JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026: Categorywise Cutoff Percentile and Marks

JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026 is the Minimum marks in JEE Mains to qualify for JEE Advanced. The qualifying marks is announced by NTA along with the JEE Main 2026 Results. The results are announced in the form of percentile. Only the candidates who get the Minimum percentile in JEE Mains can appear for JEE Advanced. 

JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026

JEE Mains Qualifying Marks 2026: The qualifying score is the Minimum marks in JEE Mains to qualify for JEE Advanced. The NTA releases the Minimum percentile in JEE Mains to qualify for JEE Advanced for different categories of students. Candidates must score the JEE Mains Qualifying Marks to get a chance to appear for JEE Advanced. Only 2,50,000 candidates who appear for JEE Mains will qualify for JEE Advanced.

JEE Mains 2026 is the first step to get into IITs. Candidates must score above the minimum cutoff in JEE Main 2026 to qualify for JEE Advanced. The JEE Main Qualifying Marks change every year, depending on the number of students appearing for the exam, the difficulty level of exam, etc. JEE Main Qualifying Marks for General category are usually the highest. Read more to know about JEE Main Cutoff 2026. 

JEE Main 2026 Marks Required for JEE Advanced

The JEE Main cutoff 2026 percentile is the JEE Mains Qualifying Marks 2026 needed to be among the top 2.5 lakh candidates eligible for JEE Advanced. The Minimum marks in JEE Mains to appear for JEE Advanced differ for different categories. Candidates must note that getting the minimum qualifying score does not guarantee admission to IIT. The JEE Main 2026 score will only make the candidates eligible for JEE Advanced.

Expected JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026 

Based on the previous year's trends and exam difficulty levels, the expected JEE Main 2026 cutoff for IIT JEE are given below. These scores depend on various factors and can change every year.

JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026 Vs JEE Main Cutoff 2026

Many students confuse qualifying marks with the admission cutoff. Candidates can check the difference below.

• JEE Mains Qualifying Marks 2026 is minimum score in JEE Main required to qualify for JEE Advanced.
• JEE Main Cutoff is the minimum marks required to appear for JoSAA counselling. After the counselling, candidates are given admission in NITs, IIITs and GFTIs.

JEE Main cutoff 2026 will be different for the course and the college that the candidates want to apply.

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Factors Affecting JEE Mains Qualifying Marks 2026

Several factors affect the JEE Main Qualfying marks calculation each year.

• Number of Candidates appearing for JEE Main 2026.
• Overall Difficulty Level of the exam across sessions.
• Performance of the candidates.
• Availability of Seats in IITs
• Normalization Process used to calculate the percentile.

Since JEE Main is conducted in multiple sessions, the percentile is calculated using the normalisation formula.

When will the JEE Main 2026 Qualifying Marks be Released?

The official qualifying marks for JEE Main 2026 will be released with the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 Results. NTA will release the category-wise qualifying score. 

Important Points to Remember

• JEE Mains 2026 qualifying marks are based on percentile and not marks.
• Appearing in both sessions helps to improve the percentile.
• Only the best percentile in the two sessions will be considered.
• The candidates must score above the minimum percentile score to qualify for JEE Advanced.

JEE Advanced Eligibility Criteria

To appear for the JEE Advanced, candidates must fulfil all the JEE Advanced eligibility requirements. The eligibility criteria are listed below.

Qualifying in JEE Main

Candidates must qualify in JEE Mains 2026 by getting the minimum qualifying percentile. Only the top 2.5 Lakh students are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced.

Age Limit

General/EWS/OBC-NCL 

Candidates who belong to these categories must be born on or after 1 October 2001.

SC/ST/PwD

A 5-year relaxation is given to these candidates. They must be born on or after 1 October 1996.

Number of Attempts

A candidate can attempt JEE Advanced a maximum of two times, in two consecutive years. Appearing in JEE Advanced once is counted as one attempt, irrespective of qualification or rank.

Class 12 Examination

Candidates must have passed Class 12 in 2025 or 2026. Candidates appearing in Class in 2026 are also eligible.

Subjects in Class 12

Candidates must have studied Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Earlier Admission to IITs

Candidates who were already admitted to an IIT in any previous year are NOT eligible to appear for JEE Advanced again. This applies even if the candidate later withdrew from the IIT.