Note: A student can't simultaneously hold a seat in the NITs while looking for a seat in the IITs and vice versa. Details here

Once you've written the JEE Advanced (earlier it was only JEE), you'll be informed in a few weeks time about how you've fared in it. Now, if you HAVE made the cut and qualified for counselling, bravo! But you better go through the following steps, lest you forget, or miss out on, some rather critical information about the whole counselling procedure.

It's quite straightforward, actually. The IITs come out with a merit list based on your JEE Advanced scores. After this, it's a fairly simple five-step process, which is terribly hard to screw up.

1. Registration on JEE Advanced Website
2. Payment of counselling  fees
3. Submission of photocopies of documents to the zonal IITs
4. Choice filling
5. Counselling and Allotment

1. ONLINE REGISTRATION

You need to register at the JEE Advanced Counselling Online  Portal and  fill  the  required details as given in the JEE admit card along with a password.  At  the  completion  of  this  procedure  the website will automatically create a User-ID. Make sure you note these down and keep them safe, because you'll need them soon. And keep them confidential, for god's sake!
 

2. PAYMENT OF COUNSELLING FEES

You need to pay a non-refundable  counselling  fee  of  Rs.  1000/-  when you register. The  counselling  fee  can be  paid  only  after  registration either  using  credit  card/ debit  card/ ATM  card  (only  those  with  Visa  or  MasterCard  Logo)  or  the  National  Electronic  Fund  Transfer (NEFT). You can fill  and lock  you  choices  only  after  payment  of  the counselling fee.

3. DOCUMENTS TO BE SENT TO ZONAL IIT

You must  send  the  following  documents through  SPEED  POST  so  as  to  reach  the  JEE chairman  of  the  Zonal  IIT  (the  IIT  from  which  you received the Admit card) by a specific date, which you'll be informed of.

• Duly  filled  application  form  for  admission: The application form must be filled completely along with a recent color photograph pasted on it. The application form  for  admission  may  also  be downloaded  from  the  JCOP  site.
• Medical  Examination  Report: The  medical examination  report  form  may  be  downloaded from  the JCOP site  by  following “documents”tab.  The  form  must  be  filled  and  signed  by  a Registered Medical Practitioner.
• Duly  attested photocopy  of  mark  sheet  and certificate of  passing  the  qualifying examination. If your qualifying examination result is awaited, you shall be admitted provisionally. In this case, you must  send in a duly  filled 'undertaking'.
• In addition to these documents, if you belong to any of OBC (NCL), SC, ST categories or DS  subcategory, you must provide a  duly  attested photocopy  of  the  respective  category/sub-category  certificate  issued  by  the  competent authority.
• If you're a foreign  national, you should send an attested photocopy of the page in your passport  that  contains your name, photo and nationality.

4. ONLINE CHOICE FILLING

After  registration  and  payment  of  counselling  fee, you need  to  login  to  the  JCOP using  the  User-ID, password  and  the  JEE registration  number printed on the admit card. Once you're here, enter  the  choices  of  courses  in  the order  of  your  preference.

The course allocation is done strictly on the basis of your India rank (AIR) as  well  as  the courses you've opted for. The  choices you fill in the JCOP are final and cannot be changed at a later stage.
Thus, in your own interest, you should fill in a sufficiently  large  number  of  choices  of  courses  in the decreasing order of preference.
 

5. COUNSELLING AND COURSE ALLOTMENT

There are two rounds of course allotment.

You need to login to the JCOP  to  find out which course you've been allotted (if any). If you HAVE been  allotted  a  course, you  will  have  to  pay a  non-refundable  Registration  Fee  of  Rs. 40,000/-  (Rs .20,000/-  for  SC/ST)  by a specific date to accept the offer of admission. The registration fees can be paid either using Credit/debit/ATM card or the  National  Electronic  Fund  Transfer (NEFT). This amount will be  adjusted  towards  the fee  to  be  paid  at  the  time of admission.
If you don't pay the registration fee within the stipulated period, you lose the seat you've been allotted, and you wouldn't even be considered for allotment (up gradation, in this case) for the second round.

Once you DO pay the registration fee, you are given 'provisional' admission, which means that you'll either be allotted the current course, or one which is higher up in your list. Basically, you may be upgraded if there are vacancies. That's what the second round is all about, where the same procedure is followed once again.

NOTE: Fees once paid will NOT be refunded. Candidates once admitted to a  particular  institute  through  JEE cannot  be transferred to another participating institute.

Important Dates pertaining to JEE Advanced

Note: For exact date visit official website of college.