Are you giving Joint Entrance Examination Main this year?
The subject-wise requirements (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics) contribute to the eligibility with respect to admissions.
Even though JEE Main does not imply a minimum percentage requirement, the majority of institutes have their own standards.
A student is allowed to take the JEE Advanced exam provided they have scored highly in JEE Main.
We will focus on the information regarding these needs and assist students to act as the representatives of their own by getting ready to be accepted.
Table of Contents
- What Are the JEE Main Eligibility Marks in 12th?
- Category-Wise Eligibility Marks at a Glance
- JEE Main Eligibility Marks in 12th: Subject-Wise Requirement
- Does Class 12 Percentage Affect JEE Main Score or Rank?
- What If You Don’t Meet the 75% Criteria? Options and Alternatives
- Year of Passing Eligibility – Who Can Apply for JEE Main 2026?
- JEE Main Eligibility for NIOS and Open Schooling Students
- JEE Main 2026 Eligibility Marks – Key Updates from NTA
- Conclusion
What Are the JEE Main Eligibility Marks in 12th?
The JEE Main examination does not have any particular eligibility marks. All the students who have passed Class 12, in any of the streams (in case of Science), or are pursuing it, are allowed to participate in the JEE Main examination.
Individuals who want to enrol in NITs and IITs need to fulfil minimum marks eligibility criteria.
However, if a student wishes to secure admission to colleges such as the NITs and IIITs, specific percentage criteria are indeed taken into consideration.
These criteria are mainly based on two rules:
- The 75% rule
- The Top 20 percentile rule
These two rules ensure that students maintain a certain standard not only in the entrance exams but also in their board exams.
1. The 75% Rule – What It Means and What It Doesn’t
It is also a major eligibility requirement, used mostly when admissions are being made in the National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Information Technology, among other government technology institutes and is referred to as the 75% rule.
In this rule, students who have 75% marks in the Class 12 board examination will be compelled to take up the General and OBC subjects. But in the case of SC and ST, it is normally 65%.
But there is one thing about it that ought to be obvious: it is not connected to appearing in the JEE Main and being capable of getting admission to the colleges.
2. Top 20 Percentile Rule – The Alternative Path
This rule says that a student of Class 12 has obtained a score that is in the top 20% of the students in that board alone.
This Top 20 Percentile is used in the event that the student who has written the Class 12 examinations scores less than 75% marks in the examinations. The rule is applied to give admission to prestigious institutions like the NITs and IITs.
The rule is quite handy, as the boards of examination differ in different states of India; therefore, to the credit of all the students in different states, this rule of action helps.
Category-Wise Eligibility Marks at a Glance
The examination of JEE Main can be administered to every student who has taken Class 12 successfully.
However, though no criteria of eligibility exist before one can sit the JEE Main entrance examination, there are special criteria of eligibility before one can be admitted to the most sought-after colleges and universities such as the NITs and IITs.
Regarding such admission qualifications, there are two groups: General students are required to have 75%, and SC and ST students are required to have 65%, respectively.
The regulation is to be remembered, but this applies primarily when making an admission in the National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Information Technology, as well as the Government Funded Technical Institutes.
Even when a student fails to attain these percentage requirements, yet he or she ranked within the first 20 percentile of their board.
JEE Main Eligibility Marks in 12th: Subject-Wise Requirement
For taking part in the JEE Main examination, a student should be enrolled in the Science stream or have passed Class 12 in the Science stream.
Students in the JEE Main entrance exam are not given any pre-defined minimum mark.
But to gain entry to any of the central engineering colleges like the NITs and the IIITs, the student’s marks in his or her Board exams are factored.
To qualify for such institutions, however, one needs to have 75% marks in the case of the General and OBC category students and 65% marks in the case of the SC and ST category students.
When the student has the desire to enrol in colleges such as the NITs or IIITs, then the overall percentages will count.
1. Subject-Wise Marks Required for B.E. / B.Tech
Students mostly take the Joint Entrance Examination Main to get admitted to B.E (Bachelor of Engineering) and B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) courses.
These courses usually require Physics, Mathematics and one subject from Chemistry, Biology, or a Technical Vocational Subject in Class 12. Students study a combination of Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.
Mathematics and Physics are very important for these courses, as most of the subjects in engineering are based on these two.
| Course | Paper | Required subject |
| B.Tech/ BE | Paper 1 | Physics, Mathematics, and one more subject among Chemistry, Biology, Biotechnology or a Technical Vocational Subject in Class 12 |
2. Subject-Wise Marks Required for B.Arch
B.Arch (Bachelor of Architecture) is a professional course related to Architecture. To get admission in this course, students have to appear in Paper 2A of the Joint Entrance Examination Main.
A student can enrol in this course only if they have Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics in Class 12 because they are mandatory.
The course is ideal for people who want to pursue a career in building design, city planning, and architecture.
| Course | Paper | Required subject |
| B.Arch | Paper 2A | Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics |
3. Subject-Wise Marks Required for B.Planning
B.Planning (Bachelor of Planning) is an alternative option students can choose. It is related to domains like:
- Urban planning
- City development
- Infrastructure planning
For enrollment, appear in Paper 2B of the Joint Entrance Examination Main. In the case of B. Planning, Mathematics is also mandatory in Class 12.
