JEE 2027 exam dates & schedule: JEE Main & JEE Advanced

JEE 2027 has three exam dates: JEE Main Session 1 around late January 2027, JEE Main Session 2 around early-to-mid April 2027 (NTA takes the better percentile), and JEE Advanced around late May 2027 conducted by the host IIT. JoSAA counselling for IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs starts mid-June 2027. Dates are indicative until NTA releases the official notification.

JEE 2027 schedule at a glance (indicative)

How does the two-session JEE Main work?

• Two attempts, one score: you may sit Session 1, Session 2, or both - the NTA takes the better of the two normalised percentile scores.
• Normalisation: scores across shifts and sessions are converted to an NTA percentile, so a slightly harder shift is not a disadvantage.
• Advanced eligibility: only the top ~2,50,000 JEE Main qualifiers (across categories) can register for JEE Advanced 2027.
• Advanced attempts: a maximum of two attempts at JEE Advanced in two consecutive years.

Back-planning your prep

Treat Session 1 (late January 2027) as your hard deadline: complete the syllabus by November 2026, then run full-length, timed mocks through December and January. Use the Session 1 result to decide whether to push harder for Session 2 in April, and keep at least four focused weeks before late-May JEE Advanced for its tougher, variable pattern.

Ready to test where you stand? Take a free JEE Main mock and see your indicative rank in 30 minutes.

Full JEE 2027 calendar with milestones (indicative)

The dates below are projected from the NTA's and the host IIT's past-year patterns. The official JEE Main 2027 Information Bulletin is typically released in late October 2026 on jeemain.nta.nic.in and replaces every row here with the exact date for that cycle. Use this table for back-planning, not for booking train tickets.

What to do in each window: a candidate's calendar

Knowing the dates is half the planning. Knowing what to actually do in each window is the other half. The phases below are mapped to the indicative calendar above - use them as a checklist, not a rigid schedule.

• June 2026 to October 2026 (concept build):Cover the JEE syllabus topic by topic with NCERT plus one standard reference per subject. Solve topic-wise problems immediately after each chapter; do not stockpile problems for the "revision phase". Target one or two short subject tests a week, not full papers yet.
• November 2026 (transition to mocks): The NTA brochure is out; the form is opening. Start with full-length Physics-only and Maths-only papers in the JEE Main pattern, then move to integrated PCM papers from mid-November. Aim for two full-length JEE Main mocks a week, sit them at the actual exam slot timing (typically 9 am or 3 pm).
• December 2026 (peak mocks): Three to four full-length mocks per week, all timed and reviewed cold the next morning. Most candidates plateau here - the gain in this month comes from error-log discipline, not from new content. Maintain a written list of every silly mistake, every misread question and every formula gap.
• January 2027 (sharpening to Session 1): Down-shift to two mocks a week, up-shift to topic-level revision from your error log. Stop introducing new problems in the last 10 days; the brain consolidates rather than absorbs in the final stretch. Three days before Session 1, switch to short, easy practice sets to keep speed without inducing fatigue.
• February to March 2027 (between sessions): Session 1 result is out by mid-February. Cold-review your response sheet against the official key - not for marks, but to spot the pattern of mistakes. Use March to attack the two or three topics that cost you the most marks; keep one mock a week to maintain stamina.
• Early April 2027 (Session 2): Repeat the January playbook: two mocks a week, error-log revision, easy-set taper in the last 72 hours. After Session 2, you finally know your final NTA percentile and whether you cleared the JEE Advanced cut-off.
• Late April to May 2027 (Advanced specialisation): Switch entirely to the JEE Advanced pattern - multi-correct questions, integer / numerical answers, paragraph-based items, partial-marking. Concept depth in Physics and Maths matters more here than in Main; rework selected JEE Advanced past papers cold, in the actual three-hour format.

Ready to test where you stand? Take a free JEE Main mock and see your indicative rank in 30 minutes.

What should you check on your JEE admit card?

The admit card releases 3 to 5 days before each session begins on the same NTA candidate portal where you registered. You log in with the application number and password and download a PDF. Print at least three colour copies and save the PDF on at least two devices - including one that works offline. The admit card has to be carried physically into the centre; a phone-screen image is not accepted.

