JEE Main · Cutoff
JEE Main cutoff 2027: category-wise qualifying percentile
The JEE Main cutoff to qualify for JEE Advanced was 93.1023262 percentile for General (CRL) candidates in 2025, and 80.38, 79.43, 61.15 and 47.90 for EWS, OBC-NCL, SC and ST. The 2027 cutoff is not set in advance; it depends on how the top 2,50,000 candidates score.
Quick answer
- In JEE Main 2025, the General (CRL) qualifying cutoff for JEE Advanced was 93.1023262 percentile.
- The General cutoff was 90.7788642 in 2023 and 93.2362181 in 2024 — it has not been fixed from year to year.
- The cutoff is the percentile of the last candidate inside the top 2,50,000 qualifiers, set category by category.
- Clearing it makes you eligible for JEE Advanced; NIT and IIIT seats depend on JoSAA closing ranks and the 75% rule.
JEE Main qualifying cutoff for JEE Advanced, 2023–2025
NTA percentile of the last qualifying candidate in each category.
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| General (CRL) | 90.7788642 | 93.2362181 | 93.1023262 |
| EWS | 75.6229025 | 81.3266412 | 80.3830119 |
| OBC-NCL | 73.6114227 | 79.6757881 | 79.4313582 |
| SC | 51.9776027 | 60.0923182 | 61.1526933 |
| ST | 37.2348772 | 46.6975840 | 47.9026465 |
| PwD | 0.0013527 | 0.0018700 | 0.0079349 |
Source: NTA JEE Main result notices. For 2026 figures, check the official 2026 result notice on jeemain.nta.nic.in.
JEE Main 2025 qualifying percentile by category
Percentile out of 100, from the NTA 2025 result notice
How much each category’s cutoff moved
Change in qualifying percentile from the previous year, calculated from the NTA figures above.
| Category | 2023 → 2024 | 2024 → 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| General (CRL) | +2.46 | −0.13 |
| EWS | +5.70 | −0.94 |
| OBC-NCL | +6.06 | −0.24 |
| SC | +8.11 | +1.06 |
| ST | +9.46 | +1.21 |
Rounded to two decimal places.
What does "JEE Main cutoff" actually mean?
Students use "cutoff" for three different numbers, and mixing them up leads to bad decisions.
- The qualifying cutoff for JEE Advanced. The top 2,50,000 B.E./B.Tech candidates across categories become eligible for JEE Advanced. The percentile of the last qualifier in each category is the cutoff in the table above. This is what NTA publishes with the result.
- The 75% board rule. To take an NIT, IIIT or centrally funded institute seat through JoSAA, you need 75% in Class 12 (65% for SC/ST) or a top 20 percentile position in your board. This has nothing to do with your JEE percentile. Details are on the JEE Main eligibility page.
- JoSAA closing ranks. Each institute, branch, category and quota has an opening and closing rank from counselling. These decide whether you actually get a seat, and they are far stricter than the qualifying cutoff for most NIT branches. See JoSAA counselling and the JEE college predictor.
Why is each category's cutoff so different?
The 2,50,000 qualifying places are shared across categories in line with reservation, so each category's cutoff is set by how many candidates in that category score above a given percentile. A smaller pool competing for its share of places produces a lower percentile cutoff; it doesn't mean the exam was easier for that group.
BrainStride is an AI tutor for JEE, NEET and Olympiad preparation that runs a 20-minute diagnostic, maps your weak chapters and writes a daily plan, with every solution checked by teachers. Its predicted rank shows a band against these cutoffs after every mock.
Near the cutoff? Find the two chapters that would clear it.
The diagnostic maps where your marks leak and which fixes are worth the most percentile.
What will the JEE Main 2027 cutoff be?
Nobody knows yet, including NTA. The cutoff is a result, not a rule: it is fixed only after every candidate's score is in. What the last three years show is a range. The General (CRL) cutoff was 90.78 percentile in 2023, 93.24 in 2024 and 93.10 in 2025.
Our reading: plan as though the General cutoff for 2027 will sit somewhere in the 90–94 percentile range seen in 2023–2025, and aim well above it. This is a planning assumption based on those three years, not an NTA forecast. Aiming just at the cutoff leaves no room for a bad shift.
Did the 2025 pattern change move the cutoff?
The 2025 pattern removed optional numericals and added negative marking to them, but the General cutoff moved only slightly, from 93.24 in 2024 to 93.10 in 2025. Because the cutoff is a percentile, it measures where you stand against other candidates, and a harder paper affects everyone in it.
How many marks do you need to clear the JEE Main cutoff?
There is no single answer, because percentiles are normalised shift by shift. The same raw score can map to different percentiles in an easier and a harder shift. NTA does not publish an official marks-to-percentile table.
