JEE Main Eligibility Criteria 2026 - NTA has published the JEE Main eligibility criteria 2026 on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. The JEE Main eligibility criteria 2026 were released along with the information brochure. To be eligible for the JEE Main exam, candidates must have completed their Class 12 in 2024 or 2025 or be appearing for their exams in 2026. The eligibility criteria include aspects such as educational qualification, age limit, nationality, marks in class 12, required JEE Main percentage, compulsory subjects, that candidates must meet while applying for the exam. Note that there is no age limit for appearing in the JEE Main exam. The authority will conduct the JEE Main 2026 exam between January 21 to 30, 2026 (session 1).
Also Check: JEE Main 2026 Application OUT! | JEE Main 2026 exam date
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The JEE Main 2026 session 2 exam dates are from April 2 to 9, 2026. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria may result in the cancellation of candidature. The JEE Main eligibility criteria are the minimum qualifying conditions required to appear for the exam. It's important to note that failing to meet any of the eligibility requirements will result in disqualification from the exam.
Students must meet the JEE Mains 2026 eligibility for admission to various colleges accepting NTA JEE scores. The JEE Main attempt limit is three consecutive years. The National Testing Agency conducts JEE Main for admission into the undergraduate (UG) courses offered by the JEE Main 2026 participating institutes. For more details about the JEE Main eligibility criteria, 2026 candidates can check below.
Also Read: JEE Main Study Material 2026
Eligibility criteria for IIT JEE Main 2026 | JEE Main Eligibility Criteria Details |
|---|---|
Age limit | There is no age limit |
Academic eligibility | Class 12 or equivalent level |
Year of the qualifying exam | 2024/ 2025 / 2026 |
Class 12th subjects |
|
Required 12th class percentage |
|
Limit of JEE attempts | Three consecutive years |
Applicants must check the eligibility criteria for JEE Mains 2026 before filling out the application form. Candidates failing to meet the necessary JEE Main eligibility criteria 2026 will be rejected at a later stage of the admission process.
Check the eligibility criteria for JEE Main 2026 below:
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B.E/B.Tech: Applicants should have passed the qualifying exam with Physics, Mathematics, and any one of the chemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, or Technical Vocational Subjects).
B.Arch: Applicants should have passed the qualifying exam with Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry.
B. Plan: Applicants should have passed the qualifying exam in Mathematics.
To appear for the JEE Main exam, there is no Class 12 minimum marks requirement. However, candidates must have a minimum of 75% marks in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics to get admission to IITs, NITs, IIITs and some premium colleges. JEE Main eligibility marks in 12th class are necessary to get admission, irrespective of your JEE Main rank or percentile. Also, the JEE Main eligibility marks in 12th for SC and ST remain the same.
Candidates are required to enter their state of eligibility while filling out the application form.
Candidates can find the list of states where the JEE Main 2026 exam will be conducted. In case of any changes, the same is updated here.
| Name of State/ Union Territory (UT) | Code of State |
|---|---|
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (UT) | AN |
Andhra Pradesh | AP |
Arunachal Pradesh | AL |
Assam | AM |
Bihar | BR |
Chandigarh (UT) | CH |
Chhattisgarh | CG |
Dadra & Nagar Haveli (UT) | DN |
Delhi (NCT) | DL |
Goa | GO |
Gujarat | GJ |
Haryana | HR |
Himachal Pradesh | HP |
Jammu & Kashmir | JK |
Jharkhand | JH |
Karnataka | KK |
Kerala | KL |
Ladakh | LD |
Lakshadweep (UT) | LD |
Madhya Pradesh | MP |
Maharashtra | MR |
Manipur | MN |
Meghalaya | MG |
Mizoram | MZ |
Nagaland | NL |
Odisha | OR |
Puducherry (UT) | PO |
Punjab | PB |
Rajasthan | RJ |
Sikkim | SM |
Tamil Nadu | TN |
Tripura | TA |
Uttar Pradesh | UP |
Uttarakhand | UK |
West Bengal | UK |
Telangana | TL |
Foreign/ OCI/ PIO/ Nepal | - |
JEE Main Eligibility Marks in 12th for NITs/IIITs/GFTIs Admission: Students must have passed the 12th class with 75 percent required for JEE Mains 2026 or they should be in the top 20 percentile in their class 12 exam (65% for SC/ST candidates).
