JEE Main 2026: Registration (Soon), Exam Date, Syllabus, Eligibility, Question Paper, Preparation

NTA has announced the JEE Main 2026 exam dates. JEE Main 2026 exam will be conducted in two sessions in January and April. The exact date of JEE exam 2026 will be announced along with the information brochure on the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in.

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.

JEE Main Registration 2026 will begin in October, as per the official notification released by the NTA. The information brochure for JEE Main 2026 exam will be released in October, post which the application form will be released. JEE Main 2026 Application form will be available online on the website jeemain.nta.nic.in.

Students who are preparing for JEE Main exam are advised to first cover the entire JEE Main syllabus. Covering only the high weightage chapters would decrease their chances of getting full/high score in JEE Main exam. Only after covering the entire syllabus, students can check most important chapters for JEE Mains.

As per the official numbers released by the NTA, a total of 13.11 lakh candidates registered for the JEE Main 2025 session 1 exam of which 12.58 lakh candidates appeared. This is the highest number of candidates appeared in JEE Mains. In JEE Main 2024, the total number of unique candidates who appeared both the session is 11.7 lakh.  Canddiates can see the gender-wise distribution of candidates below. Generally, the number of unique candidates appearing in JEE Main every year is around 10 Lacs in both sessions. The exact number of students is released by the NTA every year on the official website with category, gender and state-wise data. Candidates can check the number of candidates appearing in JEE Mains every year on this Shiksha page.

JEE Main exam is conducted in a total of 13 languages - English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Candidates can select their preferred language in which they wish to appear in the exam at the time of filling the application form. During the exam, the question paper will be available in two language, English and the language selected at the time of filling the form. Candidates can switch between the two langauge during the exam from their computer screen. The language of question paper can not be changed after filling the application form. 

As per NTA, there is no minimum percentage required to appear in JEE Mains exam. Students can appear in JEE Main 2026 without worrying about their class 12 percentage. However, it must be noted that various institutes have creiteria of minimum percentage in class 12 for admission. For example, IITs and NITs require minimum 75% marks in class 12 for admission to BTech courses.

As per the JEE Main eligibility criteria, candidates must have Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects and any one subject from the optional list of Chemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, or Technical vocation course. If you have any of the sunject from optional list and both compulsory subjetc, you can apply for JEE Mains. For more details, candidates can visit the official JEE Main website.

The eligibility criteria to appear in JEE Main are

• Candidate must have passed or appearing in class 12
• There is no age limit to appear in JEE Mains
• No minimum percentage is required to appear in the JEE Mains exam. 75% marks required after qualifying JEE Mains for admission in NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs
• Candidates must have Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects along with Chemistry/any other vocational subject for Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech). For paper 2, candidates need to have Mathematics as compulsory subject along with any other subject combination. Candidates can appear in JEE for three consecutive years from the year of passing class 12

The documents required to fill JEE Main application form are

• Class 10 and Class 12 certificates (class 12 admit card in case appearing in the exam)
• Aadhar card details
• Scanned photograph and signature of the candidate for uploading
• Scanned copy of the category certificate (if applicable) for uploading
• Scanned copy of the PwD certificate (if applicable) for uploading
• Net banking, credit card, debit card, or UPI details for payment of the application fee

The documents which need to be uploaded has to be clearly visible, and exactly in the size, format as specified in the information brochure. 

The application fees for JEE Main is

• INR 1,000 (Male unreserved/OBC/EWS category)
• INR 800 (Female unreserved/OBC/EWS category)
• INR 500 (SC/ST/PwD/Transgender category)

Candidates have the option of paying the application fee online through credit/debit card and internet banking. The application form will not be considered submitted until the application fees is paid. Once the application fee are paid, candidates receive a confirmation email at their registered email address confirming the payment of fees. 

The syllabus of JEE Main is similar to class 11 and 12. However, some topics may be extra in JEE Main syllabus which are not covered in class 11 or 12. Students preparing for the JEE Main exam need to study as per the official syllabus which is released by the NTA. Also, students can follow NCERT textbooks as the base for studying the syllabus of JEE Main.

