JEE Main Eligibility Criteria 2026 - The National Testing Agency will soon release the NTA JEE Main 2026 eligibility criteria on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. 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 will include aspects such as educational qualification, age limit, nationality, marks in class 12, required JEE Main percentage, compulsory subjects, and more. Note that there is no age limit for appearing in the JEE Main exam. The authority will conduct the JEE Main 2026 exam in January 2026. The JEE Main 2026 eligibility criteria pdf download link will be provided here. The authority has activated the demo link of JEE Main 2026 registration on October 7, 2025.
Also Check: JEE Main 2026 College Predictor
Candidates can follow the steps below to apply online for the JEE Mains 2026 session 1.
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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
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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:
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 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 IIT, NIT, 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 the 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 will be 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)
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.
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.
To be eligible for JEE Main 2026, students who have passed Class 12 (10+2) or an equivalent exam in 2024 or 2025, or are appearing for the exam in 2026.
The better of the two scores will be considered by the authorities.
As per the JEE Main 2026 eligibility criteria, students can appear in the JEE Main exam for three consecutive years.
Basic JEE Advanced eligibility based on JEE Main is that candidates must have their JEE Main 2026 rank among the top 2.5 lakh successful aspirants of the exam.
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.
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.
The state of eligibility is the code of the state from where a student has passed class 12th which is Haryana.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
JEE has two exams:
The percentage or marks needed to get seat in NITs and IITs are:
Go through the link for more details:
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-cutoff
I hope this answer helps you, All the best!
Heya,
Yes, you can refill your category again. In the case of the April session JEE Main registration, you have the option to change your category while registering your details only once. You can switch from General to EWS if you have a proper certificate. Just be certain that the EWS certificate is granted before the last date of the April session form and complies with the NTA's requirements of validity.
Hope it helps!!!
Hello,
Yes, you can get admission in DTU and IIIT Hyderabad with an outstanding JEE Main rank, as long as you pass Class 12 with at least 60% marks in PCM.
if we talk about DTU (Delhi Technological University) — you must have at least 60% in PCM and pass all subjects. The 75% rule is not strictly applicable here, so you can get admission based on your JEE Main rank and Delhi quota, if applicable.
For IIIT Hyderabad, admission is based on JEE Main percentile/rank, but the institute also requires a minimum of 60% in Class 12 (PCM). So, even with less than 75%, you are eligible if you meet this 60% requirement.
Hope you understand. ALL THE BEST.
Hello Tanishka,
Although i believe your attempting strategy and sequence depends entirely on your stage of preparation and your personal progress, i would suggest you sit for your January attempt even if you aim to seriously prepare for April.
Whatever stage of syllabus completion you are at, i suggest you give it a try to get an estimate of the exam difficulty and see roughly where you stand among the applicants that year. No matter how many mock tests you attempt, the actual examination environment happens to be very different from mock tests. The first attempt is going to give you an idea of the exam environment so you can prepare for your April attempt better.
All the best for your exams!
Hello Swati
Yes, your EWS certificate will be valid for JEE Main 2026 and counselling if it’s issued after April 1, 2025.
This is because EWS certificates are valid for one financial year from April to March.
So, a certificate made in October 2025 will be for FY 2025–26, which covers both JEE and counselling. You’ll need the certificate number during JEE registration in October 2025.
Even if you don’t have it yet, you can still register and upload it later during counselling. Just make sure the certificate clearly mentions the correct financial year.
Always keep a few extra copies and the original ready for verification.
You're good to go if it’s issued after April 1, 2025
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