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By rohit.pandey1
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Updated on 20 Apr 2026, 11:02 IST
The JEE Main 2026 category wise cutoff for Session 2 will be officially released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) along with the Session 2 result on April 20, 2026, at jeemain.nta.nic.in.
The cutoff is the minimum NTA percentile a candidate must score to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026 and become eligible for JoSAA counselling for admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. It is important to understand that the JEE Main cutoff is not the same as an admission cutoff. Qualifying the cutoff only confirms your eligibility — getting a seat in a specific NIT or IIIT branch requires a much higher percentile.
This guide covers both: the JEE Main 2026 qualifying cutoff category-wise, the safe scores for NIT and IIIT admission, and a complete historical trend analysis to help you assess exactly where you stand after the Session 2 result. Direct
Link: jeemain.nta.nic.in | Also check: JEE Main 2026 Rank and College Predictor — Infinity Learn
| Detail | Information |
| Cutoff Release Date | April 20, 2026 (with Session 2 result) |
| Official Website | jeemain.nta.nic.in |
| Cutoff Type | Qualifying Cutoff (for JEE Advanced) + Admission Cutoff (for NITs/IIITs) |
| Total Candidates Qualifying | Top 2.5 lakh across all categories |
| Categories Covered | General (UR), OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, ST, PwD |
| Reservation Split | General 40.5% · OBC 27% · EWS 10% · SC 15% · ST 7.5% · PwD 5% horizontal |
Before checking your score against any cutoff table, it is essential to understand that there are two entirely different cutoffs in JEE Main — and confusing them is the most common mistake students make on result day.
JEE Main 2026 Qualifying Cutoff is the minimum NTA percentile a student must secure to be among the top 2.5 lakh candidates eligible to sit for JEE Advanced 2026. This cutoff is released by NTA category-wise along with the Session 2 result. It is the lower bar — crossing it only means you can attempt JEE Advanced, not that you will get into any NIT or IIT.
JEE Main 2026 Admission Cutoff is the opening and closing rank required to actually secure a seat in a specific branch at a specific NIT, IIIT, or GFTI through JoSAA counselling. This cutoff is much higher than the qualifying cutoff and is determined during the counselling process — round by round — based on candidate preferences and seat availability.
| Parameter | Qualifying Cutoff | Admission Cutoff |
| Set by | NTA | JoSAA |
| Purpose | JEE Advanced eligibility | College/branch seat allotment |
| Released with | Session 2 result | JoSAA counselling rounds |
| Level of competition | Lower bar — top 2.5 lakh qualify | Much higher — depends on branch and college |
| Example (General) | ~93–95 percentile | 99+ percentile for NIT CSE top branch |
Key insight: In 2025, approximately 97,321 General category candidates cleared the qualifying cutoff. Out of those, only a fraction secured CSE seats at top NITs — because the admission cutoff for NIT Trichy CSE (General, Other State) was around AIR 3,000, which corresponds to roughly 99.8 percentile.
The table below shows the expected JEE Main 2026 category wise qualifying cutoff based on Session 1 difficulty, previous year NTA data, and expert analysis. The official cutoff will be released with the Session 2 result at jeemain.nta.nic.in.
| Category | Expected Cutoff 2026 (Percentile) | Actual 2025 | Actual 2024 | Actual 2023 |
| General (UR) | 93.5 – 95 | 93.17 | 93.17 | 90.77 |
| OBC-NCL | 79 – 81 | 79.67 | 79.67 | 74.31 |
| EWS | 80 – 82 | 81.32 | 81.32 | 75.62 |
| SC | 61 – 63 | 60.09 | 60.09 | 54.01 |
| ST | 47.5 – 50 | 47.08 | 47.08 | 44.72 |
| PwD (General) | ~0.11 | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.11 |
Note: These are expert projections. The official 2026 cutoff will be released by NTA on April 20, 2026. Based on Session 1 data, competition in 2026 is marginally higher than 2025 due to increased candidate numbers (13+ lakh appeared in Session 1 alone). Actual cutoffs may vary by 0.5–1 percentile from the figures above.
