The JEE (Main) is a national-level entrance exam conducted by the NTA every year in two sessions. Lakhs of students participate in this entrance exam each year who are interested in getting admission to undergraduate engineering, planning, and architecture courses.
The Joint Entrance Examination (Main) is a preliminary stage for getting admission to engineering courses at the Indian Institutes of Technology, as only the top 2,50,000 students in this entrance exam are eligible to participate in the second stage, which is JEE Advanced.
The application form for the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 will be available very soon, after which all eligible candidates will be able to apply. Read this article thoroughly to find out about the important dates, eligibility criteria, application fee, exam pattern, and other details.
JEE Main 2026 Overview
According to the National Testing Agency, the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026 Session 2 will be conducted across the country between 2 and 9 April. An overview of this entrance examination is provided in the table below.
| Exam Name | JEE Main 2026 |
| Conducting Authority | National Testing Agency |
| Session | Session 2 |
| Exam Level | National Level |
| Courses Offered | B.E./B.Tech, B.Arch, B.Plan |
| Exam Mode | Online (CBT), Drawing test offline for B.Arch |
| Exam Dates | 2 to 9 April 2026 |
| Application Mode | Online |
| Exam Duration | 3 Hours (3.5 Hours for B.Arch) |
| Official Website | jeemain.nta.nic.in |
Important Dates
The NTA has not yet announced the important dates for the JEE Main 2026 Session 2. You can see the expected schedule in the table given below.
| Event | Expected Date |
| Notification Release | January 2026 |
| Online Registration Start | Last week of January 2026 |
| Last Date to Apply | Third week of February 2026 |
| Last Date for Fee Payment | Third week of February 2026 |
| Application Correction Window | Last week of February 2026 |
| City Intimation Slip Release | March 2026 |
| Admit Card Release | March 2026 |
| JEE Main Session 2 Exam Dates | 2 to 9 April 2026 |
| Provisional Answer Key | April 2026 |
| Result Declaration | April 2026 |
Application Form
It is expected that the application form for the JEE (Main) 2026 Session 2 will be released in the last week of January 2026 and will remain available until the third week of February 2026. All eligible candidates will be able to submit their applications during this period.
The NTA will only accept the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 application forms of those candidates who provide all the details correctly in their form and whose submitted documents are also accurate. The application form may be rejected if there is even a single mistake.
Eligibility Criteria
The JEE Main 2026 Session 2 is going to be conducted for undergraduate professional courses, namely B.Tech, B.Plan, and B.Arch. The eligibility criteria are shared below:
- The applicant can be an Indian citizen or a foreign national.
- The applicant must have passed the intermediate or relevant examination in 2024 or 2025, or be appearing for it in 2026.
- There is no age limit for applying.
Notes:
- To apply for a BE/BTech, it is essential that the applicant has studied Physics and Mathematics in intermediate (10+2) and the third subject should be Chemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, or a Technical Vocational Subject.
- To apply for the B.Arch/B.Plan program, it is necessary that the student has studied Mathematics at the intermediate level.
- There is no minimum requirement to participate in the entrance examination, but for admission to NITs, IIITs, and CFTIs, the minimum requirement is 75%, with a 10% relaxation for SC/ST candidates.
Application Fee
The payment of the application fee is mandatory to apply for Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2026 Session 2. The table below shows how much you need to pay to apply for each course.
| Category | Amount | ||
| Male | Female | Transgender | |
| UR/EWS/OBC-NCL | ₹1,000 | ₹800 | ₹500 |
| SC/ST/PwBD | ₹500 | ₹500 | ₹500 |
You can pay the application fee using a debit card, credit card, net banking, or UPI. The deadline for paying the fee and the deadline for submitting the application form will be the same.
Exam Pattern
The NTA will conduct the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 in online mode, which will include an offline drawing section for the BArch paper. The exam duration will be 3 hours, but candidates taking part for BArch will get an additional 30 minutes because of the drawing section.
The B.Tech exam will be of 300 marks, while the B.Arch and B.Plan exams will be of 400 marks. You can see details regarding the number of questions and marks in the table given below.
Paper 1 – B.E. / B.Tech (Engineering)
| Subject | Section A (MCQs) | Section B (Numerical – attempt any 5) | Total Questions | Total Marks |
| Physics | 20 | 10 (5 to attempt) | 25 | 100 |
| Chemistry | 20 | 10 (5 to attempt) | 25 | 100 |
| Mathematics | 20 | 10 (5 to attempt) | 25 | 100 |
| Total | 60 | 30 | 75 | 300 |
Paper 2A – B.Arch (Architecture)
| Subject | Question Type | No. of Questions | Marks |
| Mathematics | MCQs + Numerical | 20 + 10 (5 to attempt) | 100 |
| Aptitude Test | MCQs | 50 | 200 |
| Drawing Test | Drawing (Offline) | 2 | 100 |
| Total | — | — | 400 |
Paper 2B – B.Planning
| Subject | Question Type | No. of Questions | Marks |
| Mathematics | MCQs + Numerical | 20 + 10 (5 to attempt) | 100 |
| Aptitude Test | MCQs | 50 | 200 |
| Planning | MCQs | 25 | 100 |
| Total | — | — | 400 |
Each question will be worth 4 marks, and one mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer. This entrance exam will be of moderate difficulty and will be conducted only in English.
How to Apply?
The step-by-step instructions to apply for the JEE Main 2026 are as follows, go through the instructions to apply.
- Visit the official website of the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) at https://jeemain.nta.nic.in/.
- Click on ‘JEE Main 2026 – Session 2 Registration’ and get redirected to the next page.
- Complete the registration process with all required details, and get your Application Number and Password.
- Login to access the application form dashboard, and fill your personal and academic details.
- Select course and exam city preferences, and then upload photographs, signatures and certificates, as per requirement.
- Pay the application fee through using any of the provided payment gateway, and click on submit button to apply for it.