JEE Main 2025 Eligibility Criteria- Check Eligibility Marks in 12th, Age Limit and Number of Attempts

NTA has released JEE Main eligibility criteria over its official website: jeemain.nta.ac.in on 18th April 2025. The candidate must qualify the conditions provided by NTA to be eligible for JEE Main 2025. This includes- age limit, educational qualification, nationality, class 12 marks and State code of eligibility. Applications not meeting these conditions will be disqualified.

Official data from the NTA shows that 13,11,544 candidates registered for JEE Main 2025. Out of them, just 12,58,136 candidates took the exam. The attendance rate for the January Session was 95.93%. In April, 10,61,840 candidates registered and 9,92,350 appeared for the exam, with a total of 14.7 lakh aspirants participating across at least one session.

The candidate must register only application and not more than that. Therefore, the present article will impart clarity over JEE Main eligibility criteria 2025 to prevent candiate’s application from disqualification by NTA.

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75% Criteria in JEE Main

• To sit in JEE Main, there is no compulsion to score 75% in class 12 grade ( or 65% for SC/ST) or equivalent qualifying examination.
• But to be eligible for JoSAA counselling, you need to score either 75% in class 12 (65% for SC/ST) OR You must be in the top 20 percentile of your state board.

OR

You must be in the top 20 percentile of your state board.

• If the candidate belongs to any reserved category then they are required to score a minimum of 65% in the qualifying examination to get admission in institutions like IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs.

Do I have to score 75% in PCM for JEE Main 2025?

For JEE Main 2025, scoring 75% in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (PCM) is not mandatory to appear for the exam. But this is required for some of the participating institutions like NITs, IIITs and IITs. The 75% criteria are considered during the admission process, not at the time of registration or while taking the exam.

Which institute accept JEE Main 2025 scores?

The institutes that accept JEE MAIN 2025 scores:

Which institute will your score get you?

Depending on the qualifying examination you will be eligible to get admission into the following institutes:

Qualifying Examinations for JEE Main 2025

Here is a list of examinations -out of these you are required to pass any one of them to be considered eligible to sit in JEE Main 2025:

Number of Attempts allowed in JEE Main 2025

In 2025, Candidates can appear for the JEE Main up to 6 times over three consecutive years. Students who passed their Class 12 exams in 2023, 2024 or are appearing in 2025 are eligible.
The exam is typically held twice a year, once in January and again in April allowing two attempts per year. Importantly, there is no upper age limit for appearing in JEE Main.

JEE Main 2025 Exam Pattern ( Revised)

Year of Appearance in Qualifying Examination for JEE Main 2025

Those candidates who have qualified their class 12 or equivalent exam in 2023,2024 or appearing in 2025, are eligible to sit in JEE Main 2025.
Students who passed Class 12 in 2022 or earlier or are going to pass in 2026 or later, are not eligible for JEE Main 2025.

Candidates are required to have successfully completed their class 12 examinations or any other equivalent examination in the years: 2024, 2024 or they must currently be in the process of appearing for it.

State code of Eligibility for JEE Main 2025

For JEE Main 2025, the ‘State code of eligibility’ basically refers to the state from where a candidate has completed or appearing their class 12 or equivalent examination. It is not their place of residence of native state.

If a candidate completes their Class 12 exam in Andhra Pradesh but lives in Assam, their state code of eligibility will be Andhra Pradesh, not Assam.

What if you passed class 12 from one state but appeared for improvement from another state?

In this case, the State code of eligibility will be from where the candidate has first passed their class 12 (or equivalent) examination not the state of improvement.

• The candidates who have either passed or are appearing for Class 12 from NIOS are requested to select the State of Eligibility according to the State in which the study Centre is located.
• For Indian nationals who have passed their Class 12 (or equivalent) qualifying examination from Nepal/Bhutan, the State code of eligibility will be determined on the basis of the permanent address in India as provided in the passport of the candidate.
• “The State code of eligibility of OCI passing Class 12 (or equivalent) examination in India is at par with Indian nationals. However, OCI passing the Class 12 (or equivalent) examination from an institution abroad are eligible for Other State quota seats or All India quota seats (but NOT for Home State quota seats) in all NITs, IIITs and Other-CFTIs.”

Category-wise reservations for JEE Main 2025

Here is a detailed summary of category-wise reservations which makes the candidate eligible to sit in JEE Main 2025:

Note: Candidates must take precaution while selecting their respective category as they will be requested to produce the documentation while both filling up the application as well as during the examination process.

Queries around JEE Main 2025:

1. What if I am appearing for improvement from a different state than the state I have passed my class 12 from, am I still eligible?

Irrespective of whichever state the candidate appeared for their improvement examination, the state code of eligibility will still be determined by the state the student has first passed their class 12 from.

2. How many attempts are allowed for both JEE Main and Advanced?

For JEE Main, which takes place twice a year in January and April, you are allowed a maximum of three attempts whereas for JEE Advanced there are only two attempts.

3. What is the age limit for students belonging to a specific category?

According to NTA guidelines for JEE Main 2025, there is no upper age limit for candidates taking the exam. JEE Main 2025 candidates are thus eligible irrespective of their age, having completed Class 12 or its equivalent in 2023 or 2024, or appearing for it in 2025..

4. What if I have cleared my Class 12 in 2023, am I allowed to sit in JEE Advanced?

No, If you have cleared Class 12 in 2023, you are not eligible to sit for JEE Advanced but yes, you are eligible for JEE Main 2025.

5. What are the compulsory subjects for JEE Main 2025?

For JEE Main 2025, the compulsory subjects for the B.Tech/B.E course are Physics and Mathematics. For B.Arch, the compulsory subjects are Mathematics, Physics and chemistry and for B.Planning, the compulsory subject is Mathematics.

6. Is 75% criteria also applicable for students from a specific category?

No, for SC/ ST candidates, the qualifying marks should be 65% in the class 12 (or equivalent) qualifying examination.

7. What if I don't meet the 75% criteria?

75% criteria is only for JoSAA counseling.

But if you don’t meet the 75% criteria then you must score in the top 20 percentile of your respective state board. NTA clarifies that either of these two conditions can be met by a candidate to be eligible for JoSAA counseling.