UP AYUSH Counselling 2026 registration costs ₹2,000, non-refundable, for every category — General, OBC, SC, and ST alike. On top of that, you pay a security deposit: ₹10,000 for government colleges and ₹50,000 for private colleges.
This deposit is refundable, but only if you exit the process correctly. Miss a reporting deadline, skip document verification, or walk away from an allotted seat in the wrong round, and it gets forfeited. If you’re also applying through AACCC for All India Quota seats, that’s a completely separate registration — ₹1,000 (General/OBC) or ₹500 (SC/ST), non-refundable, plus its own security deposit. The two portals don’t share fees or refunds; each stands on its own.
That’s the full answer. Everything below explains exactly when your money comes back, when it doesn’t, and the specific mistakes that turn a refundable deposit into a forfeited one — based on how UP AYUSH counselling has actually run in the 2025–26 cycle, since NEET UG 2026’s June 14 result means this year’s official bulletin is still being finalized as this guide is written.
Table of Contents
Why This Confuses So Many Students
Ask ten UP AYUSH aspirants what “refundable” actually means, and you’ll get ten different answers. Not because the rules are hidden — they’re published in the official information bulletin every year — but because two very different fee types get mentally lumped together as “counselling fees” when they behave completely differently.
Registration fee is a processing charge. You pay it once to enter the system, and it’s gone the moment you pay — non-refundable no matter what happens next.
Security deposit is a commitment bond. It’s fully yours to reclaim, provided you exit the process the right way, at the right stage, through the right procedure. Most forfeiture cases aren’t about breaking a rule on purpose — they’re about a student not realizing which round they’re in and what that specific round’s exit terms actually are.
Complete Fee Breakdown — UP AYUSH State Quota
| Fee Component | Amount | Refundable? | Applies To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration fee | ₹2,000 | No | All categories (General, OBC, SC, ST, EWS) |
| Security deposit – Government college | ₹10,000 | Yes, conditionally | Candidates targeting govt. BAMS/BHMS/BUMS/BSMS/BNYS colleges |
| Security deposit – Private college | ₹50,000 | Yes, conditionally | Candidates targeting private colleges |
| Document verification | No separate fee | — | Physical/online, included in process |
Note: Unlike AACCC, the Department of AYUSH, Uttar Pradesh applies the same ₹2,000 registration fee across every category for state quota — there’s no reduced fee tier for reserved categories at the state level. This surprises students who expect the AACCC-style category split to carry over.
Complete Fee Breakdown — AACCC AIQ Counselling
For the 15% All India Quota seats within UP (or any other state), you register separately on aaccc.gov.in. This is where the category-based fee split actually applies:
| Fee Component | General / OBC-NCL / EWS | SC / ST / PwBD | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration fee (Govt./CU/NI) | ₹1,000 | ₹500 | No |
| Security deposit (Govt./CU/NI) | ₹20,000 | ₹20,000 | Yes, conditionally |
| Registration fee (Deemed Universities) | ₹5,000 | ₹5,000 | No |
| Security deposit (Deemed Universities) | ₹50,000 | ₹50,000 | Yes, conditionally |
Important: If you register for both AIQ (Govt./CU/NI) and Deemed Universities, you pay only the higher combined amount once — ₹55,000 total — not both fee sets separately.
When Do You Actually Get Your Deposit Back?
This is the part every student needs to internalize before paying anything. Refund isn’t automatic — it depends entirely on when in the process you exit.
| Scenario | Deposit Refunded? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Not allotted any seat in any round | Yes, full refund | No seat occupied, nothing to forfeit |
| Allotted in Round 1, use “Free Exit” (don’t join) | Yes, full refund | Round 1 carries a no-penalty exit in most AYUSH cycles |
| Allotted in Round 2 or Round 3, don’t join | No, forfeited | Later-round exits typically lose Free Exit protection |
| Allotted, join, then formally withdraw mid-session | No, forfeited | Treated as post-admission withdrawal, not a counselling exit |
| Allotted in Stray Vacancy/Mop-Up Round, don’t join | No, near-certain forfeiture | This round exists to fill last-minute vacancies with committed candidates |
| Complete counselling, join, remain admitted | Yes, refunded/adjusted | Deposit is returned or adjusted against fees once admission is confirmed |
The rule to remember: the earlier you exit, the safer your deposit is. Round 1 forgives. Every round after that assumes you’re serious about the seat offered.
A Real Example of How This Plays Out
A student registers for UP AYUSH state quota, pays ₹2,000 registration plus ₹50,000 security deposit for private college eligibility. In Round 1, she’s allotted a private BAMS college she doesn’t want — she’s hoping for a government seat in Round 2. Because it’s Round 1, she uses Free Exit instead of joining, and her ₹50,000 stays untouched while she carries full eligibility into Round 2.