The time required to cover JEE Main syllabus generally varies for most students. In general, to complete the entire JEE Main syllabus, students would require around 1 year. The ideal time to start preparing for JEE Main is class 11 as the syllabus for JEE and class 11-12 is similar. Students who are studying in class 11 can point out the topics that are common in both and pay special emphasis to those topics.

JEE Main is conducted for multiple courses and the syllabus is different for each course. The syllabus of JEE Main Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech) includes class 11 and 12 Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics topics. For JEE Main paper 2A B.Arch the syllabus consists of Mathematics, General Aptitude and Drawing. Similarly, for JEE Main Paper 2B B. Plan the syllabus is Mathematics, General Aptitude and Planning. Candidates can check and download the detailed topics-wise JEE Main syllabus on the Shiksha page as well as on the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in.

The difficulty level of JEE Main is similar to class 12 board exams. Also, the syllabus of JEE Main is similar to class 11 and 12 syllabus. However, the questions asked in JEE Mains are tricky and required in-depth understanding of the subjects. Students need to have conceptual understanding of each topics to get a good score in the exam. Students who studies NCERT and have good understanding of topics can get a decent score in JEE Mains.

Questions in the JEE Main exam are of two types

Multiple choice questions - Each question will have 4 options with only 1 correct answer. Candidates have to select the correct answer out of the 4 available options. 

Numerical Ability Question - In these type of questions, no options are provided. Candidates have to solve the question and write its answer using keyword and mouse. Answer to these questions will be a numerical value.

JEE Main 2026 exam pattern will be released soon by the NTA. As per the previous year exam pattern, the JEE Main Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech) exam will consist of 75 questions, 25 each from Physics Chemistry and Mathematics. Out of 25 questions, 20 will be MCQs and 5 will be NAV. Students need to answer all 75 questions. JEE Main paper 2A for B.Arch consists of 77 questions of which 25 are from Mathematics, 50 from General Aptitude and 2 from Drawing. In Paper 2B for BPlan total questions are 100 of which 25 are from Mathematics, 50 from General Aptitude and 25 from Planning.

The question paper will have no internal choices within questions and total duration of exam is 3 hours. 

Students can download JEE Main previous year question paper from Shiksha page. Candidates are provided here JEE Main previous year question papers from the year 2014 to 2023. The papers can be downloaded as PDF and can be practiced to prepare for the exam. JEE Main previosu year question paper also helps in understanding the difficulty level of the exam and chapter-wise weightage of questions. Solving JEE Main question papers will help in analyzing the preparation level of the exam. 

Questions in JEE Mains exam is a blend of all the topics covered in the syllabus. However, there are some topics that are very much important and should be paid extra attentions while preparing for the exam. The list of important JEE Main topics are

Mathematics

• 3D Geometry
• Vector
• Applications of Derivatives
• Definite Integrals
• Limit, Cnntinuity and Differentiability

Physics

• Heat and Thermodynamics
• Electromagnetic Waves
• Ray & Wave Optics
• Kinematics
• Current Electricity
• Magnetism

Chemistry

• Electrochemistry
• Chemical Kinetics
• Thermodynamics
• p-block elements
• Chemical Bonding

The JEE Main syllabus 2026 is yet to be released. As per the last year syllabus, the JEE Main exam topics include

• 19 Chapters in Physics (Also 1 chapter for experimental skills)
• 20 Chapters in Chemistry
• 14 Chapters in Mathematics

There is less possibility of any increase or decrease in chapters of JEE Main 2026 syllabus. However, candidates are advised to stay updated with the latest syllabus by visiting the JEE Main syllabus page or the official website of JEE Mains.

Candidates are advised to solve at least 10 to 15 mock tests in the last one month before appearing for the real examination. By solving the JEE Main mock test you can get a better understanding of how to manage time better in solving multiple-choice questions. Also, you will get an idea about the level of difficulty, type of questions, weightage of sections, etc. This will help you in preparing well for the exam.

The frequency of taking JEE Main mock test would vary based on the number of days left for the test. When there are three to four months left for the exam, students should take mock tests twice a week and dedicate the rest of the days for analysis and preparation. In the last month before JEE Main the frequency of taking mock tests should be increased. Candidates should take a full-length mock test every alternate day until at least 4-5 days before the exam. After taking mock tests students should analyze the results to improve their performance.

