JEE Main 2026: Expected Cutoffs & Category-Safe Marks

 JEE Main 2026 cut-off helps to understand the minimum marks required to be eligible for the JEE Main counselling. The expected cut-off marks will help you to elevate your preparation accordingly. The official cut-off will be declared by the officials after the JEE Main exam; till then, we can use the cut-off based on the past five-year trends.

In this blog, you will find the JEE Main 2026 cutoffs, category-wise scores, percentile vs marks prediction, and factors that affect the cutoff. Students can use these cut-off marks to improve their efficiency and total score for admission to the top engineering colleges in India.

JEE Main 2026 Expected Cut-off Overview

JEE Main cut-off determines your eligibility for the JoSSA counselling and varies every year. The cut-off is the minimum percentile the candidate should score to become eligible for the JoSSA counselling session. The opening and closing rank for the cut-off marks varies for each category. 

Scoring above the predicted score can improve your chances of admission to the prestigious engineering colleges. The JEE Main cut-off also determines your eligibility for the JEE Advanced, which is the route to your dream college, IITs. 

JEE Main 2025 Cut-off (Trends)
Difficulty Level	Moderate  Maths Exam: Lengthy Physics: Conceptual-Based questions Chemistry: Good Scoring
Category-wise Cut-off for JEE Main 2025	General: 93 General EWS: 80 OBC-NCL: 79 SC: 61 ST: 48 PwD: < 1

Check out JEE Main 2026 Preparation Tips

Expected JEE Main 2026 Cut-off Marks

Based on the previous year’s trends, the JEE Main 2026 expected cut is given in the table below so that you will be aware how much minimum marks you should score to be eligible for JEE counselling and increase your chances for admission to the top engineering college.

JEE Main 2026 Expected Cut-off
Category	Cut-off Percentile
General	95+
General EWS	85+
OBC	83+
SC	65+
ST	50+
PwD	<1

JEE Main 2025 Cutoff for JEE Advanced

Candidates can confirm the minimum marks required for JEE Advanced based on last year’s cutoff, which are listed below. Success in every admission exam is determined by an excellent study strategy and the candidate’s hard work. With little time remaining, let us take a brief look at the minimum score required for candidates to qualify for JEE Advanced 2025. The JEE Main cutoff score for eligibility to take the JEE Advanced is listed below.

JEE Main 2025 Cut-Off for JEE Advanced
Category	JEE Main Cutoff Percentile by NTA
General	93.1023262
General EWS	80.3830119
OBC	79.4313582
SC	61.1526933
ST	47.9026465
PwD	0.0079349

The top 2.5 Lakh candidates in the JEE Main are chosen for the JEE Advanced exam from unreserved and all reserved categories. In addition, the candidates are also required to have a minimum of 75% marks in the qualifying exam, i.e. class 12th for JEE Advanced. 

Factors Affecting JEE Main 2026 Cut-Off Marks (Percentile)

A few factors that influence the JEE Main 2026 Cut-off are as follows:

1. The number of applicants: A larger number of exam takers enhances competitiveness, which frequently results in a higher cutoff. Conversely, if fewer applicants appear, the cutoff may be slightly lower.
2. Examination Difficulty Level: If the JEE Main paper is more difficult than previous years, the cutoff percentile tends to fall. In contrast, a simpler paper typically results in higher cutoffs.
3. Total Seats Available: The overall number of seats throughout NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs has a direct impact on admittance cutoffs; more seats can significantly lower the cutoff, while fewer seats raise it.
4. Normalization Process: Because JEE Main is held in many sessions, NTA employs a normalization technique to ensure fairness across all shifts. This approach may somewhat alter the final percentile based on the relative difficulty of each session.
5. Category of the Candidate: Cutoffs differ by category: General, OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, ST, and PwD candidates have various qualifying percentiles, with reserved categories having lower cutoffs for eligibility.
6. Previous Year’s Cutoff Trends: Past trends serve as a reliable predictor of expected cutoffs. When determining the following year’s cutoff benchmarks, the NTA takes into account previous sessions’ performance trends and percentile distributions.
7. The performance of top scorers: If a higher number of candidates achieve extremely high scores, the cutoff percentile automatically rises. The overall score distribution of applicants plays an important role in determining the ultimate cutoff.

Past Trends of JEE Main 2025 Cut-off

Category	2023	2024	2025
General	90.7788642	93.2362181	93.1023262
General EWS	75.6229025	81.3266412	80.3830119
OBC	73.6114227	79.6757881	79.4313582
SC	51.9776027	60.0923182	61.1526933
ST	37.2348772	46.6975840	47.9026465
PwD	0.0013527	0.0018700	0.0079349

Conclusion

The JEE Main 2026 predicted cutoffs and category-wise safe marks help students understand the score range required to qualify for JEE Advanced and gain admission to top NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. While these cutoffs are based on past years’ statistics and trends, actual results may differ depending on the difficulty of the exam, the number of students, and the normalization process.

Rather than focusing simply on the cutoff, students should strive to maximize their marks and percentile through persistent practice, clever revision, and performance analysis. At IIB Career Institute, we focus on developing a strong conceptual understanding and help students get ready to face the challenges of the JEE Main 2026 exam with our expert faculty.