JEE Main 2027: last date, exam dates, fees and who can apply

Every rule below was read in official documents (NTA's bulletin and notices, JoSAA's business rules and the JEE (Advanced) site) on 4 and 5 November 2026. Last checked 5 November 2026. We update this page when NTA publishes a new notice.

When is the last date to apply for JEE Main 2027?

Quick answer

• Apply and pay for JEE Main 2027 Session 1 by 22 November 2026, 11:50 PM Indian time. That is 10:20 PM in the UAE, 9:20 PM in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, and 10:20 PM in Oman (our time conversion).
• A late window runs from 23 to 26 November, with an extra ₹500.
• Session 1 is on 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28 January 2027. Session 2 applications are tentatively 5 January to 3 February 2027, with its exam on 2 to 7 April 2027.
• You can apply if you passed Class 12 in 2025 or 2026, or you are appearing in 2027. There is no age limit.
• If you sit both sessions, your better total NTA score is used for the rank.

Apply and pay by 22 Nov.

What to take away

• Session 1: apply 24 Oct to 22 Nov 2026. Late window 23 to 26 Nov (extra ₹500). Corrections 27 to 29 Nov. Exam 20 to 24 and 28 Jan 2027 [1][2].
• Session 2: apply 5 Jan to 3 Feb 2027. Late window 4 to 7 Feb. Exam 2 to 7 Apr 2027. The bulletin says a separate notification will be issued for Session 2 [1], and NTA's exam calendar says its dates are tentative [8].
• Passed Class 12 in 2024 or earlier? Not eligible. Passed in 2025 or 2026, or appearing in 2027? Eligible [1].
• The bulletin sets no Class 12 subject rule. Subject and marks rules for NITs, IIITs and similar institutes come later from JoSAA and CSAB [1].
• The top 2,50,000 (2.5 lakh) successful candidates in the B.E./B.Tech paper (Indian nationals, per bulletin §11.6.2) can apply for JEE (Advanced) 2027, subject to its other conditions [1]. JEE (Advanced) 2027 has not been announced [6].

Where things stand (last checked 5 November 2026)

The dates, side by side

Papers run in two shifts, 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon and 3:00 to 6:00 PM IST. A three-hour paper is the norm. If you take B.Arch and B.Planning together, you get three and a half hours [1][2]. NTA's exam calendar (notice dated 26 Oct 2026) lists the same exam days and notes that dates are tentative [8]. We found no result date in the bulletin or in any notice.

Who can apply

Class 12 year: if you passed Class 12 or an equivalent exam in 2025 or 2026, or you are appearing in 2027, you can apply. If you passed in 2024 or earlier, you can't. The "passing year" is the year your result was first declared as pass. NTA's own example: someone who passed with Physics, Chemistry and Biology in 2025 and added Mathematics in 2026 has 2025 as the passing year [1, §3.3].

Age: "There is no age limit." The college you want may have its own age rule, though [1, §3.1].

Exams that count: recognised Central and State board exams, two-year pre-university courses, NIOS with at least five subjects, BOSSE Sikkim, Cambridge A levels, the IB Diploma, a three-year AICTE-recognised diploma, and foreign exams the Association of Indian Universities treats as equivalent [1, §3.2].

Your "state of eligibility" is the state where you first passed Class 12, not where your family lives or comes from. For NIOS and BOSSE it is the state of your study centre [1, §3.4].

The bulletin names no Class 12 subjects. NTA says it "is responsible only for conduct of JEE (Main)" and that you should check each institute's own rules [1, Note 3.2]. So "can I apply without Maths?" has two halves. The form accepts the qualifying exams above. Admission is a separate decision made later by JoSAA, CSAB and each institute.

Which Class 12 subjects do colleges ask for?

The last published rules are the JoSAA 2026 business rules. JoSAA 2027 rules are not out, and the 2027 bulletin says JoSAA and CSAB can change eligibility criteria at any time [1, §11.6; 5]. The table shows the usual pattern only. It is not the 2027 rule.

In 2026, Mathematics appeared on every line. If you've dropped Maths, read JoSAA's 2027 rules before you spend a fee. Biology can stand in for Chemistry as the science subject at NITs and IIITs under the 2026 rules, but the IIT rule asks for Chemistry [5].

The exam: what the papers look like

Source: [1, §2.1 to 2.4]. In Paper 1, a correct answer scores +4, a wrong one −1, and an unanswered question 0, in both the MCQ and numerical sections. Papers 2A and 2B use the same +4 and −1 for MCQ and numerical questions. The Drawing Test in Paper 2A is two questions marked out of 100 and sits outside negative marking [1, §2.4]. The paper comes in 13 languages [1, §2.2][2].

How your rank is made

Your NTA score is a percentile-based score and is not your rank. Your rank comes from the Common Rank List, compiled after Session 2, using the better of your two total NTA scores [1, Appendix IV; §11.3; Note 11.3.2].

1. Normalisation: every paper runs in several shifts. NTA converts raw marks to NTA scores with a "normalization procedure based on percentile score" so that a harder shift doesn't hurt anyone [1, Appendix IV].
2. Best of two: if you sit both sessions, the better total NTA score is used. Subject scores are not mixed across sessions [1, §1.2].
3. Ties: in Paper 1, ties break on NTA score in Mathematics, then Physics, then Chemistry, then the proportion of wrong to right answers [1, §2.4].
4. Common Rank List: NTA publishes an all-India rank and a category rank. JoSAA and CSAB use the Common Rank List for NITs, IIITs and similar institutes. NTA declares Session 1 scores on its website, but the Common Rank List is compiled only after Session 2 [1, Note 11.3.2].
5. JEE (Advanced): the top 2,50,000 (2.5 lakh) successful candidates in the B.E./B.Tech paper may apply (this is the rule for Indian nationals, §11.6.2), subject to the JEE (Advanced) website's other conditions [1, §11.6.2].

