JEE Main 2026 Cutoff: Expected Percentile, Category-Wise Trends & Qualification Criteria

The JEE Main 2026 cutoff is the minimum percentile required to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026 and secure admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. Based on previous year trends, the expected cutoff percentile is 93.5–95 for General, 80–82 for EWS, 79–81 for OBC-NCL, 61–63 for SC, 47.5–50 for ST, and 0.001–0.02 for PwD.

With 10–11 lakh candidates appearing every year, even a 0.1 percentile difference can significantly impact rank, college allotment, and branch selection. Once the response sheet is released, candidates can estimate their performance using the expected JEE Main 2026 cutoff percentile and marks range. This blog includes research-backed expected JEE Main 2026 cut-off percentiles and scores. This article provides a complete breakdown of the JEE Main 2026 expected cutoff, including category-wise qualifying percentiles, marks vs percentile analysis, safe scores, admission cutoffs, and JEE Advanced qualification criteria, helping aspirants make informed decisions.

JEE Main Cutoff 2026: Qualifying vs Admission

The JEE Main exam is conducted twice every year. Through the normalisation process, NTA releases the official cutoff after both January and April sessions are concluded. The JEE Main cut-off is the minimum NTA score or percentile a student must achieve to be admitted to their desired engineering colleges. But every time we talk about JEE Main cut-off, the two types can be confusing for many students.

• JEE Main Qualifying cut-off: Students who wish to take admission to IITs have to give the JEE Advanced exam as well. JEE Main is the first qualifying criteria and JEE Advanced is the second. The qualifying criteria for a candidate to sit for the JEE Advanced exam are to clear the JEE Main qualifying cut-off.

NOTE: Meeting the qualifying cut-off does not guarantee admission to any college—it only makes a candidate eligible to appear for JEE Advanced.

• JEE Main Admission cut-off: The JEE Main Admission cut-off is the closing rank to get admission into top engineering colleges, including NITs, IIITs, GFTIs, and others through JoSAA counselling.

Therefore, in simple terms, the qualifying cut-off decides eligibility, and the admission cut-off decides actual college and branch allotment.

JEE Main 2026 Expected Cutoff (Category-Wise Percentile)

To get admission into the best engineering colleges of India, students need to clear the JEE Main 2026 cut-off percentile. Then, only candidates will be eligible for the further admission process. The table below shows the expected JEE Main 2026 cut-off percentile based on previous year trends.

Data Source & Analysis:
The cutoff predictions in this article are based on an in-depth analysis of JEE Main cutoff trends (2019–2025), NTA’s normalisation methodology, and JoSAA counselling data for NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.

Category	Expected Qualifying Percentile (2026)
General	93.2 – 94.1
Gen-EWS	81–82
OBC-NCL	79–80
SC	60 – 62
ST	47–49
PwD	0.001 – 1

Students should note that the values in the table are just predicted estimated percentiles, and they might differ from the official cutoff that NTA will release soon. The JEE Main 2026 cutoff predictions in this article are based on an in-depth analysis of JEE Main cutoff trends from 2019 to 2025, NTA normalisation methodology, and JoSAA counselling data for NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.

JEE Main 2026 Opening & Closing Ranks (Expected)

Category	Expected Opening Rank	Expected Closing Rank
General	180 – 350	800 – 1,200
OBC-NCL	400 – 700	2,200 – 2,900
EWS	280 – 450	1,500 – 2,100
SC	1,800 – 2,400	6,000 – 7,500
ST	3,000 – 4,200	12,000 – 15,000

JEE Main 2026 Cutoff Marks vs Percentile (Expected)

The JEE Main 2026 exam was held in 10 shifts in Session 1. Since the exam is held in multiple shifts, the same marks do not result in the same percentiles due to the normalisation process. Hence, to get a better idea about the JEE Main 2026 marks vs. percentile cut-off range, refer to this table:

Percentile Range	Expected Marks (Out of 300)
99 – 100	180 – 200+
98–99	160 – 179
95–97	130 – 159
90–94	100 – 129
85–89	80 – 99
70–84	55–79
Below 70	Below 55

JEE Main 2026 Safe Score & Percentile

Quick Matrix Experts’ Insight: Candidates scoring 2–3 percentile above the expected cutoff are generally considered safe for qualification and counselling. To comfortably score above the safe cutoff range, candidates should follow a structured JEE Main 2026 preparation strategy focusing on high-weightage chapters and regular mock tests.

