JoSAA Examination Guide

JoSAA's calendar begins the moment JEE Advanced results are declared (typically in June) and runs through late July, compressing registration, choice-filling, mock allotments, five rounds of actual seat allocation, and final reporting into roughly six to seven weeks.

Stage 1: Registration and Choice Filling Opens

Within days of JEE Advanced results, JoSAA opens registration and choice filling on josaa.nic.in. Candidates build their ranked institute-branch preference list during this initial window, which typically remains open for about ten days, allowing ample time for research before the first mock allotment.

Stage 2: Mock Seat Allotments (1 and 2)

JoSAA runs two mock allotment cycles based on candidates' interim choice lists, giving each candidate a realistic preview of where their current preferences and rank would place them. Candidates can freely revise and reorder their choices after each mock allotment before the final choice-locking deadline.

Stage 3: Choice Locking

After the second mock allotment, candidates must lock their final choice list by a firm deadline — no further edits are possible once locked, and this locked list governs all five subsequent allotment rounds.

Stage 4: Seat Allotment Rounds 1 through 5

Real seat allotment begins with Round 1, typically in mid-to-late June, followed by Rounds 2 through 5 at roughly three-to-five-day intervals through mid-to-late July. Each round includes seat allotment publication, a response window (freeze/float/slide/withdraw), document upload, and seat acceptance fee payment.

Stage 5: Withdrawal Deadline Differences for IITs vs NIT+

A crucial asymmetry exists in withdrawal rules: candidates allotted an IIT seat can withdraw only up to a specific mid-process deadline (typically around Round 4), after which withdrawal is no longer permitted even if a candidate wishes to exit. Candidates in the NIT+ system (NITs, IIITs, GFTIs), by contrast, can withdraw their accepted seat online at any point through the final round.

Stage 6: Final Physical Reporting

After Round 5 concludes, candidates who have frozen a seat must complete final document verification and physical (or prescribed online) reporting at their allotted institute, typically by late July, shortly before most IITs and NITs begin their academic session in late July or early August.

Why This Compressed Timeline Matters

Given the speed at which rounds proceed (often just a few days apart), candidates must be prepared to make fast, well-informed freeze/float/slide decisions repeatedly across the six-to-seven-week window, since indecision or missed deadlines can result in automatic seat cancellation with no further recourse in that cycle.

Illustrative Full Timeline Table

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Candidates should treat each of these windows as provisional guidance based on historical patterns rather than confirmed dates — always verify the current year's exact schedule on josaa.nic.in once JEE Advanced results are declared.