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CSAB Special Rounds
CSAB is the counselling after JoSAA. It fills the NIT, IIIT and GFTI seats that are still empty, using your JEE Main rank. In 2026 there are two Special Rounds, on 6 and 12 August.
What CSAB is
The Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) runs Special Rounds after the JoSAA rounds end. Seats at the “NIT+ system” that nobody took in JoSAA are offered again. In 2026 that is 114 institutes: 31 NITs with IIEST Shibpur, 26 IIITs and 56 other GFTIs. IITs are not part of CSAB.
CSAB is a counselling, not an exam. Seats go by JEE Main rank, with the same quotas (All India, Home State, Other State), categories, PwD seats and female-only seats as in JoSAA.
- JEE Main resultYour CRL and category rank
- JoSAA roundsJune–July · IITs and NIT+
- CSAB Special RoundsRound I 6 Aug · Round II 12 Aug
- Reporting13–18 Aug (tentative)
Who can join CSAB in 2026
Almost every student with a JEE Main rank who is eligible for NIT+ seats. The brochure lists nine types of candidate; in plain words they come down to four cases:
You did not register, got no allotment, chose Exit, or lost the seat because the Seat Acceptance Fee was not paid.
You paid the Partial Admission Fee. You keep that seat while you try in CSAB.
You withdrew it, it was cancelled at document verification, or it was cancelled because the Partial Admission Fee was not paid.
It was cancelled, you withdrew it, or you took admission there. Fees paid to the IIT are not adjusted against the new institute’s fee.
What happens to your JoSAA seat
If CSAB allots you any seat, your JoSAA seat is cancelled automatically, whether or not you accept the new seat. If CSAB allots you nothing, you keep your JoSAA seat. So put only programs you prefer to your current seat on your CSAB list.
Registration is fresh: the choices and willingness options you gave in JoSAA are not used.
2026 dates
| Date (IST) | What happens |
|---|---|
| 28 Jul 2026, 10:00 | Empty seats shown; registration, fee payment and choice filling open |
| 3 Aug 2026, 10:00 | Registration and fee payment close |
| 5 Aug 2026, 14:00 | Choice filling closes (last saved choices are locked) |
| 6 Aug 2026, 17:00 | Special Round I result |
| 6–10 Aug 2026 | Round I: choose Freeze, Float, Slide or Surrender, pay the admission fee, upload documents |
| 12 Aug 2026, 17:00 | Special Round II result |
| 13–18 Aug 2026 | Reporting at the institute (tentative) |
From Annexure 3 of the CSAB Special Rounds 2026 brochure. A mock allotment was shown on 31 July from choices saved by 30 July.
Fees and refunds
| Category | Special Round Enrolment Fee | Never refunded |
|---|---|---|
| GEN, GEN-EWS, OBC-NCL | ₹40,000 | ₹5,000 |
| SC, ST, PwD | ₹19,000 | ₹5,000 |
The enrolment fee is paid at registration and counts towards your admission fee if you get a seat. The ₹5,000 processing fee inside it is never refunded. Other deductions depend on what you did in JoSAA and CSAB (Section XXI of the brochure). After Round II there is no refund if you do not report, do not pay, fail document verification or do not join.
After an allotment: Freeze, Float, Slide, Surrender
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Freeze | Take this seat and stop. No more rounds. |
| Float | Take this seat, but move up to a higher choice at any institute in Round II. |
| Slide | Take this seat, but move up only within the same institute in Round II. |
| Surrender | Give up this seat and wait for a higher choice. If none comes, you get nothing. |
| Withdraw | Leave CSAB after Round I with part of the fee back. Round I only. |
If you pick no option after an allotment, the seat is treated as rejected and you are out of later rounds.
How CSAB closing ranks differ from JoSAA
Every CSAB rank is the All-India CRL, also on category seats. JoSAA shows category ranks on category seats. So the numbers can look very different for the same seat.
