Category-wise JEE Mains Cutoff 2026 (OBC, SC, ST, EWS)

•Author: CollegePredictor Team
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Qualifying for JEE Advanced and securing seats in top NITs requires understanding how category reservations work. The National Testing Agency (NTA) releases separate qualifying cutoffs for different categories. Let's look at the expected trends for 2026.

Expected Qualifying Cutoff for JEE Advanced

To be eligible to write JEE Advanced, candidates must score above a certain percentile in JEE Mains:

  • General (UR): ~ 93.5+ Percentile
  • EWS: ~ 79.0+ Percentile
  • OBC-NCL: ~ 78.5+ Percentile
  • SC: ~ 55.0+ Percentile
  • ST: ~ 40.0+ Percentile

Admission Cutoffs for NITs

Merely qualifying is rarely enough for admission to a good NIT. You receive a Category Rank, and seats are allotted proportionally based on the Central Government's reservation policy.

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Important: Document Validity

A crucial mistake many students make is using invalid certificates. For JOSAA counseling, your EWS or OBC-NCL certificate MUST be issued on or after April 1st of the admission year (e.g., April 1, 2026). If you submit older documents, your category will be changed to General, which can completely ruin your admission chances.

Want personalized predictions based on your category rank? Use our JEE Mains Predictor to check your admission chances instantly.

Conclusion

Take full advantage of the reservations applicable to you by preparing the correct documents well in advance. Keep your target percentiles aligned with the closing ranks of your desired colleges, rather than just aiming for the minimum qualifying cutoff.