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Three factors are pushing the 2026 qualifying cutoff upward compared to last year:
1. More candidates appeared: Over 13 lakh candidates registered for Session 1 — among the highest in JEE Main history. More candidates at the same number of seats naturally means stiffer competition near the cutoff zone.
2. Session 1 difficulty was moderate: The January 2026 session was rated moderate across most shifts, meaning more students scored in the 85–95 percentile band. Clustering in this range pushes the cutoff slightly upward.
3. Session 2 had a tougher profile: The April 6, 2026, Shift 1 was the toughest shift of Session 2 (99 percentile at ~160 marks). Normalisation will even out the session difficulty, but the overall candidate pool is more competitive in April.
Studying the year-on-year trend is the most reliable way to project the 2026 cutoff. The table below covers all six years for all five categories.
| Year | General | OBC-NCL | EWS | SC | ST |
| 2021 | 87.89 | 74.31 | 66.22 | 54.01 | 44.72 |
| 2022 | 88.41 | 74.31 | 66.22 | 54.01 | 44.72 |
| 2023 | 90.77 | 74.31 | 68.03 | 54.01 | 44.72 |
| 2024 | 93.17 | 79.67 | 81.32 | 60.09 | 47.08 |
| 2025 | 93.17 | 79.43 | 81.32 | 60.09 | 47.08 |
| 2026 (Expected) | 93.5–95 | 79–81 | 80–82 | 61–63 | 47.5–50 |
What the trend tells us:
The JEE Main General category cutoff 2026 is expected to be between 93.5 and 95 percentile. This makes the General category the most competitive — only the top ~40.5% of all qualifying candidates come from the General pool, and competition among them is intense. In raw marks, a General category candidate typically needs approximately 100–115 marks out of 300 to reach this percentile range, depending on their shift difficulty in Session 2 (April). Students who appeared in the tougher April 6 Shift 1 may qualify at slightly lower marks due to normalisation.
The JEE Main OBC cutoff 2026 is expected to be between 79 and 81 percentile. OBC-NCL candidates account for 27% of the seats, making this the second-largest category pool. A critical advantage for OBC-NCL candidates: your category rank is approximately 3× better than your CRL at the same percentile. This means an OBC student at 85 percentile often has a rank advantage equivalent to a General student at 91–92 percentile for admission purposes.
The JEE Main EWS cutoff 2026 is expected to fall between 80 and 82 percentile. The EWS category was introduced in 2019 with a 10% reservation. Its cutoff is historically slightly higher than OBC-NCL because the EWS pool is smaller. Students in the EWS category should note that the certificate must be in the Central Government format and must be renewed each financial year. An EWS certificate issued before April 1, 2025, will not be accepted at JoSAA 2026.
The JEE Main SC cutoff 2026 is expected to be between 61 and 63 percentile. SC candidates represent 15% of all seats. The qualifying bar is significantly lower than General and OBC categories — but admission cutoffs for premium branches at top NITs still require 93–95 percentile even for SC students. A common misconception: SC students can secure NIT seats easily. In reality, NIT Trichy CSE (SC, Other State) closed at approximately AIR 12,000–15,000 in JoSAA 2025 — which still requires a competitive percentile well above the qualifying cutoff.
The JEE Main ST cutoff 2026 is expected to be between 47.5 and 50 percentile. ST candidates have the most relaxed qualifying threshold, with 7.5% seat reservation. However, competition within the ST category has been increasing year-on-year. ST category rank advantages during JoSAA are significant — an ST candidate's rank advantage over General category for the same percentile is approximately 8–10×.
The JEE Main PwD cutoff 2026 is expected to remain at approximately 0.11 percentile — effectively near zero. PwD is a horizontal reservation (5%), meaning it applies across all categories. PwD candidates compete within their respective category (General-PwD, OBC-PwD, SC-PwD, ST-PwD) with the normal category cutoff relaxed horizontally.
