JEE Main 2026 Cutoff: Qualifying Percentile and JoSAA Rank

JEE Main 2026 cutoff has been released by NTA on 20 April 2026 alongside the Session 2 result. The General category qualifying percentile stands at 93.41, the highest in four years, and 2,50,182 candidates qualified for JEE Advanced 2026. This qualifying cutoff and the JEE Main JoSAA admission cutoff are two different numbers, and confusing them is the most common mistake after the result. JoSAA counselling is active right now for NITs, IIITs and GFTIs. This page covers both cutoffs, shift wise marks vs percentile data, and JoSAA closing ranks from 2025.

JEE Main 2026 Cutoff Highlights: Result Status and JoSAA Timeline

Both sessions of JEE Main 2026 are done, the qualifying cutoff is out, and JoSAA counselling is currently active. The table below puts every confirmed date and number in one place so the cutoff tables further down have a clear timeline around them.

JEE Main Qualifying Cutoff vs JoSAA Admission Cutoff: Two Different Numbers

Almost every JEE Main candidate who checks their result asks one question: did I clear the cutoff? The answer depends on which cutoff they mean, because JEE Main 2026 has two, and they serve completely different purposes at different stages of the admission process.

• A candidate who clears the qualifying cutoff becomes eligible to sit JEE Advanced for IIT admission. It does not guarantee a seat at any NIT or IIIT.
• The JoSAA admission cutoff, published as opening and closing ranks, is always much more competitive than the qualifying cutoff for top branches at top NITs.
• JoSAA uses the JEE Main rank (not percentile) for NIT, IIIT and GFTI allotment, and the JEE Advanced rank for IIT allotment. Both run through the same JoSAA portal.

JEE Main 2026 Official Qualifying Percentile: Category wise Cutoff Released by NTA

NTA published these figures on 20 April 2026 with the Session 2 result. Every number below is the confirmed, official qualifying percentile for JEE Advanced 2026 eligibility, not an estimate. The General category figure is the highest it has been in four years.

JEE Main Cutoff Previous Year Trend: 2021 to 2026 Category wise Percentile

The six year trend below shows how the JEE Main qualifying percentile has moved for each category. The General cutoff dipped in 2022 before rising steadily back to its current four year high, while the OBC-NCL cutoff crossed 80 for the first time in 2026.

JEE Main 2026 Marks vs Percentile: Shift wise Score for 99 Percentile

The same JEE Main percentile required very different raw scores depending on which shift a candidate was assigned to. This is the direct result of NTA's normalization across 19 shifts, and it is why comparing raw marks between two candidates in different shifts is meaningless without converting to percentile first.

April Session 2 was easier on average than January Session 1 across JEE Main 2026. At the 99 percentile level, April needed roughly 15 marks more than January for the same percentile, which is consistent with the pattern from recent years.

JEE Main JoSAA Closing Rank: NIT and IIIT Branch wise Cutoff

JoSAA counselling for JEE Main 2026 is currently active. The closing ranks below are from the 2025 cycle and are shown as a reference for what the 2026 figures are likely to look like. Once JoSAA publishes the 2026 round wise allotment, confirmed numbers will replace this table.

CSE at the top three NITs closes inside rank 5,000, while core branches like Civil and Mechanical at the same NITs stay open past 20,000. This spread is the single biggest reason a candidate's branch preference matters as much as their JEE Main rank during JoSAA choice filling.

JEE Main Cutoff Factors: Candidates, Normalization and Seat Availability

JEE Main qualifying percentile is not a fixed number set in advance. NTA calibrates it after both sessions are complete, and several factors decide where it ends up each year.

• Total candidates. 15.5 lakh unique candidates appeared in 2026, the highest on record, which directly raises the competition at the top end.
• Paper difficulty. A tougher shift lowers the raw score needed for the same percentile, which is why the 99 percentile mark varied by 40+ marks across JEE Main 2026 shifts.
• NTA normalization. Scores are converted to percentile within each shift first, then merged into a combined merit list. This ensures a candidate in a tough shift is not penalized compared to one in an easier shift.
• Top 2.5 lakh limit. NTA calibrates the General category cutoff so that the total qualified count across all categories stays close to 2,50,000.
• Reservation percentages. SC (15%), ST (7.5%), OBC-NCL (27%), EWS (10%), with PwD as a horizontal 5% within each category.

