IFTA 2026: India has voted. See the winners.

Registration for the January session of JEE Main 2027 opened on 24 October and closes on 22 November. Last year more than 13 lakh candidates sat the first session. This year the National Testing Agency (NTA) wants applicants to sign in through DigiLocker or a similar government login, match their details to their Class 10 certificate, and file exactly one form.

The dates that matter

The application window for session 1 runs from 24 October to 22 November 2026, and the fee must also be paid by 22 November. A late-fee window follows from 23 to 26 November, and applicants can correct their forms from 27 to 29 November.

NTA plans to announce exam cities around 30 December, and admit cards are due on 13 January 2027. The session 1 exam is scheduled for 20 to 24 January and 28 January. Session 2 follows in April, with its own registration window from 5 January to 3 February 2027.

Paper 1 is for BE and BTech admissions at NITs, IIITs, other centrally funded technical institutions and participating state institutions, and it is also the qualifying test for JEE Advanced. Paper 2 covers BArch and BPlanning.

Log in first, then fill the form

The process starts with identity, not the form. Candidates log in through MeriPehchaan using DigiLocker, e-Pramaan or JanParichay credentials. In a post on X, NTA listed three things to do before beginning: use your own DigiLocker or JanParichay credentials, complete DigiLocker re-KYC in advance, and make sure your name and date of birth match your Class 10 certificate exactly.

Re-KYC is done inside DigiLocker by refreshing the Aadhaar details, giving consent and entering an OTP sent to the mobile number linked to Aadhaar. A student whose Aadhaar is linked to an old or inactive number should sort that out before starting the application.

On 3 November, NTA also said a passport can be used to complete the application. Foreign nationals and OCI candidates upload their non-Indian passport as a PDF of 50 to 300 KB.

One candidate, one application

NTA has warned against using more than one application number, and says multiple application numbers will be treated as an unfair means practice. Only the last successfully submitted application counts, and the fee paid on an earlier form is not refunded.

Students who made a mistake can still fill a fresh form, even after paying or receiving an application number. Anyone who has ended up with duplicates by accident is advised to contact the NTA helpline rather than leave them in the system.

Eligibility, pattern and fees

Students who passed Class 12 or an equivalent exam in 2025 or 2026, or who are appearing in 2027, can apply. There is no age limit. For admission to NITs, IIITs and other participating institutes, candidates generally need at least 75 per cent in Class 12 or a place in the top 20 percentile of their board, or 65 per cent for SC and ST candidates.

Paper 1 has 75 questions across Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for 300 marks. A correct answer earns four marks and a wrong one costs one; unanswered questions score zero. The exam is offered in 13 languages, in two shifts a day, and candidates choose four preferred test cities. New centres listed this year include Kalahandi and Sundergarh in Odisha and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar in Punjab.

As of 4 November, NTA had not separately announced fees for 2027. In the last cycle, one paper at a centre in India cost ₹1,000 for general-category men and ₹800 for women; ₹900 for EWS and OBC-NCL men and ₹800 for women; and ₹500 for SC, ST, PwD and third-gender candidates. Applicants should go by the figures shown on the official form.

How big the field is

For a sense of scale: more than 13.5 lakh candidates registered for session 1 of JEE Main 2026, and 13,00,368 appeared, according to NTA data. The session ran over five days in 10 shifts, an average of about 1.3 lakh candidates per shift.

NTA declared session 1 results on 16 February 2026, and 12 candidates scored a perfect 100 percentile in Paper 1. With a field that size, small errors in a form, such as a mismatched date of birth, can cost far more time than they are worth.

What to watch

Three things before the exam. The correction window from 27 to 29 November is the last chance to fix details without a fresh form. The city intimation slip around 30 December will show whether you got one of your four choices. And the fee and rules on the final form are the ones that apply, so check them against the official information bulletin rather than any coaching summary, including this one.