JEE Main 2026 Qualifying Cutoff - The Official NTA Percentile

The National Testing Agency released the official JEE Main 2026 qualifying cut-offs on 20 April 2026, alongside the Session 2 result. A total of 2,50,182 candidates qualified for JEE Advanced 2026. The General category cut-off rose to 93.4123549 percentile - the highest ever recorded since the shift to percentiles in 2019. Reserved categories also reached new highs. OBC-NCL crossed 80 percentile for the first time at 80.9232583, and the ST cut-off breached 50 at 52.0174712. The numbers are not consolation; they are a signal of hardening competition across all verticals.

If you have your JEE Main result in hand, match your category percentile against the figures below. This is the minimum required to enter Josaa counselling and write JEE Advanced. It is not a seat guarantee.

The qualifying cut-off is entirely separate from the admission cut-off you’ll encounter in the next section. A lapse in understanding here sends many students chasing the wrong number.

Qualifying Cut-off vs Admission Cut-off - Know the Difference

NTA’s cut-off gives you eligibility for JEE Advanced and a seat in the Josaa counselling queue. It does not confer a branch at an NIT or IIIT. That depends on your All-India Rank (AIR) and the institute-specific opening and closing ranks released by Josaa round by round.

• Qualifying Cut-off: Released by NTA on 20 April 2026. Generic percentile threshold. Same for all candidates in a category.
• Admission Cut-off: Published by Josaa as opening and closing ranks for every institute, branch, category, and quota combination. It changes across six rounds of seat allocation.

The real ranking battle starts after you cross the 93 percentile line. For the seat you want - say Computer Science at NIT Trichy - you need a rank, not just a percentile. Plan your counselling around closing ranks, not around the qualifying fence.

The Real Numbers That Decide Your Seat - NIT and IIIT Closing Ranks

Josaa 2025 round-6 closing ranks remain the strongest predictive baseline for 2026 aspirants because rank shifts between 2025 and 2026 are typically modest unless the seat matrix changes dramatically. However, the 2026 seat matrix has expanded, which we discuss later. And Josaa round-1 closing ranks for 2026 are already available from the official Josaa portal - a preview, not the final picture. We present both: 2025 final closes for planning, and 2026 round-1 closes as a preliminary signal.

Use these numbers not as prophecy, but as the fence around which you build your choice filling strategy.

NIT CSE Closing Ranks - General Category, Other State (OS) Quota

The 2026 round-1 ranks naturally tighten, especially for mid-tier NITs. Round-1 is where the highest-ranked candidates enter; cut-offs will relax over subsequent rounds as withdrawals increase. For example, NIT Calicut CSE opened at 5,100 in round-1 2026 vis-à-vis 2,800 in 2025 round-6 - suggesting a slightly softer start that will likely converge towards the 2025 figures by the final round.

If your rank is above 5,000, top-tier NIT CSE seats are difficult unless you hold a home-state quota or a reserved category rank. Your realistic bracket opens up in the mid-tier NITs and specialised IIITs. Check the college predictor tool to map your exact rank to multiple possibilities.

Category-wise CSE Closing Ranks - OS Quota, 2025 Round-6

A rank of 12,000 in the General category closes doors at all elite NIT CSE seats, but an SC candidate with a category rank of 12,000 could walk into NIT Warangal CSE. Always distinguish your category rank from your Common Rank List (CRL) rank. The table below lists 2025 final round closing ranks for CSE across the most contested NITs.

Reservation is not a backdoor; it is a structured gateway. If you are SC or ST, your real chance is vastly better than the general table suggests. Locate your category rank on your scorecard and compare directly. Always apply the category column; never assume the general-category numbers apply to you.

Branch-wise Cutoffs Inside a Single NIT

The real decision rests on branch vs. college. At NIT Trichy, CSE closes at 1,449, Civil at 12,000 - a gap of more than 10,000 ranks. Why does this matter? If your rank is 12,000, you can walk into NIT Trichy Civil or, alternatively, NIT Durgapur CSE (~10,500). One gives you the brand, the other gives you the software track. The tables below cover 2025 branch-wise closing ranks (General, OS) for a few top NITs.

If you plan a career in software, a Tier-2 NIT CSE often beats a Tier-1 NIT core branch. The placement data bears this out: NIT Durgapur CSE regularly posts average packages above ₹10-18 LPA, while NIT Trichy Civil graduates often rely on non-core placements that lag behind in volume and compensation. Choose with your career goal, not prestige alone.

IIIT Cutoffs - The Specialised Route

Indian Institutes of Information Technology focus almost exclusively on CSE, IT, and allied fields. Their specific culture, coding-heavy curriculum, and placement cell targeting software roles make them strong alternatives. Cut-offs for the top IIITs rival those of mid-tier NITs.

IIIT Hyderabad’s JEE-mode closing rank of around 800 reflects the fact that most seats are filled through the institute’s own UGEE exam. The ~800 number corresponds to the handful of seats allocated via Josaa. For 2026, the institute’s admission page notes that for CSE through JEE, a rank within the top 350-450 is typically needed. That’s 99.96+ percentile territory. If you have that rank, IIIT Hyderabad arguably outperforms any NIT for a pure software career.