Should you sit both sessions?

NTA gives its own reasons in the bulletin: a second shot at a better score, a chance to learn from the first attempt, and a safety net if board exams make you miss one session [1, §1.2]. You don't have to sit both. If you do, the better total counts.

How to balance preparation against Class 12 boards is a family and school decision, and the bulletin doesn't settle it. Note that each session has its own fee, and a fee paid on an earlier form isn't refunded or adjusted against a fresh one [4].

What it costs (one paper, one session)

Choose the category your certificate supports. In the bulletin's words and abbreviations: Gen-EWS is the General category belonging to the Economically Weaker Section, with conditions set by a Government of India notification (OM of 17 January 2019); OBC (NCL) is Other Backward Class, Non-Creamy Layer, listed in the central list of OBCs (state-list-only OBCs cannot claim it); PwD means a person with disability and PwBD a person with benchmark disability; the UDID card you upload is verified [1, abbreviations list; §4.1; fee table].

For example, a General-category female candidate with an exam centre in India, applying for one paper in one session, pays ₹800, taken from the table above [1, p. 6]. Bank or gateway charges and GST are extra [1]. A late submission adds ₹500 for everyone. Two papers together (Paper 1 with Paper 2A or 2B) cost more; the bulletin's fee table has the figures [1, p. 6].

Applying from the UAE or elsewhere abroad

JEE Main has centres including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and in Manama, Kuwait City, Muscat, Doha and Riyadh [1, Appendix II]. You can choose up to four cities. If your present or permanent address is outside India, the bulletin says choosing at least one city in India is compulsory [1, Ch. 5]. In practice that means one of your four choices has to be an Indian city. NTA says it will try to allot cities in your order of choice, but that a different city can be allotted for administrative or logistic reasons, and its decision is final [1, Ch. 5]. Plan travel with that in mind. OCI candidates who pass Class 12 abroad are eligible for All India quota seats at NITs, IIITs and other centrally funded institutes, but not Home State quota seats [1, §3.4]. If you took Class 12 abroad or from a board the bulletin does not list, it asks for an Association of Indian Universities (AIU) certificate that your exam is equivalent to Class XII [1, §3.2(xi)]. "State of eligibility" means the state where you first passed Class 12, not where you live [1, §3.4]. NRI or foreign-passport families should check the JoSAA and CSAB rules for their category, because the bulletin does not settle that.

If you have a disability or a medical need

The bulletin has provisions for candidates with benchmark disabilities, including scribe, reader or lab assistant and compensatory time (Chapter 4, §4.3). For those eligible for a scribe, Note 2.5 says compensatory time of not less than 20 minutes per hour should be allowed. If you are diabetic and say so in the application form, you may be allowed to carry sugar tablets or whole fruits such as banana, apple or orange into the hall (§8.8). Read those sections and the PwD/PwBD document rules before you apply; the bulletin says no claims of PwD/PwBD status will be entertained after the correction window closes [1, §4.3; Note 2.5; §8.8; correction-window rules].

Mistakes NTA has already warned about

• Use your own login. NTA advises logging in with your own DigiLocker, JanParichay or e-Pramaan account, and finishing Re-KYC on DigiLocker (NTA says this is so your latest details are fetched into the form) before you fill it in [3]. DigiLocker, JanParichay and e-Pramaan (MeriPehchaan) are the government sign-in options NTA names [3].
• Match your Class 10 certificate. Name and date of birth on the form must be the same as on it [3]. Your score card carries the name as on the Class 10 certificate [1, §11.3.1].
• If you made an error: for Session 1 you can submit a fresh form even after paying. Only the last form with the fee paid and a confirmation page counts. You re-enter and re-upload everything, and the earlier fee isn't refunded. For small changes, use the correction window, 27 to 29 Nov [4].
• Two application numbers: having two application numbers by mistake is not a problem, but the earlier form's fee is not refunded or adjusted (NTA notice, 30 Oct 2026) [4]. Appearing on more than one is treated as unfair means, so use only your last paid form [4]. NTA's notice says that merely holding more than one number, without appearing with them, will not be treated as unfair means [4].

Your checklist before 22 November

• ☐ Confirm your Class 12 year is 2025, 2026 or "appearing in 2027".
• ☐ Keep your Class 10 certificate open and copy your name and date of birth exactly.
• ☐ Do Re-KYC on DigiLocker if you'll log in with it.
• ☐ Pick up to four exam cities and your question-paper language.
• ☐ Pay online by 22 Nov, 11:50 PM, and save the confirmation page.
• ☐ Note 27 to 29 Nov for corrections and 13 Jan for the admit card.
• ☐ Ask your school which Session 2 and board-exam dates it needs to plan around.

What to do next with Edukrish

Edukrish is free during early access. These features are live now:

1. Check the exam page. JEE lists official dates once we've confirmed them against NTA.
2. Take the free Interest quiz. Sign up, then open the quiz to see careers that fit you, with reasons. Engineering is one possibility among many.
3. Browse careers in the career library, for example software engineer or mechanical engineer.
4. See your practical pathways at /app/pathways. It groups your best-fit careers by whether your Class 11 and 12 subjects keep them open.

How we checked

We opened every source ourselves on 4 and 5 November 2026 and read the passages cited. Section numbers refer to the 2027 bulletin. We used no coaching-site summaries, news reports or forum posts for any fact. JoSAA 2027 and JEE (Advanced) 2027 rules aren't out, so the subject table is labelled 2026.