How To Calculate JEE Main 2026 Rank From Percentile: Criteria and Method

Students who will appear for JEE Main 2026 can read the article below to calculate the approximate JEE Main 2026 rank through percentile score.

NTA has announced the JEE Main 2026 result in the form of a percentile score. Students' All India Rank (AIR) is based on the best score out of two attempts. Shiksha receives numerous queries from candidates who appear for JEE Main 2026. Two of the most commonly asked questions are:

• How to calculate JEE Main rank from percentile
• Can JEE Main rank be calculated from percentile score?

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Some experts believe that candidates cannot calculate JEE Main Rank from the percentile score of just one examination, while others believe the opposite. Let us discuss both cases in this article.

How to calculate JEE Main 2026 rank from Percentile?

Candidates can analyze their NTA scores and calculate their approximate JEE Main rank through their percentile scores. Here’s how.

Take the total number of candidates who appeared for the JEE Main exam as "N". The exam is conducted in four days in two slots (4 days x 2 slots = 8 sessions in total). So, "S" number of students took the exam in each session. Note that the JEE Main results/scorecard mentions only the NTA score for each subject and not the subject-wise marks secured by candidates. The percentile score is displayed against each of the subjects and the overall percentile score is calculated up to 7 decimals using a pre-determined formula.

The following data is required to convert the JEE Main percentile into a rank:

1. Your JEE Main score
2. Number of students who appeared for JEE Main exam
3. Percentage of students whose marks are below or equal to yours.
4. The percentage of students whose marks are above yours.
5. Number of students above your marks

While the data for the first two aspects are easily available, the figures for the other three data points are difficult to find. To calculate these, here's what you need to do.

Let’s assume:

The formula to calculate the JEE Main rank from percentile score is: (100 – P)/100)*N

The rank generated will be the probable All India Rank (AIR) you can expect to secure in JEE Main. The actual rank might differ owing to different factors.

Can JEE Main rank be calculated from percentile score?

According to an IIT Bombay expert, it’s difficult to derive an AIR through one’s percentile score. To help you understand why you cannot calculate JEE Main rank from percentile scores of the first attempt of the exam, let’s take the example of two students.

Student A secured 96 percentile in the JEE Main January exam, while Student B got 60 percentile in the same session of the examination. Now, the same set of students has secured the 65 percentile and 98 percentile respectively in JEE Main.

Now, the general thought process of candidates after seeing the percentile score of the January attempt would be that Student A has performed better than Student B in JEE Main. But, that’s not the case. Because, on the second attempt of the exam, Student B secured a better percentile than Student A. As per NTA, JEE Main ranks or rank list will be published after taking into account the better of the two four NTA scores of all candidates who have appeared for JEE Main January and April sessions. Furthermore, to determine JEE Main results and rank list, the agency will adopt the process of normalization which will be based on percentile calculation. Thus, deriving one’s rank from the percentile score of the first attempt is not possible as the exam is being conducted twice.

Important note:

• The percentile is not the same as a percentage.
• JEE Main merit list will be prepared based on percentile scores and not on the raw marks secured by aspirants in the exam.