Aspirants of the JEE Main 2026 exam must check this article for the category-wise JEE Main age limit.
JEE Main 2026 Age Criteria: Engineering aspirants who wish to know about the JEE Main age limit will get answers to their questions in this article. Candidates must fulfil the JEE Main age criteria to apply for the exam. The National Testing Agency has announced the detailed JEE Mains eligibility criteria in its notification at jeemain.nta.nic.in. There is no age limit for JEE Main. The JEE Main notification states that the candidates should have passed the class 12/equivalent examination in 2024, 2025, or should be appearing in 2026. JEE Main candidates need to fulfil other eligibility requirements mentioned in the article.
- JEE Main 2026 Age Criteria
- JEE Main 2026 Age Criteria Summary
- JEE Main Age Limit: Category-wise
- JEE Main 2026 Qualifying Year Eligibility
- How Many Attempts For JEE Mains?
- JEE Advanced Age Limit
JEE Main 2026 Age Criteria
There is no age limit, and candidates can appear for the exam at any age. This means that droppers and repeaters can also appear for JEE Main 2026, provided they fulfil all other eligibility conditions. The only condition to the 'no JEE Main age limit' lies in the year of passing your qualifying exam. A candidate can appear for the exam as long as they have passed their qualifying exam in the year 2024, 2025 or are appearing in 2026. Those who have passed their qualifying exam before 2024 are not eligible for the JEE Mains exam, no matter what their age is.
Commonly asked questions
Criteria | Decription |
|---|---|
Age limit | There is no age limit to appear in JEE Main. |
Year of passing qualifying exam | The candidates who have passed the class 12 / equivalent examination in 2024, 2025 or are appearing in 2026, irrespective of their age, can appear in JEE Mains 2026. |
Nationality | Candidates must be Indian citizens. Foreign Nationals, NRIs, PIOs (Persons of Indian Origin), and OCIs (Overseas Citizens of India) can also apply. |
Both JEE Main ranks are used for admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. While allocating the seats the institute will take into consideration the category ranks first for the candidates who belong to any category.
The cutoff for IIITs vary for various branches and also category of students. Specialised branches like computer Science and electronics engineering has higher cutoff in comparison to other branches. Similarly, JEE Main cutoff for general category candidates is higher in comparison to OBC-NCL and SC/ST candidates.
The qualifying marks in JEE Main mean the minimum percentile needed to qualify for JEE Advanced exam. Check JEE Mains 2026 cutoff below:
Category | Cutoff 2026 |
|---|---|
Unreserved (UR) | 93.4123549 |
Gen-EWS | 82.4164528 |
OBC-NCL | 80.9232583 |
SC | 63.9172792 |
ST | 52.0174712 |
UR-PwD | 0.0023186 |
JEE Main 2026 Age Criteria Summary
| Criteria |
Details |
|---|---|
| Age Limit |
No upper or lower age limit |
| Year of Passing Class 12 |
2024, 2025, or appearing in 2026 |
| Attempts Allowed |
3 consecutive years after passing Class 12 (max 6 attempts) |
| JEE Advanced Age Limit |
Born on or after Oct 1, 2000 (5-year relaxation for SC/ST/PwD) |
JEE Main Age Limit: Category-wise
Candidates must check the category-wise JEE Mains age limit to know the JEE Main age limit for general, OBC and more. NTA JEE Main age limit is the same for all categories. There is no JEE Main age limit for OBC, SC and ST categories, and the JEE Main 2026 age criteria remain unchanged for the general category.
Commonly asked questions
As per the JEE Main cutoff data released by the NTA, PwD category has the lowest cutoff.
Candidates need not have 75 percent marks in class 12 for appearing in JEE Main. As per the official brochure released by the NTA, there is no minimum percentage required for appearing in the JEE Main. The requirement of 75 percent marks need not be associated with appearing in the JEE Main exam.
It is to be understood that 75 percent marks is required for admission to institutes which include NITs, IIITs, GFTIs and IITs. Many institutes offer admission at 60% and even less, along with JEE Main. Candidates must clearly understand that the requirement of 75 percent marks in class 12 is only for taking admission in the institutes.
| Year | General (UR) Percentile |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 93.4123549 |
| 2025 | 93.1023262 |
| 2024 | 93.2362181 |
| 2023 | 90.7788642 |
| 2022 | 88.4121383 |
| 2021 | 87.8992241 |
| 2020 | 90.3765335 |
| 2019 | 89.7548849 |
Candidates who do not score above JEE Main cutoff marks are eligible to take admissions in NITs, IIITs and GFTIs but not IITs. To appear in the admission process for IITs, candidates need to get marks above than the JEE Main cutoff and appear in JEE Advanced exam.
Explore colleges based on JEE Main
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
JEE Main 2026 Qualifying Year Eligibility
- Have passed Class 12 or its equivalent examination in 2024 or 2025, or
- Appear in 2026
How Many Attempts For JEE Mains?
A candidate can appear in three consecutive years after passing Class 12. Since JEE Main is held twice a year (January and April sessions), students get a total of six attempts for the JEE Mains exam.
Commonly asked questions
The JEE Main cutoff for GFTIs is released by the JoSAA after the counselling is over. Candidates can check previous year JEE Main cutoff for GFTIs from the Shiksha page. The cutoff for GFTIs vary for various branches and also category of students.
