The official JEE Main 2026 qualifying cut-off was released on 20 April 2026 by the NTA. Check the category-wise percentile needed for JEE Advanced 2026, compare eight years of trends, understand marks vs percentile, and see how the qualifying cut-off differs from JoSAA admission ranks all on one page.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) released the JEE Main 2026 qualifying cut-off on 20 April 2026 along with the Session 2 result at jeemain.nta.nic.in. This cut-off is the minimum NTA percentile a candidate must secure in their category to become eligible for JEE Advanced 2026, the single exam that opens the door to the IITs.
This year, cut-offs rose across every category. The General category reached 93.4123549 percentile, its highest level in four years, and OBC-NCL crossed the 80-percentile mark for the first time. The rise is driven by record participation, a moderate difficulty level across both sessions, and stronger overall preparation. Around 2.5 lakh candidates qualified for JEE Advanced 2026.
Remember: this qualifying cut-off only decides eligibility for JEE Advanced. It does not guarantee a seat. Actual admission to NITs, IIITs and GFTIs depends on your All India Rank and the JoSAA closing ranks, which are released round-wise after counselling begins.
Official qualifying percentile released by NTA for JEE Advanced 2026 eligibility, shown alongside 2025 for comparison.
| Category | Cut-off 2026 | Cut-off 2025 | Candidates Qualified (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common Rank List (UR / General) | 93.4123549 4-yr high | 93.1023262 | — |
| Gen-EWS | 82.4164528 | 80.3830119 | 25,009 |
| OBC-NCL | 80.9232583 crossed 80 | 79.4313582 | 67,597 |
| SC | 63.9172792 | 61.1526933 | 37,522 |
| ST | 52.0174712 | 47.9026465 | 18,790 |
| UR-PwD | 0.0023186 | 0.0079349 | — |
| Session | Exam Dates | Result Date |
|---|---|---|
| Session 1 (January) | 21 – 30 January 2026 | 10 February 2026 |
| Session 2 (April) | 2, 3, 4, 7 & 8 April 2026 | 20 April 2026 |
Cross your category's qualifying percentile and you become eligible to register for JEE Advanced 2026, the gateway to the 23 IITs.
For these institutes you need a valid rank plus 75% in Class 12 (65% for SC/ST/PwD). Seats are allotted on JoSAA closing ranks, not this percentile.
The steady year-on-year rise shows how competition is tightening. Use the trend to fix a realistic percentile goal for your branch of choice.
Eight years of category-wise qualifying percentile. The clear upward drift across all categories reflects rising registrations and improving preparation.
| Category | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General (CRL) | 93.4123549 | 93.1023262 | 93.2362181 | 90.7788642 | 88.4121383 | 87.8992241 | 90.3765335 | 89.7548849 |
| Gen-EWS | 82.4164528 | 80.3830119 | 81.3266412 | 75.6229025 | 63.1114141 | 66.2214845 | 70.2435518 | 78.2174869 |
| OBC-NCL | 80.9232583 | 79.4313582 | 79.6757881 | 73.6114227 | 67.0090297 | 68.0234447 | 72.8887969 | 74.3166557 |
| SC | 63.9172792 | 61.1526933 | 60.0923182 | 51.9776027 | 43.0820954 | 46.8825338 | 50.1760245 | 54.0128155 |
| ST | 52.0174712 | 47.9026465 | 46.6975840 | 37.2348772 | 26.7771328 | 34.6728999 | 39.0696101 | 44.3345172 |
| PwD | 0.0023186 | 0.0079349 | 0.0018700 | 0.0013527 | 0.0031029 | 0.0096375 | 0.0618524 | 0.1137173 |
NTA releases the result only as a percentile, never as a marks-to-percentile table, so any marks mapping is a reference built from NTA normalisation patterns across recent years, not an official chart. Exact marks for a given percentile change with paper difficulty across the 19 shifts. Use it as a band, not a fixed number.
| Marks (out of 300) | Percentile (approx.) | All India Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 271 – 300 | 99.99 – 100 | 1 – 100 |
| 250 – 270 | 99.90 – 99.99 | ~150 – 1,600 |
| 220 – 249 | 99.5 – 99.9 | ~1,600 – 8,000 |
| 180 – 219 | 99.0 – 99.5 | ~8,000 – 16,000 |
| 150 – 179 | 98.0 – 99.0 | ~16,000 – 32,000 |
| 120 – 149 | 95.5 – 98.0 | ~32,000 – 72,000 |
| 90 – 119 | 93.0 – 95.5 | ~72,000 – 1,12,000 |
| 60 – 89 | 88.0 – 93.0 | ~1,12,000 – 1,90,000 |
| Score band | Rating | What it can reach |
|---|---|---|
| 250+ (~99.9+ %ile) | Excellent | Almost all IIT branches (via Advanced) + top NIT CSE |
| 180–220 (~99+ %ile) | Strong | CSE/ECE at top-tier NITs & good IIITs |
| 150–180 (~98–99 %ile) | Very good | Core branches top NITs; CSE mid-tier NITs/IIITs |
| 90–120 (~93–95 %ile) | Qualifying | General JEE Advanced band; lower NITs & GFTIs |
Why marks change every year: NTA normalises scores across all shifts so that no student is penalised for sitting a harder paper. That is why 99 percentile might mean ~155 marks in a tough shift but ~190 marks in an easy one. Always work from a band, not a single number.
