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Every year some strong JEE (Main) candidates find out too late that they cannot sit JEE (Advanced), or that they have used up an attempt they did not know they had. The rules are not complicated, but they are strict and they all apply at once. This post walks through the five criteria in the official JEE (Advanced) 2026 Information Brochure, with worked examples for the two that cause the most confusion: attempts and Class 12 marks.
The rules below are from the 2026 brochure, published by IIT Roorkee as the organising institute. The brochure for 2027 may change dates and details, so read it on jeeadv.ac.in when it is released.
What are the five eligibility criteria?
For Indian nationals (and OCI/PIO candidates treated as Indian), the brochure says candidates "must simultaneously fulfil each and every one" of these:
A1, JEE (Main) performance. Be among the top 2,50,000 successful candidates, across all categories, in the B.E./B.Tech. paper of JEE (Main) that year.
A2, age. Born on or after 1 October 2001. SC, ST and PwD candidates get five years' relaxation, so born on or after 1 October 1996.
A3, attempts. At most two attempts, in two consecutive years.
A4, Class 12. Appeared in Class 12 (or equivalent) for the first time in 2025 or 2026, with physics, chemistry and mathematics as compulsory subjects.
A5, no earlier IIT admission. Not previously admitted to an IIT through JoSAA, whether or not the candidate continued in the programme.
Foreign nationals follow a separate set (B1 to B4) in the same brochure.
How is the top 2,50,000 split by category?
The brochure fixes the shares: 10% GEN-EWS, 27% OBC-NCL, 15% SC, 7.5% ST, and the remaining 40.5% open to all, with 5% horizontal reservation for PwD candidates within each. In numbers:
OPEN: 1,01,250
GEN-EWS: 25,000
OBC-NCL: 67,500
SC: 37,500
ST: 18,750
These add up to 2,50,000, and each is the stated share of it (27% of 2,50,000 is 67,500, for example). The brochure notes the total can be slightly higher when ranks are tied.
How do the attempt and Class 12 rules work together?
Criteria A3 and A4 decide your window, and they line up. Here are two worked cases under the 2026 rules.
Case 1: Class 12 in 2025. Priya first appeared in Class 12 in 2025. Under A4 she could sit JEE (Advanced) in 2025 and 2026. Under A3 those are her two consecutive attempts. By 2027 her first Class 12 appearance would be two years old, so on the pattern of the 2026 rules she would no longer qualify. If she skipped 2025, she still had only 2026 left; a skipped year is not saved for later.
Case 2: an improvement exam. Arjun first appeared in Class 12 in 2025 and took an improvement exam in 2026. His first appearance is still 2025. The improvement exam does not reset the clock.
The brochure also defines "appearance" carefully. A board result being declared for that year counts as appearing, even if a particular candidate's result was withheld. It also contains a one-off provision for boards that declared 2023-24 results on or after 18 June 2024. If your board's dates were unusual, read clause 11 in full.
What Class 12 marks do you need for an IIT seat?
Clause 26 of the brochure says that for admission to an IIT you must meet at least one of two conditions, with physics, chemistry and mathematics as compulsory subjects:
at least 75% aggregate in Class 12 (65% for SC, ST and PwD), or
be within the category-wise top 20 percentile of successful candidates in your own board's Class 12 exam.
The aggregate uses five subjects: physics, chemistry, mathematics, one language (the higher-scoring one if you took more than one), and the highest-scoring other subject.
Worked example (sample numbers). Suppose a general-category student scores physics 82, chemistry 74, mathematics 90, English 70 and computer science 85, all out of 100. The total is 82 + 74 + 90 + 70 + 85 = 401 out of 500, or 80.2%. That clears 75%.
Now suppose another student scores 72, 68, 80, 76 and 71. The total is 367 out of 500, or 73.4%. That is below 75%, so this student would need to be inside their board's top 20 percentile cut-off for the year, which is worked out from that board's results for a single academic year. Marks not out of 100 are scaled to 100 first.
Which mistakes do families make most often?
Reading the JEE (Main) score as enough. Qualifying in JEE (Main) for other colleges is not the same as being in the top 2,50,000 for JEE (Advanced). Our guide to JEE Main vs JEE Advanced explains how the two exams fit together.
Assuming a drop year adds an attempt. It does not. The window runs from the year of your first Class 12 appearance.
Accepting an IIT seat casually. Under A5, having been admitted to an IIT ends eligibility, even if you leave. The brochure lists the exceptions, such as not reporting or withdrawing before the last round. Read our JoSAA counselling basics before you accept.
Forgetting the 75% rule until results. If your Class 12 aggregate is near 75%, plan for it during the year, not after the exam.
A checklist for this year
Download the current brochure from jeeadv.ac.in and find the eligibility clause.
Write down your date of birth, your first year of Class 12 appearance, and whether you have ever been admitted to an IIT.
Count your attempts so far and your remaining window.
Estimate your Class 12 aggregate on the five-subject rule, and check your board's published top 20 percentile cut-off if you are near 75%.
If anything is unclear, use the contact details in the brochure rather than forum answers.
Once you know you are eligible, the next question is how to prepare. If you are not sure where to start, Fermi's AI tutor can work out what you already know and build a plan for the session, so you sit down to a clear next step.
Before the end of this week, fill in step 2 of the checklist and keep it with your admit card documents.