JEE Main 2026 Admission (B.Arch/B.Planning): He/She should have passed a 10+2 or equivalent exam from a recognized board with the required JEE Main eligibility marks in 12th which is 50% aggregate marks.
To get admission into NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs, below given subject-combinations must be studied in Class 12th as per NTA JEE Mains eligibility criteria 2026.
B.Tech/B.E: Physics, and Maths as mandatory subjects along with one of the subjects such as Chemistry/Biology/Biotechnology/Technical Vocational subjects.
B.Arch: Mathematics, Physics & Chemistry subjects.
B.Planning: He/She must have passed the qualifying exam with Maths subject.
Candidates who clear the JEE Main exam and rank in the top 2,50,000, will be eligible to apply for the JEE Advanced exam. Check further JEE Advanced eligibility criteria based on JEE Main below.
Apart from the above-mentioned JEE Main eligibility criteria for appearing in JEE Advanced, candidates also have to fulfil certain conditions based on age limit, number of attempts, Class 12th exam and previous admission to IITs. For more in-depth knowledge aspirants are advised to refer to the JEE Advanced eligibility criteria online.
Candidates who take a break from their education in order to prepare for the JEE Main 2026 exam are called Droppers. The JEE Main 2026 eligibility criteria for droppers is specified below.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The state of eligibility is the code of the state from where a student has passed class 12th which is Haryana.
For candidates who have completed class 12th from NIOS, the state of eligibility will be according to the state in which the study centre was located.
Candidates must have secured a minimum of 75% marks (65% for SC/ST category) or be in the top 20 percentile in class 12 or equivalent exam.
The better of the two scores will be considered by the authorities.
For admission into B.Tech/B.E course, candidates should have studied Physics and Mathematics as mandatory subjects along with one of the Biotechnology/ Chemistry/ Biology/ Technical Vocational subject.
As per the JEE Main 2026 eligibility criteria, students can appear in the JEE Main exam for three consecutive years.
A minimum of 75% marks in the overall 12th class from a recognised board is the eligibility criteria for IIT JEE Mains 2026 for obc category.
There is no fixed minimum score required in Class 12 for JEE Main. However, candidates must fulfil the eligibility criteria specified by NTA, which includes passing Class 12 or equivalent examination.
Candidates who have completed their Class 12 in 2025 or 2026, or are currently taking their Class 12 exams in 2026, are eligible to participate in JEE Main 2026. However, those who completed their Class 12 before 2022 or are scheduled to take their Class 12 exams after 2024 are not eligible for the exam.
The JEE Main eligibility criteria require a minimum of 75% marks in Class 12 for admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. It's important to note that there is no minimum requirement of 75% marks in Class 12 for appearing in the JEE Mains exam.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
The link to the question paper is attached here. Careers360 help students in their exam preparation. students can find all the required study materials and exam materials, exam materials, results and cutoffs on the website.
Thank you.
Hello,
Despite of the prior backlogs, you can appear for JEE Mains in 2026 because you passed class 12; that marks the basic eligibility.
Anyways, this would be regarded as the third JEE Mains attempt, because there's a limit that a candidate can attempt only a limited number of times;
You can get free mock tests for JEE 2026 on the Careers360 website. The mock tests are based on the latest exam pattern and help in understanding the level of questions and time management. You just need to register and start attempting the tests online.
Direct link for JEE mock
Hello,
If you passed 12th in 2025 and did not appear in JEE till now, then this is your eligibility:
JEE Main can be given for 3 consecutive years after 12th.
Each year has 2 sessions .
You are eligible in 2025, 2026 and 2027 .
Since you
Hello,
For JEE (for IT / engineering) :
10th percentage
There is no fixed minimum percentage needed in Class 10 to prepare for JEE.
You just need to pass Class 10 .
Important part is Class 12
You must study Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics in Class 11 and 12 .
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