The JEE Main 2026 Session 1 Exam will be held on 21, 22, 23, 24, 28 and 29 January 2026, whereas Session 2 will be held from 1st to 10th April 2026 by NTA for admission into NITs, IIITs and other top engineering colleges, and for JEE Advanced Eligibility 2026.

  • The JEE Main 2026 Application process for Session 1 has started on 31st October 2025 to 27th November 2025, on the official website, jeemain.nta.nic.in.
  • NTA has announced the JEE Mains form correction date 2026. Candidates will be able to edit their form between December 1 to 2, 2025.
  • The JEE Main City intimation slip for session 1 has been released on 8 January 2026 and the admit card will be released few days before the exam. The JEE Main session 1 result will be released by 12th February 2026.

The JEE Main Registration for Session 2 will start from the last week of january 2026. As there are 2 sessions, you can manage the schedule of board exams in a better way and increase their chances to score high percentile in JEE Main 2026.

JEE Main Dates

Also Read

JEE Main 2026 Notification

Key Summary

JEE Main 2026 will be conducted in two sessions:

  • JEE Main 2026 Session 1 will be conducted from January 21 to 30, 2026.
  • JEE Main 2026 Session 2 will be conducted from 1st  to 10th April 2026. 
  • The JEE Main 2026 Application process Session-1 has started from the 30th October 2025 and will be continued till 27th November 2025. 
  • The JEE Main Application Process Session 2 will start in the last week of January 2026. 
  • JEE Main 2026 Registration Window Session 1 is expected in November–December 2025.
  • As per the analysis of previous years, the average gap between exam dates and result declaration is approximately 12-15 days.
  • JEE Main 2026 JoSAA Counselling will be held in 6 rounds, expected from June 2026 onwards

JEE Main Exam Dates 2026

The JEE Main Exam Schedule 2026 has been officially released by NTA. The JEE Main 2026 Exams will be held in 2 sessions: session 1 from 21 to 30th January 2026, and Session 2 from 1st April to 10th April 2026.

Below is the detailed schedule of JEE Main 2026 Session 1 and Session 2 as per the latest NTA notification:

EVENTS DATES
Session 1 (January 2026): JEE (Main) - 2026
Online Submission of Application Form 31 October 2025 to 27 November 2025 (Up to 09:00 P.M.)
Last date for successful transaction of the prescribed Application Fee 27 November 2025 (Up to 11:50 P.M.)
Correction in Particulars of the Online Application Form December 1 – December 2, 2025
City Intimation Slip January 8, 2026
Downloading Admit Cards from the NTA website 03-04 days before the date of the Examination
Dates of Examination

Paper 1: Jan 21, 22, 23, 24, and 28, 2026

Paper 2A and 2B: Jan 29, 2026

Display of Question Paper & Answer Keys for inviting challenges Will be displayed on the NTA website
Declaration of Result By 12 February 2026
Session 2 (April 2026): JEE (Main) - 2026
Online Submission of Application Form Last week of January 2026 Onwards
Last date for successful transaction of the prescribed Application Fee Will be notified later
Correction in Particulars of the Online Application Form Will be displayed on the NTA website
City Intimation Slip Second Week of March 2026 (Tentatively)
Downloading Admit Cards from the NTA website 03-04 days before the date of Examination
Dates of Examination Between 02 April 2026 to 09 April 2026
Display of Question Paper & Answer Keys for inviting challenges Will be displayed on the NTA website
Declaration of Result By 20 April 2026
JEE Main Dates

Source: jeemain.nta.nic.in

JEE Main Exam Date and Time 2026

The JEE Main 2026 exam date and time are expected to follow a similar pattern to previous years. The exam will be conducted in 2 sessions

  • JEE Main 2026 Session 1: Scheduled for January 22, 23, 24, 28, and 29, 2026

  • JEE Main 2026 Session 2: It is expected to start from 2nd to 9th April 2026.

What is the timing of the JEE Mains exam?

For Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech.), exams will be held in two shifts each day:

  • Morning shift: 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
  • Afternoon shift: 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Paper 2A (B.Arch.) and 2B (B.Planning), the exams are conducted in a single shift, typically in the afternoon from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM in Session 1.

