JEE Main Expected Cutoff 2026 indicates the minimum percentile required to qualify for JEE Advanced and for admission to participating institutes. The National Testing Agency will publish the official cutoff along with the JEE Main 2026 result on jeemain.nta.nic.in. The expected cutoff values are prepared based on past year trends, exam difficulty, and the number of candidates.
The JEE Main 2026 Session 1 examination is being conducted from 21 January 2026 to 29 January 2026. Candidates must secure at least the qualifying cutoff percentile to move to the next stage of the admission process.
JEE Main 2026 Minimum Qualifying Cutoff
The JEE Main 2026 minimum qualifying cutoff is the percentile required to become eligible for JEE Advanced and JoSAA counselling. This cutoff is different from the admission cutoff used by NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs during seat allotment.
Based on previous trends, the expected qualifying cutoff for the General category may range between 93.5 to 95.5 percentile, which usually corresponds to around 290 to 300 marks. Reserved category cutoffs are comparatively lower, as per government norms.
JEE Main 2026 Category-wise Qualifying Cutoff (Expected)
The category-wise expected qualifying cutoff percentiles help candidates assess their chances of qualification. The estimates below are prepared using earlier official data.
Category | Expected Percentile |
General | 93 – 95 |
OBC-NCL | 79 – 80.5 |
EWS | 80 – 82 |
SC | 60 – 62 |
ST | 48 – 51 |
UR-PwD | 0.001 – 0.02 |
JEE Main Expected Cutoff 2026 Percentile vs Marks
Percentile and marks are not the same in JEE Main. The marks range may vary depending on the difficulty level of shifts and the number of candidates. The expected percentile versus marks data given below provides a broad idea of performance levels.
Expected Percentile | Expected Marks |
95.5 – 100 | 275 – 300 |
90.5 – 94 | 245 – 270 |
85.5 – 89 | 215 – 240 |
80.5 – 84 | 185 – 210 |
75.5 – 79 | 155 – 180 |
JEE Main 2025 Minimum Qualifying Cutoff Percentile
Previous year cutoff data helps in understanding the likely trend for the current year. The official JEE Main 2025 qualifying cutoff percentiles are listed below.
Category | Cutoff Percentile 2025 |
General | 93.1023262 |
OBC-NCL | 79.4313582 |
SC | 61.1526933 |
ST | 47.9026465 |
EWS | 80.3830119 |
PwD | 0.0079349 |
What Is the JEE Main Cutoff?
JEE Main cutoff refers to the minimum percentile required to qualify for JEE Advanced or to become eligible for admission through JoSAA counselling. The cutoff varies by category and depends on factors such as exam difficulty, number of test-takers, and seat availability. Only candidates meeting the cutoff criteria are considered for further stages of the engineering admission process.