IIT JEE Main 2026 Key Exam Pattern Changes Introduced and What to Expect?

NTA is likely to release the JEE Mains 2026 exam notification in the first week of November 2025. The JEE Main notification 2026 will have details on the JEE Mains paper pattern, syllabus, eligibility, scope and more. Last year, the authorities implemented major changes to the JEE Mains exam pattern. Here’s what students can anticipate this year.

NTA releases the JEE Mains exam pattern in its information bulletin, format revamped last year

The JEE Mains examination is conducted by NTA in two sessions, once in January and once in April. The detailed notification in this regard would be issued on the website, jeemain.nta.nic.in. While the notification is awaited, here are the changes introduced last year that are likely to continue this time:

Major Changes Introduced in JEE Mains Question Paper

In 2025, NTA revised the structure of the JEE Main question paper format. The JEE Main exam paper was trimmed from 90 to 75 questions, evenly spread across three subjects. As per the latest JEE exam pattern, each subject has a total of 25 questions divided into two sections. Section A with 20 MCQs and Section B with 5 numerical questions.

The move has no impact on the marking scheme. But it impacts the students greatly, who now have no optional question choice in section B. For every correct answer, students get (+4) marks and they have to face a penalty of (-1) mark for every incorrect response. This applies to both MCQs and numerical questions. The total duration of the exam remains 3 hours to be conducted in CBT mode.

Although the overall difficulty level is not expected to be different from that in the previous years, there might be subtle changes in topic weightage distribution across the three subjects. Candidates are thus requested to prepare based on the JEE Mains 2026 exam pattern. No significant structural changes have been announced by the NTA for 2026 yet.

Check out: Are Big Changes Expected in JEE Advanced 2026? Outcome of Recent IIT Council Meeting Held after 2 Yrs

Key Highlights to Remember for JEE Main 2026

Not only is the JEE Main exam the gateway to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs, but it's also a qualifier for the JEE Advanced exam for IIT admission. Aspirants must start early with structured preparation to get accustomed to the revised format.