This is the single most common point of confusion. They are two different things, released by two different bodies, in two different formats.
| Category | Reservation of Seats | Qualified (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Open (General) | 40.5% | Balance of top 2.5 L |
| OBC-NCL | 27% | 67,597 |
| SC | 15% | 37,522 |
| Gen-EWS | 10% | 25,009 |
| ST | 7.5% | 18,790 |
| PwD (horizontal) | 5% within each | — |
| Requirement | General / EWS / OBC-NCL | SC / ST / PwD |
|---|---|---|
| JEE Main qualifying percentile | Meet category cut-off | Meet category cut-off |
| Class 12 aggregate (for NIT/IIIT/GFTI) | 75% | 65% |
| Class 12 alternative | Top 20 percentile of board | Top 20 percentile of board |
| Number of attempts | 3 consecutive years | 3 consecutive years |
JoSAA released the Round 5 (final round) opening & closing ranks on 16 July 2026 at josaa.nic.in, covering all 138 institutes. Ranks below are for BTech CSE, Open / Gender-Neutral, final round. IIT ranks use JEE Advanced AIR; NIT, IIIT and GFTI ranks use JEE Main CRL.
| Institute | Opening Rank | Closing Rank | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|
| NIT Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) | ~559 | ~1,449 | OS Open |
| NIT Karnataka, Surathkal | ~1,050 | ~1,827 | OS Open |
| NIT Warangal | ~1,166 | ~2,500 | OS Open |
| NIT Calicut | ~1,800 | ~4,500 | OS Open |
| NIT Rourkela | ~2,100 | ~5,000 | OS Open |
| MNIT Jaipur | ~2,937 | ~5,862 | OS Open |
| MNNIT Allahabad | ~2,500 | ~6,402 | OS Open |
| NIT Durgapur | ~4,500 | ~8,800 | OS Open |
| NIT Silchar | ~5,000 | ~9,500 | OS Open |
| Institute | Opening Rank | Closing Rank | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIIT Allahabad | ~500 | ~3,500 | AI Open |
| ABV-IIITM Gwalior | ~1,200 | ~5,000 | AI Open |
| IIITDM Kancheepuram | ~2,000 | ~6,500 | AI Open |
| PDPM IIITDM Jabalpur | ~2,500 | ~7,200 | AI Open |
| IIIT Delhi | ~3,500 | ~8,000 | AI Open |
| IIIT Vadodara | ~5,000 | ~12,000 | AI Open |
| IIIT Lucknow | ~6,000 | ~14,000 | AI Open |
| Institute | Branch | Closing Rank | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIEST Shibpur | CSE | ~8,000 – 12,000 | Open, CRL |
| NIT Agartala | CSE | ~15,000 – 22,000 | Open, CRL |
| SLIET Punjab | Engineering | ~20,000 – 35,000 | Open, CRL |
| NIFTEM Kundli | Food Technology | ~25,000 – 40,000 | Open, CRL |
| NIFFT Ranchi | Production Engg | ~30,000+ | Open, CRL |
| Institute | Opening Rank | Closing Rank | Rank Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIT Bombay | 2 | ~66 – 70 | JEE Adv AIR |
| IIT Madras | ~15 | ~130 – 160 | JEE Adv AIR |
| IIT Delhi | ~25 | ~120 – 150 | JEE Adv AIR |
| IIT Kanpur | ~50 | ~180 – 220 | JEE Adv AIR |
| IIT Kharagpur | ~60 | ~230 – 280 | JEE Adv AIR |
| IIT Roorkee | ~100 | ~400 – 500 | JEE Adv AIR |
| IIT Hyderabad | ~200 | ~700 – 900 | JEE Adv AIR |
| IIT Guwahati | ~250 | ~900 – 1,100 | JEE Adv AIR |
| Institute | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIT Bombay (AIR) | ~67 | ~68 | ~66 |
| IIT Delhi (AIR) | ~115 | ~105 | ~110 |
| NIT Trichy (CRL, OS) | ~1,800 | ~1,600 | ~1,449 |
| NIT Surathkal (CRL, OS) | ~2,200 | ~2,000 | ~1,827 |
| NIT Warangal (CRL, OS) | ~3,200 | ~2,800 | ~2,500 |
| IIIT Allahabad (CRL) | ~4,000 | ~3,700 | ~3,500 |
After JoSAA Round 5, vacant NIT, IIIT and GFTI seats are now filled through CSAB Special Rounds. Registration opens 22 July 2026 at csab.nic.in.
