The National Testing Agency (NTA) will announce the expected JEE Main 2026 cutoff on its official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in, along with the JEE Main results. Based on last year’s official data, the expected cutoff for the general category is likely to be between 93.5 and 95.5 percentile, which usually translates to around 290 to 300 marks.
For the SC category, the cutoff is expected to be around 60 to 62 percentiles, while for the ST category, it may fall between 47 and 49.5 percentiles.
Eligibility for JEE Advanced 2026
Candidates must score above the cutoff to qualify for the JEE Advanced examination. The NTA is conducting Session 1 of the JEE Main 2026 exam from January 21 to January 29, 2026.
Students can check the category-wise JEE Main 2026 cutoff percentiles, qualifying cutoff, and admission cutoff details below.
| JEE Main Cutoff Percentile (Expected) | JEE Main Marks (Expected) |
|---|---|
| 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 2026 minimum qualifying cutoff
The NTA will also release the minimum qualifying cutoff for JEE Main 2026 on its official website. This qualifying cutoff is important as it determines a candidate’s eligibility for admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs through JoSAA counselling. The expected minimum qualifying cutoff mentioned here is based on trends from previous years.
JEE Main expected minimum qualifying cutoff
| Category | JEE Main Cutoff 2025 (Percentile) |
|---|---|
| General | 93.1023262 |
| OBC-NCL | 79.4313582 |
| SC | 61.1526933 |
| ST | 47.9026465 |
| EWS | 80.3830119 |
| Persons with Disability (PwD) | 0.0079349 |
The expected JEE Main 2026 cutoff percentile and corresponding marks are provided in the table below. It is important to note that percentile and marks are different, and candidates can refer to the given details to understand the expected percentile-to-marks range.
In simple terms, the JEE Main cutoff is the minimum score or percentile a student needs to qualify for JEE Advanced or to be considered for admission to top engineering institutes like NITs. The cutoff varies for different categories and depends on several factors, including the number of candidates appearing for the exam, the difficulty level of the paper, and the candidate’s category.