For JEE Main 2026 Session 2 Time Slots:

  • Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech): 9:00 AM–12:00 PM & 3:00 PM–6:00 PM
  • Paper 2A/B: Morning (9:00 AM–12:30 PM) & Afternoon (3:00 PM–6:30 PM) depending on paper
Session Exam Dates Paper 1 Times Paper 2A/B Times
Session 1 (Jan)

Paper 1: Jan 21, 22, 23, 24, and 28, 2026

Paper 2A and 2B: Jan 29, 2026

9:00 AM–12:00 PM; 3:00 PM–6:00 PM Afternoon (3:00–6:30 PM) for Paper 2
Session 2 (Apr) April 2 to 9, 2026 9:00 AM–12:00 PM; 3:00 PM–6:00 PM Morning or Afternoon slots (up to 12:30 PM / 6:30 PM)

JEE Main Exam Pattern 2026

The JEE Main 2026 will follow the same Exam pattern as JEE Main 2025, and it varies by paper. The Paper 1

  • Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech): 75 questions (25 each in PCM) with 20 MCQs + 5 NVQs per subject, making it a total of 300 marks for 3 hours, each correct answer will be awarded +4, and -1 for each wrong answer.
  • Paper 2A (B.Arch): 77 questions: 20 MCQs + 5 NVQs in Maths, 50 MCQs aptitude, 2 drawing questions (offline) for 400 total marks in 3 hours.
  • Paper 2B (B.Plan): 20 MCQs + 5 NVQs Maths, 50 MCQs aptitude, 25 MCQs planning (no drawing) for 400 marks in 3 hours.
Paper Subjects / Modules Questions Total Marks Duration
Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics 75 questions (25 each) 300 marks 3 hours
Section A: MCQs (20 per subject) 60 MCQs 240 marks
Section B: NVQs (5 per subject, all compulsory) 15 NVQs 60 marks
Paper 2A (B.Arch) Mathematics (MCQs + NVQs), General Aptitude, Drawing (offline) 77 questions 400 marks 3 hours (plus drawing)
Paper 2B (B.Plan) Mathematics, Aptitude Test, Planning Test 100 questions 400 marks 3 hours

Also Read

Is JEE Mains twice a year?

Yes, JEE Main is conducted twice a year, generally in January and April sessions, to provide flexibility for the candidates. The aspirants get two opportunities per year to attempt the JEE Main exam.

The candidates can appear for the JEE Main exam up to 6 times over 3 consecutive years (2 attempts per year across 3 years after class 12)

This helped in increasing the participation for the JEE Main exam, as in JEE Main 2025, approximately 12.6 lakh students appeared in Session 1, with an estimated 30% increase in registrations for Session 2.

JEE Main 2026 Registration Dates

The JEE Main 2026 registration is expected to follow the trends of JEE Main 2025.

  • The application of session 1 is expected to start in the 1st week of November 2025 and close by the last week of November, followed by the correction window in the 1st week of December 2025.
  • The registration of the JEE Main 2026 session is expected to start from early February 2026, ending by late February, with the correction window starting from early March.

Each registration window will be open for 3-4 weeks, and form submissions typically close by 9:00 PM, and fee payments by 11:50 PM

JEE Main Session 1 (January 2026) Registration

Event Tentative Date
Notification Release 1st week of November 2025
Registration Start 1st week of November 2025
Registration Last Date & Time The last week of November 2025
Application Fee Payment Deadline Last week of November 2025 (typically up to 9:00 PM; payment till 11:50 PM)
Correction Window 1st week of December 2025

JEE Main Session 2 (April 2026) Registration

Event Tentative Date
Registration Start 1st week of February 2026
Registration Last Date & Time Last week of February 2026 (typically till 9 PM; payment till 11:50 PM)
Correction Window Early March (1st–2nd week) 2026

JEE Main City Intimation Slip 2026

The JEE Main city intimation slip provides information about the exam city allotted to each candidate, while the exact address of the exam center and seat details are provided in the admit card.

For session 1, the city intimation slip is expected to be released in the 2nd week of January 2026, and for session 2, it will be released in the 3rd week of March 2026.

Event Session 1 (January 2026) Session 2 (April 2026)
Exam Dates Jan 22 – Jan 30, 2026 Apr 4 – Apr 10, 2026
City Intimation Slip Release (Tentative) Second week of January 2026 Third week of March 2026
Admit Card Release ~3 days before the exam ~3 days before the exam

Also Read

JEE Main Admit Card 2026

The NTA will release the JEE Main 2026 Admit Card for session 1 and session 2 separately. This document provides information like the candidate’s name, roll number, exam day, shift timings, and address of the exam centre.

The JEE Main Admit cards are generally released approximately 3 days before the respective exam date on their official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in.

JEE Main 2026 Session 1 (January 2026)

The JEE Main 2026 Session 1 Admit Cards are expected to be released around January 19–21, 2026, ~3 days before exam dates, which is from January 22.

