another city.
Think about the specialities on your choice list before you walk in. Because the 2026 guidelines judge competency course by course, an Eligibility Certificate may cover some disciplines and not others. A candidate who intends to fill choices across clinical, para-clinical and pre-clinical branches should read the discipline sections of the NMC document in advance.
How this fits into Round 1
MCC had not posted the full PG Round 1 counselling schedule on its PG page as of Monday morning. The seat picture is taking shape, though. NMC published the PG seat matrix for 2026-27 as on 29 September, covered in the NMC postgraduate seat matrix report.
The assessment does not register anyone for counselling. Once Round 1 opens, candidates still have to register, pay and fill choices on the MCC portal. The board's certificate is what backs a PwD claim at that stage, which is why the order of tasks matters.
If MCC revises any of these dates, the change will appear as a fresh notice on its PG counselling page. Save a copy of the 28 September notice, with its posting date, so you can show which schedule you followed if a centre or college later disputes the timing.
