JEE Main Passing Marks 2026 - Check Minimum Marks and Qualifying Score Category Wise

The minimum marks to qualify JEE Mains 2026 are expected to be on the higher side for all categories as compared to last year. The category-wise JEE Main passing marks 2026 are likely to be around 40-60 marks for the SC category, 40-55 marks for the ST category, 90-95 marks for the General category, 70-75 marks for the EWS category and 70-80 marks for the OBC-NCL category. JEE Mains 2026 qualifying marks refer to the minimum scores that are needed to pass the test and qualifying for JoSAA counselling and for the upcoming JEE Advanced exam (specifically for IIT admission). Nevertheless, the passing marks out of 300 in JEE Mains vary each year depending on several factors, such as the exam difficulty level total number of examinees, seat availability and so on. The harder the exam, lower will be the raw scores for the same percentile, and hence lower will be JEE passing marks.
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JEE Main Passing Marks 2026

JEE Main passing marks vary category-wise. The minimum qualifying marks tends to be high for the General category and relatively lower for SC/ ST categories. This year, the predicted passing marks for Open category may go up to 90-95 marks out of 300. You may refer to the following until the category-wise JEE Main passing marks 2026 official data is available.

JEE Mains Qualifying Marks 2026 for Paper 2 (B.Arch/ B.Plan)

Passing Marks Out of 300 in JEE Mains 2026

A common question among students who are preparing for the upcoming engineering entrance test is how many marks are required to clear JEE Mains in 2026. To answer this query, it is necessary to understand that there is no fixed passing marks in the JEE Mains exam and it is determined by various influencing factors every year. The passing marks for Session 1 and Session 2 are released separately and vary from one another. For the Session 1 exam, the passing marks for the General category is likely to range between 90 to 100 points, whereas for the reserved categories, it is expected to be between 40 to 85 points. Based on the expected cutoff percentile in the JEE Mains 2026, the category-wise JEE Mains qualifying marks have been mentioned here in detail for your reference.

Passing Marks for General Category in JEE Main 2026

The passing marks in JEE Mains 2026 for the General category is expected to be around 95 to 105 out of 300. The General category cutoff percentile for 95 to 105 passing marks in JEE Mains is likely to be around 95+. Previous year, the JEE Mains passing marks for the General category was 93.10. However, securing the passing marks in the entrance test does not guarantee admission into the top engineering colleges. JEE passing marks only suggest that a candidate has passed the entrance test.

Passing Marks for EWS Category in JEE Main 2026

If you are wondering how many marks are required to clear JEE Mains for the EWS category, keep reading further. The expected passing marks in the entrance test is around 75.00 to 85.00 for the EWS category. The cutoff percentile for the same student category in JEE Main 2026 is expected to be around 85. Last year, the EWS category JEE passing marks was 80.38. To secure admission into their desired colleges, the EWS category students must aim to score higher than the passing marks in the JEE entrance exam.
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Passing Marks for OBC-NCL Category in JEE Main 2026

The minimum marks to qualify JEE Mains 2026 for the OBC-NCL category is expected to be around 70.00 to 80.00. The cutoff percentile for qualifying the JEE Main exam is likely to be around 83+ for the OBC-NCL category. Students who secure the specified marks will be deemed eligible for applying to the further rounds of admission. To offer an example, the JEE passing marks for the OBC-NCL category was 79.43 last year. The college-wise admission cutoff may be higher than the JEE passing marks for all student categories.

Passing Marks for SC Category in JEE Main 2026

The passing marks out of 300 in JEE Mains for the SC category is expected to range between 50.00 to 60.00. According to the previous year’s data, the passing marks for the SC category was 61.15. Based on the expected passing marks for JEE Mains 2026, the cutoff percentile for SC applicants is likely to be around 65+.

Passing Marks for ST Category in JEE Main 2026

Students wondering how many marks to qualify JEE Mains for the ST category must note that the tentative data is derived by analyzing the past year trends. The expected JEE Mains passing marks 2026 for the ST category is between 40.00 to 50.00. Last year, the passing marks as announced by the NTA was 47.90 for the ST category. Many factors usually influence the category-wise JEE passing marks every year which determine the eligibility of the students to apply for the admission counselling process.
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JEE Main Passing Marks (Year-wise)

The year-wise analysis of the JEE Main passing marks has been provided here for all student categories. The following data is available for the years 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 for an in-depth analysis.

Factors Affecting Passing Marks in JEE Mains 2026

Several factors are responsible for determining the minimum marks to qualify JEE Mains 2026. These factors are mentioned below for easy reference to all participating students:

• The total number of applicants appearing in the JEE Main 2026 exam

• The overall seat availability as per theJEE Main 2026 participating collegeslist

• The overall exam difficulty level of JEE Main 2026

• The reservation policy for student categories

• Previous year's cutoff trends

How Many Marks Are Required to Get 99th Percentile in JEE Main 2026?

To secure 99th percentile marks in JEE Main 2026, students have to secure more than 175 marks out of 300 in JEE Main 2026. Students can check the marks required to get 99th percentile marks in JEE Main 2026, along with the expected ranks and percentile against the secured marks in the table below:

Students who successfully secure JEE Mains qualifying marks 2026 will be invited to participate in the counselling process for further admission rounds. NTA will releaseJEE Mains 2026 merit listfor all qualifers.

JEE Main Rank Wise College Articles

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