What you can do is estimate a band. The JEE Main percentile calculator and the JEE Main rank predictor use approximate marks-vs-percentile data from recent sessions and show a range with its limitations, rather than a single flattering number.
Is clearing the cutoff enough for an NIT?
Usually not. Clearing the qualifying cutoff makes you eligible for JEE Advanced. For most NIT and IIIT branches, JoSAA closing ranks require a much better rank than the qualifying cutoff. Treat the qualifying cutoff as a floor, not a target.
What if you're just below it after Session 1?
Session 2 exists for this. NTA uses the better of your two NTA scores, so a focused ten weeks on the chapters that cost you the most marks in Session 1 can move you across. Start with your Session 1 response sheet and the JEE Main answer key to see exactly which questions went wrong.
How does the cutoff percentile connect to rank?
A percentile tells you what share of candidates scored at or below you, so the share above you is 100 minus your percentile. With about 14 lakh+ unique candidates in recent years, a candidate at 93 percentile has roughly 7% of candidates — very roughly one lakh people — at or above them. That's rough arithmetic, not an official rank, because percentiles are calculated shift by shift and ranks are decided on the final merged list.
The point is scale. Qualifying for JEE Advanced as a General candidate means finishing somewhere around the top one lakh overall. A seat in a popular NIT branch typically needs a far better rank than that, which is why the cutoff is a floor.
Which cutoff should you plan around?
Plan around the seat you want, not the qualifying line. Look up closing ranks for the institutes and branches you'd accept on josaa.nic.in, convert them to an approximate percentile with the rank predictor, and set your mock target a few percentile points above that.
If your mocks sit near the cutoff
Three to five percentile points is often a handful of chapters, not a whole syllabus.
Take the free diagnostic- List every wrong answer from your last three mocks by chapter and by reason: concept, silly error or time.
- Pick the two chapters with the most lost marks that also appear in almost every paper.
- Cut wrong answers first — at +4/−1, removing five wrong guesses is worth 5 marks immediately.
- Write a full mock every week in the computer-based format and analyse it the same day.
- Keep your board marks above 75% so the admission rule never becomes the problem.
JEE Main cutoff: common questions
What was the JEE Main cutoff in 2025?
The JEE Main 2025 qualifying cutoff for JEE Advanced was 93.1023262 percentile for General (CRL), 80.3830119 for EWS, 79.4313582 for OBC-NCL, 61.1526933 for SC, 47.9026465 for ST and 0.0079349 for PwD, according to the NTA result notice. These percentiles mark the last candidate within the top 2,50,000 qualifiers in each category.
What is the expected JEE Main cutoff for 2027?
The JEE Main 2027 cutoff will only be known when NTA declares the final result, expected around mid-to-late April 2027. For General (CRL) candidates, the cutoff was 90.78 percentile in 2023, 93.24 in 2024 and 93.10 in 2025, so planning around that range is reasonable. Aim well above it rather than at it.
Is the JEE Main cutoff the same as the NIT cutoff?
No. The JEE Main cutoff published by NTA is the qualifying percentile for JEE Advanced. NIT admission depends on JoSAA closing ranks for each institute, branch, category and quota, which are usually much stricter, and on the 75% Class 12 rule or a top 20 percentile position in your board.
How many marks are needed for 93 percentile in JEE Main?
NTA does not publish an official marks-to-percentile table, and the same marks give different percentiles in different shifts because of normalisation. Estimates from recent sessions can give a band, which is what the BrainStride JEE Main percentile calculator shows, but treat any single "marks for 93 percentile" figure as approximate.
What was the JEE Main 2025 cutoff for OBC and EWS?
In JEE Main 2025, the qualifying cutoff for JEE Advanced was 79.4313582 percentile for OBC-NCL candidates and 80.3830119 percentile for EWS candidates, according to the NTA result notice. In 2024 the figures were 79.6757881 for OBC-NCL and 81.3266412 for EWS, so both eased slightly in 2025.
Does the JEE Main cutoff change every year?
Yes. The JEE Main qualifying cutoff is decided after each year’s result by how the top 2,50,000 candidates score, so it moves. The General (CRL) cutoff rose from 90.7788642 percentile in 2023 to 93.2362181 in 2024, then eased slightly to 93.1023262 in 2025.
Official sources
- JEE Main official website (NTA)jeemain.nta.nic.in
- National Testing Agencynta.ac.in
- JoSAA — joint seat allocationjosaa.nic.in
- JEE Advanced official websitejeeadv.ac.in
NTA had not released the JEE Main 2027 information bulletin as of September 2026. Where this page says "expected", confirm against the bulletin once it is out.
Don’t aim for the cutoff. Find the marks above it.
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