Her classmate gets allotted a seat in Round 2, also decides against it, but simply skips reporting without formally exiting. His ₹50,000 is forfeited — not because he broke a rule deliberately, but because he assumed Round 2 worked exactly like Round 1.
It doesn’t, and that single assumption is the most expensive, most repeated mistake every counselling cycle.
Pros and Cons of the Security Deposit System
Pros: It filters out casual, non-serious registrations, keeping the merit list and seat matrix cleaner for genuinely committed candidates. It also creates real financial incentive to research colleges properly before choice filling instead of treating the process casually.
Cons: ₹50,000 is a significant sum for many families to keep locked up during an already expensive admission season, and the round-wise refund distinction isn’t intuitive — plenty of careful, rule-following students still lose their deposit simply from misreading which round they’re in.
Common Mistakes That Cost Students Their Deposit
- Assuming Round 1’s Free Exit applies to every round — it doesn’t; the safety net narrows sharply after Round 1.
- Confusing the registration fee with the security deposit — treating the ₹2,000 (or ₹1,000/₹500 for AACCC) as refundable, when it never is.
- Not tracking which round an allotment came from — some students genuinely don’t realize they’ve moved from Round 1 into Round 2 territory.
- Skipping formal exit procedure and simply not showing up — an unreported non-join is often treated the same as, or worse than, a formal exit, with no Free Exit protection applied after the fact.
- Paying the wrong-tier deposit for the choices being filled — putting down ₹10,000 (government-tier) while choice-filling private colleges creates a mismatch flagged at document verification.
- Relying on last year’s bulletin — refund percentages, deadlines, and exit windows are reset every cycle; carrying forward old assumptions is a documented source of student confusion.
Expert Tip
Pay the higher-tier security deposit (₹50,000, private college eligibility) if you can afford to, even if a government seat is your real goal. It keeps every private college option open in your choice list without restriction. Paying only the ₹10,000 government-tier deposit can limit your effective preference list if a private seat becomes your best available option later — and upgrading your deposit tier mid-process isn’t always simple. Treat the extra ₹40,000 as a refundable safety margin, not a sunk cost, as long as you exit correctly if you don’t end up needing it.
Checklist Before You Pay
- Confirmed ₹2,000 registration fee is non-refundable regardless of outcome
- Decided government-tier (₹10,000) or private-tier (₹50,000) deposit based on your realistic choice list
- Understood that Round 1 allows Free Exit, but Round 2 onward typically doesn’t
- Registered separately on AACCC (aaccc.gov.in) if pursuing AIQ or Deemed University seats
- Saved every payment receipt and transaction ID from both portals
- Read this year’s official information bulletin for exact figures, not last year’s
- Set a personal reminder for every round’s reporting deadline
FAQ
Q1. Is the ₹2,000 UP AYUSH registration fee refundable under any condition?
No. It’s non-refundable in every scenario, including if you’re never allotted a seat.
Q2. What’s the security deposit for government vs private colleges in UP AYUSH?
₹10,000 for government college eligibility and ₹50,000 for private college eligibility, both conditionally refundable based on how and when you exit.
Q3. If I don’t get any seat at all, do I get my deposit back?
Yes, in full — no allotment means nothing to forfeit.
Q4. Does Free Exit apply in every round, or only Round 1?
Generally only Round 1. From Round 2 onward, not joining an allotted seat typically forfeits the deposit.
Q5. Are UP AYUSH state fees and AACCC fees the same?
No. They’re entirely separate registrations with independent fees and refund rules — paying one doesn’t cover the other.
Q6. Can I switch from a government-tier to a private-tier deposit mid-counselling?
Not as a standard option — decide your tier upfront based on your realistic choice list rather than assuming a later upgrade.
Q7. What if I join a college and leave later in the session?
Your deposit is typically forfeited, and tuition already paid is generally non-refundable — this is treated differently from a pre-admission exit.
Summary
The UP AYUSH fee structure isn’t complicated once you separate the two components in your head: the ₹2,000 registration fee is gone the moment you pay it, no exceptions, while your security deposit’s fate depends entirely on which round you’re in when you decide to exit. Round 1 is forgiving. Every round after rewards commitment and penalizes hesitation. Know your round, exit through the correct option, and read the current bulletin instead of assuming last year’s terms carried over — that’s the entire difference between getting your money back and losing it.
Disclaimer: Fee amounts, refund percentages, and round-wise exit rules are set fresh in each year’s official information bulletin by the Department of AYUSH, Uttar Pradesh, and by AACCC for central counselling. This guide reflects the established 2025–26 cycle pattern as a trend reference; confirm exact 2026–27 figures on upayushcounseling.upsdc.gov.in and aaccc.gov.in before making any payment.
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