The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the provisional answer key and response sheets for JEE Main 2026 Session 1, allowing candidates who appeared in the January exam to review their performance and challenge answers if needed.
Provisional Answer Key and Response Sheets Now Available
The NTA published the JEE Main 2026 Session 1 provisional answer key along with the individual response sheet PDFs on 4 February 2026 on its official portal jeemain.nta.nic.in. These documents allow candidates to compare their recorded responses with the official key and estimate their tentative scores before the final results. Candidates can view or download their answer key and response sheet by logging in to the official NTA JEE Main portal using their application number and date of birth or password.
Objection Window and How to Challenge
After the provisional key release, an objection (challenge) window was opened to give candidates an opportunity to contest any discrepancies they found in the answer key. This window was active from the date of release until 11:50 pm on 6 February 2026. During this period, candidates could select specific questions they believed were incorrect and submit challenges online via the NTA portal. Each objection required supporting justification and a non‑refundable processing fee, payable through net banking, debit, or credit card. Once the objection window closed on 6 February, no further challenges were accepted. The NTA is now reviewing all submissions before publishing the final answer key, which will be used to compile and declare the Session 1 JEE Main 2026 results.
Next Steps: Final Answer Key and Result
After considering all valid objections submitted during the challenge period, the NTA will issue the final JEE Main 2026 Session 1 answer key. Based on this final key, candidate scores and Session 1 results are expected to be announced shortly, with February 12, 2026 being a widely reported target date. The final result will play a crucial role in admission processes for various undergraduate engineering programmes including BE/BTech, BArch, and BPlanning across participating institutions. Candidates should regularly check jeemain.nta.nic.in for updates on the final answer key, result announcement dates, and related notifications