JEE Mains 2026 Eligibility Criteria by NTA: Age Limit, Qualification & Attempts

JEE Mains 2026 Eligibility Criteria by NTA: Age Limit, Qualification & Attempts

Maniprabha SinghUpdated on 02 Feb 2026, 11:38 AM IST

JEE Main Eligibility Criteria 2026 - NTA has released the JEE Main 2026 eligibility criteria on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. Candidates can check the JEE Main eligibility criteria 2026 on this page. Only those candidates who meet all the guidelines and will be allowed to appear for JEE Mains 2026. Before completing the JEE Main 2026 registrations, candidates must understand the eligibility criteria set by NTA. The session 2 JEE Mains 2026 application process is being conducted from February 1 to 25, 2026.The authority will held the JEE Main entrance exam for session 2 from April 2 to 9, 2026. Candidates can check the complete JEE Main 2026 eligibility criteria below.

LiveJEE Mains Answer Key 2026 LIVE: NTA to issue response sheet tomorrow at jeemain.nta.nic.in; cut-offs, resultFeb 3, 2026 | 10:28 PM IST

As per last year's trends, the expected JEE Main 2026 cut-off for the general category is 93- 95 percentile, for OBC-NCL it is 80-82 percentile, and for SC and ST it is 60-49 percentile.

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This Story also Contains

  1. JEE Main 2026 Eligibility Criteria by NTA
  2. JEE Main 2026 Educational Qualification
  3. JEE Mains 2026 Age Limit
  4. Number of Attempts in JEE Main
  5. JEE Main Eligibility by NTA for NITs, IIITs & GFTIs
  6. JEE Main 2026 Eligibility for Droppers
JEE Mains 2026 Eligibility Criteria by NTA: Age Limit, Qualification & Attempts
JEE Mains 2026 Eligibility Criteria by NTA: Age Limit, Qualification & Attempts

JEE Main 2026 Eligibility Criteria by NTA

NTA has released the JEE Main 2026 exam eligibility norms on jeemain.nta.nic.in. Aspirants must satisfy the JEE Main eligibility criteria set by NTA to secure a seat in a top engineering college. Before filling out the JEE application form, make sure to check the JEE Main eligibility by NTA.

JEE Main 2026 Educational Qualification

  • Only Class 12 (10+2)/Intermediate qualified candidates are eligible to apply for JEE Mains 2026.

  • Candidates appearing for qualifying exams in 2026 are also eligible to appear.

  • They must have Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry/Biology as compulsory subjects in 12th standard.

  • The year of qualifying 12th class must be 2024 or 2025 or 2026.

JEE Mains 2026 Age Limit

JEE Main age limit for 2026 is not there. NTA hasn’t specified any minimum or maximum age criteria to apply for JEE Main 2026. However, aspirants must qualify for the 12th board exams in the said year only.

Number of Attempts in JEE Main

There are 6 attempts in three consecutive years allowed for JEE Main aspirants. Including 2 attempts of 2026 in January and April. NTA holds the JEE Mains exam in 2026. The best score from the January & April sessions will be considered for providing the rank. Based on the JEE Main rank, candidates will get admission to engineering colleges in India. Candidates can appear in one or both sessions of JEE Main.

JEE Main Syllabus: Subjects & Chapters
Select your preferred subject to view the chapters

JEE Main Eligibility by NTA for NITs, IIITs & GFTIs

Candidates belonging to General/EWS/OBC categories must have a minimum of 75% marks in the 12th board examination to get admission to premium engineering colleges like NITs, IIITs, and more. Whereas, the minimum marks required for SC/ST category candidates are 65%. Candidates must be listed in the top 20th percentile of their respective board exams.

JEE Main 2026 Eligibility for Droppers

Candidates who qualified for the 12th board exams in 2025 or 2026 are eligible for JEE Mains 2026. They need to satisfy the above JEE Main eligibility criteria by NTA to apply for the exam without any issue.

Candidates must ensure their Class 12 subjects are the same as mentioned in the eligibility notice. It is suggested to keep the mark sheets and ID proof ready during the application.

JEE Main, commonly known as the Joint Entrance Exam (Main). The National Testing Agency (NTA) is responsible for holding the test. It is a national-level entrance test to get admission to the best engineering institutes like NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How much percentage is required for the JEE 2026 exam in 10+2?
A:

General candidates need to score a minimum of 75% of marks in 10+2 from a recognised institution to be eligible for admission to JoSAA participating colleges.

Q: How many attempts can a candidate give for JEE Mains exam?
A:

The JEE Mains exam will be conducted twice every year. In this way, a candidate can appear consecutively 6 times after the completion of the 12th standard.

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Questions related to JEE Main

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Students with 68 marks in JEE Main examination can hardly get admission into top IITs and NITs like IIT Gandhinagar , IIT Bombay, NIT Kanpur , and more, although there are many other universities and colleges that accepts 68 marks in JEE Main for admission to Engineering programmes, some of

A score of 32 in JEE Main generally corresponds to a percentile range of about 50 to 60, making it difficult for general category students to secure admission to NITs or IIITs, but you still have good chances in GFTIs and state colleges, especially with the Home State quota, OBC/SC/ST/EWS,