IIIT Gwalior, with a closing rank of ~13,500 and average packages of ₹12-22 LPA, is an undervalued gem. Students who aim for software and miss the top NIT CSE seats should place IIIT Gwalior high on their preference list.

GFTIs - The Quiet Backstop

Government-Funded Technical Institutes (GFTIs) offer government-regulated fees (₹0.8-1.5 lakh/year) and reasonable infrastructure. Many candidates ignore them in favour of private colleges, but for reserved-category students especially, GFTI CSE seats can be accessed at ranks that seem impossible from the general-category table.

Remember that an SC candidate with a general-category air of 1,00,000 may hold an SC category rank of ~15,000 or better, placing many GFTI CSE seats within reach. The gap research confirms that in 2026, 3,744 CSE seats exist across all 31 NITs, and a comparable number across IIITs and GFTIs. Do not leave GFTIs out of your choice list.

Home State vs Other State Quota - The Actual Advantage

Half of all NIT seats are reserved for candidates who passed Class 12 from the institute’s home state. The home-state (HS) closing rank is almost always higher (i.e., easier to get into) than the other-state (OS) rank. The magnitude of the advantage varies by the competitiveness of the state’s Class 12 board cohort. For high-density states like Tamil Nadu, the HS advantage is modest; for smaller states, it can be a difference of 15,000+ ranks.

Hamirpur’s HS closing rank is 10,000 compared to 18,000 for OS - the home-state advantage effectively upgrades a candidate’s tier by two notches. If you are a Himachal Pradesh domicile holder, you can target NIT Hamirpur CSE with a rank that would otherwise land you only in a Tier-3 NIT core branch. Use this rule aggressively while filling choices: always list your home-state NIT’s HS seats before its OS seats.

JoSAA 2026 Seat Matrix - More Seats, Slightly Softer Cutoffs

A quiet but critical change for 2026 is the official expansion of NIT seats from approximately 24,525 in 2025 to 25,162 seats in 2026 (including IIEST Shibpur). The additional 600-plus seats are concentrated in high-demand branches - CSE, AI, Data Science - and spread across both older and newer NITs. Total CSE seats across all 31 NITs stand at 3,744, with specific institute-wise allocations now visible in the official Josaa matrix.

More seats generally mean closing ranks slide slightly downward. A candidate with a rank of 10,000 has better odds in 2026 than in 2025, especially in branches that received additional intake. All other factors - exam difficulty, registration count - being neutral, you can expect CSE closing ranks to relax by 200-500 spots in most NITs and more in newer campuses. This is not a wild guess; it follows directly from the seat-pool increase.

The increased pool does not make the race easy. With over 15.38 lakh unique candidates appearing in JEE Main 2026, the competition remains cut-throat. But the larger matrix gives you a marginal strategic boost. Adjust your expectations accordingly, and use the college predictor to test your rank against the 2026 round-1 data.

How Round-Wise Movement Can Reshape Your Seat

Josaa counselling runs six rounds, with an optional CSAB special round. Closing ranks almost always move upward (i.e., accommodate more students) from round-1 to round-6, as candidates withdraw, upgrade, or freeze. The movement is most pronounced for core branches and newer NITs; CSE at top NITs sees minimal relaxation. Data from 2025 shows that NIT Warangal ECE closed at 5,057 in round-6 compared to 6,612 in round-1 - a shift of about 1,500 ranks.

Your strategy must exploit this. Fill every possible college-branch combination (the tool allows up to 25,000 entries). Do not freeze in round-1 unless you get your dream seat. Use “Float” to accept your current allotment while still competing for a higher-preference seat in a later round. Many students who frozen prematurely in 2025 missed later-round upgrades. Balance patience with pragmatism.

How to Use These Numbers in Your Counselling

1. Find your category rank: Your CRL rank alone is insufficient. Pull out your OBC/SC/ST/EWS category rank from the score-card. That is the number you match against the tables above.
2. Build a 3-bucket list: Put one or two “dream” choices (closing ranks slightly below your rank), a cluster of “moderate” choices (closing rank matches your rank), and a strong safety set (closing rank well above yours, ideally with HS quota advantage).
3. Prioritise branch over brand: If you want software, put IIIT Gwalior CSE ahead of NIT Warangal Mechanical. If you want PSU jobs via GATE, a top-tier NIT core branch gains value.
4. Use home-state quota fully: Even if your home NIT is not your top choice, fill its HS seats high. The rank advantage can secure a CSE or ECE seat that would be impossible elsewhere.
5. Do not exit after round-1: Most shifts happen in rounds 4-6. Pay the seat acceptance fee and remain in the pool until you are satisfied or until the final round.

For a personalised mapping of your rank to actual colleges based on 2025 closes and 2026 round-1 data, visit the JEE Main college predictor. It filters by category, quota, and branch to give you a practical starting list.