JEE Main Exam Timing 2026: Aspirants must be aware of the JEE Main 2026 exam timing and appear for their shift accordingly. NTA has announced the JEE Mains exam timing 2026 on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. The JEE Main morning shift timings are 9 AM to 12 AM, while the JEE Main afternoon shift timings are from 3 PM to 6 PM. Note that the JEE Main 2026 exam is being conducted in two shifts only. Candidates are advised to reach the centre an hour before the JEE Main reporting time for security checks and verification. The JEE Main entrance exam is being held from April 2 to 8, 2026.
Candidates who have not verified their Aadhaar card during registration must reach the exam centre at least an hour in advance for verification. The verification before the exam includes various steps such as biometric and AI assisted verification, hence it is important for candidates to reach the exam centre before the reporting time. The complete details about the JEE Main exam timings 2026 are in this article.
The NTA announced the JEE Main 2026 dates on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. Candidates can check the JEE Main exam schedule and timings 2026 in the table below. The JEE Main shift timing is the same for all exam days.
| Events | Dates |
|---|---|
Session 1 (January 2026): JEE (Main) - 2026 | |
Online Submission of Application Form | October 31, 2025 |
Last date for successful transaction of prescribed Application Fee | November 27, 2025 |
Correction in Particulars of the online Application Form | December 1 to 2, 2026 |
JEE Main 2026 Exam City Intimation Slip | January 8, 2026 |
Downloading Admit Cards from the NTA website | January 17, 2026 (For 21 to 24 exams) January 24, 2026 (For 28 to 29, exams) |
Dates of Examination | January 21 to 29, 2026 |
Display of Question Paper attempted by the Candidate and Answer Keys for inviting challenges | February 4, 2026 |
Declaration of Result | February 16, 2026 |
Session 2 (April 2026): JEE (Main) - 2026 | |
Online Submission of Application Form | February 1, 2026 |
Last date for successful transaction of prescribed Application Fee | February 25, 2026 |
City Intimation Slip | March 21, 2026 |
Downloading Admit Cards from the NTA website | March 29, 2026 (For April 2 & 4 exams) |
Dates of Examination |
April 2 to 8, 2026 |
Display of Question Paper attempted by the Candidate and Answer Keys for inviting challenges | April 2026 |
Declaration of Result | April 2026 |
| Particulars | JEE Main Shift Timings | ||
|---|---|---|---|
JEE Main shift timing | JEE Main Exam Duration | First Shift | Second Shif |
3 Hours (Paper 1, 2A, 2B) | 09.00 A.M. to 12.00 Noon (IST) | 03.00 P.M. to 06.00 P.M. (IST) | |
3 Hours 30 Minutes (Paper 2A & 2B) | 09.00 A.M. to 12.30 P.M. (IST) | 03.00 P.M. to 06.30 P.M. (IST) | |
Entry in the Examination Centre/ Hall/ Room, frisking, biometric registration/ record of manual attendance by Invigilator, document verification/ crosschecking of Admit Card, signature, and photo match to be completed by Invigilator, etc. | 07.00 A.M. to 08.30 A.M. | 01.00 P.M. to 02.30 P.M. | |
Instructions by the Invigilator(s) | 08.30 A.M. to 08.50 A.M. | 02.30 P.M. to 02.50 P.M. | |
Candidates log in to read instructions | 08.50 A.M. | 02.50 P.M. | |
Test Commences | 09.00 A.M. | 03.00 P.M. | |
Note – Compensatory time for PwD/PwBD Candidates of 20 minutes for a one-hour examination will be given to those who are eligible for Scribe.
