Cutoff · JEE Advanced eligibility

How Many Marks Do You Need to Qualify JEE Main?

What “qualifying” means, the official qualifying percentiles of recent years, and the marks range that usually gets you there.

Last updated: 26 October 2026

Direct answer

To qualify for JEE Advanced, a General candidate needed about 93.1 percentile in JEE Main 2025.

In marks, that has usually meant roughly 85–100 out of 300, depending on the shift. Reserved categories need much lower percentiles. Qualifying only lets you write JEE Advanced; NIT seats need higher ranks.

Official

JEE Main qualifying cutoff for JEE Advanced

Category	2024 percentile	2025 percentile
General (CRL)	93.24	93.10
Gen-EWS	81.33	80.38
OBC-NCL	79.68	79.43
SC	60.09	61.15
ST	46.70	47.90

From NTA JEE Main result notices, rounded to two decimals. See the NTA 2026 result notice for the latest values.

Approximate marks

What these percentiles mean in marks

Percentile depends on how everyone in your shift scored, so the same marks give different percentiles in different shifts. As a planning rule from recent sessions:

Target	Rough marks out of 300
Qualify for JEE Advanced (General)	about 85 – 100
Qualify (OBC-NCL / EWS)	about 60 – 75
Qualify (SC)	about 40 – 50
Qualify (ST)	about 30 – 40

These are estimates, not official figures. Use the percentile calculator for your shift.

Next targets

Qualifying is not the same as getting a college

NIT CSE at top NITs usually needs 99+ percentile. See rank needed for NITs.
Mid-level NITs and IIITs usually need 95–98 percentile for core branches, depending on category and quota.
Use the college predictor once you have a percentile estimate.

Plan

If you are below the qualifying mark in mocks

Pick 10 high-frequency chapters and finish their PYQs first.
Cut wrong answers. If you lose 15 marks a mock to negatives, that alone can be the gap.
Take Session 1 seriously but remember Session 2 is in April.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

How many marks are needed to qualify JEE Main?

To qualify for JEE Advanced, General candidates have needed about 93 percentile, which has usually meant roughly 85–100 marks out of 300 depending on the shift.

What was the JEE Main 2025 qualifying cutoff?

General 93.10, Gen-EWS 80.38, OBC-NCL 79.43, SC 61.15 and ST 47.90 percentile.

Is there a minimum mark to pass JEE Main?

No. JEE Main has no pass mark. Everyone gets an NTA score and rank. The qualifying cutoff only decides who can write JEE Advanced.

Can I get an NIT with 100 marks in JEE Main?

It is difficult under All India quota for General candidates. With home state quota, reserved category or less popular branches, some options open. Check the college predictor.