After a JoSAA Round 1 allotment you have three real options, and all of them need online reporting and the seat acceptance fee: Freeze (keep this seat and stop), Float (keep it but be considered for higher choices anywhere) or Slide (keep it but be considered for higher branches at the same institute). "Rejecting" a Round 1 seat simply means not reporting, which cancels the seat and takes you out of JoSAA.
The options after Round 1
You accept the seat and won't be moved again. Choose this only if you are fully happy with it. Once frozen, you can't switch to Float or Slide.
You keep this seat but stay in the running for any higher choice, at any institute, in later rounds. If nothing better comes, you keep what you have.
You keep this seat but are considered only for higher-preference branches at the same institute.
There is no "reject and re-enter Round 2" in JoSAA. If you don't complete online reporting (fee payment, document upload and answering any queries) by the deadline, the seat is cancelled and you can't take part in later rounds. From Round 2 you can formally withdraw a seat or exit the process; in 2026, withdrawal was open up to Round 4 for IITs and Round 5 for the NIT+ system.
The 2026 timeline
- 2–11 June 2026 Registration and choice filling, with two mock allotments.
- 13 June 2026 Round 1 allotment. Online reporting and fee payment closed on 26 June.
- 30 June–10 July 2026 Rounds 2, 3 and 4, each with a reporting window of about three to four days.
- 16 July 2026 Round 5, the final round for IITs and IISc. NIT+ candidates then paid the partial admission fee by 24 July, and CSAB ran its special rounds after that.
Source: JoSAA 2026 schedule of events published on josaa.nic.in. For 2027, JoSAA is expected to start soon after the JEE Advanced result, typically in early June; the official schedule will confirm it.
The seat acceptance fee
You pay the same seat acceptance fee whether you Freeze, Float or Slide. It is ₹15,000 for SC, ST and PwD candidates; for general, EWS and OBC-NCL candidates, reports for 2026 put it at ₹30,000 to ₹35,000, so check the current business rules for the exact figure. The fee is adjusted against your institute fees when you join. Candidates who end up in the NIT+ system pay a separate partial admission fee after the final round.
How to decide
- Freeze if the Round 1 seat is the best you can realistically expect, or you would rather not risk a later move.
- Float if you have higher choices whose previous closing ranks are close to yours. Closing ranks usually move a little in later rounds as others withdraw or upgrade.
- Slide if you are sure about the institute but would like a better branch there.
- Withdraw or exit (from Round 2) only if you have a firm alternative, such as a BITS, state or private university seat you prefer.
Upgrades between rounds are real but usually small, and they are hard to predict. Compare your rank with last year's round-wise opening and closing ranks for each choice above your current seat, rather than hoping for a big jump. At the very top, for example a rank that has historically landed IIT Bombay CSE, Freeze is the obvious answer; with a mid-range rank and a decent branch at a newer IIT, Float or Slide is often worth it.
Common mistakes
- Not completing online reporting by the deadline, which cancels the seat and ends your JoSAA participation.
- Freezing too early when realistic upgrades exist, or floating with no realistic upgrade target.
- Treating non-acceptance as a way to "re-enter" Round 2.
- Leaving fee money or documents to the last day.
For how JoSAA and CSAB fit together, see our explainer on JoSAA and CSAB counselling.