By taking this course, students acquire skills applicable to the field of transportation planning and urban development.
| Course | Paper | Required subject |
| B.Planning | Paper 2B | Mathematics |
Does Class 12 Percentage Affect JEE Main Score or Rank?
No. Class 12 percentage affects JEE Main score or rank, but it does affect admission in NITs and IIITs.
The exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency, and they only consider the performance in the exam while determining the JEE Main result. Class 12 board exam marks are important only for fulfilling the eligibility criteria.
That is, if a student wants to get admission to National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) or Government-funded Technical Institutes (GFTIs), then they may have to fulfil a certain percentage requirement in the board exam.
So, if a student does not score very high marks in the board exam but scores well in the Joint Entrance Examination Main exam, then his rank will be good. But it may be necessary to fulfil the eligibility conditions of the board while taking admission in the college.
What If You Don’t Meet the 75% Criteria? Options and Alternatives
A lot of pupils do not achieve 75% marks in their Class 12 board exams; thus, their anxiety is that it will lead to the failure of their hopes of joining an engineering college.
NITs and IIITs are central institutions popular for their advanced learning opportunities. However, one should meet the eligibility criterion of 75% for the general and OBCs when they want to be enrolled.
The condition of having marks is not a pre-condition to be allowed to appear in the JEE Main examination; in fact, any student who is currently undertaking studies in Class 12 in the science stream can appear in the examination, or a student who has already graduated in the science stream can appear in the examination.
But 75% or other educational provision might be needed to attend a National Institute of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs) and Government Funded Technical Institutes (GFTIs).
In case a student does not meet this condition, some other alternatives are given to the student that he can utilise, i.e. the top 20 percentile rule or Improvement exam.
1. Board-Wise Top 20 Percentile – How It Is Calculated
If a student fails to secure 75% marks in their board examinations, they still have an alternative option.
NITs and IIITs are also known for their Top 20 Percentile criterion. In this, they must rank among the top 20% of all students who appeared for that board’s examinations.
Let’s say 1,00,000 students appeared in a board exam. In this case, the 20,000 students who scored the highest marks will fall in the Top 20 percentile.
2. Improvement Exam Option
If a student fails to secure 75% marks in the Class 12 board exam and is not even in the top 20 percentile, then another important option for them is the Improvement exam.
Many boards like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) provide this opportunity to the students. Through the improvement exam, the student can retake one or more subjects and try to increase their marks.
If their aggregate percentage after the improvement exam becomes 75% or more, then they can be eligible for engineering admission again.
Year of Passing Eligibility – Who Can Apply for JEE Main 2026?
In order to be able to appear in the JEE Main examination, a student needs to be studying the Science stream in Class 12. A student can be given a maximum of three appearances in the examination in JEE Main and two sittings every year.
Students can give JEE Main if they are studying in Class 12 and in two consecutive years.
The fact that the exam is done twice every year implies that in this three-year period, a student will have the opportunity of having a maximum of six sittings of the exam.
As an example, a student will have to pass Class 12 in 2026 or pass Class 12 in 2024 or 2025 when they wish to take the JEE Main in 2026.
JEE Main Eligibility for NIOS and Open Schooling Students
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has a high number of students who have been joining their institution with the aim of increasing their marks in the JEE Main examination.
In an open school, students are able to study for the JEE Main examination at their own pace and with comparatively less academic stress at the same time, since the attendance requirement and academic stress are comparatively lower in an open school.
JEE Main examination can be taken by those students who have studied at NIOS.
However, they have to fulfil some serious demands. To begin with, the 12th qualification of the student should be the same as the 10+2 education system of India, and the board should be recognised.
Secondly, students who have passed from NIOS or open school must pass the exam in at least five subjects. If there are fewer than five subjects, then those results are not accepted for JEE Main eligibility.
Thirdly, if you want to get admission to a B.Tech or B.E course, it is mandatory to have Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry or other alternative subjects in Class 12, and in case of B.Arch or B. Planning, it is necessary to have the Mathematics subject.
JEE Main 2026 Eligibility Marks – Key Updates from NTA
Some significant guidelines and updates have been published by the National Testing Agency regarding eligibility criteria to take the Joint Entrance Examination Main 2026 exam.
Class 12 does not have a particular minimum percentage required in order to pass the JEE Main. In other words, provided that any student has passed Class 12, then he or she would be allowed to take this exam.
But there are some academic requirements which are applicable to entry into institutes of engineering.
As an example, the only students who can attend colleges like the NITs and IITs are General and OBC students who have to pass their exams with 75% marks, as compared to SC and ST students who pass their exams with 65% marks.
The other aspect to keep in mind is that there is no specific age limit that restricts one from taking the JEE Main exam. That is, any student, no matter their age, can take the exam.
| Category | Required Percentage |
| General and OBC | 75% |
| SC and ST | 65% |
| Alternative | Top 20 percentile in respective board |
Conclusion
JEE Main and JEE Advanced are the most important exams for admission to engineering colleges. If a student wants to get admission to BE and B.Tech, they have to pass JEE Main; only then can the student get admission in colleges like NITs and IIITs.
A student can usually appear for the JEE Main exam up to three years from the year of passing Class 12 and the next two years.
There are two sessions of exams per year, giving a total of 6 attempts. On the other hand, a student gets the opportunity to take the JEE Advanced exam twice in two consecutive years. To know the eligibility, you can also check the official website.
