Minimum Marks in JEE Main 2026 to Qualify for JEE Advanced

If you are preparing for IITs, one question naturally comes to mind: What are the minimum marks in JEE Main 2026 to qualify for JEE Advanced?

This is an important question because clearing JEE Main is only the first step. Only students who meet the qualifying cutoff are allowed to appear for JEE Advanced 2026, which is the entry gate to IIT admissions.

However, unlike school exams, JEE Main does not have a fixed “pass mark.” The minimum JEE Main marks required to qualify for JEE Advanced depend on percentile cutoffs, which change every year based on competition and exam difficulty.

Keep reading to learn about the minimum JEE Main marks required to qualify for JEE Advanced, previous year trends, etc!
Check JEE Main Expected Passing Marks 2026 Category-Wise

Minimum Marks Required in JEE Mains 2026 to Qualify for JEE Advanced

The table below gives an estimated range based on recent trends and competition levels. These numbers are not official but give a practical idea of the minimum marks and how much percentile is required in JEE Main 2026 to qualify for JEE Advanced.

Minimum Marks in JEE Mains to Qualify for JEE Advanced: Previous Year Trends

Now let’s look at past data to understand why these estimates make sense. It is important to know that the JEE Advanced cutoff is released in percentile form, not marks. This is because JEE Main is conducted in multiple shifts, and every shift has a slightly different difficulty level. Percentile helps normalize these differences and keeps the process fair.

Why Does Minimum Marks to Qualify for JEE Advanced Change Every Year?

The reason the qualifying marks for JEE Advanced are never a "fixed number" (like a passing score of 33% in school) is that JEE Main is a relatively competitive exam, not an absolute one. NTA uses a normalization process to ensure fairness across multiple shifts, and that is why the “minimum marks” keep changing.

1. Shift-Wise Difficulty Difference

JEE Main is conducted in 10-12 different shifts, and no two question papers can be exactly the same. In a very difficult shift, a student might qualify with just 85 marks, while in an easier shift, the same percentile may require 120 marks. This is because NTA converts your raw marks into a percentile score, showing how many students you outperformed in your shift, rather than using absolute marks.
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2. Top 2,50,000 Rule

Only about 2.5 lakh students across India are allowed to sit for JEE Advanced. The qualifying cutoff is basically the percentile of the 2,50,001st student on the common merit list. So, if 10 lakh students appear, the top 2.5 lakh represent roughly the 75th percentile. If 15 lakh students appear, the same top 2.5 lakh represent about the 83rd percentile. This means that as the number of applicants increases, the percentile required to qualify also goes up.

3. Overall Performance & Resources

With the rise of high-quality online coaching and better preparation materials, the “average” student is now scoring much higher than before. More students are able to solve moderate and even tough papers accurately, which causes the “clumping” of scores at the top. As a result, even when the exam difficulty remains the same, the marks required to reach a particular percentile have been increasing. This trend was particularly noticeable in 2024 and 2025, when students performed exceptionally well across moderate papers, therefore increasing the qualifying marks for the top categories.

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