JEE Main 2026 Cutoff (Official): Category Wise Percentile for General, OBC, SC, ST

The JEE Main 2026 cutoff has been officially released by the National Testing Agency along with the Session 2 result on April 20, 2026, at jeemain.nta.nic.in. This is the minimum percentile every candidate must cross to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026 and become eligible for JoSAA counselling for NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.

Before checking your category, one thing must be clearly understood: the qualifying cutoff and the admission cutoff are two completely different things. Crossing the qualifying cutoff only confirms your eligibility. It does not guarantee a seat in any college. Admission to NITs and IIITs depends on your All India Rank and the JoSAA seat allotment process, where closing ranks are significantly more competitive than the qualifying cutoff.

This guide covers the official 2026 cutoff for every category, a full previous year trend analysis, what these numbers mean for your admission, and what percentile you actually need for NIT and IIIT seats.

JEE Main 2026 Cutoff: Official Quick Overview

JEE Main 2026 Official Cutoff: Category Wise

The JEE Main 2026 cutoff for the General category is 93.4123549 percentile. This marks the third consecutive year above the 93-percentile mark, reflecting intensified competition among the unreserved pool.

The OBC-NCL cutoff breached 80 percentile in 2026 for the first time, a threshold that was at just 67 percentile in 2022. SC and ST categories have both posted record-high cutoffs in 2026, indicating broader competition even within reserved categories.

What the Qualifying Cutoff Actually Means

There are two cutoffs every JEE Main aspirant must understand.

Qualifying Cutoff: This is the number in the table above. Cross it and you are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced 2026 (if you are in the top 2.5 lakh). For those not targeting JEE Advanced, crossing this cutoff makes you eligible for JoSAA counselling for NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs based on your rank.

Admission Cutoff: This is the opening and closing rank published by JoSAA for every institute, branch, and category. In 2024, the qualifying cutoff for the General category was 93.24 percentile, but the closing rank for a seat at NIT Trichy's CSE programme was approximately AIR 4,661, a far more competitive threshold.

Qualifying is easy. Getting a good college is the real challenge.

Year-wise JEE Main Cutoff Trend: General Category

The trend is clear: the General category cutoff has risen sharply since 2022 and has now settled in a stable band above 93 percentile. Students targeting safe JEE Advanced eligibility should aim for 94+ percentile.

Year-wise Cutoff Trend: Reserved Categories

Categories like EWS and OBC-NCL have seen the most rapid increases in qualifying barriers. EWS cutoffs jumped from approximately 63 percentile to over 81 percentile in just four sessions. This sharp rise reflects growing competition across all categories, not just General.

Why the Cutoff Rises Every Year

Four factors consistently push the cutoff higher.

More candidates each year: In 2022, there were approximately 9 lakh aspirants. By 2025, this jumped to 14.7 lakhs. More students competing for the same 2.5 lakh JEE Advanced seats directly tightens the qualifying bar.

Better preparation levels: Digital resources, PW, Unacademy, and coaching apps have raised the average student's performance. When more students score higher, the cutoff percentile rises even if the exam is moderately tough.

Fixed reservation quotas: Category-wise reservation percentages are fixed by government policy. General takes 40.5%, OBC-NCL 27%, EWS 10%, SC 15%, ST 7.5%, PwD 5% horizontal. These determine how many students from each category qualify for JEE Advanced. 

Multi-session normalisation: JEE Main is conducted across multiple shifts. NTA's normalisation process ensures students in tougher shifts are not disadvantaged, but the combined merit list is what determines where the cutoff lands.

What Percentile Do You Actually Need for NIT and IIIT Admission?

The qualifying cutoff is the floor, not the target. Here is what you realistically need for admission to colleges during JoSAA counselling.

A common misconception is that SC students can secure NIT seats easily. In reality, NIT Trichy CSE (SC, Other State) closed at approximately AIR 12,000 to 15,000 in JoSAA 2025, which still requires a competitive percentile well above the qualifying cutoff.

What Marks Do You Need for Each Category to Qualify?

Based on expected normalization, these are the approximate raw marks needed to clear the JEE Advanced qualifying cutoff.

These marks are shift-dependent. Students in tougher shifts may qualify at slightly lower raw scores due to normalization.

Category-wise Rank Advantage in JoSAA

Qualifying the cutoff gets you into the pool. Your category rank determines what you actually get during JoSAA counselling. Here is why category matters so much post-cutoff.

OBC candidates often get 25 to 45% better ranks than General category at the same percentile. An 85 percentile OBC score often translates to a rank equivalent to a 91 to 92 percentile General category student. SC category candidates often see a 50 to 80% rank advantage compared to General category for the same percentile. ST category has the highest rank relaxation, often 60 to 80% advantage, making college admission relatively more accessible than General category.

This means if you are from a reserved category, your All India Rank is not the number you compete with during seat allotment. Your category rank is what matters inside JoSAA.

Safe Percentile Targets by Category

These are the percentile targets you should actually aim for, not the minimum qualifying cutoff.

Aim at least 1 to 2 percentile points above the minimum qualifying threshold to build a safety buffer. The qualifying cutoff can shift by up to 1 percentile point between years, and the last thing you want is to fall just short.

What Happens After the Cutoff Is Released

With the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 result and cutoff now officially out, here is exactly what comes next.

If you qualified the cutoff for JEE Advanced: JEE Advanced 2026 registration is open. The exam is on May 17, 2026 and results are on June 1, 2026. Do not delay registration as the window is short.

If you qualified the cutoff but not for JEE Advanced (rank beyond top 2.5 lakh): You are still eligible for JoSAA counselling for NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. Registration opens June 2, 2026 at josaa.nic.in.

If you did not qualify the cutoff: You are not eligible for JoSAA counselling this year. CSAB special rounds may open some options, but NIT, IIIT, and GFTI admission through JEE Main 2026 is not possible.

Also read our JEE Main 2026 Marks vs Percentile vs Rank guide and JoSAA Counselling 2026 guide for your next steps.

Conclusion

The JEE Main 2026 cutoff is officially out. General category at 93.41 percentile, OBC-NCL at 80.92 percentile, EWS at 81.32 percentile, SC at 62.84 percentile, and ST at 49.69 percentile. All categories have seen an increase from 2025.

Crossing these numbers makes you eligible. But getting a seat you actually want at a good NIT or IIIT requires a percentile significantly higher than the qualifying floor. Use these cutoffs as your baseline, not your target.

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