Short answer
Maharashtra engineering CAP runs in this order: you fill the online CAP application form and upload your documents, get them verified, check the provisional and final merit lists, fill and confirm an option form of colleges and courses before each round, see your provisional allotment, accept the seat (at an Admission Reporting Centre or by online self-scrutiny and paying the seat acceptance fee), and then report to the allotted college. There are four CAP rounds, and there is no further betterment after Round IV.
Based on the State CET Cell's Information Brochure for 2026–27 admissions (dated 02.07.2026). The 2027–28 brochure hasn't been published yet — rules can change, so check it when it is.
Who this applies to
Candidates seeking first-year B.E./B.Tech. admission through the State CET Cell's Centralized Admission Process (CAP)
The rule, explained
Read the information brochure published on the State CET Cell website. Fill the online CAP application form and upload scanned copies of your original documents while filling it.
Document verification happens at a Facilitation Centre or through the method the CET Cell prescribes. You must produce all original documents for the claims you make. After the application is confirmed, you can't change the information.
A provisional merit list is published, you can raise grievances within the set period, and then the final merit list is published. Before each round, the CET Cell publishes the seat matrix showing seats by category.
Before each round you fill and confirm an online option form listing institutes and courses in decreasing order of preference (up to 300 choices). The provisional allotment is then displayed. To accept a seat, you report to the Admission Reporting Centre (ARC) or self-scrutinise your uploaded documents online, as prescribed, and only then report to the allotted institute.
Rounds I to IV follow the same pattern, with rules on auto-freeze and betterment. After Round IV there is no further betterment, and the allotment made or retained in Round IV is final.
What the official document says
Filling Online Application Form by candidate for participation in the Centralised Admission Process (CAP);
State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra · Information Brochure, Academic Year 2026–27, for admissions to Full Time Professional UG and PG Technical Courses (B.E./B.Tech., MBA/MMS and others) dated 02.07.2026, PDF page 74 (opens the official site)
Candidates may fill in maximum 300 choices of Institutes and Courses in decreasing order of their preference;
State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra · Information Brochure, Academic Year 2026–27, for admissions to Full Time Professional UG and PG Technical Courses (B.E./B.Tech., MBA/MMS and others) dated 02.07.2026, PDF page 76 (opens the official site)
Only after reporting to ARC or by self scrutiny of the document uploaded in online application system as per clause (i), the candidate should report to the allotted institute for seeking admission on the allotted seat as per final allotment in CAP rounds;
State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra · Information Brochure, Academic Year 2026–27, for admissions to Full Time Professional UG and PG Technical Courses (B.E./B.Tech., MBA/MMS and others) dated 02.07.2026, PDF page 77 (opens the official site)
There shall be no further betterment option available to the candidate after Round IV. The allotment made and/or allotment retained in Round IV for participating candidates in Round IV shall be final.
State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra · Information Brochure, Academic Year 2026–27, for admissions to Full Time Professional UG and PG Technical Courses (B.E./B.Tech., MBA/MMS and others) dated 02.07.2026, PDF page 80 (opens the official site)
Related
- Engineering counselling
- Engineering important dates
- Freeze and betterment in CAP
- Filling the option form