JEE Advanced 2026: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has released the official five-point eligibility framework that candidates must fulfil to appear for the Joint Entrance Examination – Advanced (JEE Advanced) 2026. Along with the criteria, the institute has confirmed that the national-level entrance test for Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) admissions to Indian Institutes of Technology will be held on 17 May, 2026 in computer-based mode across centres in India.
JEE Advanced 2026: Eligibility criteria for Indian Nationals and OCI/PIO candidates
Candidates must meet all five eligibility criteria issued by IIT Roorkee to qualify for JEE Advanced 2026.
Criterion A1: Performance in Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2026
Candidates must be among the top 2,50,000 successful aspirants across all categories in the B.E./B.Tech paper of Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2026.Category-wise shortlisting percentages are as follows:
- 10% for General – Economically Weaker Section (GEN-EWS), 27% for Other Backward Classes – Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL), 15% for Scheduled Castes (SC), 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes (ST), and 40.5% for the Open category.
- A 5% horizontal reservation is available for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) within each group.
The approved distribution is below:
Note: The total may slightly exceed 2,50,000 due to tied ranks or scores.Important for OCI/PIO candidates:Candidates under the OCI/PIO (I) category are not eligible for any reservation benefits other than PwD. Only row no. 1 and 2 of the above table apply to them.
Criterion A2: Age Limit
- Eligible candidates must have been born on or after 1 October 2001.
- A relaxation of five years applies to SC, ST and PwD candidates, who must have been born on or after 1 October 1996.
Criterion A3: Number of Attempts
A candidate may appear for JEE (Advanced) a maximum of two times in two consecutive years.
Criterion A4: Appearance in Class XII (or equivalent) exam
- Candidates must have appeared for Class XII (or equivalent) for the first time in 2025 or 2026 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as compulsory subjects.
- Those who appeared for the first time in 2024 or earlier are not eligible, regardless of subject combination.
Important note regarding result declaration:
- If a Class XII board declared results for the academic year 2023–24 on or after 18 June 2024, candidates who appeared in 2024 are also eligible.
- If the board declared results before 18 June 2024, but an individual candidate’s result was withheld, that candidate is not eligible.
Criterion A5: Earlier admission to IITs
Candidates are not eligible if they:
- Have already been admitted to any Indian Institute of Technology under any academic programme listed in the JoSAA Business Rules 2025,
- Accepted an IIT seat by reporting online or at a physical reporting centre in the past,
- Had their admission cancelled after joining an IIT.
Exceptions:
- Candidates admitted to a preparatory course in 2025 may appear for JEE Advanced 2026.
- Candidates allocated an IIT seat in JoSAA 2025 but who:
- did not report online or at a reporting centre, or
- withdrew before the final round, or
- had the seat cancelled before the final round
- are still eligible, provided they also satisfy Criteria A1 to A4.
JEE Main 2026 : Important dates
NTA has already confirmed the JEE (Main) 2026 schedule:
- Session 1: 21 to 30 January 2026
- Session 2: 1 to 10 April 2026
With two sessions of JEE (Main), candidates receive opportunities to improve scores before competing for a place in the top 2.5 lakh list required for JEE (Advanced).
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