Example: NIT Jalandhar Bio Technology, Home State, SC, 2026. JoSAA closed at 11,273 (SC rank). CSAB closed at 2,15,048 (CRL). That does not mean SC seats became easier; the two numbers measure different ranks. Compare your CRL with CSAB ranks.
CSAB ranks also count only students who got a new or upgraded seat in that round, so many pools have just one or two students and the number can jump from year to year.
NIT Computer Science: JoSAA vs CSAB, 2026
B.Tech CSE, OPEN, gender-neutral, Other State quota. Highest closing CRL of the year.
| Institute | JoSAA closing | CSAB closing | Empty seats before CSAB |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIT Tiruchirappalli | 1,373Round 5 | 1,471Special Round 1 | 3 |
| NIT Surathkal | 1,954Round 5 | 2,265Special Round 1 | 4 |
| NIT Warangal | 2,581Round 5 | 3,119Special Round 1 | 4 |
| NIT Rourkela | 4,266Round 5 | 4,508Special Round 1 | 2 |
| MNNIT Allahabad | 5,375Round 5 | 5,800Special Round 2 | 5 |
| MNIT Jaipur | 5,868Round 5 | 6,597Special Round 2 | 2 |
| NIT Calicut | 5,769Round 5 | 6,999Special Round 1 | 6 |
| VNIT Nagpur | 7,419Round 5 | 9,320Special Round 2 | 8 |
| NIT Delhi | 8,669Round 5 | 10,028Special Round 1 | 7 |
| NIT Jamshedpur | 9,574Round 5 | 10,301Special Round 1 | 5 |
| NIT Kurukshetra | 8,701Round 5 | 11,328Special Round 2 | 9 |
| MANIT Bhopal | 10,512Round 5 | 11,668Special Round 2 | 1 |
At most NITs, CSE closed a few thousand ranks later in CSAB than in JoSAA. See every CSAB seat in the dashboard, or compare JoSAA and CSAB side by side.
Find your CSAB seats
Pick the rank closest to your JEE Main CRL to see OPEN seats that closed at or after it in CSAB 2026.
Also see JEE Main JoSAA cutoffs, the JoSAA seat matrix and every NIT, IIIT and GFTI.
Questions students ask
Is CSAB an exam?
No. CSAB is a counselling. It allots the seats still empty after JoSAA at NITs, IIEST, IIITs and other GFTIs, using your JEE Main rank. There is nothing to write.
Are IIT seats part of CSAB?
No. IITs are not part of CSAB. Only the 114 NIT+ institutes take part in 2026: 31 NITs with IIEST Shibpur, 26 IIITs and 56 other GFTIs.
Does my JoSAA registration carry over to CSAB?
No. CSAB needs a fresh registration and a fresh choice list. Nothing you filled in JoSAA is used.
Can I join CSAB if I already have an NIT seat from JoSAA?
Yes, if you paid the Partial Admission Fee. You keep that seat while you try. If CSAB allots you any seat, your JoSAA seat is cancelled automatically, even if you do not accept the new one. So fill only choices you prefer to your current seat.
How much is the CSAB fee in 2026?
The Special Round Enrolment Fee is ₹40,000 for GEN, GEN-EWS and OBC-NCL and ₹19,000 for SC, ST and PwD. It includes a ₹5,000 processing fee that is never refunded.
Why are CSAB closing ranks so high on SC, ST and OBC seats?
CSAB publishes every closing rank as the All-India CRL, also on category seats. JoSAA shows category ranks on category seats. The two numbers are different kinds of rank, so compare your CRL with CSAB ranks and your category rank with JoSAA ranks.
How many CSAB rounds are there?
Two Special Rounds in 2026 (Round I on 6 August and Round II on 12 August). There were three in 2025.
Official sources
CutoffBridge is not part of CSAB or JoSAA. Dates, fees and rules are from the official 2026 brochure; always confirm on csab.nic.in before you pay or choose.