| Event | Date (2026) |
|---|---|
| CSAB registration & choice filling starts | 22 July |
| CSAB Special Round 1 seat allotment | 26 July |
| CSAB Special Round 2 (if required) | 2 August |
| CSAB physical reporting | 5 – 8 August |
| Institute Type | Estimated Vacant Seats | Branch Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| NITs | ~1,200 – 1,500 | Mostly lower branches (Civil, Chemical, Metallurgy) |
| IIITs | ~400 – 600 | Spread across branches; CSE vacancies rare in top IIITs |
| GFTIs | ~1,800 – 2,200 | Maximum vacancies; good opportunity for 90+ percentile |
The official JEE Main 2026 qualifying cut-off for the General (UR / CRL) category is 93.4123549 percentile, released by NTA on 20 April 2026 with the Session 2 result. This is the highest General cut-off in four years, up from 93.1023262 in 2025.
Gen-EWS: 82.4164528, OBC-NCL: 80.9232583 (crossed 80 for the first time), SC: 63.9172792, ST: 52.0174712, and UR-PwD: 0.0023186 percentile. Every category rose compared with 2025.
No. The qualifying cut-off only decides whether you are eligible for JEE Advanced. It gives no admission by itself. Seats in NITs, IIITs and GFTIs are allotted on your All India Rank through JoSAA counselling, and IIT seats require you to clear JEE Advanced.
No. NTA releases the cut-off only as a percentile. Marks vary every year because paper difficulty, candidate count and shift-wise normalisation differ. Any marks figure you see is an estimated band, not an official number.
Roughly 180 – 200 marks out of 300, depending on the shift. In tougher shifts, 99 percentile was reached around 155–170 marks; in easier shifts it needed 190+ marks. For a comfortable 99+ buffer, aim for 200–210 marks.
A total of 2,50,182 candidates qualified across all categories. Category-wise: OBC-NCL 67,597; SC 37,522; Gen-EWS 25,009; ST 18,790; and the remaining General / open seats making up the balance of the top 2.5 lakh.
For CSE at a top-tier NIT (Trichy, Warangal, Surathkal), General candidates typically need 99+ percentile, roughly a rank under 2,000–5,000. Reserved-category closing ranks are higher (lower percentile). Exact numbers depend on JoSAA 2026 closing ranks.
Percentile shows the share of candidates you scored better than in your session, on a 0–100 scale. Rank (AIR) is your position in the national merit list, calculated from your best percentile across both sessions after all categories are merged. Colleges use rank, not percentile, for admission.
No. IIT admission requires you to first clear the JEE Main qualifying cut-off, then appear for and qualify JEE Advanced, and finally get a seat through JoSAA. JEE Main score alone gets you into NITs, IIITs and GFTIs, not IITs.
You need 75% aggregate in Class 12 (or top 20 percentile of your board) for General/EWS/OBC-NCL, and 65% for SC/ST/PwD. This is in addition to a valid JEE Main rank and applies to NITs, IIITs and GFTIs.
There is no fee to register for JoSAA counselling. You only pay the seat-acceptance fee once a seat is allotted, which varies by category and is paid online.
Yes. JoSAA released the Round 5 (final round) opening and closing ranks on 16 July 2026 at josaa.nic.in, covering all 138 institutes. There is no Round 6 this year, vacant NIT / IIIT / GFTI seats now move to CSAB Special Rounds, opening 22 July at csab.nic.in.
NIT Trichy has the tightest CSE cut-off among all NITs. In the final round it closed near CRL 1,449 (Open, Other State), which needs roughly 99.5–99.7 percentile. NIT Surathkal (~1,827) and NIT Warangal (~2,500) follow close behind.
CSAB Special Rounds fill NIT, IIIT and GFTI seats left vacant after JoSAA Round 5 (IIT seats do not take part). CSAB cut-offs are usually slightly more relaxed than JoSAA Round 5, so it is worth registering for a better NIT/IIIT/GFTI seat, but top NIT CSE seats are mostly gone by Round 5. Your JoSAA seat-acceptance fee is adjusted against the CSAB fee.
Go to josaa.nic.in, open eServices → OR-CR → "OR-CR 2026", then select the round, institute type (IIT/NIT/IIIT/GFTI), institute name, branch, seat type and category. It shows the exact opening and closing rank for that combination. A full PDF of all institutes is also downloadable.
Visit jeemain.nta.nic.in, open the "JEE Main 2026 Session 2 Result" link, enter your application number, password/date of birth and the security pin, then submit to view and download your scorecard.
91 percentile is roughly a General-category rank of 1.2–1.3 lakh, which usually misses top NITs but can reach GFTIs, some IIITs and strong state/private colleges. Whether to drop depends on your target, your improvement scope and your confidence, weigh the branches your rank can reach now against a realistic score gain next year before deciding.