JEE Main Cutoff: How to Check Rank Card and JoSAA Allotment

NTA and JoSAA use two separate portals for two separate purposes in the JEE Main 2026 process. Knowing which one to visit, and when, avoids the confusion that comes from searching for a closing rank on the exam portal or a percentile on the counselling portal.

1. For the qualifying cutoff and rank card: visit jeemain.nta.nic.in, log in with application number and date of birth, and download the scorecard showing percentile, rank, and qualifying status.

2. For JoSAA seat allotment: visit josaa.nic.in, register for counselling if not already done, fill choices during the open window, and check the allotment result after each round.

3. JoSAA publishes a separate opening and closing rank PDF after each round. Find the institute, branch, and category row, then compare your rank to the closing rank shown.

JEE Main 2026 Best of Two Sessions: How NTA Picks the Higher Score

Around 8 lakh candidates appeared in both Session 1 and Session 2 of JEE Main 2026. NTA uses only the better percentile of the two sessions for the final merit list, which means appearing in Session 2 can never lower a candidate's rank, it can only improve it.

• If a candidate scored 95 percentile in January and 97 in April, NTA uses the 97.
• If a candidate appeared only in January, that single session score is the final score.
• The best-of-two rule applies to the percentile, not the raw marks. A candidate who scored 150 marks in a tough January shift and 170 in an easy April shift may still have a higher percentile from the January attempt.

About NTA and JEE Main

The National Testing Agency took over the conduct of JEE Main from CBSE in 2019 and has held it in a computer-based format since. NTA is responsible for the question paper, the normalization, the result, and the qualifying cutoff, while JoSAA, a separate body, handles seat allotment across NITs, IIITs, IITs and GFTIs using the rank list NTA produces.

JEE Main Paper 1 is for B.E. and B.Tech admissions. Paper 2A is for B.Arch and Paper 2B is for B.Planning, each with a separate pattern and cutoff. The qualifying cutoff discussed in this article applies only to Paper 1, since that is the paper used for JEE Advanced eligibility.

JEE Main 2026 No Sectional Cutoff: How It Differs from CAT and JEE Advanced

Unlike CAT, which requires candidates to clear a sectional cutoff in each of three sections separately, JEE Main 2026 has no sectional cutoff at all. Qualification is based entirely on the aggregate percentile across Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics combined. A candidate weak in one subject can compensate with strength in another, which is a structural difference worth noting because JEE Advanced, the next step for IIT entry, does have a subject-wise minimum.

JEE Main Cutoff for JEE Advanced 2026: What Qualifying Means

Clearing the JEE Main qualifying cutoff does not admit a candidate anywhere by itself. It only opens the door to JEE Advanced, which is the separate, harder exam that decides IIT admission. The distinction matters because many candidates treat the JEE Main cutoff as an admission cutoff, when it is really just a filter for the next stage.

• 2,50,182 candidates qualified for JEE Advanced 2026 through JEE Main.
• JEE Advanced 2026 is a separate exam with its own question paper, its own scoring, and its own cutoff.
• IIT admission is decided by the JEE Advanced rank, not the JEE Main rank. NIT, IIIT and GFTI admission is decided by the JEE Main rank through JoSAA instead.

JEE Main 2026 qualifying cutoff is already confirmed at 93.41 percentile for General, and JoSAA counselling is currently active for NIT, IIIT and GFTI seats. Candidates who have qualified should complete their JoSAA choice filling at josaa.nic.in before the current round's deadline, and candidates who qualified for JEE Advanced should focus on that exam's preparation while tracking JoSAA allotment results in parallel. Confirmed JoSAA 2026 closing ranks will be updated on this page after each round.

JEE Main 2026 Cutoff FAQs

Ques: Is the JEE Main qualifying cutoff the same as the NIT admission cutoff?

Ques: Does JEE Main 2026 have a subject wise or sectional cutoff?

Ques: If I appeared in both January and April, which score does NTA use?

Ques: Why did the same percentile need different marks in different shifts?

Ques: What rank do I need for CSE at a top NIT through JoSAA?