JEE Advanced Reservation 2026: Check Category-Wise Reservation, Defence, and Supernumerary Quota

JEE Advanced follows a structured reservation policy to promote social justice, equity, and representation of underprivileged sections of society.

The term ‘reservation’ refers to the affirmative action taken by the government to promote the backward sections of society.

• The General-EWS category candidates will get 10% seats reserved in every course.
• OBC candidates belonging to the non-creamy layer are entitled to 27% seats reserved for them.
• Candidates belonging to the SC category will get 15% seats reserved for them.
• 7.5% of seats will be reserved for the ST category candidates.

Candidates belonging to the creamy layer of OBC are not entitled to reservation. Such candidates will be eligible only for the OPEN category seats.

In 2025, 3,633 female-only seats (including female supernumerary seats) were allotted, and 31 female candidates secured seats through the gender-neutral pool. –JIC report

Related Articles:

• JEE Advanced 2026 Application Process
• JEE Advanced 2026 Eligibility Criteria
• JEE Advanced2026 Documents required

Key Summary

• The OBC candidates should be listed in the current updated central list of OBCs to be eligible for reservation.
• The Pwd candidates will get a 5% horizontal reservation in each of the categories, i.e., OPEN, GEN-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, and ST.
• The benefit of reservation will be given to only those SC/ST candidates whose caste/tribe is mentioned in the central list.
• The candidates with at least 40% impairment, irrespective of the type of disability shall be eligible for the benefits of PwD sub-category.
• The OBCs present in the state list and not covered under the central list are not eligible for OBC reservation.

What is JEE Advanced 2026 Reservation?

The JEE Advanced 2026 reservation policy applies to all IITs and is designed to provide opportunities to candidates from diverse backgrounds.

• The candidates belonging to certain categories are admitted under the reserved category seats as prescribed by the Government of India.
• The benefit of reservation will be given to candidates, subject to the verification of documents.
• If at any stage it is found that the candidate has used a fake/incorrect certificate, such a candidate will be excluded from the admission process.

The category of candidates for the JEE Advanced will be the same as filled by them during the JEE Main registration. A request for a change of category will not be entertained.

JEE Advanced Reservation 2026: Category-Wise

The JEE Advanced reservation of seats varies by different categories. The reservation for various categories as per the Indian government rules is as follows:

The percentages of various categories of candidates to be shortlisted are: 10% for GEN-EWS, 27% for OBC-NCL, 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST, and the remaining 40.5% is OPEN for all.

• Within the categories, 5% horizontal reservation is available for PwD candidates as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

General-EWS

The General-EWS candidates are entitled to 10% reserved seats in every course as per the guidelines of the Government of India.

• These candidates must not belong to SC, ST, or OBC-NCL categories.
• These candidates must satisfy the conditions to avail the benefits of EWS reservation given in the OM No. 20013/01/2018-BC-II dated January 17, 2019, issued by the GOI.
• A valid income and asset certificate (EWS certificate) issued by the competent authority must be produced during the admission process.

OBC (Non-creamy layer)

The candidates belonging to the non-creamy layer in the OBC category have 27% seats reserved for them in the JEE Advanced 2026.

• Candidates must belong to the central list of OBCs as given by the National Commission for Backward Classes (www.ncbc.nic.in).
• Creamy-layer candidates are not eligible for reservation under the OBC category.
• The OBCs present in the state list and not covered under the central list are not eligible for OBC reservation.
• A valid OBC certificate is required to claim the reservation under the OBC category.

Scheduled Caste (SC)

Scheduled caste candidates will have 15% seats reserved for them as per the reservation policy.

• The candidates must be listed in the central Scheduled Caste list issued by the Government of India.
• A valid SC certificate issued by a competent authority will be required during the counselling/admission process.

Scheduled Tribe (ST)

As per the reservation policy, 7.5% of the seats will be reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.

• Candidates must be listed in the central list of the Scheduled Tribe issued by the Government of India.
• A valid ST certificate issued by a competent authority will be required during the counselling/admission process.

The category-wise seat distribution of the top 2,50,000 candidates qualifying through JEE Main 2026 is as follows:

Source: Official Information Bulletin

JEE Advanced Reservation 2026: PwD Candidates

The PwD candidates are given 5% horizontal reservation within each category, i.e., OPEN, GEN-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, and ST.

• The benefit of reservation under the PwD category will be given to only those candidates who have at leat 40% disability.
• Candidates with at least 40% impairment, irrespective of the type of disability, i.e., locomotor, visual, etc., shall be eligible for the benefits of the PwD sub-category.
• The Leprosy-cured candidates who are otherwise fit to pursue the courses are also included in the PwD sub-category.

JEE Advanced Reservation 2026: Defence Service Candidates

The JEE Advanced reservation policy includes the reservation of seats for the defence service (DS) candidates.

• The DS candidates are the children of defence/paramilitary personnel killed or permanently disabled in action during war or peacetime operations
• Two seats will be available for preferential allotment for DS candidates in each institute.
• However, to avail this benefit, a DS must be in the common rank list.

JEE Advanced Reservation 2026: Supernumerary Quota

The supernumerary seats are created for both female candidates and foreign national candidates. However, there is a difference in both kinds of supernumerary seats as given below:

For Females

The supernumerary seats for female candidates are created to improve the gender balance in the undergraduate programs in IITs.

• These seats are created following the directions of the education ministry.
• These seats will be offered only to the Indian nationals or OCI/PIO (I), declared qualified in JEE Advanced 2026.
• These seats will be based on the performance in JEE Advanced.
• The number of supernumerary seats will be decided by individual IITs.
• The seats decided by IITs should ensure that the female enrolment in undergraduate programs is at least 20%.

For Foreign National Candidates

Candidates who are not citizens of India shall be considered as foreign nationals. The seats allotted to such candidates are supernumerary, with a limit of 10% of the total number of seats in every course.

• These candidates are out of the ambit of reservation of seats under GEN-EWS, OBCNCL, SC, ST, and PwD categories.
• There are no separate supernumerary seats for females in the foreign national supernumerary seats.
• The foreign national candidates do not need to write JEE Main 2026 to appear for JEE Advanced 2026.

JEE Advanced Reservation 2026: Documents Required

The scanned copies of documents and certificates will be uploaded during the time of online registration for JEE Advanced 2026. The link to certificate formats is given below:

Documents required

• Class X certificate or birth certificate (For proof of date of birth)
• Class XII certificate
• Marksheet of Class XII, if available
• Category Certificate (If applicable)
  • EWS: Issued on or after April 01, 2026
  • OBC-NCL: Issued on or after April 01, 2026
  • SC or ST: As per the latest guidelines by the GOI.
• PwD certificate (if applicable)
• Certificate for DS candidates
• A certificate from the Association of Indian Universities for candidates whose class 12th examination board is outside India.