Candidates must ensure that they take the JEE Main mock test in a time bound manner within a simulated environment. Hence, ideally students should take mock test in the exam timing, from 9 am to 12 noon or 3 PM to 6 PM, without any break. This would help them to adjust to the exam taking environment. It must also be ensured that they take the test in a quite environment either alone or with a group of fellow JEE Main aspirants. Creating a simulated test-taking experience is important. While a number of students take the JEE Main mock tests at coaching institutes, some prefer to take it at their home. Irrespective of the location, the above factors must be followed to get the best out of the JEE Main mock test.

To score good marks in JEE Main exam, candiates must cover the entire JEE Main syllabus. Understand the basic concepts of every topic covered in the syllabus and solve numerical questions. Candidates must also keep more importance to high-weightage topics of JEE Main. Additionally, candidates must solve mock tests and previous year papers.

JEE Mains syllabus can be completed in 6 months considering that almost every topic of JEE syllabus is similar to class 11 and 12 syllabus. However, completing the syllabus does not mean that candidates will get a good score. JEE Main exam tests your conceptual and analytical understanding of topics. To get a good score, you need to have good understanding of core concepts and also use to of applying them in solving numerical questions.

Selecting the right books for JEE Main preparation is one of the most important parts of clearing the exam. Plenty of books are available in the market, and each claims to be the best book for JEE Main preparation. It is advised that students consult their teachers and friends before purchasing any book for JEE Main 2025. Students can also get information from the internet on which book is best for JEE Mains preparation. Students are provided here with some best-recommended books for JEE Main 2025, which can be a great source of learning in clearing the exam.

Some of the best books recommended by experts are 

Subjects	Books
Physics	NCERT Class 11 and 12 Concepts of Physics (Vol.1 & 2) by H.C. Verma Problems and Solutions of Physics by Sashi Bhusan Tiwari
Chemistry	NCERT Class 11 and 12 Concepts of Physical Chemistry by P. Bahadur Organic Chemistry by O.P. Tandon
Mathematics	NCERT Class 11 and 12 Differential & Integral Calculus by Amit Aggarwal Trigonometry and Coordinate Geometry by S.L. Loney

No, soft copies of admit card are not permissible. It is mandatory to carry a print copy of the JEE Main admit card to the exam centre. Candidates carrying soft copies of the admit card on their mobile phones will not be allowed to appear in the exam. They require a physical copy of the JEE Main admit card for verification purposes. So, it'sadvised to download the hall ticket from website and take a printed copy of it to the exam centre. However, it's always a good idea to keep a digital copy of the admit card on your mobile phone as well, in case you need to show it to anyone else. But, make sure to carry the printed copy to the exam centre. 

No, it is not compulsory to bring the colour printout of JEE Main admit card to the exam centre. It is recommended to bring the colour printout becasue of better clarity, however, a black & white printout will also work as long as all the details mentioned in the admit card is clear. According to the official notice, candidates need to bring the printout of the admit along with the (original) Photo Identity Card, whose number is mentioned in the admit card. They need to bring the admit card in each session to secure admission to exam centre. Candidates need to preserve the admit card till the declaration of the final result as it is required for the admission process.

If the photo on your JEE Main admit card is blurred or not clear, you should contact the NTA as soon as possible to get it corrected. You can contact them through JEE Main official website or helpline numbers. It is important to get the issue resolved before the exam day, as the admit card serves as a valid identity proof and without a clear photograph, you may face difficulties in the examination hall. You may be required to provide a new photograph or a scanned copy of your passport-sized photograph with clear specifications, such as size, format, and resolution. Make sure to follow the instructions provided by the NTA office to avoid any further delay or confusion.

Yes, the fees paid towards raising the objections in JEE Main answer key is reunded if the challenge is found correct. The amound is credited back to the account which was used for payment of challenge fees. 

Candidates will be able to raise objections against the provisional JEE Main answer key 2024 online. For every objection, the candidates will have to pay INR 500. The fee payment has to be done online i.e., through credit card/debit card/net banking. If the candidates do not pay the required fee then their objections will not be accepted. Along with the fee, the candidates will also have to submit the supporting proof for the objections. 