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| Events | JEE Morning Shift Timings | JEE Main Evening Shift Timings |
|---|---|---|
JEE Main shift timing B.E/B.Tech | 9:00 am to 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm |
JEE Main shift timing B.Arch | 9:00 am to 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm |
JEE Main Time for B.Plan | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:00 P.M. (IST) |
Timing of JEE Mains for both B.Arch and B.Plan | 09:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:30 P.M. (IST) |
JEE Main Exam Start Time | 9.00 am | 3.00 pm |
JEE Mains Paper Timing (Ending) | 12.00 pm | 6.00 pm |
JEE Main Exam Duration | 3 hours | 3 hours |
| Timing of Examination for each session | ||
|---|---|---|
Duration of Examination | JEE Main Shift 1 Timing | JEE Main Shift 2 Timing |
For 03 Hours Paper | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:00 P.M. (IST) |
For 03 Hours 30 Minutes Paper | 09:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:30 P.M. (IST) |
| Shift Wise | Paper 1(B.E/B.Tech) | Paper 2A (B.Arch) | Paper 2B (B.Planning) | B.Arch & B. Planning) Both |
|---|---|---|---|---|
JEE Main Morning Shift Timing | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. (IST) |
JEE Main Afternoon Shift Timing | 03:00 P.M. to 06:00 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:00 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:00 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:30 P.M. (IST) |
Shift Wise | Paper 1 (B. E/ B. Tech.) | Paper 2A (B. Arch.) | Paper 2B (B. Planning) | B. Arch & B. Planning (Both) |
JEE Main Afternoon Shift Timing | 03:00 P.M. to 06:00 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:00 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:00 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:30 P.M. (IST) |
| Paper Wise | First Shift | Second Shift |
|---|---|---|
Paper 1 (B. E/ B. Tech.) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) |
Paper 2A (B. Arch.) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) |
Paper 2B (B. Planning) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. (IST) |
B. Arch & B. Planning (Both) | 09:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. (IST) | 03:00 P.M. to 06:30 P.M. (IST) |
The total time duration for Paper 1 (B.E. / B. Tech.) is given in the table below:
| Paper | Subjects | Total Time Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
For Non-PwD/PwBD Candidates | *For PwD /PwBD Candidates (who are eligible for scribe) | ||
Paper 1 (B.E. / B. Tech.) | Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics | 03 hours | 04 hours |
Total time duration for Paper 2A (B. Arch), Paper 2B (B. Planning) and Paper 2A (B. Arch) & Paper 2B (B. Planning) both are given in the table below:
| Paper | Subjects | Total Time Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
For Non-PwD/PwBD Candidates | *For PwD /PwBD Candidates (who are eligible for scribe) | ||
Paper 2A (B. Arch) | Mathematics, Aptitude Test, and Drawing Test | 03 hours | 04 hours |
Paper 2B (B. Planning) | Mathematics, Aptitude Test, and Planning Based Questions | 03 hours | 04 hours |
Paper 2A (B. Arch) and Paper 2B (B. Planning) | Mathematics, Aptitude Test, Drawing Test, and Planning Based Questions | 03 hours 30 minutes | 04 hours 10 minutes |
Note – Compensatory time for PwD/PwBD Candidates of 20 minutes for a one-hour examination will be given to those who are eligible for Scribe.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The timing for the JEE Main morning shift is as follows: The candidates are supposed to be inside the examination hall between 8.15 am and 8.30 am. The invigilator will check the admit cards from 8:30 am to 8:45 am. Instructions from the invigilator will be given between 8:45 am and 8:55 am. The exam for B.E/B.Tech candidates begin on 9:00 am.
The total time for JEE Main is 3 hours for the Paper 1 of B.Tech/B.E. course and 4 hours for PwD candidates in the JEE Main examination. The duration is 3 hours and 30 minutes for Paper 2A (B.Arch.) and Paper 2B (B.Planning). The exam is conducted online and consists of two sections: Section A- Multiple choice questions and Section B – Number based questions.
The National Testing Agency conducts the JEE Mains exam in two shifts. The JEE Main exam duration is same for papers 1 and 2. But half hour extra for Paper 2a and 2b combined.
The JEE Main shift timing is 9 AM to 12 PM, for shift 1 while shift 2 timings are 3 PM to 6 PM.
On Question asked by student community
With an 86.88 percentile in the OBC-NCL category, gaining admission to the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) for the B.Tech-M.Tech Dual Degree in Computer Science & Engineering (Cyber Security) is highly competitive but potentially possible at newer campuses.
You can find the private college details, such as cutoff, rank, and college predictor based on JEE score, by visiting the Careers360 website. Check the link below.
https://engineering.careers360.com/exams/jee-main
You can check your admission chances through Careers360 predictor based on your JEE Main rank, home state, caste, and gender.
Hello Student,
Kindly use our college predictor tool to determine which is the best college for you at this rank.
College Predictor Tool Link - JEE Main 2026 College Predictor
hello…
With 58 percentile in JEE Main, top NITs/IIITs are unlikely. Consider decent private or state colleges like Shiv Nadar University, Amity University, Lovely Professional University, or state engineering colleges via counselling. You can also try lower branches in newer IIITs or look at diploma/alternative pathways. Focus on skills and
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