How can I check if a medical college is genuine?

Open the official NMC list on nmc.org.in and check the college is listed. Then verify it has permission to admit students for the current academic year, along with the approved course and sanctioned seats, through NMC and Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) records.

Does being on the NMC list mean a college can admit students this year?

No. The NMC has said a college's name on the list, or its permission from a past year, does not mean it can admit a new batch this year. You must check the permission for the relevant academic year separately.

Where should I apply for MBBS admission?

Apply only through official counselling. For All India quota seats, that is the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). For state quota seats, use your state or Union Territory counselling authority. Do not take admission through agents or middlemen.

A fake MBBS college ran from a farmhouse: NMC warns students to check before paying fees

Q: I already paid fees to a college I now suspect is fake. What should I do?

Report it to the NMC through its official website or communication channels, and also to your state medical education department or local police. Keep every advertisement, payment receipt, message and website screenshot as proof.

A medical college was reportedly running from a farmhouse. That one case pushed the Supreme Court to act, and now the National Medical Commission (NMC) has warned every MBBS aspirant in India: check the college before you pay a single rupee. The warning matters right now because counselling is in its final rounds, seats are still open in many states, and agents are making big promises to families who are desperate for a seat.

The NMC issued the advisory through its Undergraduate Medical Education Board. It followed directions from the Supreme Court in an ongoing case, Ayesha Jain vs Amity University, Noida and Others. The court told regulators, including the NMC, to caution students and parents against dealing with institutions without first checking whether they are genuine. The case came up after reports of a purported fake medical college operating from a farmhouse and claiming to offer various courses.

What the NMC found: fake colleges, forged letters, misleading ads

The NMC said some institutions are offering medical and allied courses without the required recognition, approval or permission from the competent authorities. Students and parents can be misled by advertisements, websites, social media posts, unauthorised admission offers and false claims made by such institutions, agents or middlemen.

Forged approval letters are part of the problem. A letter that looks official may not be real, and a college website can show approvals that do not exist. The NMC has asked students not to trust documents shared by the college itself or its representatives. If you have any doubt about a document, contact the concerned regulatory authority directly through its official channels.

“It has come to the notice of the National Medical Commission (NMC) that certain institutions are purportedly offering medical and allied courses without obtaining the requisite statutory recognition, approval or permission from the competent regulatory authorities.”

Being on the list is not enough

This is the part most families get wrong. The NMC has made it clear that a college appearing on its official list does not automatically mean it has permission to admit students this year. Permission from a previous academic year does not carry forward on its own.

Before you accept any offer, check three things on the official records: whether the college is on the NMC list, whether it has permission to admit students for the relevant academic year, and how many seats are sanctioned for the course. The NMC and the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) keep these records. Check them yourself on the official NMC website instead of taking anyone’s word for it.

Why the warning comes at a risky time for aspirants

Thousands of MBBS seats are still going through counselling this year. After the third round of All India counselling, 3,426 MBBS seats were vacant, and even after the stray vacancy round, 837 seats stayed unfilled. The NMC also approved 13,636 extra undergraduate medical seats in 2026. With so many seats moving through late rounds, families are under pressure to grab any offer that comes their way. That pressure is exactly what fake operators count on. Read how vacant MBBS seats and high fees shaped this year’s counselling.

State rounds are still running too. In Madhya Pradesh, the special stray vacancy round for MBBS and BDS opened choice filling on November 11, with admission on November 16. If you are taking part in any late round, use only the official route. Check the MP NEET UG special stray vacancy round schedule.

Check a medical college in 5 steps before you pay

Open nmc.org.in and search the official list of medical colleges for the college name.
Confirm the college has permission to admit students for the 2026-27 academic year, not just an older year.
Match the approved course and the number of sanctioned seats with what the college is offering you.
Take admission only through the Medical Counselling Committee or your state counselling authority. The MCC website is the official channel for All India quota seats.
Never pay an agent, a middleman, or a personal bank account. Pay only through the official fee process of the counselling authority or the college.

What to do if you spot a fake college

Report it. The NMC has asked the public to report suspected fake medical colleges, unauthorised MBBS courses, forged permission letters, fraudulent admission offers and misleading claims through its official website or communication channels. You can also report to your state medical education department or local police.

Keep proof. Save the advertisement, the payment receipt, messages, emails and screenshots of the website. The NMC has advised complainants to preserve this evidence, because it helps the authorities act against the people running the fraud.

One more thing the advisory covers: courses such as pharmacy, nursing, Ayurveda and allied healthcare programmes are regulated by different authorities, not the NMC. If you are applying for one of those courses, check its approval with the right regulator for that course. A medical college’s NMC approval says nothing about its nursing or pharmacy seats.

For the latest admission and counselling updates, keep an eye on our education news section. A five-minute check on the official list today can save your family lakhs of rupees and years of your career.