JEE Main Cut Off Marks 2026, Expected Percentile, Trends
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will release the official JEE Main 2026 cut off marks after all exam sessions are completed. These cut off marks are very important because they determine whether a candidate becomes eligible for JEE Advanced and also affect admission chances for NITs, IIITs, and other government engineering colleges.
What Is the JEE Main Cut Off
In simple terms, the cut off is the minimum score or percentile a student must achieve in JEE Main to qualify for the JEE Advanced exam and be considered for admission to various engineering colleges in India. The cut off does not yet include specific college ranks. It is just the baseline mark needed to move forward in the process.
Expected Cut Off for 2026
Although the official 2026 cut off has not been released yet, education experts expect the qualifying percentile to be slightly higher, about 10 to 15 percent more than last year's trends. This is mainly because more students are applying and competition is increasing.
Expected qualifying percentile for various categories
General 93.2 to 94.1
Gen EWS 81 to 82
OBC NCL 79 to 80
SC 60 to 62
ST 47 to 49
PwD 0.001 to 1
These are only estimates. Official cut offs will be published by NTA later.
College Wise Cut Offs Expected
Besides the general qualifying cut off, colleges like NITs and IIITs have their own estimated cut offs based on last year’s data.
NIT Trichy General cut off around 800 to 1000
NIT Surathkal Around 900 to 1200
These ranges change every year depending on difficulty, number of students, and seat availability.
Previous Years Cut Off Trends
Understanding past cut offs helps estimate how competitive the exam has been over time.
JEE Main Cut Off Percentiles Recent Years
2025 General category cut off 93.10
2024 General category cut off 93.23
2023 General category cut off 90.78
2022 General category cut off 88.41
2021 General category cut off 87.89
The qualifying percentile has gradually increased over the last few years.
How Cut Offs Are Used
Once the NTA announces the cut off, students who meet or exceed the cut off become eligible for JEE Advanced. Colleges like NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs then use both the score and cut off status to begin the counselling and seat allocation process.
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