In case the JEE Main answer key challenge raised by the candidate is accepted, the NTA will send an email to the registered email address mentioning the details of question for which the objections has been accepted. The NTA will also send the details of correct answer for the questions.

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.

NTA uses a formula to calculate NTA score in JEE Main. The formula used is 

 

The NTA will announce JEE Main Result 2026 around 10 days after the conclusion of the exam. Candidates can download the JEE Main result 2026 scorecard online. JEE Main result login link 2026 will be available on the wesbite jeemain.nta.nic.in. The JEE Main 2026 result scorecard will have details of candidate percentile score in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and the aggreate percentile score. JEE Mains 2026 result will be released separately for both sessions.

There is no minimum qualifying marks in JEE Main. Exam. However, any candidate who wish to appear in JEE Advanced need to obtain the minimum cutoff marks in JEE Main. Candidates gets all India rank in JEE Main on the basis of the score they get in the exam. Admission to the institutes like NITs, IIITs and GFTIs is given on the basis of all India rank of candidates. Candidates who wish to apply for JEE Advanced need to get the minimum JEE Main qualifying cutoff marks only after which they can apply for admission to IITs.

National Testing Agency generally conducts the JEE Main exam two times in a year. The first attempt is conducted in January and the second attempt in April. JEE Main 2026 exam dates will be announced soon by the NTA. The first attempt of JEE Main 2026 will likely be conducted in the last week of January while the second attempt will be conducted in April first week. Only in the year 2022, NTA conducted JEE Mains in four sessions due to COVID-19. The number of sessions and date for any year is announced by the NTA at the time of release of application form.

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. 

The syllabus of JEE Mains is not same as JEE Advanced. Candidates must note that JEE Mains and Advanced are two different exam meant for different purposes. JEE Main is conducted for admission to NITs, IIITs and other CFTIs while JEE Advanced is conducted for admission to IITs. In terms of syllabus, although both JEE Mains and Advanced have class 11 and 12 topics of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, there are some topics which are a part of Mains syllabus but not in Advanced. Also, the difficulty level of JEE Advanced is way ahead of JEE Mains. Students preparing for the JEE Advanced exam can download the syllabus from the Shiksha page.

To get admission in IITs, any rank around 5000 AIR is safe (for the unreserved category). However, the rank for reserved category candidates will be higher (in the range of 10,000 to 15,000) for admission to the top IITs. To get a seat in top IIT and the highly sorted course like CSE, achieving a rank within the approximate range of 2000-2500 is typically required. It's important to note that the exact cutoff can differ each year due to factors such as the number of candidates, the difficulty level of the exam, and the availability of seats.

The eligibility criteria to appear in JEE Main are

• Candidate must have passed or appearing in class 12
• There is no age limit to appear in JEE Mains
• No minimum percentage is required to appear in the JEE Mains exam. 75% marks required after qualifying JEE Mains for admission in NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs
• Candidates must have Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects along with Chemistry/any other vocational subject for Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech). For paper 2, candidates need to have Mathematics as compulsory subject along with any other subject combination. Candidates can appear in JEE for three consecutive years from the year of passing class 12

Candidates having query like what is NTA score are informed that NTA score is the aggregate percentile score of all three subjects obtained in JEE Main exam. NTA score meaning is same as aggregate percentile score. 

According to the JoSAA seat matrix, the total seats in IITs are 17760, while the number of seats in NITs and IIITs is 24229 and 8546, respectively. According to the official data, this year 355 seats were increased in IIT, including 20 in IIT Bhubaneswar, 12 in IIT Bombay, 30 in Kharagpur, 84 in Patna, 30 in Gandhinagar, 10 in Guwahati, 40 in Bhilai, 10 in Tirupati, and 75 in Dharwad. In 2023, the IIT seat count was 17385.

The fees for raising objections in JEE Main answer key is INR 200 per question. Candidates need to pay the fees online using internet banking or credit/debit card. The actual fees to be paid for raising the objections will depend on the number for questions selected for grievance.