Category	Expected Qualifying Percentile	Expected Safe Cutoff Marks (Out of 300)	Interpretation
General (UR)	93.5 – 95.0	250 – 270	Safe range to clear the cutoff comfortably despite intense competition
EWS	80.0 – 82.0	240 – 260	Increasing participation makes buffer marks important
OBC-NCL	79.0 – 81.0	230 – 250	Cutoff close to EWS; safe score reduces normalisation risk
SC	61.0 – 63.0	190 – 210	Scoring above the minimum improves JoSAA counselling chances
ST	47.5 – 50.0	160 – 180	Higher marks expand college and branch options
UR-PwD	0.001 – 0.02	10 – 30	Basic eligibility range as per past NTA trends

JEE Main Cutoff Trends (2019–2025)

Referring to the past-year cut-off trends helps students get a fair idea about the expected percentile in JEE Main 2026. And also, it helps in setting a clear target score-wise and percentile-wise for the colleges they wish to get into. The table below represents the category-wise JEE Main cutoff for the years 2019 to 2025.

Year	General / CRL	EWS	OBC-NCL	SC	ST	PwD
2019	89.7549	78.2175	74.3167	54.0128	44.3345	0.1137
2020	90.3765	70.2436	72.8888	50.1760	39.0696	0.0619
2021	87.8992	66.2215	68.0234	46.8825	34.6729	0.0096
2022	88.4121	63.1114	67.0090	43.0821	26.7771	0.0031
2023	90.7789	75.6229	73.6114	51.9776	37.2349	0.0014
2024	93.2362	81.3266	79.6758	60.0923	46.6976	0.0019
2025	93.1023	80.3830	79.4314	61.1527	47.9026	0.0079

JEE Main 2026 Admission Cutoff for NITs, IIITs & GFTIs

The JEE Main 2026 admission cut-off refers to the opening and closing ranks that a candidate needs to get to secure admission into NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. JoSAA counselling is the process through which the admission process is done based on cut-off, which directly determines college and branch allotment.

The table below has the expected JEE Main 2026 admission cut-offs along with opening and closing ranks for all categories. The data is based on previous year cutoff trends.

Institute	Category	General	OBC-NCL	EWS	SC	ST
NIT Trichy	NIT	800 – 1,000	600 – 800	1,000 – 1,300	3,500 – 4,000	2,000 – 2,500
NIT Surathkal	NIT	900 – 1,200	700 – 900	1,200 – 1,500	4,000 – 5,000	2,500 – 3,000
NIT Warangal	NIT	1,000 – 1,400	800 – 1,000	1,300 – 1,600	4,200 – 5,200	2,600 – 3,200
NIT Rourkela	NIT	2,000 – 2,500	1,200 – 1,500	2,500 – 3,500	7,000 – 9,000	4,000 – 5,000
NIT Jalandhar	NIT	6,000 – 7,000	3,000 – 4,000	4,500 – 5,500	10,000 – 12,000	6,000 – 7,000
IIIT Hyderabad (CSE)	IIIT	350 – 450	800 – 1,000	900 – 1,100	2,500 – 3,000	1,500 – 2,500
IIIT Allahabad (IT)	IIIT	2,200 – 2,600	1,800 – 2,200	2,500 – 3,000	6,500 – 7,000	4,000 – 5,000
IIIT Delhi (CSE)	IIIT	5,000 – 5,500	3,000 – 3,500	4,000 – 4,500	8,000 – 9,000	5,000 – 6,500
IIIT Gwalior (CSE)	IIIT	3,000 – 3,500	2,500 – 3,000	3,000 – 4,000	7,000 – 8,500	4,500 – 5,500
PEC Chandigarh (CSE)	GFTI	6,000 – 7,000	3,000 – 3,500	5,000 – 6,000	13,000 – 15,000	8,000 – 10,000
Assam University (CSE)	GFTI	24,000 – 26,000	13,000 – 15,000	20,000 – 22,000	26,000 – 30,000	21,000 – 25,000
Mizoram University (CSE)	GFTI	22,000 – 25,000	14,000 – 16,000	20,000 – 23,000	28,000 – 31,000	22,000 – 26,000

