JEE Main Cut Off

What is JEE Main Cut Off 2026?

The JEE Main cut off 2026 is the minimum qualifying percentile released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) that determines which candidates are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced 2026. It is also a key factor in admissions to NITs, IIITs, and Government-Funded Technical Institutes (GFTIs) through JoSAA counselling.

The NTA released the official JEE Main 2026 cutoff along with the Session 2 results on April 20, 2026, at the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in. This year, a total of 2,50,182 candidates qualified across all categories and are eligible for JEE Advanced 2026. Out of 16,04,854 unique candidates who registered, 15,38,468 actually appeared across both sessions.

It is important to understand that there are two types of cutoffs in JEE Main:

  • JEE Advanced Qualifying Cutoff — the category-wise percentile released by NTA that determines eligibility for JEE Advanced.

  • Admission Cutoff (JoSAA) — branch-wise and college-wise closing ranks released later during counselling for admissions to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.

JEE Main Cut Off 2026 — Category-Wise Official Percentile

The table below shows the official JEE Main 2026 cutoff as released by NTA for JEE Advanced eligibility:

Category

JEE Main Cut Off 2026 (Percentile)

General / UR

93.4123549

EWS

82.4164528

OBC-NCL

80.9232583

SC

63.9172792

ST

52.0174712

UR-PwBD

0.0023186

Note: The cutoff is expressed in NTA Score (percentile), not raw marks. A percentile of 93.41 means the candidate scored equal to or better than 93.41% of all candidates who appeared.

JEE Main Cut Off 2026 vs Previous Years — Trend Comparison

The 2026 cutoff for the General category is the highest in the past four years, indicating increased competition. The table below compares the General category cutoff from 2023 to 2026:

Year

General (UR)

EWS

OBC-NCL

SC

ST

2026

93.4123549

82.4164528

80.9232583

63.9172792

52.0174712

2025

93.1023262

81.3266412

79.6757881

60.0923182

46.6975840

2024

93.2362181

—

—

—

—

2023

90.7788642

—

—

—

—

Key takeaway: The General category cutoff has risen steadily from 90.77 in 2023 to 93.41 in 2026, reflecting growing competition year on year.

JEE Main Marks vs Percentile 2026

Since JEE Main is conducted in multiple shifts across different days, NTA uses a percentile normalization process to fairly compare scores. This means your raw marks are converted to an NTA Score (percentile) based on your performance relative to all candidates in your shift.

The table below gives an approximate idea of the marks vs percentile relationship for Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech.) in 2026:

Approximate Raw Marks (out of 300)

Estimated Percentile

250+

99+ percentile

220–250

97–99 percentile

200–220

95–97 percentile

170–200

90–95 percentile

150–170

80–90 percentile

120–150

65–80 percentile

90–120

45–65 percentile

Below 90

Below 45 percentile

Disclaimer: These are approximate indicative ranges based on previous year analysis. Exact marks-to-percentile conversion varies with exam difficulty, number of candidates, and NTA normalization formula.


How is the JEE Main Cut Off Determined?

NTA considers several factors when setting the cutoff each year:

Factor

Impact on Cutoff

Number of candidates who appeared

Higher candidates → higher competition → higher cutoff

Overall difficulty of the exam

Tougher paper → lower raw marks → lower cutoff

Number of seats available

More seats → marginally lower cutoff

Previous year performance trends

NTA references historical data

Normalization of multi-shift scores

Ensures fairness across shifts

JEE Main Cutoff for NIT, IIIT, and GFTI Admissions

The JEE Advanced qualifying cutoff and the admission cutoff for NITs/IIITs are two separate things. The JoSAA counselling cutoff (opening and closing ranks) is released separately and varies by:

  • Institution (IIT, NIT, IIIT, GFTI)

  • Branch / Course

  • Category (General, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, EWS)

  • Gender (Male/Female under supernumerary seats)

  • Home State quota vs Other State quota

For example, based on previous years' data, JEE Main cutoff for CSE at top NITs ranged from rank 559 to 4463 depending on category and institute.

Category-Wise Reservation Percentages in JEE Main

The top 2,50,000 qualifying candidates are selected for JEE Advanced, distributed across categories as follows:

Category

Reservation Percentage

General / UR

40.5%

OBC-NCL

27%

SC

15%

ST

7.5%

EWS

10%

PwBD

Horizontal reservation (5% within each category)

Class 12 Eligibility Criteria Along with JEE Main Cutoff

Qualifying JEE Main cutoff alone is not sufficient. Candidates must also:

Frequently Asked Questions

The official cutoff is 93.4123549 percentile for JEE Advanced 2026 eligibility.