AP ICET 2026 Counselling: Phase 1 Registration And Fee Payment Close Today, Web Options Open Till September 2

Today is the hard stop. AP ICET 2026 candidates who have not completed Phase 1 counselling registration, uploaded their documents and paid the processing fee must finish all three on the counselling portal, cap.apcfss.in, before the window closes on August 31, 2026. The registration stage opened on August 24.

The Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education is running this counselling for admission to MBA and MCA seats under the convener quota in university and private colleges across the state for the 2026–27 academic year.

The full Phase 1 calendar

1. Registration, document upload and fee payment: August 24 to August 31, 2026.
2. Online certificate verification: August 25 to September 1, 2026.
3. Web option entry: August 27 to September 2, 2026.
4. Change of web options: September 3, 2026.
5. Phase 1 seat allotment: September 7, 2026.
6. Reporting at the allotted college: from September 8, to be completed by September 11, 2026.

Note how these windows overlap rather than run in sequence. Verification is still open after registration closes, and web options are already live. A candidate who registers in the final hours today can still complete verification tomorrow and enter options through September 2.

The processing fee

₹1,250 for OC and BC candidates, and ₹650 for SC, ST and PwD candidates. The fee is non-refundable and is paid online during registration. It is separate from the examination fee you paid earlier in the year, and it is not returned if you do not receive a seat.

The special-category rule nobody is highlighting

Candidates claiming a special-category reservation — NCC, sports and games, CAP, Scouts and Guides, and Anglo-Indian — need to read this line twice. According to the notification, special-category certificates are verified only during the first phase, on the scheduled dates. There is no further special-category verification in subsequent counselling phases.

That means a candidate who skips this round intending to enter counselling in Phase 2 forfeits the special-category claim permanently, not temporarily. The reporting time for these verifications is 9:00 am on the notified dates.

Web options: the choices that actually decide your seat

Registration gets you into the process. Web options decide where you land.

Before you begin entering options, download the list of available colleges, courses and districts from the counselling portal and build your preference list offline. Arranging thirty choices inside a live portal under deadline traffic is how mistakes happen.

Then understand how the allotment engine treats your list. It is strictly sequential. If your rank clears your first option, the seat is locked there and the system never looks at options two and three. You cannot decline option one in favour of option two within the same phase. So your genuine first choice goes at position one — not a test entry, not a placeholder you intend to rearrange later.

The second rule is about depth. If you list only ambitious choices and your rank does not clear any of them, the system returns no allotment at all. Adding mid-tier and safe colleges lower down costs you nothing and protects you from an empty result.

Enter as many suitable options as you reasonably can, save them, and take a printout of the final saved list.

Do not leave the portal for the last hour

The counselling portal carries heavy traffic in the closing hours of every window. Registration closing today and options closing on September 2 are both predictable congestion points. Finishing a day early is the cheapest insurance available in this entire process.

Keep your registered mobile number active throughout. OTPs, allotment intimation and counselling updates all go to that number. Never share an OTP with anyone, including people claiming to help with admission.

How to register

Open cap.apcfss.in and click Candidate Login, then New Registration. Select AP ICET from the list of eligible CETs, choose your degree board and fill the remaining details. Enter your registered mobile number, re-enter it along with your Aadhaar number, accept the declaration and generate the OTP. Complete the registration, pay the processing fee, upload your certificates, and proceed to verification and web options.

Documents to keep ready

Your AP ICET 2026 rank card and hall ticket, SSC or equivalent certificate, Intermediate marks memo, degree marks memos and provisional or degree certificate, study certificates covering Class 9 to degree for a three-year degree or Class 10 to degree for a four-year degree, transfer certificate, income certificate or its equivalent if you are claiming a fee reimbursement benefit, caste certificate where applicable, residence certificate where required, and the special-category certificate if you are claiming one. Aadhaar is needed at registration.

Candidates whose name, father's name or age needs correction on the portal will have to upload the SSC certificate supporting the change.

After allotment

Seat allotment is published on September 7. Confirming the seat is a two-part exercise, and candidates lose seats every year by completing only the first part. Self-reporting on the portal and downloading the joining report is step one. Physically reporting at the allotted college with your original documents, within the reporting window, is step two. Missing the physical reporting deadline cancels the allotment.

Reporting runs from September 8 and must be completed by September 11.

Candidates should verify all dates and fee amounts against the official notification on cap.apcfss.in before acting, as APSCHE issues revisions during the counselling cycle.