JEE Advanced 2026 Two Attempts Retained

IIT Roorkee Releases New Eligibility Guidelines

A significant update has emerged for millions of students aspiring to gain admission to the IITs. IIT Roorkee has released all the eligibility guidelines for the JEE Advanced exam to be held in 2026. The exam is scheduled to be conducted on May 17, 2026.

The most important point in the new notification is that, as before, only two attempts at the exam—one in the year of completing 12th grade and the other in the following year—will be allowed. This clarifies that there has been no change in the number of attempts permitted for JEE Advanced.

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Which 12th Grade pass students will be eligible?

According to a career counseling expert at Allen Career Institute, the released information states that:

Students who passed their 12th grade in 2025 and 2026 will be considered eligible for JEE Advanced 2026.
In addition, students whose 12th board results were declared after June 18, 2024, will also be able to apply.
Based on these rules, many students who have passed their 12th grade will have the opportunity to appear for the exam.

JEE Main 2026 Exam to screen Top 2.5 Lakh Students for JEE Advanced 2026

Only those students who secure a top rank in JEE Main will be able to proceed to JEE Advanced 2026. According to the new guidelines, a total of 2.5 lakh top students will be selected for the Advanced exam. The category-wise seat distribution will be as follows:

General (GEN): 1,01,250
EWS: 25,000
OBC (Non-Creamy Layer): 67,500
SC: 37,500
ST: 18,750

This number indicates that the competition will remain as high as before.

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Age Limit: Who Can Take the Exam?

According to the new notification, only students born after October 1, 2001 will be considered eligible for the exam. This age limit remains the same as before, and students older than this will not be able to apply for the exam.

Important Rules Related to Last Year’s Counseling

The eligibility rules also mention students who participated in JoSAA counseling last year:

Students who did not complete online reporting despite receiving an IIT allocation, or those who withdrew their seat by the fifth round, will be considered eligible this year.

On the other hand, students who have already secured admission to an IIT will not be allowed to appear for JEE Advanced again.

The new eligibility guidelines released by IIT Roorkee make it clear that no major changes have been made to JEE Advanced 2026. The provisions of only two attempts, the age limit, and the selection of the top 2.5 lakh students based on JEE Main remain unchanged.

This is the right time for students aspiring to get into an IIT to organize their preparation and move forward with a complete strategy for the upcoming exam.

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