KEA category codes, decoded
Every column heading in a KEA cut-off file — what it means, where the key comes from, and how to read a code you have never seen before.
In short
KEA’s codes read category + variant + pool: 2AG is Category 2A General, 2AR its Rural column, 2AK its Kannada-medium column, and a trailing H (as in GMH) marks the 371(J) Kalyana-Karnataka pool, which KEA publishes as a separate file. In 2026 the single SC column became four — S1–S4 for SCA, SCB and the two SCC shares.
How to read any code
| Part | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Head | GM, 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, SC/S1–S4, ST | The vertical category — who competes in that column. |
| Middle | G, R, K | General, Rural or Kannada-medium — the horizontal reservation inside the category. Rural and Kannada-medium need their own 10-year study certificates. |
| Tail | H (and KH / RH) | Present only in the 371(J) Kalyana-Karnataka publication: GMH is General Merit in the HK pool, GMKH its Kannada-medium variant, GMRH its rural variant. A code without H comes from the Rest-of-Karnataka file. |
So 3BRH is Category 3B, rural variant, in the Kalyana-Karnataka pool — three facts in four characters, which is why the files look impenetrable until you know the grammar.
Vertical categories and their variants
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| GM | General Merit |
| GMR | General Merit — Rural |
| GMK | General Merit — Kannada medium |
| 1G | Category 1 — General |
| 1R | Category 1 — Rural |
| 1K | Category 1 — Kannada medium |
| 2AG | Category 2A — General |
| 2AR | Category 2A — Rural |
| 2AK | Category 2A — Kannada medium |
| 2BG | Category 2B — General |
| 2BR | Category 2B — Rural |
| 2BK | Category 2B — Kannada medium |
| 3AG | Category 3A — General |
| 3AR | Category 3A — Rural |
| 3AK | Category 3A — Kannada medium |
| 3BG | Category 3B — General |
| 3BR | Category 3B — Rural |
| 3BK | Category 3B — Kannada medium |
| SCG | Scheduled Caste — General |
| SCR | Scheduled Caste — Rural |
| SCK | Scheduled Caste — Kannada medium |
| STG | Scheduled Tribe — General |
| STR | Scheduled Tribe — Rural |
| STK | Scheduled Tribe — Kannada medium |
The 2026 Scheduled Caste split
New this cycle, under government order SKE 08 SLP 2024 (25-08-2025). Your caste certificate must state the internal category, with its RD number in the application.
Special pools and horizontal reservations
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| SNQ | Supernumerary Quota (tuition-fee waiver seats) |
| PWD | Persons with Disability |
| KK | Kalyana-Karnataka Region — Article 371(J), also written HK |
| JK | Jammu & Kashmir migrants |
| D | Defence |
| DK | Defence Karnataka |
| XD | Ex-Defence |
| CAPF | Central Armed Police Forces |
| XCP | Ex-Central Armed Police Forces |
| NCC | National Cadet Corps |
| SPO | Sports |
| AGL | Anglo Indians |
| GMP | General Merit Private (Yoga & Naturopathy) |
371(J) Kalyana-Karnataka columns
These appear only in KEA’s separate Kalyana-Karnataka publication, so the UGCET bulletin’s abbreviation table does not define them. Each has its own page, with the closing ranks it drew.
Codes we will not guess at
GMPH — seen in the 371(J) Kalyana-Karnataka engineering cut-off file (15-07-2026)
A General-Merit column in the HK pool with a P before the pool suffix. The bulletin lists GMP as "General Merit Private (Yoga & Naturopathy)", which does not obviously apply to an engineering file, so we do not state what this column means. Ask KEA before relying on it.
PH — seen in the UGCET-2026 Round-2 provisional engineering seat matrix (07-08-2026), carrying 24 seats
Almost certainly the disability quota — but the bulletin's own abbreviations table, which is this decoder's source, does not list PH, and the special-category section writes the quota as PWD. Two plausible notations for one quota is exactly the kind of assumption that misfiles a column, so we state the count and not the meaning.
CAP — seen in the UGCET-2026 Round-2 provisional engineering seat matrix (07-08-2026), carrying 7 seats
Sits beside XCP, which the bulletin does define as Ex-Central Armed Police Forces — so CAP reads as the serving-personnel equivalent. The bulletin does not list it, and "reads as" is not a source. The count is published; the expansion is not.
Category codes — questions and answers
Answered from verified records — official closing ranks, published fees and accreditation. Not written by students. How we verify data.
- What does 2AG mean in a KCET cut-off list?
- Category 2A — General: the 2A category column for candidates who are not claiming the Rural or Kannada-medium variant. 2AR is the Rural column of the same category and 2AK the Kannada-medium one. Straight from KEA’s abbreviations table.
- Why does KCET 2026 show four Scheduled Caste columns instead of one?
- Government order SKE 08 SLP 2024 (25-08-2025) introduced internal reservation within the Scheduled Castes, so KEA now publishes SCA, SCB, SCC (80%) and SCC (20%) as separate columns — printed as S1, S2, S3 and S4 with the usual suffixes. There is no published "SC overall" closing rank for 2026, and averaging the four would invent a number KEA never released.
- What is the H at the end of GMH or 2AH?
- It marks the 371(J) Kalyana-Karnataka seat pool — KEA publishes that pool as a separate file with its own closing ranks. GMH is General Merit within the HK pool; GMKH and GMRH are its Kannada-medium and rural variants. A code with no H comes from the Rest-of-Karnataka file.
- Do I need a certificate to be counted in the Rural or Kannada-medium column?
- Yes. Both are ten-year claims: a rural study certificate for 1st–10th countersigned by the BEO (General Merit candidates also need an NCLC with RD number), or a Kannada-medium study certificate for the same span. The bulletin lists them under each eligibility clause.
- Can I compare a closing rank in one category against another?
- No. Each column is its own competition for its own seats — a 2AG closing rank and a GM closing rank describe different seat pools and different candidate sets. Comparing them tells you nothing useful, which is why every table on this site keeps the columns separate.
Put the codes to work
- College predictor — Enter a rank and category; see which colleges closed at or beyond it, from the verified rows.
- Verified cut-offs — Every closing rank on the site, by exam, branch, category, rank band, city and round.
- Seat matrix — KEA's seat matrix, college by college and category by category, round over round.
- Counselling tracker — Which round each exam is in, read from the official portal and dated.
- KEA college codes — The E-codes option entry asks for, matched to college pages.
- Option-entry sheet — Your saved colleges in priority order, each with its KEA code and verified closing ranks; printable.
- Exam calendar — Dated exam and counselling windows, with the notification behind each.
- Browse verified closing ranks by category
- Which clause am I? — the claim that decides your category column
- Article 371(J) — what the H suffix is about