How Many Attempts for JEE Main 2026? Know Attempt Limit, Number of Sessions and Eligibility
Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2026 ( JEE Main )
A common question among engineering aspirants is: How many times can I appear for JEE Main? The JEE Main exam is conducted two times a year, giving students another opportunity to increase their scores. But did you know you can appear for JEE Mains a total of 6 times? Let’s understand the exact guidelines and conditions on the JEE Main attempt limit.
How Many Attempts for JEE Mains 2026? - The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the JEE Mains exam, has specified the JEE Main attempt limit. While the exam is held twice a year, a candidate is eligible to appear for the exam a maximum of 6 times. This is possible only within 3 years of passing the 12th class. To answer how many attempts for JEE Mains 2026, the answer is 6 only if you passed class 12th in 2024, 2025 or are appearing in 2026.
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Simply stating, the JEE Main attempt limit criteria is twice in three consecutive years of qualifying class 12th. This provision offers flexibility and opportunity to all aspirants, including droppers. Students must note that there is no JEE Mains age criteria.
Candidates must have below mentioned subject combination in class 12 to apply for JEE Main
- For Paper 1, candidates must have Physics and Maths and any one subject from Chemistry/Biology/Biotechnology/Technical vocational subject
- For Paper 2A, candidates must have Physics, Chemistry, and Maths
- For Paper 2B, candidates must have Maths
As per NTA, there is no minimum percentage required to appear in JEE Mains exam. Students can appear in JEE Main 2026 without worrying about their class 12 percentage. However, it must be noted that various institutes have creiteria of minimum percentage in class 12 for admission. For example, IITs and NITs require minimum 75% marks in class 12 for admission to BTech courses.
- Number of Attempts in JEE Main 2026
- What is Considered an Attempt?
- Eligibility based on Class 12 passing year
- Benefits of Multiple Attempts in JEE Mains
- How NTA Calculates Percentile For Multiple Sessions
Number of Attempts in JEE Main 2026
The JEE Main 2026 exam will be held for two sessions. The session 1 exam will be held in January and the session 2 in April. Candidates can appear in one or both sessions. Each of these sessions becomes an attempt despite being for the same academic year. NTA allows students to appear for JEE Main in three consecutive years from the year of passing Class 12. So, a student who passes Class 12 in 2026 can appear in JEE Main 2026, 2027, and 2028. Twice each year, making the total attempts 6. Similarly, students who passed class 12th in 2024 can apply for the JEE Mains 2026 exam.
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What is Considered an Attempt?
It is important to understand what is considered an attempt since we have discussed about 6 attempts for JEE Mains. Each session of the JEE Mains exam is considered for attempt counting. If in a year, the candidate appears for both January and April sessions, then they have attempted the exam twice. There is no provision on skipping a session to save on the attempts. This is the case because the attempt limit has been calculated keeping in mind the year of passing. Even if a candidate skips a session, the eligibility will expire on the completion of three years from passing class 12th.
Eligibility based on Class 12 passing year
To appear in JEE Main 2026, students must have passed Class 12 or equivalent in 2024 or 2025, or be appearing in 2026. Any student who passed before 2024 cannot apply for the JEE Mains exam.
Benefits of Multiple Attempts in JEE Mains
The multiple attempts in JEE Mains offer the following benefits to students:
The eligibility criteria to appear in JEE Main are
- Candidate must have passed or appearing in class 12
- There is no age limit to appear in JEE Mains
- No minimum percentage is required to appear in the JEE Mains exam. 75% marks required after qualifying JEE Mains for admission in NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs
- Candidates must have Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects along with Chemistry/any other vocational subject for Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech). For paper 2, candidates need to have Mathematics as compulsory subject along with any other subject combination. Candidates can appear in JEE for three consecutive years from the year of passing class 12
As per the JEE Main eligibility criteria, candidates must have Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects and any one subject from the optional list of Chemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, or Technical vocation course. If you have any of the sunject from optional list and both compulsory subjetc, you can apply for JEE Mains. For more details, candidates can visit the official JEE Main website.
There is no requirement of 75% marks in class 12 for appearing in JEE Mains 2026. The eligibility criteria of minimum 75% marks in class 12 is required at the time of admission in NITs, IIITs and GFTIs. You can apply and appear in JEE Mains 2026 irrespective of your class 12 marks. The detailed JEE Main eligibility criteria 2026 can be checked on the official website. You are further advised to carefully check the detailed eligibility criteria before filling the JEE Main application form 2026. All the best!
- Improve your performance without wasting an entire year.
- Become familiar with the exam environment that will help reduce stress.
- Target a better percentile and rank in the second session.
- In case you are unable to attempt the exam for any reason, you still get another shot at it, in the same academic year.
How NTA Calculates Percentile For Multiple Sessions
If a candidate appears in both sessions, the higher NTA score from either session is considered for the final merit list and JoSAA counselling. This ensures fairness and encourages students to improve their performance. However, the JEE Mains result validity is one year only. So the best of the two attempts for a single year will be considered.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
Yes, students have numerous options to guarantee their spot at LPU as it accepts both JEE Main and CUET scores for admission to its B.Tech degrees. In order to award scholarships based on achievement, the university also administers its own entrance exam, LPUNEST. This flexible admissions procedure
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
Yes, it is quite achievable to get the ECE specialisation at IIITDM Kancheepuram with a rank of 7000 in JEE Main 2025 for the General AI category. Generally the closing ranks should range between 23099 to 29987. However the cutoff may vary depending on category. One can view the First and Last round
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Can you please confirm what you mean by “2027 mock test” — do you mean:
- BPSC 2027 Mock Test Series (for your upcoming exam prep)?
- Or a general mock test for 2027 government exams (like UPSC, SSC, Banking, etc.)?
- Or are you referring to a specific subject/year 2027 question paper mock (e.g., “BPSC 20
S
Beginner-Level 4
Answered 2 weeks ago
With a 300 SC category rank in CAT, your chances for NIT Trichy MBA are relatively high. Based on 2025 data, NIT Trichy generally shortlists SC candidates with CAT percentiles around 60-65. To achieve a 300 rank under SC category, you would need about a 65-70 percentile, or a score of roughly 60-65
A
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
Marksheet and Adhaar details must be matched. So you have to approach to 10th passing school with relevant documents. The school will submit the application to CBSE regional office for correction.
Scholar-Level 18
Answered 4 weeks ago
Honestly, going for CSE at Chandigarh University with your score sounds like a solid choice. I'm saying this because CU has become a hub for tech placements and internships, and the environment is pretty competitive in a good way. Your 88 percentile in JEE Main could also land you a scholarship, whi
Beginner-Level 5
Answered a month ago
No. The JEE Mains emphasizes on deep knowledge and quote challenging with negative marking whereas KCET is moderately difficult which emphasizes on direct factual questions with no negative markings.
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a month ago
No, the paper pattern of IMU CET is not similr to the JEE Main exam.
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered a month ago
Yes. Students with valid JEE Main scores can apply for admissions through the WBJEE counselling. However, these students will be eligible for allotment only in the 10% approved seats offered by the self-financing colleges and institutes participating in the state-level counselling.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a month ago
Yes the SRMJEEE paper pattern is similar to JEE Main however, the difficulty level is not equivalent to JEE main and the question paper is adjusted to moderate level difficulty level which will be easy for most students.
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Contributor-Level 7
Candidates should report to the JEE Main exam centre as per the time mentioned in their admit card. Ideally, every candidate should report to the exam centre at least one hour prior to the start of JEE Mains exam. The first shift of exam starts at 9 am and the second shift at 3 pm.