JEE Main Exam 2026

JEE Main is the national entrance exam for B.E./B.Tech, B.Arch and B.Planning admission to NITs, IIITs, other centrally funded institutes and many state and private colleges. It is also the qualifying exam for JEE Advanced (IIT admission).

• Exam Name: Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2027
• Conducting Body: National Testing Agency (NTA)
• Exam Level: National
• Mode of Exam: Computer-based test (CBT)
• Frequency: Twice a year (two sessions)
• Session 1 (tentative): 22, 23, 24, 28, 29 and 30 January 2027 (31 January buffer)
• Official Website: jeemain.nta.nic.in

NTA announced the tentative Session 1 dates in its exam calendar in September 2026. The detailed information bulletin with registration dates is published on jeemain.nta.nic.in.

Duration 3 hours, in two shifts a day. +4 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong answer in both MCQ and numerical questions. Paper 2A (B.Arch) and Paper 2B (B.Planning) have their own patterns.

• Candidates who passed Class 12 (or equivalent) in 2025 or 2026, or are appearing in 2027.
• There is no age limit.
• For admission to NITs, IIITs and CFTIs through JoSAA, you also need at least 75% in Class 12 (65% for SC/ST) or a place in the top 20 percentile of your board.

The syllabus covers Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics of Class 11 and 12, as published by NTA in the information bulletin. Check the official syllabus PDF for the current year, as NTA revised it in recent years.

NTA publishes normalised NTA scores (percentiles) for each session. Your best score from the two sessions is used for the All India Rank. The top candidates (about 2.5 lakh across categories) qualify for JEE Advanced.

• JoSAA counselling: NITs, IIITs and other CFTIs (and IITs after JEE Advanced).
• State counselling: many states, and some private universities, accept JEE Main scores.
• In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: most state engineering seats are filled through TG EAPCET and AP EAPCET, not JEE Main.