JEE Main 2026 LIVE: NTA to declare session 1 result by February 12; cut-offs, marks vs percentile

No, the JEE Main score is valid only for the same academic year’s admission cycle.

Yes, you can take a gap year as long as you meet the three-year eligibility window for JEE Main after Class 12.

No, there is no fixed passing mark. The qualifying cut-off changes every year based on performance and difficulty.

No, once the JEE Main correction window is closed, the exam city cannot be changed under any circumstances.

To estimate your score, compare the question IDs and answer IDs in your response sheet with those listed in the final answer key, which will be released shift-wise and day-wise.

• Add +4 marks for every correct answer.

• Deduct –1 mark for each incorrect answer.

• Give 0 marks for unattempted questions.

• Add +4 marks for any question that has been dropped in your shift.

By following this method, candidates can calculate their expected raw score for JEE Main 2026 Session 1. The NTA will then normalise the raw scores into percentiles for the final results, which will display only percentile scores and not the raw marks.

The steps to check NTA JEE Main 2026 result are as follows.

• Visit the JEE Main official website
• Click on ‘View JEE Main 2026 result’.
• Enter the application number and password and click on 'submit.'
• Your NTA JEE Main results 2026 will appear on the screen.
• Take the print of the JEE result and save it for future reference.

NTA will declare the JEE Main 2026 session 1 result by February 12 on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.

Candidates may need a score of around 158 to 190 marks to secure a 99th percentile, with the exact requirement varying based on the difficulty level of different shifts in JEE Mains 2026.

The JEE Mains 2026 results for session 1 will be out on February 12, 2026, according to the schedule. Students can check their JEE Main session 1 results at jeemain.nta.nic.in.

The expected JEE Main 2026 cut-off is around the 93–95 percentile for the General category, 80–82 percentile for OBC-NCL, and 49–60 percentile for SC or ST candidates, according to the past year trends.

The National Testing Agency will release the JEE Main 2026 result for session 1 by February 12, 2026. Candidates can check their result once it is out on the official website.

Scoring around 200 out of 300 in JEE Main 2026 is a very good score. It usually puts a candidate in the top 1% (around 99th percentile or higher) and gives good chances of admission to top NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.

99.93 percentile in JEE Main 2026 means an All India Rank (AIR) between about 800 and 1,200, as per the last year’s trends.

No, the JEE Main 2026 Session 1 results have not been published yet. The National Testing Agency (NTA) is expected to issue the JEE Main results by February 12, 2026.

The minimum qualifying marks for general category candidates are around 90 to 100 or more marks out of 300, which is roughly equal to a 93 to 95 or higher percentile.

Candidates can download their JEE Main result 2026 by visiting the official website jeemain.nta.nic.in, click on the result link, enter their application number and date of birth, complete the captcha, and submit to view and print their JEE Main scorecard. 

The JEE Main 2026 Session 2 exam is expected to be conducted from April 2 to 9, 2026. The authority will issue the detailed notification regarding session 2 soon.

The table given below entails expected JEE Main marks vs percentile 2026 as per trends.

Yes, there is negative marking in JEE Mains 2026. Candidates will get 1 mark for each correct answer, while 1 mark is deducted for every wrong answer, for both MCQs and numerical questions.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will declare the JEE Mains 2026 session 1 results on February 12 for admission to engineering, architecture and planning programmes. Candidates will be able to download the results through the official website at jeemain.nta.nic.in.

An 82 percentile in JEE Main is an average to good score, giving chances to get into state-level colleges or lower-tier NITs/IIITs, especially for reserved categories (OBC, SC, ST).

A good score in JEE Mains is usually above 150–160 out of 300. This usually means a 98+ percentile and a rank within the top 25,000, which can help you get into top NITs, IIITs, and qualify for JEE Advanced.

A 96 percentile in JEE Mains is a good score, putting you in the top 4% of over 10 lakh candidates. This usually means a rank of about 46,000–60,000, which can help you get admission to mid-level NITs, IIITs, GFTIs, and many state engineering colleges.

NIT Srinagar JEE Main 2025 closing ranks for other states approximate: 

• CSE: General 31,800 | OBC-NCL 38,800 | EWS 35,100 | SC 1,10,000 | ST 2,08,100
• IT: General 38,400 | OBC-NCL 42,400 | EWS 38,600 | SC 1,15,000 | ST 2,10,000
• ECE: General 45,100 | OBC-NCL 53,100 | EWS 47,900 | SC 1,20,000 | ST 2,30,800
• Electrical Engineering: General 52,800 | OBC-NCL 66,200 | EWS 56,600 | SC 1,35,000 | ST 2,40,000+
• Mechanical Engineering: General 61,500 | OBC-NCL 73,600 | EWS 68,300 | SC 1,45,000 | ST 2,50,000+
• Civil Engineering: General 82,000 | OBC-NCL 93,800 | EWS 97,300 | SC 1,65,000 | ST 2,71,300

Institutions such as Delhi Technological University and Netaji Subhas University of Technology, through JAC Delhi, earmark 85% of seats for candidates from the Delhi region, with the remaining seats open to applicants from outside the state.

Most institutes provide female supernumerary seats, usually around 20% extra seats, exclusively for women candidates as a measure to promote greater gender diversity in technical education.

Under the Home State (HS) and Other State (OS) quota system, National Institutes of Technology allocate 50% of their seats to candidates from the state in which the institute is located, while the remaining seats are offered to candidates from other states.

