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Most students say "JEE" as if it were one exam. It is two, run by different bodies, with different papers and different jobs. Knowing exactly how they differ changes how you practise. Everything below comes from the official 2026 documents; the 2027 rules will appear in new bulletins, so check those when they are released.
Who conducts JEE Main and JEE Advanced?
According to the JEE (Main) 2026 Information Bulletin, the Ministry of Education has entrusted the National Testing Agency (NTA) with conducting JEE Main since 2019. Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech.) is used for admission to NITs, IIITs, other centrally funded technical institutions and participating state institutions. The bulletin also says JEE Main "is also an eligibility test for JEE (Advanced), which is conducted for admission to IITs."
JEE Main runs in two sessions. The NTA's JEE Main 2026 FAQ scheduled Session 1 between 21 and 30 January 2026 and Session 2 between 2 and 9 April 2026. You need not sit both, and the bulletin says overall merit is prepared by merging NTA scores from all shifts of both sessions.
JEE Advanced is a separate exam. The JEE (Advanced) 2026 Information Brochure says it is conducted by the seven Zonal Coordinating IITs under the Joint Admission Board, and the JEE Advanced website names IIT Roorkee as the 2026 organising institute. The 2026 exam was held on 17 May 2026.
How does JEE Main decide who can take JEE Advanced?
The JEE Advanced 2026 eligibility page lists five criteria, and candidates must meet all of them. The ones students ask about most:
Rank in JEE Main: be among the top 2,50,000 successful candidates (all categories) in the B.E./B.Tech. paper of JEE Main 2026, with fixed shares for each category.
Age: born on or after 1 October 2001, with five years of relaxation for SC, ST and PwD candidates.
Attempts: at most two attempts at JEE Advanced, in two consecutive years.
Class XII: first appeared in Class XII in 2025 or 2026 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
Clearing JEE Advanced is not the last step. For IIT admission, the brochure also asks for at least 75% aggregate in Class XII (65% for SC, ST and PwD), or a place in the category-wise top 20 percentile of successful candidates in your Class XII board. That is one reason board marks still matter; see our guide to balancing Class 12 boards with JEE preparation.
How are the question papers different?
JEE Main Paper 1 (2026): one 3-hour computer-based paper with 75 questions for 300 marks. Each subject has 20 multiple-choice questions in Section A and 5 numerical-value questions in Section B. Both sections score +4 for a correct answer and -1 for a wrong one, and numerical answers are rounded to the nearest integer (bulletin).
JEE Advanced (2026): two papers of three hours each, and appearing in both is compulsory. The brochure says the questions are "designed to test comprehension, reasoning and analytical ability," and that the marking scheme is given in the instructions at the time of the exam. In the actual 2026 Paper 1, each subject had four sections:
Single-correct questions: +3, or -1 for a wrong answer.
One-or-more-correct questions: +4 for all correct options, partial marks of +3, +2 or +1, and -1 for any wrong choice.
Numerical-value answers to two decimal places: +4, and no negative mark.
Matching lists (List-I to List-II): +4 or -1.
Paper 2 had a different mix that year, including paired numerical questions worth +2 each. The structure can change from year to year, so do not assume the next paper will match.
What should change in your preparation?
The syllabus overlaps a lot, but the skills you train are different:
For JEE Main, train speed and accuracy on standard problems. With -1 on numerical questions as well (bulletin), a careless integer answer costs you. Timed sets of 25 questions in 60 minutes match the real pace.
For JEE Advanced, train judgement on multiple-correct questions. Partial marking rewards choosing only the options you are sure of. Our post on negative marking and when to guess works through the arithmetic.
Practise reading unfamiliar setups. Advanced problems often combine two chapters. Mixed practice, not only chapter-wise sets, builds this; why JEE scores plateau explains why.
Use real papers from both exams. NTA posts JEE Main question papers on its website, and the JEE Advanced site hosts the 2026 papers and answer keys.
If you want a structured route through both, Fermi Testprep offers personalised preparation for JEE Main & Advanced: an AI tutor, live classes, adaptive mocks, mentorship and a study plan that updates based on mastery.
Next step: download the current bulletin and brochure, and highlight the eligibility lines that apply to you before you plan your year.