In JEE Main 2025, admit cards for January 22–24 exams were released on January 18, while those for January 28–30 followed on January 23, 2025.

JEE Main 2026 Session 2 (April 2026)

The JEE Main 2026 Session 2 Admit Cards will be released around March 30 – April 1, 2026, as the exam dates are from around April 4–6, 2026.

In JEE Main 2025, admit cards for April 2, 3, and 4 were issued on March 28, while for April 7–9, the release was on April 3, 2025.

Session Exam Dates (Tentative) Estimated Admit Card Release
Session 1 Jan 22–24, Jan 28–30, 2026 ~ Jan 19–21, 2026
Session 2 Early Apr and mid-April 2026 ~ Mar 30 – Apr 1 (early); Apr 4–6 (later)

JEE Main Answer Key 2026

The NTA will release the JEE Main 2026 Answer key around 3-4 days after each session’s exam on the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in.

But before that, the JEE Main Provisional Answer will be released around ~3–4 days after the Session 1 exam same for Session 2.

The candidate will be provided a chance to rectify any errors in the marking of the answers, and objections can be raised by paying ₹200 per question (refunded if accepted), which will last 2-3 days, followed by the release of the final JEE Main Answer key.

It is expected that JEE Main 2026 Session 1’s Answer key will be released after 1 week of the exam, and Session 2’s answer key after 3-7 days.

Event Session 1 (Jan) Session 2 (Apr)
Provisional Answer Key Release ~3–4 days after exam ~3–4 days after exam
Objection Window 2–3 days 2–3 days
Final Answer Key Publication 1 week after exam 3–7 days later
Objection Fee ₹200/question ₹200/question

JEE Main Result Dates 2026

The JEE Main 2026 Results are expected to follow the trends of JEE Main 2025.

  • For session 1(January), the JEE Main Results 2026 are expected in the second week of February, about 12–15 days after the exam.
  • For Session 2 (April), the JEE Main Result 2026 will be released in the last week of April, maintaining a 12–14 day gap.
Event Session 1 (January 2026) Session 2 (April 2026)
Exam Dates January 22 – 30, 2026 April 4 – 10, 2026
Provisional Answer Key Around January 26 – 28, 2026 Around April 8 – 10, 2026
Objection Window Likely January 26 – 30, 2026 Likely April 8 – 11, 2026
Final Answer Key Release February 1 – 2, 2026 April 13 – 14, 2026
Result Declaration Second week of February 2026 Last week of April 2026
Objection Fee ₹200 per question (refundable if accepted) ₹200 per question (refundable if accepted)
Avg. Gap: Exam to Result ~12–15 days ~12–14 days

Also Read

JEE Main Results 2026

The candidates can check their JEE Main 2026 Result on the official website - jeemain.nta.nic.in, by entering their Application No. and Date of Birth/Password

If the candidate has appeared in both sessions, then, best of the two JEE Main sessions will be considered.

Parameter Details
Result Mode Online only
Official Website jeemain.nta.nic.in
Login Credentials Needed Application No. and Date of Birth/Password
Rank Basis Best of two sessions (if appeared in both)
Details in Scorecard Subject-wise percentile + Overall percentile + AIR
Use of Result JoSAA Counselling, NITs, IIITs, GFTIs, and eligibility for JEE Advanced
Result Processing Time (Avg) 12–15 days after the exam

JEE Main 2026 Counselling Schedule (JoSAA)

The JoSAA Counselling 2026 is expected to start on 3rd June 2026 after the release of JEE Advanced results, following the JEE Main 2025 pattern.

