The National Testing Agency (NTA) has officially opened the online application process for JEE Main 2026 from October 31 to November 27, 2025, through its official website. The first session of JEE Main 2026 is scheduled to be conducted between January 21 and January 30, 2026, while the results are expected on February 26, 2026. The second session will be conducted in April 2026, offering students another opportunity to improve their scores for admission into prestigious undergraduate engineering, architecture, and planning programs across India.
In a major development, the NTA has introduced new accessibility features in JEE Main 2026 to enhance the test-taking experience for candidates. Among the key upgrades is the inclusion of an onscreen standard calculator, designed to assist with basic arithmetic functions, square roots, and percentages. Although students have reported noticing the calculator icon in previous exams, it has now been formally acknowledged in the JEE Main Information Bulletin 2026 for the first time.
Additionally, the exam interface now supports Dark Mode to reduce eye strain during computer-based testing. A screen magnifier with up to 4x zoom, along with options to adjust font and cursor size, has also been added to improve accessibility for all, especially Persons with Disability (PwD) and Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) candidates.
A JEE aspirant from Uttar Pradesh, Ayush Awasthi, welcomed the decision, saying that students earlier avoided the onscreen calculator due to confusion and fear of disciplinary action. “With this official announcement, students will now feel more confident using the tool to improve accuracy and reduce computation stress,” he said.
An NTA official highlighted that accessibility upgrades were a major focus this year. To ensure smoother application and exam support for PwD candidates, the Unique Disability Identification (UDID) portal has now been integrated into the JEE Main application form.
Another key improvement concerns schedule coordination. Last year, exam dates for nearly 2,500 CBSE students clashed with JEE Main. This time, NTA has coordinated with CBSE to prevent such overlaps. CBSE has instructed schools to help Class 11 students update their registration numbers in the JEE Main application for better synchronization of exam dates.
To ensure wider test accessibility across the country, the number of test cities has been increased from 299 to 323, allowing candidates to choose up to four preferred cities. Although NTA will aim to honor preferences, change may occur due to administrative or logistical requirements.
EXAM STRUCTURE
JEE Main continues to be conducted twice a year, in January and April, offering flexibility to students. The exam structure remains unchanged:
- Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) — Computer-Based Test (300 marks, 75 questions)
• Paper 2A (B.Arch) — CBT + Offline Drawing Test (400 marks)
• Paper 2B (B.Plan) — Fully Computer-Based Test (400 marks)
Negative marking applies to objective questions, with –1 mark for every incorrect attempt. PwD candidates will continue to receive 20 minutes compensatory time per hour of exam duration, for more details and apply CLICK HERE