The cutoff for NITs vary for various branches and also category of students. Specialised branches like computer Science and electronics engineering has higher cutoff in comparison to other branches. Similarly, JEE Main cutoff for general category candidates is higher in comparison to OBC-NCL and SC, ST candidates. Candidates can check the previous year JEE Main cutoff below for some top NITs and branches. For detailed cutoff report, candidates can check Shiksha page.
- MNNIT Allahabad CSE Closing Rank Open Category: 5627 (Home State)
- MNNIT Allahabad CSE Closing Rank Open Category: 4254 (Open)
- MNIT Jaipur CSE Closing Rank Open Category: 5610 (Home State)
- MNIT Jaipur CSE Closing Rank Open Category: 4631 (Open)
The JEE Main ranks have been released with the JEE Main session 2 result. The ranks are released on an All India basis and also category-wise.
Explore more B.Tech exams with upcoming dates
10 Jul '26
10 Jul '26 - 11 Jul '26
6 Jul '26 - 9 Jul '26
9 Jul '26
6 Jul '26 - 10 Jul '26
6 Jul '26 - 10 Jul '26
10 Jul '26
10 Jul '26
9 Jul '26 - 12 Jul '26
JEE Advanced Age Limit
The top 2,50,000 rankers of JEE Mains become eligible for the JEE Advanced exam. The JEE Advanced exam is held for admission to the prestigious 23 IITs. While NTA allows candidates of any age for JEE Main, the IIT JEE Advanced exam has its own age restrictions. Students must keep in mind the following JEE age criteria to apply for the JEE Advanced exam:
- Candidates should have been born on or after October 1, 2000.
- A relaxation of five years is provided to SC, ST, and PwD candidates.
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
Jun '26 | JoSAA 2026 starts |
1 Jun '26 | JEE Advanced 2026 Result Date |
9 Jul '26 - 10 Jul '26 | BITSAT 2026 Withdrawal window-... |
14 Jul '26 | BITSAT 2026 Iteration-III Anno... |
4 Jul '26 - 5 Jul '26 | SRMJEEE 2026 Exam (Phase 3) |
2 Jul '26 - 3 Jul '26 | SRMJEEE 2026 Slot Booking Phas... |
11 Jul '26 - 13 Jul '26 | COMEDK 2026 Counselling: Mock ... |
30 Jun '26 | COMEDK 2026 Counselling: Docum... |
13 Jul '26 - 17 Jul '26 | WBJEE 2026 counselling registr... |
21 Jul '26 | WBJEE 2026 seat allotment - Ro... |
Oct '26 | VITEEE 2027 Registration Start... |
Apr '27 | VITEEE 2027 Mock Test Release ... |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 4 hours ago
Overall, MET is easier than JEE Main since most questions are not as conceptually challenging as JEE Main. However, students face time management issues during MET.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 10 hours ago
For getting into top NITs like NIT Trichy or NIT Warangal in popular branches like CSE, students generally need a percentile of 98.5 or above. For other branches and lower-ranked NITs, a percentile of 90 to 95 may be sufficient. The specific cutoff changes from year to year depending on the number o
T
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 12 hours ago
There is no separate JEE Main cutoff for the OBC category at Manipal Institute of Technology.
For regular B.Tech admissions, MIT primarily admits students based on the Manipal Entrance Test (MET) merit list, rather than category-wise JEE Main ranks. The institute does not publicly release separate OB
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 22 hours ago
With 57.8 percentile in JEE Main and 73% in Class 12, your chances depend on your category, home state, and JEE rank.
- Eligibility: Your 73% in Class 12 satisfies the basic B.Tech eligibility requirement (minimum 45% aggregate in PCM for General category in AKTU-affiliated colleges).
- CSE through UPTAC
K
Beginner-Level 5
Answered Yesterday
DCRUST closed its JEE (Main) last round cutoff 2026 (General- All India) at 115363 for its BTech (Computer Science and Engineering). While the JEE (Main) last round cutoff 2026 (General- Home state) at DCRUST closed at 70662. JEE (Main) is required to qualify the eligibility criteria at the univer
a
Beginner-Level 4
Answered Yesterday
Yes, JEE Main compulsory to get admission in BTech at Doon University. The university requires valid score in JEE Main to get admission in the four-year BTech in Computer Science & Engineering (Hons/Hons with Research).
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
Shiv Nadar University BTech admissions board sets aside specific scholarship categories for top JEE Main rankers. Students with exceptionally high percentiles can qualify for direct tuition fee waivers. The exact slab criteria are updated on the website during the application cycle.
R
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 days ago
Yes, Dayananda Sagar University accept JEE Main for admission. Dayananda Sagar University admission is entrance-based. Students can appear for national level entrance exams or DSAT. Students can appear for JEE Main/ COMED K/ DSAT for admisison in BTech at Dayananda Sagar University. The univeristy a
G
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
To join the BTech course at Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, out-of-state students can absolutely use their national JEE Main scores. The college reserves a specific percentage of seats as an All-India quota. You do not need to take the local state entrance test. Instead, you apply online using
R
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, you can get admission in B.E. at Chitkara University without JEE (Mains) on the basis of Class 12 merit if you get minimum 70% aggregate in Class 12 or minimum 70% aggregate in PCM.
S
Contributor-Level 10