JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026: Categorywise Cutoff Percentile and Marks
Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2026 ( JEE Main )
Exam On - 2 Apr '26 - 9 Apr '26
JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026 is the Minimum marks in JEE Mains to qualify for JEE Advanced. Scoring above the qualifying cutoff means the candidates have qualified JEE Main and can sit for JEE Advanced. The qualifying marks are announced by NTA along with the JEE Main 2026 Results. The results are announced in the form of a percentile. JEE Main Qualifying Marks are the expected qualifying percentiles needed to appear in JEE Advanced and be considered qualified in JEE Main 2026. 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 after the JEE Main Results. Candidates must score above 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
- Expected JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026
- JEE Main Qualifying Marks 2026 Vs JEE Main Cutoff 2026
- Factors Affecting JEE Mains Qualifying Marks 2026
- When will the JEE Main 2026 Qualifying Marks be Released?
- JEE Advanced Eligibility Criteria
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 by category. 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.
Real-Time Updates: JEE Main 2026 Result OUT Live
Also Read: JEE Main 2026 Marks Vs Percentile
Commonly asked questions
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will declare the JEE Mains result 2026 in the form of percentile scores. Candidates can check here the previous year JEE Main marks vs percentile data to understand how much is 120 marks in JEE Main percentile.
As per the last year JEE Main marks vs percentile analysis, 120 marks would be around 95 to 97 percentile. However, the exact JEE Main 2025 percentile marks 120 would vary depending upon the highest number scored by the candidate in a particula shift and the total number candidates appeared in that particular shift.
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.
| Category | Expected JEE Main 2026 Percentile | Expected JEE Main 2026 Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General | 93.3045326 |
100 - 110 |
| EWS | 81.4387917 |
80 - 85 |
| OBC - NCL | 80.7456432 |
75 - 80 |
| SC | 61.3526948 |
50 - 55 |
| ST | 48.2456783 |
40 - 45 |
| PwD | 0.0082349 |
0-30 |
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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Commonly asked questions
The rank obtained thugh JEE Main marks vs percentile data is an expected rank and not the actual rank. Candidates must note that the actual JEE Main rank is given in JEE Mains result release by the NTA.
The JEE Main cutoff is the minimum percentile score required to qualify for the JEE Advanced exam. Its is released with the April session result.
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.
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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.
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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.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 days ago
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
Yes, NTA reopened the JEE Main 2026 session 2 registration window from March 12 to 13.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
Yes, the JEE Main 2026 January question papers have been released. The official papers were made available with the response sheet of the candidates under their respective logins on the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in.
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
If a question is dropped in the JEE Main exam, then the candidates of the shift from which the question is dropped will get bonus marks. It does not matter if you attempted the question or not. If a question from your shift is dropped then you will be eligible for +4 bonus marks.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
To be able to complete all questions in the JEE Mains question paper in 3 hours, candidates can follow a simple trick below:
Attempt the questions in rounds. Such as:
- In round 1, attempt the questions you find easy. Spend 45-60 minutes here.
- In round 2, go for moderate questions. Do not spend more than
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
The JEE Main 2026 Session 1 (January) exam was widely considered moderate to tough. Many students found it more challenging than in the previous years.
The question paper consisted of time-consuming questions. Mathematics and Chemistry were considered tricky, while Physics was relatively more managea
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 days ago
If the details mentioned on the JEE Main admit card are incorrect, then candidates should immediately contact the NTA helpline to get it corrected at +91-11-40759000.
Y
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 days ago
Yes, you can wear a hijab in the JEE Mains exam as it is considered a religious item. However, you will likely undergo enhanced security checks at the exam centre.
You should arrive early to complete this frisking process. Make sure to keep your face visible for identification.
M
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
The SUPR section is comparable to JEE Main, but REAP section is considered challenging as it requires creative thinking and "out-of-box" problem solving. It can be compared to the Olympiad level questions.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
OJEE and JEE syllabus is somewhat same and different in some places. The OJEE syllabus for Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics is different from JEE. In JEE, the physics syllabus includes topics such as Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Optics, etc. These topics require knowledge of physics topics.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Dhanya writes content on Engineering and Architecture exams. She has completed MSc Physics. She has 8+ years of work experience in the education industry. She likes painting and travelling.
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