Qualifying the cutoff is just the starting point. For actual NIT and IIIT admission through JoSAA 2026, students need a significantly higher percentile. The table below gives the safe percentile benchmarks for different NIT tiers, category-wise.
| Institute Tier | Branch | Safe Percentile (General) | Safe Percentile (OBC-NCL) | Safe Percentile (SC) | Safe Percentile (ST) |
| Top NITs (Trichy, Surathkal, Warangal) | CSE | 99.5+ | 98+ | 93+ | 88+ |
| Top NITs | ECE / EEE | 98.5–99.5 | 96–98 | 88–92 | 80–85 |
| Top NITs | Mechanical / Civil | 96–98 | 92–96 | 82–88 | 75–80 |
| Mid-tier NITs (Jaipur, Bhopal, Allahabad) | CSE | 97.5–98.5 | 94–97 | 85–90 | 78–83 |
| Mid-tier NITs | ECE / EEE | 95–97 | 90–94 | 78–84 | 70–75 |
| Newer NITs (Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim) | Any branch | 85–92 | 80–88 | 70–78 | 60–70 |
| Institute Tier | Branch | Safe Percentile (General) | Safe Percentile (OBC-NCL) | Safe Percentile (SC) |
| Top IIITs (Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore) | CSE / AI | 99.3–99.9+ | 98–99+ | 93–96 |
| Top IIITs | ECE / Other | 96–98 | 92–96 | 85–90 |
| Mid-tier IIITs | CSE | 93–97 | 88–93 | 80–86 |
| Mid-tier IIITs | Other branches | 88–93 | 83–88 | 74–80 |
Internal link: For a complete branch-wise NIT cutoff table, read our NIT Tiruchirappalli Admission Guide 2026 — Branch-Wise JEE Main Cutoff, Fee Structure and Placements.
The JEE Main cutoff for NIT 2026 varies significantly based on branch popularity, institute ranking, and category. Below are approximate JoSAA 2025 closing ranks (AIR) for the General category, which serve as the best predictor for 2026 cutoffs.
| NIT | CSE Closing Rank (General OS, Last Round 2025) | Approx. Percentile Needed |
| NIT Tiruchirappalli | ~3,000 | ~99.8 percentile |
| NIT Surathkal | ~5,000 | ~99.7 percentile |
| NIT Warangal | ~5,500 | ~99.65 percentile |
| NIT Calicut | ~8,000 | ~99.5 percentile |
| NIT Rourkela | ~9,500 | ~99.4 percentile |
| MNIT Allahabad | ~4,254 | ~99.73 percentile |
| MNIT Jaipur | ~5,610 | ~99.64 percentile |
| NIT Bhopal | ~12,000 | ~99.2 percentile |
| NIT Hamirpur | ~30,000 | ~98 percentile |
| NIT Manipur | ~80,000 | ~95 percentile |
| NIT | Branch | OBC-NCL Closing Rank | SC Closing Rank |
| NIT Trichy | CSE | ~9,000 | ~18,000 |
| NIT Warangal | CSE | ~15,000 | ~28,000 |
| NIT Surathkal | CSE | ~12,000 | ~22,000 |
| NIT Calicut | ECE | ~22,000 | ~40,000 |
| NIT Trichy | ECE | ~18,000 | ~32,000 |
Note: JoSAA 2026 cutoffs will be released during counselling rounds (expected June–July 2026). The data above is from JoSAA 2025 and should be used for planning purposes only — minor variations of 5–10% in closing ranks are normal year-on-year.
IIITs are highly competitive, especially for CSE. The JEE Main cutoff for IIIT 2026 is based on JoSAA closing ranks. Top-tier IIITs like IIIT Hyderabad and IIIT Delhi have CSE closing ranks that rival top NITs.
| IIIT | Branch | General Closing Rank (2025) | OBC-NCL Closing Rank | SC Closing Rank |
| IIIT Hyderabad | CSE | ~9,500 | ~28,000 | ~45,000 |
| IIIT Delhi | CSE | ~8,000 | ~22,000 | ~38,000 |
| IIIT Bangalore | CSE | ~18,000 | ~40,000 | ~65,000 |
| IIIT Allahabad | CSE | ~12,000 | ~30,000 | ~50,000 |
| IIIT Guwahati | CSE | ~35,000 | ~80,000 | ~1,30,000 |
The qualifying cutoff is not a fixed number — it changes every year based on several factors. Understanding these helps you interpret where the 2026 cutoff is likely to land.