JEE Main seat allocation across NITs follow the Government of India’s reservation policy, which is implemented during JoSAA and CSAB counselling. Seats are distributed category-wise based on the total approved intake as follows:

• General (Open): Around 40.5% to 50.5%, open to candidates of all categories purely on merit

• OBC–NCL: 27%

• Scheduled Caste (SC): 15%

• Scheduled Tribe (ST): 7.5%

• General–EWS: 10%

• PwD (Persons with Disabilities): 5%, applied as a horizontal reservation within each category

For the 2025–26 academic year, the number of engineering seats in top central government institutions such as IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs is over 59,000. Although India offers more than 1.4 million engineering seats in total, most of these are concentrated in private, unaided colleges rather than public institutions.

As per the official JoSAA 2025 Seat Matrix, there are a total of 24,525 seats available across the 31 National Institutes of Technology (NITs) in India

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has faced criticism after the Coaching Federation of India (CFI) flagged 17 errors in the JEE Main 2026 Session 1 answer key, demanding bonus marks for 10 questions due to ambiguity, numerical mistakes and multiple correct options. CFI said such errors can significantly affect rankings in an exam taken by around 13 lakh candidates, where even a one-mark difference can cause major rank changes. The federation also criticised the objection process, arguing that students bear the cost and consequences of paper-setting errors, and noted that Physics accounted for the highest number of disputed questions.

Know more: 17 errors in JEE Main 2026 session 1 answer key; ‘one mark can change ranks’, says CFI

For JEE Main 2026, a total of 2,50,000 candidates are expected to qualify for the JEE Advanced 2026 exam.

The NTA has closed the JEE Mains answer key challenge window for session 1 exams. The JEE Main session 1 final answer key for BE, BTech paper 1 will be published along with the results on February 12 at jeemain.nta.nic.in. 

An 87.5 percentile in JEE Mains (around 1.5 lakh rank) is an average score. It usually does not get General category students into top NITs or IIITs, but it allows them to appear for JEE Advanced.

In JEE Main 2026, each correct answer will be given 4 marks, while 1 mark is deducted for every wrong answer, for both MCQs and numerical questions.

To qualify for JEE Main and be eligible for JEE Advanced, candidates will have to meet category-wise cut-offs. Recently, General candidates need around 93–95 percentile (90–95 marks), OBC, EWS around 80–82 percentile (70–80 marks), and SC, ST around 60–63 percentile (40–60 marks) out of 300.

The expected JEE Main 2026 cutoff for OBC-NCL candidates to qualify for JEE Advanced is likely to be between 79 and 82 percentile.

A score of 120 in JEE Main is usually seen as an average or decent score, not a bad one, and may place a candidate in the 93–97 percentile range, roughly around a 33,000 to 55,000 rank.

Yes. The NTA has started the registration process for the JEE Main 2026 session 2 online at jeemain.nta.nic.in. Candidates can fill the JEE Main application form by February 25.

The JEE Main 2026 session 1 result will be declared on February 12, 2026, on the official NTA portal, jeemain.nta.nic.in.

Yes. Candidates who find discrepancies and raise objections against the JEE Main 2026 answer key will be required to pay an objection fee of Rs 200 online.

The NTA will close the JEE Main 2026 answer key objection window by today, February 6, at 11:50 pm.

Candidates looking forward getting admission to BTech programmes at IIT Delhi can check the the last year's JEE Advanced 2026 cut-offs for BTech courses under the open category were as follows.

The data has been taken from JoSAA counselling round 6. 

The table given below entails expected JEE Main marks vs percentile 2026 as per trends.

The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) means that about 80% of the questions are usually asked from 20% of the most important topics in the JEE Mains 2026. 

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the JEE Main 2026 result on February 12.

The JEE Mains NTA stands for Joint Entrance Examination Mains and National Testing Agency. The NTA conducts the JEE Mains for admission to engineering, architecture and plannning programmes.

A candidates obtaining 60 marks in JEE Main 2026 will acquire a percentile between 65-77 and a rank from 120000 to 170000.

To secure admission in top NITs, candidates generally need above 99.2  percentile, which typically corresponds to a raw score of around 190 plus marks depending on the difficulty levels. This is purely based on previous trends and expert opinions. It may vary from year to year and session to session.

Follow the instructions below to download the JEE Main answer key and response sheet PDF.

• Go to the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.
• Click on the "Candidate Login" link.
• Enter the valid application number and date of birth.
• Download and save the JEE Main response sheet and provisional answer key.

JEE Mains 2026 session 1 answer key, response sheet out; steps to raise objection

Candidates can check the step-wise instructions to challenge the JEE Main provisional answer key 2026.

• Visit the official website at jeemain.nta.nic.in.
• You will see ‘Challenge (s) regarding Answer Key’ on the homepage, click on it.
  A new webpage will open.
• Enter login credentials such as application number and password, along with Captcha Code as displayed.
• Press the submit icon.
• Then click the ‘Challenge (s) regarding Answer Key’ link.
• Question IDs will appear below in sequential order for JEE (Main)- 2026 Session 2 (January 2026) :

• The ID next to the question under the column 'correct option' stands for the most appropriate answer key by NTA.
• If you are willing to challenge this option, use any one or more of the option IDs given in the next four columns by clicking the check box.
• Upload supporting documents and select ‘choose file and upload (all documents in single PDF file).
• Scroll down and click on ‘Save your claim.’
• Option IDs challenged by you will appear on the screen.
• Click on 'Save your claim and Pay Fee finally'.
• Select the mode of payment and pay a non-refundable processing fee of Rs 200 for each question challenged.
• Make payment through Debit Card/Credit Card/Net Banking.

Follow the instructions below to download the JEE Main answer key and response sheet PDF.

• Go to the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.
• Click on the "Candidate Login" link.
• Enter the valid application number and date of birth.
• Download and save the JEE Main response sheet and provisional answer key.

Candidates can download the JEE Mains 2026 answer key along with response sheet at jeemain.nta.inc. The login details include application number and password.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will close the JEE Main 2026 objection window for 13 lakh cadidates.