The participating institutes of JEE Main are the colleges that participate in the JoSAA counselling for admission in various Engineering, Architecture and Planning courses. Besides JEE Main participating institutes, many colleges offer admission based on the scores of JEE Main but are not a part of JoSAA. Such institutes organise their counselling process for admission.

There are a total of 31 NITs, 25 IIITs and 19 other GFTIs that participate in JoSAA counselling. The number of seats in these institutes can be checked below. Other institutes which offer admission based on JEE Main scores are from the states which do not conduct their entrance exams for engineering admission and include U.P., Bihar, M.P., Delhi, among others.

JEE Mains exam is conducted in around 300 cities in India and abroad. The complete list of JEE Main test cities can be checked on the JEE Main information brochure available on the official website as well as from the Shiksha page. NTA conducts JEE Main in 25 countries outside India at

1. MANAMA
2. COLOMBO
3. DOHA
4. DUBAI
5. JAKARTA
6. KATHMANDU
7. KUALA LUMPUR
8. KUWAIT CITY
9. LAGOS / Abuja
10. MUSCAT
11. RIYADH
12. SHARJAH
13. SINGAPORE
14. Canberra
15. Vienna
16. Brasilia
17. Ottawa
18. Beijing
19. Hong Kong
20. Port Luis
21. Moscow
22. Cape Town
23. Bangkok
24. Washington D.C.
25. Hanoi

The list of test cities in India can be checked at the website - https://www.shiksha.com/engineering/articles/jee-main-exam-centres-blogId-19515 

The dates for JoSAA counselling 2026 choice filling will be announced once the result of JEE Main 2026 is declared. Candidates can fill choices only during the choice filling period. Also, candidates need to lock their choices before the last date.

The JoSAA 2025 choice filling window will open with the registration window on June 3, 2025. Candidates will be able to register and then fill the choices of courses and colleges based on their JEE Main/Advanced ranks and category.

The process of JEE Main counselling and seat allotment consists of several processes. Once a seat is allotted to a candidate, he/she has the option of Accept and Freeze, Accept and Float and Slide. If a candidate is satisfied with the allotted seat and selects the first option, he/she cannot participate in the next round counselling. If the candidate is not satisfied with the allotted seat, he/she can select the second or third option through which he/she can participate in the next round counselling with the current seat.

The coursse offered by the 23 IITs, 31 NITs, IIEST Shibpur, 26 IIITs and 40 Other-Government Funded Technical Institutes (Other-GFTIs) via the JoSAA counselling include:

• BTech in various Engineering disciplines.
• BSc programs in Science.
• BArch in Architecture.
• Dual Degree programs like B.Tech-MTech and BS-MS.
• Integrated M.Tech and Integrated MSc programs.

Candidates can follow the below-mentioned steps to download answer key

Step 1- Open the JEE Main website

Step 2- Click on JEE Main answer key link

Step 3- Login using your JEE Main 2025 application number and password/date of birth

Step 4- The answer key will be displayed on the screen along with response sheet

Step 5- Download the answer key and take its printout.

The final answer key, released after reviewing the objections submitted by the candidates will be used for calculating the result/score of the candidates. The final answer key is not subjected for challenge/submission of grievances by the candidates.

JEE Main response sheets are released online by NTA along with the answer key. To download the JEE Main response sheets, candidates need to login on the JEE Main official website using their application number and date of birth/password. JEE Main response sheet will have the details of marked response by candidate during the exam. Candidates can use the response sheet along with answer key to calculate their marks in the exam.

NTA will activate the link to download JEE Main city intimation slip 2026 on the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in. Candidates need to login on the JEE Main official website using their application number and password to download the JEE Main 2026 advance exam city allotment slip. 

JEE Main exam city slip is the document which have details about the city in which the exam centre of the candidate is located. The JEE Mains city intimation slip also have details of the JEE Main exam date of the candidates. Candidates must note that the exam city slip is different from the admit card. NTA releases the exam city intimation slip around 1 week before the exam starts.

The best way to handle tough topics in any subject is to study the concepts of that particular topic. The conceptual understanding of any topic gives us the clarity to solve theoretical as well as numerical questions from that topic. NCERT text books are the best material to understand the core concepts.