JEE Main 2025 Pass Marks & Cutoff Percentile: Everything You Must Know

If you are planning to study engineering at an NIT, IIIT, or a top state college, JEE Main is the gateway. The JEE Main serves as the qualifying exam for JEE Advanced, a prerequisite for admission to the IITs. With lakhs of candidates appearing every year, understanding what “pass marks” actually means, how cutoffs are decided, and how to prepare strategically can make a real difference.

This guide explains the qualifying cut off for 2025, the exam pattern and marking scheme, and changes to watch for if you’re hovering around the 50% mark.

1. What is the JEE Main Exam?

   JEE Main serves two purposes.

   • It determines whether you qualify for JEE Advanced.
   • It’s used for admissions to NITs, IIITs, and centrally funded technical institutes through JoSAA counselling.

2. What Does “Pass Mark/Cut Off” in JEE Main Really Mean?

   In JEE Main, there are two different cutoffs students often mix up:

   Qualifying cutoff for JEE Advanced
   

   • This is the minimum JEE Main percentile you need (category-wise) to become eligible to sit for JEE Advanced.
   • It is declared by NTA after both sessions, when normalisation is done.

   Admission cutoff for NITs/IIITs
   

   • This is not a single number. Each institute, branch, and category has its own closing rank or closing percentile in JoSAA counselling 2025.
   • These vary widely based on the popularity of the branch, state quota rules, and seat matrix.

   Percentile vs. raw marks in JEE Main:

   • Raw marks are what you score out of the total.
   • Percentile is a relative score that indicates your position compared to other test-takers in your session. Normalisation adjusts for differences in difficulty across sessions.
   • You cannot directly convert raw marks to percentiles with perfect accuracy, but rough trends exist year to year.

   So, you should always think in percentiles for cutoffs.

3. JEE Main 2025 Cutoff

   Let's take a look at the last 5 Years’ JEE Main Cutoff Trends along with the JEE Main 2025 cutoff.

   The table below shows the JEE Main Qualifying Cutoff Percentile (official NTA Score) trends for various categories from 2020 to 2025. These are the minimum percentiles required to be eligible to appear for the JEE Advanced exam.

   S.No	Category	2025 Cutoff %	2024 Cutoff %	2023 Cutoff %	2022 Cutoff %	2021 Cutoff %	2020 Cutoff %
   1	General (UR/CRL)	93.102	93.236	90.778	88.412	87.899	90.376
   2	Gen-EWS	80.383	81.326	75.622	63.111	66.221	70.243
   3	OBC-NCL	79.431	79.675	73.611	67.009	68.023	72.888
   4	SC	61.152	60.092	51.977	43.082	46.882	50.176
   5	ST	47.902	46.697	37.234	26.777	34.672	39.069
   6	Gen-PwD	0.007	0.001	0.001	0.003	0.009	0.061

4. Factors That Shape the Cutoff for JEE Main

   Difficulty level of the paper

   • Harder papers lower the cut off, easier papers raise it.
   • In multiple sessions, normalisation compensates, but the overall distribution still matters.

   Number of candidates

   • More test-takers can change the percentile distribution at the top and middle, impacting the qualifying line slightly.

   Seat availability and reservation

   • Changes in the seating matrix for NITs and IIITs, or newly added programmes, alter admission cutoffs in JoSAA.
   • Category-wise reservation ensures separate cutoffs for each category.

   Candidate performance concentration

   • If a large number of students cluster in a certain raw-score band, small raw-score differences can cause big percentile jumps. This is why aiming for a buffer is smart.

5. JEE Main 2025 Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme

   Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech):

   • Subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics
   • Structure:
     1. Each subject typically has Section A (MCQs) and Section B (numerical answer type).
     2. In Section B, a subset of questions are to be answered, and negative marking may apply depending on the year’s rules. Read the official instructions carefully on exam day.
   • Marking:
     1. MCQs usually carry +4 for correct and −1 for incorrect.
     2. No marks for unattended questions.
     3. Numerical questions may also have negative marking as per the latest guidelines. Treat them with the same caution as MCQs.

   High‑yield topics from past trend analyses:

   • Physics: Modern Physics, Electrostatics, Current Electricity, Magnetism, Ray Optics, Semi‑conductors, Waves and SHM
   • Chemistry: Physical basics like Mole Concept and Thermodynamics, Organic fundamentals and General Organic Chemistry, Hydrocarbons, alcohols–phenols–ethers, and p‑Block basics in Inorganic
   • Mathematics: Coordinate Geometry (particularly Circle and Parabola), Straight Lines, Quadratic Equations, Complex Numbers, Vectors and 3D, Limits–Continuity–Differentiability, Definite Integration

   Why these help:

   • They appear frequently.
   • They combine conceptual clarity with solvable algebra.
   • They offer relatively consistent scoring opportunities across sessions.

6. Effective Strategies to Qualify for JEE Main

   Focus on high‑weightage, high‑yield areas:

   • Build a strong base in the core chapters listed above.
   • For every chapter, maintain a one-page formula sheet and a short list of traps to avoid.

   Time management:

   • In mocks, do a fast pass first. Attempt sure‑shot questions to lock in marks.
   • Skip time sinks early. Mark your return.
   • Set a strict limit of approximately 90 seconds for each question if you are not nearing a solution.

   Mock test discipline:

   • Take full‑length tests twice a week in the exam slot timing.
   • After each test, invest more time in analysis than in the test itself.
   • Track error types: concept gap, calculation slip, misread, time overrun, or guess gone wrong.

7. Eligibility Criteria for JEE Main 2025

   Age:

   • Generally, there is no upper age limit for JEE Main. However, check institute‑specific age criteria during admissions if any special rules apply.

   Qualifying exam :

   • You should have passed Class 12 or equivalent with physics and mathematics as compulsory subjects along with one of chemistry, biology, biotechnology, or a technical vocational subject, as per the current norms.

   75% criteria:

   • For admissions to NITs/IIITs and many centrally funded institutes, a minimum aggregate in the Class 12 board exam may be required for General/EWS/OBC‑NCL categories, with exceptions for SC/ST candidates. The exact policy can vary by year. Always confirm the latest official announcement.

8. New Changes in JEE Main 2025

   Section B (numerical) instructions

   • In recent cycles, numerical sections have specified how many questions to attempt and whether negative marking applies.
   • If any change makes more Section B questions mandatory or adjusts negative marking, It will impact the attempted strategy. Always double-check the on-screen instructions.

9. Common Misconceptions About Pass Marks/Cut Off

   Myth: You must always have 75% in boards to pass the JEE Main
   

   • The 75% criterion typically applies to admissions in NITs/IIITs and can vary by policy and category. It’s not the same as qualifying to sit for JEE Main or to secure a JEE Main percentile.

   Myth: Myth: A specific IIT sets the JEE Main paper
   

   • JEE Main is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which manages the tests, scheduling, and normalisation.

   Myth: Percentile equals percentage
   

   • Percentile is relative. It tells you the proportion of candidates you have scored above. Two candidates with the same raw score in different sessions can end up with slightly different percentiles due to normalisation.

10. Conclusion: Strategy Beats Guesswork

    Instead of fixating on a single “pass mark/cut off”, frame your plan around category‑wise qualifying ranges and your target colleges’ historical closing ranks. Build momentum with high‑yield topics, keep a disciplined mock‑analysis cycle, and fine‑tune time management so you lock in the sure shot questions first.

    Most importantly, monitor official NTA notifications for the precise 2025 pattern, Section B instructions, and the published category wise qualifying percentiles following both sessions. Steady practice, clear priorities, and calm execution on test day will carry you further than chasing a magic number.