JEE Main 2026 Qualification Criteria for JEE Advanced

Students who want to get into IITs have to appear for JEE Advanced 2026 after clearing the JEE Main 2026 exam. A candidate who has secured the required category-wise qualifying cut-off set by NTA is eligible to write the JEE Advanced exam. Only the candidates who are in the top 2.5 lakh JEE Main qualifiers are allowed to register for JEE Advanced.

It is important to note that qualifying for JEE Main does not ensure admission to IITs—it only makes a candidate eligible to appear for JEE Advanced 2026.

Minimum Percentile Required to Qualify for JEE Advanced 2026 (Expected vs Past-Year Data)

Category	2024 Qualifying Percentile	2025 Qualifying Percentile	Expected 2026 Qualifying Percentile
General (UR)	93.236	93.102	90–92
EWS	81.326	80.912	75–78
OBC-NCL	79.675	79.432	73–76
SC	60.092	59.846	50–55
ST	46.698	46.721	40 – 45
PwD (All Categories)	0.001	0.001	0.001 – 1

Factors Affecting JEE Main 2026 Cutoff

The JEE Main cutoff percentile and score are not constant every year. Many factors decide the overall factors, and we can only predict the cut-off based on these factors before the official results are released. Here are the factors that have a great influence over the qualifying cutoff as well as admission cutoffs:

Difficulty Level of the Exam:

The JEE Main exam is conducted in 10 shifts in 2 sessions every year. And every shift has a different difficulty level compared to the previous year’s papers. Hence, the cutoff is based on the overall difficulty level of the JEE Main after normalisation. If the JEE Main 2026 paper is tougher than previous years, the cut-off is likely to decrease, while an easier paper generally leads to a higher cut-off. Checkout a detailed JEE Main 2026 Session 1 shift analysis:

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (All Shifts) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (21 January Shift 1) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (21 January Shift 2) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (22 January Shift 1) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (22 January Shift 2) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (23 January Shift 1) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (23 January Shift 2) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (24 January Shift 1) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (24 January Shift 2) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (28 January Shift 1) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (28 January Shift 2) (Live Now)

JEE Main Session 1 Paper Analysis (29 January Shift 1) (Live Now)

Number of Candidates Appearing:

As competition increases in JEE Main, the cut-off generally rises due to a higher concentration of top-scoring candidates.

Candidate Performance Trends:

Cut-off increases if the percentage of candidates scoring higher percentiles are more. Likewise, the cutoff decreases if the percentage of candidates scoring higher percentiles is lower. Refer to the toughest and easiest shifts of JEE Main 2026 to understand candidate performance trends and their impact on percentile calculation.

Availability of Seats:

If the number of admission seats available is less, cut off increases. Whereas, if for the year 2026, the number of seats available in colleges is more, the cut-off will decrease.

How to Check JEE Main 2026 Official Cutoff?

NTA releases the official cut-off and results on their official website once the exams are completed. Students can check the JEE Main 2026 official cut-off on the NTA official website. The Session 1 (January attempt) result is expected to be declared on 12 February 2026, while the Session 2 (April attempt) result is expected to be released on 20 April 2026. Follow these steps to check official results:

• Visit the official NTA website. Go to the JEE Main portal or the NTA results website.
• You will find a link for the JEE Main 2026 result or the cut-off link in the recent notifications section, public notices, or information bulletin.
• If the website asks for a login, the candidate will have to log in with their application number, password/DOB.
• Look for the category-wise qualifying percentile where the detailed JEE Main qualifying cut-off is mentioned, which means this is the percentile a student needs to get to qualify for JEE Advanced.
• Sometimes, NTA releases the cut-off in the form of a PDF or scorecard. Students can download this for reference.

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