For those planning to appear for the first stage of JEE 2026, which is JEE Main 2026, are required to meet certain requirements including:
Age Criteria
For appearing in the JEE (Main) – 2025, there is no age limit for the candidates. The candidates who have passed the class XII / equivalent examination in 2023, 2024 or appearing in 2025 irrespective of their age can appear in JEE (Main) – 2025 examination. However, the candidates may be required to fulfill the age criteria of the Institute(s) to which they are desirous of taking admission.
List of Qualifying Examinations (QE)
i. The final examination of the 10+2 system, conducted by any recognized Central/ State Board, such as the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi; Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, New Delhi; etc.
ii. Intermediate or two-year Pre-University examination conducted by a recognized Board/University.
iii. Final examination of the two-year course of the Joint Services Wing of the National Defense Academy
iv. Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling with a minimum of five subjects.
v. Any Public School/ Board/ University examination in India or any foreign country is recognized as equivalent to the 10+2 system by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
vi. Higher Secondary Certificate Vocational Examination.
vii. A Diploma recognized by AICTE or a State board of technical education of at least 3 years duration.
viii. General Certificate Education (GCE) examination (London/Cambridge/Sri Lanka) at the Advanced (A) level.
ix. High School Certificate Examination of the Cambridge University or International Baccalaureate Diploma of the International Baccalaureate Office, Geneva.
x. Candidates who have completed the Class XII (or equivalent) examination outside India or from a Board not specified above should produce a certificate from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) to the effect that the examination they have passed is equivalent to the Class XII Examination.
xi. In case the Class XII Examination is not a public examination,the candidate must have passed at least one public (Board or Pre-University) examination earlier.
Year of Appearance in Qualifying Examination
Candidates those who have passed the Class XII / equivalent examination in 2023, 2024 or those who are appearing in the Class XII / equivalent examination in 2025, are eligible to appear in JEE (Main) – 2025.
Candidates who passed the Class XII / equivalent examination in 2022 or before are not eligible to appear in JEE (Main) – 2025.
State of Eligibility
State code of eligibility means the code of the State from where the candidate has passed the Class XII (or equivalent) qualifying examination by virtue of which the candidate becomes eligible to appear in JEE (Main) – 2025. It is important to note that the State code of eligibility does NOT depend upon the native place or the place of residence of the candidate. For example, if a candidate appears for the Class XII(or equivalent) qualifying examination from an Institution situated in New Delhi and is a resident of Noida, Uttar Pradesh, then the candidate’s State code of eligibility will be Delhi and NOT Uttar Pradesh.If a candidate has passed the Class XII (or equivalent) qualifying examination from one State but appeared for improvement from another State, the candidate’s State code of eligibility will be from where the candidate first passed the Class XII (or equivalent) examination and NOT the State from
where the candidate has appeared for improvement.
Candidates passed / appearing for Class XII from NIOS should select the State of Eligibility according to the State in which the study Centre is located.
For Indian nationals passing the Class XII (or equivalent) examination from Nepal/Bhutan, the State code of eligibility will be determined based on a permanent address in India as given in the passport of the candidate.
The State code of eligibility for OCI passing the Class XII (or equivalent) examination in India is at par with Indian nationals. However, OCI passing the Class XII (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.
Important Instructions for the Candidates
1. Candidates are advised to report at the Examination Center well on time i.e. 02 hours before the commencement of the examination.
2. Candidates should take their seats immediately after the opening of the Examination Hall. If the candidates do not report on time due to any reason i.e. traffic jam, train/bus delay, etc., they are likely to miss some of the important instructions to be announced in the Examination Rooms/ Halls. The NTA shall not be responsible for any delay of the candidate to reach the
examination Centre.
3. The candidate must show, on-demand, the Admit Card downloaded/ printed from the NTA website for admission in the examination room/ hall. The Test Centre Staff on duty is authorized to verify the identity of candidates and may take steps to verify and confirm the identity credentials. Candidates are requested to extend their full cooperation. Candidates who do not possess valid Admit Cards and authorized Photo IDs shall not be permitted to take the
examination under any circumstances by the Centre Superintendent.
4. A seat indicating Roll Number will be allotted to each candidate. Candidates should find and sit in their allocated seats only. In case a candidate ventures to change his/her seat and does not sit on the allotted seat, will face cancellation of candidature. No plea would be entertained in this regard.
5. The candidate should ensure that the Question Paper available on the computer is as per candidate opted subject indicated in the Admit Card. In case, the subject of the Question Paper is other than candidate opted subject, the same may be brought to the notice of the Invigilator concerned.
6. The candidates may approach the Centre Superintendent/Invigilator in the room for any technical assistance, first aid emergency, or any other information during the course of the examination.
7. For any queries or issues regarding the Computer Based Test, the candidates may contact on Helpline Numbers available on the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) website.
8. In case a candidate, by furnishing false information, appears in more than one shift/date, his / her candidature will be cancelled and his / her result will not be declared.
9. For those who are unable to appear on the scheduled date of the test for any reason, a re-test shall not be held by the NTA under any circumstances.
10. All Candidates shall ensure that the information (like his/her name, mother’s name, father’s name, gender, date of birth, category, PwD status, mobile number, e-mail address, photograph,and signature, choice of cities for examination Centre, etc.) provided by them in their online Application Form is correct. Candidates are advised to exercise the utmost care in filling up the
correct details in the Online Application Form. Any request for change in the particulars and uploaded scanned images at any stage will not be considered by NTA under any circumstances.NTA will not entertain the corrections sent by the candidate through Post/Fax/WhatsApp/E-mail/by Hand.
11. Candidates are NOT allowed to carry Instruments, Geometry or Pencil box, Handbag, Purse, any kind of Paper/ Stationery/ Textual material (printed or written material), Eatables and Water(loose or packed), Mobile Phone/ Earphone/ Microphone/ Pager, Calculator, DocuPen, Slide Rules, Log Tables, Camera, Tape Recorder, Electronic Watches with facilities of calculator, any metallic item or electronic gadgets/ devices in the Examination Hall/Room. 4. Candidates are requested to retain a copy of the Confirmation Page, Admit Card, and Scorecard of the JEE(Main) – 2025 as the same will not be available after 31 July 2025.
