Samridhi
Samridhi Mishra
Senior Executive
Updated on Dec 1, 2025 20:58 IST
As per the JEE Main eligibility criteria, there is no JEE Main age criteria. Any student can appear for the exam provided they have completed their Class 12 or equivalent exam in 2024, 2025, or are appearing in 2026. Check the complete details below.

Aspirants of the JEE Main 2026 exam must check this article for the category-wise JEE Main age limit.

JEE Main Age Criteria

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.

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Table of contents
  • 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

Q:   What is JEE Main Eligibility Criteria?
A:

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.

Q:   What is Qualifying marks for JEE Mains 2026?
A:

Qualifying marks for JEE Mains 2026, also called qualifying percentile for JEE Mains will be announced by the NTA along with the JEE Main 2026 session 2 result. Candidates must note that qualifying percentile for JEE Mains 2026 is the minimum percentile required to appear in JEE Advanced 2026. For admission to NIT or IIITs, there is no provision of qualifying marks in JEE Mains 2026 and admission is given based on All India Rank in JEE Mains exam. NTA will announce JEE Mains 2026 All India rank in April after session 2 exam results.

Q:   What is the official website to apply for JEE Main 2026?
A:

The official website to apply for JEE Main 2026 is jeemain.nta.nic.in. NTA has released the JEE Main application form 2026 session 1. Candidates can fill the form online from the website. Details regarding JEE Main application fee, documents required to fill the form, how to apply and other important details related to application process is available on this page. JEE Main 2026 Session 2 application form will be available in January last week, 2026.

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.

JEE Main 2026 Age Criteria Summary

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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.

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.

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.
Q:   What is the age limit to apply for JEE Main?
A:

There is no minimum or maximum age to apply for JEE Main as per JEE Main eligibility criteria by NTA. You can appear in JEE Mains for three consecutive years from the year of passing class 12. You must have passed class 12 in 2024, 2025 or you are appearing in 2026 if you plan to apply for JEE Main 2026.

Q:   Will I be allowed to appear in the exam If I come late to the exam centre?
A:

Report to JEE Main exam centre as per time mentioned in admit card. Try to report at least one hour before JEE Mains exam starts. The first shift of exam starts at 9 am and the second shift at 3 pm.

Q:   What is JEE Main class 12th percentage criteria?
A:

No minimum percentage is required to appear in JEE Mains exam as per NTA. In some various institutes, there is a creiteria for class 12 minimum percentage for admission. For example, IITs and NITs need minimum 75% marks in class 12 for BTech courses.

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About the Author
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Samridhi Mishra
Senior Executive
Samridhi Mishra is a seasoned writer in the Indian engineering education sector. She understands most of the engineering competitive exams: JEE, GATE, etc. News articles, live blogs, social media scripts, anchoring
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