Joint Entrance Examination (Main)

JEE (Main) is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admission to undergraduate engineering, architecture and planning programmes in NITs, IIITs and other centrally funded technical institutions, as well as institutions funded or recognised by participating State Governments. JEE (Main) is also the eligibility test for JEE (Advanced).

• Paper 1: B.E./B.Tech. — Computer Based Test (CBT) mode

• Paper 2A: B.Arch. — Mathematics and Aptitude in CBT mode, Drawing Test in pen-and-paper mode on an A4 drawing sheet

• Paper 2B: B.Planning — Mathematics, Aptitude and Planning-based questions in CBT mode

There is no age limit for appearing in JEE (Main) - 2026. Candidates who have passed Class XII or an equivalent examination in 2024 or 2025, or who are appearing in 2026, can appear irrespective of age. Candidates may still have to meet the age criteria of the institute they seek admission to.

• Final examination of the 10+2 system conducted by a recognised Central or State Board

• Intermediate or two-year Pre-University examination of a recognised Board or University

• Final examination of the two-year Joint Services Wing course of the National Defence Academy

• Senior Secondary School Examination of the National Institute of Open Schooling with at least five subjects

• Any Public School, Board or University examination recognised as equivalent to 10+2 by the Association of Indian Universities

• Higher Secondary Certificate Vocational Examination

• A diploma of at least three years recognised by AICTE or a State board of technical education

• GCE (London, Cambridge, Sri Lanka) at Advanced (A) level

• High School Certificate Examination of Cambridge University or International Baccalaureate Diploma, Geneva

Each subject has two sections. Section A contains multiple-choice questions and Section B contains questions whose answers are entered as a numerical value, rounded off to the nearest integer. There is negative marking in both sections.

• Mathematics — 20 questions in Section A, 5 in Section B, 100 marks

• Physics — 20 questions in Section A, 5 in Section B, 100 marks

• Chemistry — 20 questions in Section A, 5 in Section B, 100 marks

• Total — 75 questions, 300 marks

• MCQ — correct or most appropriate answer: +4 marks

• MCQ — incorrect answer: -1 mark

• MCQ — unanswered or marked for review without selecting an option: 0 marks

• Numerical value question — correct answer: +4 marks

• Numerical value question — incorrect answer: -1 mark

• Numerical value question — unanswered: 0 marks

JEE (Main) - 2026 is conducted in thirteen languages: English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Regional language options are available only at centres in the corresponding states. The question paper is provided in English along with the chosen language, and the English version prevails in case of any difference.

• English — all examination centres in India and abroad

• English and Hindi, or English and Urdu — all examination centres in India

• Other regional languages — centres in the corresponding state or union territory