1. Total number of candidates appearing: More candidates at the same number of qualifying seats pushes the cutoff upward. In 2026, approximately 15.5–16 lakh unique candidates are expected across both sessions — historically the highest ever.
2. Difficulty level of the exam: An easier paper means more students score higher, clustering near the top percentile bands. This raises the qualifying cutoff. A harder paper (like April 6, 2026, Shift 1) lowers the marks needed for a given percentile but may not significantly change the qualifying percentile itself.
3. Normalisation across sessions and shifts: JEE Main 2026 was held in 10+ shifts across two sessions. Normalisation ensures no shift bias, but the combined pool of Session 1 and Session 2 scores affects where the cutoff lands.
4. Category-wise reservation percentages: Fixed by government policy — General 40.5%, OBC 27%, EWS 10%, SC 15%, ST 7.5%, PwD 5% horizontal. These determine how many students from each category qualify for JEE Advanced.
5. Number of seats in IITs (JEE Advanced gateway): The total number of IIT seats (approximately 17,000+) relative to the 2.5 lakh qualifying slots does not change the qualifying cutoff but influences the admission cutoff at IITs downstream.
Once the official cutoff is released with the Session 2 result, here is how to act based on your percentile.
Read our complete JoSAA 2026 Counselling Guide
Also Check: What to Do After JEE Main 2026 Result
A common question after Session 2 result day is whether the Session 2 cutoff is different from Session 1. Here is the factual answer: NTA releases a single, unified qualifying cutoff after both sessions are complete. There is no separate "Session 1 cutoff" or "Session 2 cutoff" — the cutoff is applied to your final AIR, which itself is based on the best of your two session percentiles. This means:
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The expected JEE Main 2026 qualifying cutoff for the General category is 93.5–95 percentile. This is the minimum NTA percentile to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026. For NIT admission, General category students typically need 95–99+ percentile depending on the branch and institute.
The expected JEE Main 2026 OBC-NCL qualifying cutoff is 79–81 percentile. OBC-NCL candidates who clear this are eligible for JEE Advanced 2026. For NIT CSE admission at top NITs, OBC-NCL students typically need 93–98 percentile.
The expected JEE Main 2026 SC qualifying cutoff is 61–63 percentile. SC candidates who cross this are eligible for JEE Advanced. For top NIT branches, SC candidates typically need 80–93 percentile depending on the branch.
The expected JEE Main 2026 ST qualifying cutoff is 47.5–50 percentile. ST candidates above this threshold qualify for JEE Advanced 2026. For NIT admission, ST category students typically need 60–80+ percentile depending on branch.
The expected JEE Main 2026 EWS qualifying cutoff is 80–82 percentile. EWS candidates above this qualify for JEE Advanced 2026. The EWS certificate must be in Central Government format and must be for the current financial year (2025–26).
No. The qualifying cutoff is just the bar to be eligible for JEE Advanced — it is set by NTA and is around 93 percentile for General. The NIT admission cutoff is the closing rank at which the last seat was allotted in JoSAA counselling — for NIT Trichy CSE General, this is approximately 99.8 percentile (AIR ~3,000). They are entirely different thresholds.
Yes. The qualifying cutoff determines JEE Advanced eligibility only. Any candidate with a valid JEE Main AIR can participate in JoSAA counselling for NIT, IIIT, and GFTI seats — even if their percentile is below the qualifying cutoff. Many students with 80–88 percentile secure seats in newer NITs and GFTIs through JoSAA.
For top NITs (Trichy, Surathkal, Warangal) CSE — General category needs 99.5+ percentile. For any branch at a top NIT — General needs 96+ percentile. For newer NITs — 85–92 percentile is generally safe. OBC/SC/ST students can access the same colleges at lower percentiles due to category rank advantages.
The top 2.5 lakh candidates across all categories qualify for JEE Advanced 2026. The category-wise distribution is: General ~1.01 lakh, OBC-NCL ~67,500, EWS ~25,000, SC ~37,500, ST ~18,750, PwD ~12,500.
The official JEE Main 2026 category-wise qualifying cutoff will be released by NTA along with the Session 2 result on April 20, 2026 at jeemain.nta.nic.in. Until then, the expected cutoffs in this article are based on historical trends and expert projections.