Somdatta Roy
Senior Content Writer | Updated on - Apr 21, 2026

Are you aiming for JEE Advanced and evaluating admission prospects at prestigious institutes like NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs? Then understand the JEE Main 2026 cutoff to gauge the eligibility for admission. The Qualifying Cutoff, acts as a gateway to Advanced, meanwhile the Admission Cutoff determines actual seat allotment based on JoSAA ranks. The official qualifying percentiles are disclosed by NTA after the final session results. The released cutoff suggests that the JEE MAIN competition is intensifying, with the General category cutoff staying above the 93.4 percentile.

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The JEE Main qualifying cutoff trends from 2021 to 2025 reveal a steady escalation in competition. It is mostly driven by a surge in candidate registrations and the refined normalization process adopted by the NTA. In 2023, an academic hike occurred where the General category cutoff spiked from roughly 90.78 to over 93 percentile. It directly raised the bar for JEE Advanced eligibility. Similarly, the EWS and OBC-NCL categories experienced substantial growth in their qualifying scores. The SC and ST categories also saw upward movement, but they maintain a significant relaxation gap, and the PwD category continues to feature a uniquely low percentile requirement due to its specialized qualification criteria. Do check for the mark vs. percentile on your own to understand the intense competition.

JEE Main 2026: Qualifying Cutoff Percentile

These cutoffs are based on the official cutoff released by NTA.

CategoryMaximum NTA ScoreMinimum NTA Score (Cut-off)Safe Score (Out of 300)
UR-ALL (Common Rank List)100.000000093.4123549132 – 142
EWS-ALL93.410517282.4164528102 – 112
OBC-NCL (ALL)93.410517280.923258398 – 108
SC-ALL93.410517263.917279272 – 82
ST-ALL93.404174852.017471258 – 68
UR-PwBD93.32441440.00231861 – 5

JEE Main (2026) Marks vs. Percentile & Rank Analysis

The following table compares raw scores with the expected percentile and approximate All India Rank (AIR) for the 2026 session:

Marks (Out of 300)Expected PercentileApproximate Rank Range
280 – 30099.99+1 – 200
220 – 25099.5 – 99.81,000 – 5,000
180 – 21098.5 – 99.46,000 – 16,000
150 – 17996.0 – 98.418,000 – 50,000
120 – 14993.5 – 96.065,000 – 1,05,000
100 – 11990.0 – 93.41,10,000 – 1,60,000

JEE Main Qualifying Cutoff Trends (2021–2025)

The following table tracks the fluctuations in the minimum percentile required to qualify for JEE Advanced across various categories over the last five years:

Academic YearGeneralEWSOBC-NCLSCSTPwD
202593.1080.3879.4361.1547.900.0079
202493.2381.3279.6760.0946.690.0018
202390.7875.6273.6151.9837.230.0013
202288.4163.1167.0143.0826.780.0031
202187.8966.2268.0246.8834.670.0096

 

jee-main-qualifying-cutoff-trends

 

Determinants of JEE Main Cutoff

The JEE Main Cutoff is influenced by several key variables. These factors determine whether the qualifying percentile will see a high range or a dip compared to previous years.

Impact on Cutoff
  • Harder paper lowers the cutoff while an easier paper causes a hop in percentiles.
  • The more aspirants, the more competition. It pushes the cutoff higher.
  • High overall scores lead to "score clustering," raising the qualifying bar.
  • Limited available seats in top NITs/IIITs keep admission cutoffs very tight.
  • Category-specific quotas (SC/ST/OBC/EWS) create varying cutoffs.
  • Normalization across different shifts ensures parity but affects final percentiles.

JEE Main 2026: Expected Admission Ranks (General Category)

Factors such as regional quotas (Home State vs. Other State), category reservations, and the specific reputation of an institute play a massive role in where the final cutoffs land. The tables below outline the estimated closing ranks for the most sought-after branches.

National Institutes of Technology (NITs)

The "Big Three" (Trichy, Surathkal, Warangal) continue to command the highest ranks for CSE.

InstituteBranchExpected Closing Rank
NIT TrichyCSE800 – 1,000
NIT Surathkal900 – 1,200
NIT Warangal1,000 – 1,400
NIT Rourkela2,000 – 2,500
NIT Jalandhar6,000 – 7,000

Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)

IIITs specialize in tech, leading to extremely competitive cutoffs for IT and Software Engineering.

InstituteBranchExpected Closing Rank
IIIT HyderabadCSE350 – 450
IIIT AllahabadIT2,200 – 2,600
IIIT GwaliorCSE3,000 – 3,500
IIIT DelhiCSE5,000 – 5,500

Government Funded Technical Institutes (GFTIs)

GFTIs are excellent alternatives for candidates with mid-range ranks who still want quality engineering programs.

InstituteBranchExpected Closing Rank
PEC ChandigarhCSE6,000 – 7,500
Assam University24,000 – 27,000
Mizoram University22,000 – 26,000

 

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