JEE Main 2026 Eligibility – Age Criteria, Number of Attempts & Reservation Policy

JEE Main 2026 Eligibility: NTA has announced the JEE Main 2026 eligibility criteria for the January and April Sessions. Candidates must review the eligibility criteria before preparing to check their eligibility for the exam. With JEE Main 2026 scheduled to take place in January and April, applicants must thoroughly study the eligibility criteria outlined in the official JEE Main information bulletin.

Read the full blog to understand the eligibility of the JEE Main 2026 exam and get ready to face the challenges of the highly competitive exam, which is the path to IITs prestigious engineering colleges in the country.

JEE Main Exam 2026: At a Glance

Name of ExamJEE Main 2026
Organised ByNTA (National Testing Agency)
Frequency Twice a Year (January & April)
PurposeTop 2.5 Lakh selected for JEE Advanced leads to admission to IITs
SyllabusClass 11th & 12 Curriculum for Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics
Exam LevelNational
Difficulty LevelHigh
Marking Scheme+4 for each correct answer-1 for each incorrect answer
Mode of ExamPaper 1 (B.E/B.Tech): Computer-Based Test (CBT)Paper 2A (B.Arch.): CBT (except Drawing Test)Paper 2B (B.Plan.): Computer-Based Test (CBT)
Official Websitejeemain.nta.nic.in and nta.ac.in

JEE Main 2026: Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the JEE Main, the candidates must have passed one of the following exams:

  • The final examination of the 10+2 system is administered by recognized Central/State Boards such as CBSE, CISCE, and others.
  • Intermediate or two-year pre-university examination administered by a recognized Board/University.
  • The National Defence Academy’s two-year Joint Services Wing course concludes with a final examination.
  • The National Institute of Open Schooling administers the Senior Secondary School Examination, which includes a minimum of five topics.
  • The Association of India Universities (AIU) recognizes any public school/board/university test in India or abroad as equivalent to the 10+2 system.
  • Higher Secondary Certificate Vocational Exam.
  • A diploma recognized by the AICTE or a state body of technical education for a minimum of three years.
  • The Advanced (A) level of the General Certificate of Education (London/Cambridge/Sri Lanka).

Also Read: How Many Mock Tests are For Class 12th JEE Preparation?

JEE Main 2026: Age Criteria

There are no age restrictions for participating in JEE Main 2026. Candidates, regardless of age, who finished their Class 12 or equivalent examination in 2024 or 2025 or are currently preparing for the 2026 exam are eligible.

JEE Main 2026: Nationality

All Indian Nationals are eligible for the JEE Main exam. Furthermore, foreign nationals, including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), are also eligible to participate in the JEE Main exam.

Number of Attempts Allowed

For the JEE Main exam, candidates who passed class 12th in 2024 or 2025 and are appearing for their board exams in 2026 are eligible to apply for the exam. Candidates who passed class 12th before 2023 or are appearing after 2026 are not eligible.

JEE Main 2026: Category-wise Minimum Marks

CategoryMinimum Marks Required
General CategoryAt least 75% in class 12 or rank in the top 20th percentile of their board exam to qualify for admission to IITs, NITs, IIITs, and CFTIs.
Reserved Category (SC/ST/OBC)65% in Class 12 

JEE Main Eligibility Criteria 2026:  Foreign Nationals

The foreign nationals filling out the JEE Main application must fulfil the following eligibility  criteria

  1. JEE Main is open for Foreign Nationals, NRIs, OCIs, and PIOs.
  2. The candidate must have passed the 10+2 or equivalent exam with PCM subjects.
  3. They are eligible for B.Tech, B.Arch, and B.Plan via NITs, IIITs, & CFTIs.
  4. The maximum attempt allowed for foreign nationals is 3 consecutive years.
  5. The foreign nationals are not eligible for JoSSA counselling; they are admitted through the DASA scheme (Direct Admission of Students Abroad).

JEE Main 2026: Reservation Policy

The JEE Main reservation policy for 2026 is set to follow the same structure as previous years, with seats allocated to students from reserved categories. These groups include Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backwards Classes (OBC-NCL), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), and Persons with Disabilities (PwD). The reservation scheme is as follows:

Schedule Caste (SC)15%
Schedule Tribe (ST)7.5%
Other Backwards Classes (OBC)27%
Economically Weaker Section (EWS)10%
Persons with Disabilities (PwD)5%

To claim your category-wise reservation, the candidate must select the suitable category where he/she fall while filling out the application form; at this stage, no documents are required to be submitted to prove their eligibility. During the counselling process, the candidates are required to submit their category or caste certificate to prove their eligibility. If the candidates are not able to show the caste proof, they will be considered as unreserved category candidates.

JEE Advanced 2026 Eligibility Criteria

The candidates who have passed JEE Main 2025 and are ranked among the top 2.5 lakh candidates are eligible for JEE Advanced 2025 exam. 

Conclusion

To gain admission to premier engineering colleges in India, such as NITs, IIITs, and CFTIs via JEE Main 2026, students must meet educational requirements, subjects, and percentages. While there is no age limit for the exam, students must have completed class 12 with the required marks and courses. JEE aspirants must stay up to date on the exam’s official notification to avoid missing any crucial requirements specified.

Studying at IIT is the dream that every engineering aspirant wants to realise, but it can only be achieved with hard work, rigorous preparation, and proper guidance. At IIB, we are committed to providing the best education for our students so that they can reach their full potential and achieve their goal of studying in the top engineering college. We offer JEE classes for 11th, 12th and repeaters at our centres: Nanded, Latur, Pune- PCMC, Kolhapur, Pune-FC Road, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, and Akola. 

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