  • The JoSAA Counselling is divided into 6 rounds of seat allotment, with round 6 only for the IITs.
  • The Mock Allotments are expected to start from 9 and 11 June 2026, where Round 1 of seat allotment helps students in refining their choices early.
  • Each allotment round has around a 4–5 day reporting window for fee payment and document upload.
  • The Choice Filling window will start from 3 to 12 June 2026.
  • The CSAB special rounds for NIT+ seats will follow in August for the vacant seats.
Event Tentative Timeline (2026) Insights from 2025
JEE Main & Advanced Results Declared Feb (Session 1 result), April (Session 2 result) 2025: JEE Advanced result on June 2; Session 2 result ~April 18
JoSAA Registration & Choice Filling Opens June 3, 2026 (from 5 PM IST) Identical to 2025 start date; registration ran June 3–12, 2025
Choice Filling Closes June 12, 2026 (by 5 PM) Mock seat allotments held within window (June 9, June 11 in 2025)
Mock Allotment Round 1 About June 9, 2026 Mock‑1 June 9, 2025
Mock Allotment Round 2 About June 11, 2026 Mock‑2 June 11, 2025
Final Seat Allotment – Round 1 ~June 14, 2026 (10 AM IST) First seat allotment on June 14, 2025
Round 1 Fee Payment & Reporting June 14–18, 2026 Reporting period June 14–18, 2025
Round 2 Seat Allotment ~June 21, 2026 June 21, 2025
Round 2 Reporting & Fee Payment June 21–25, 2026 June 21–25, 2025
Round 3 Seat Allotment ~June 28, 2026 June 28, 2025
Round 3 Reporting & Fee Payment June 28 – July 2, 2026 June 28 – July 2, 2025
Round 4 Seat Allotment ~July 4, 2026 July 4, 2025
Round 4 Reporting & Fee Payment July 4–8, 2026 July 4–8, 2025
Round 5 Seat Allotment ~July 10, 2026 July 10, 2025
Round 5 Reporting & Fee Payment July 10–14, 2026 July 10–14, 2025
Final Round for IITs (Round 6) ~July 16, 2026 Final round on July 16, 2025
Round 6 Reporting & Fee Payment July 16–21, 2026 July 16–21, 2025
Withdrawal Window & Partial Admission Fee (NIT+ only) July 23–27, 2026 Partial acceptance window July 23–27, 2025

Also Read

JEE Main Exam Dates 2026 FAQs

Ques. Is the JEE Mains 2026 date released?

Ans. No, the NTA will release the JEE Main 2026 exam dates in the 1st week of November 2025, along with the release of the JEE Main 2026 official notification on the official website.

Ques. Is 90% a good score in JEE Mains?

Ques. Yes, 90% in JEE Main is generally considered good, but not for top-tier colleges. This percentile can place the candidate in the rank range of ~50,000 and 1,50,000 by scoring between 70–75 marks out of 300.

Top Colleges with 90% in JEE Main

College Name Type Popular Branches Available Expected Closing Rank (General)
NIT Raipur NIT EEE, Mechanical, Civil, CSE (some quotas) 70,000 – 1,20,000
NIT Jalandhar NIT Mechanical, Civil, Instrumentation 60,000 – 1,00,000
NIT Durgapur NIT Civil, Metallurgy, Biotechnology 60,000 – 1,10,000
NIT Puducherry NIT Mechanical, ECE 70,000 – 1,20,000
IIIT Bhagalpur IIIT ECE, IT 80,000 – 1,30,000
IIITM Gwalior IIIT CSE, ECE 60,000 – 1,10,000
IIIT Allahabad (Non-core branches) IIIT Civil, IT 70,000 – 1,10,000
BIT Mesra (Ranchi) Deemed Univ. CSE, ECE, Mechanical 70,000 – 1,00,000
COEP Pune (via MHT CET mostly) State Govt. College Mech, Civil, ECE Based on MHT CET
KIIT Bhubaneswar Private (via JEE) CSE, IT, ECE, Mech Accepts all JEE qualifiers
LPU, Jalandhar Private Univ. CSE, ECE, Mech, Civil Accepts all JEE qualifiers
CMR Institute of Tech, Hyderabad Private CSE, ECE, IT ~1,00,000+
UEM Jaipur Private CSE, EEE, Mech Accepts all JEE qualifiers

Ques. Is 53% a good score in JEE Mains?

Ans. A 53 percentile in JEE Main is considered below average, especially for the top-tier government colleges. This percentile will place the candidate in the rank around 4–5 lakh in the general category with the score ranging between 26–27 out of 300, which is not ideal for the top NITs, IIITs, or GFTIs.

Colleges with 53 percentile in JEE Main 2026

College Name Specializations Offered Estimated Category
Sanskriti University, Mathura CSE, Mechanical, Civil ~50–60 Percentile
Chandigarh University, Punjab ECE, IT, Civil ~50–60 Percentile
Parul University, Vadodara Electrical, Mechanical, CSE ~50–60 Percentile
Sanjay Ghodawat University, Kolhapur Civil, Mechanical, CSE ~50–60 Percentile
Amity University, Punjab CSE, Mechanical, ECE ~50–60 Percentile
CGC Landran, Mohali Civil, Mechanical, Electrical ~50–60 Percentile
Greater Noida Institute of Technology CSE, Mechanical, ECE ~50–60 Percentile
Mohan Babu University, Tirupati CSE, Mechanical, Civil ~50–60 Percentile
GNA University, Phagwara CSE, ECE, Mechanical ~50–60 Percentile
SRM University, Chennai CSE, Electrical, Mechanical ~50–60 Percentile