• Allotted exam city and centre address: Verify the city against your application preferences. The full centre address (with the centre code) is what you actually need; copy it into a maps app immediately and pin it.
• Reporting time vs gate-closing time: These are two different times printed on the admit card. The reporting time is usually 90 minutes before the exam; the gate closes 30 minutes before. After the gate closes, no candidate is admitted - no exceptions, no late entry.
• Photograph and signature on the admit card: These should be the same images you uploaded. If they look distorted, mismatched or replaced with a placeholder, raise a correction request on the NTA portal the same day.
• Self-declaration / undertaking: Some admit cards print an undertaking section to be filled in by hand and signed in the presence of the invigilator. Do not pre-sign that section.
• Paper-1 vs Paper-2 vs combination: If you applied for multiple papers, you may have multiple slots on different dates - one admit card with all slots, but at potentially different centres. Read it slot by slot.

Exam day rules: what to carry, banned items, dress code

NTA centres apply the same rule set across sessions. Walking in with a banned item is the most common reason for last-minute rejection at the gate - not a bad rank, but a literal "turn around and go home". Read the rules on your admit card the night before, not on the morning of the exam.

• Must carry: printed admit card with self-declaration, one government photo ID (Aadhaar / passport / voter ID / PAN matching the form), one recent passport-size photograph identical to the one on the form, and a transparent water bottle (allowed at most centres).
• Banned items: mobile phones, smart watches, fitness bands, calculators, log tables, paper of any kind, books, erasers, pencil pouches with metal, geometry boxes, water bottles in opaque material, food other than diabetic snacks (with the PwD declaration). Wallets and earrings are allowed but checked.
• Dress code: light clothing, no full-sleeve clothing with thick cuffs, no hoodies or shawls (a stole or light covering is allowed if you reach the centre 30 minutes earlier for a check), no shoes with thick soles for some centres (slippers / open shoes are safer), no jewellery beyond the absolute minimum.
• Stationery is provided: the NTA gives you a rough sheet (sometimes multiple) and a black ball-point pen at the desk. Do not bring your own; do not pocket the rough sheet at the end - it has to be returned, and walking out with it is treated as malpractice.
• Reporting time: reach the centre at the reporting time printed on the admit card. The biometric, frisking and seat-finding queue eats roughly 45 to 60 minutes before you sit down at the workstation.

After the exam: answer key, objections, normalisation

Within 2 to 4 days of the last shift of the session, NTA releases the response sheet (your individual answers) and the provisional answer key on the candidate portal. There is a short objection window (typically 2 to 3 days) where you can challenge a key option per question - a small fee per challenge is collected and refunded if the challenge is upheld by the subject committee.

• Raise objections only on solid ground: the subject committee reviews every challenge and gives a single, final ruling that applies to all candidates. Random objections waste the fee and do not improve your score.
• Final answer key is released after the objection window closes; results are computed using the final key, not the provisional one. Multiple Marking-Correct (MMC) decisions are listed in the final key - some questions get accepted with two correct options, some get dropped entirely.
• Result and NTA percentile: JEE Main is scored across multiple shifts and dates. Raw marks across shifts are normalised using the NTA percentile method: each candidate's raw score is converted to the percentile of candidates in that shift who scored at or below it. A slightly harder shift therefore does not penalise you.
• Best of two: if you appeared for both sessions, the better of your two NTA percentiles is taken as the final score for the All-India rank and for JEE Advanced cut-off determination. The other percentile is preserved on your scorecard but not used for ranking.

JEE Advanced after Main: who's eligible, timeline, dual registration

NTA publishes the JEE Advanced eligibility list within a week of the Session 2 result. Broadly, the top ~2,50,000 across categories on Paper 1 NTA ranks are eligible, with category-wise sub-quotas (around 1,01,250 general; 25,313 EWS; 27,000 OBC-NCL; 37,500 SC; 18,750 ST; and PwD horizontal reservation within each category). Numbers shift by a few thousand year-on-year. You also need to satisfy age, number-of-attempts and Class-12 first-attempt rules listed on the eligibility page.

Eligible candidates register fresh on jeeadv.ac.in (the portal of the organising IIT for the year) using their JEE Main application number, DOB and a new password. The window is short - typically 5 to 7 days - and the fee is paid separately. You also choose a zonal IIT for the exam and the language (English or Hindi), both locked once you submit. The admit card releases roughly 5 days before the exam; the exam is on a single day with two papers (Paper 1 in the morning, Paper 2 in the afternoon), both compulsory.

JoSAA counselling: six rounds, choice filling, mock allotment

JoSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) is the common counselling body for IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs. It runs for six rounds, typically from mid-June to late July 2027. You register once, fill an ordered list of programme-institute choices, and JoSAA runs an iterative allotment that respects your choice order and your category rank.

• Mock allotment: two mock allotments are released before round 1 starts, based on a snapshot of the choices candidates have filled. Use them to see whether your top 20 choices are realistic given your rank; reorder if your top picks are far above your rank band.
• Round 1 to 6: after each round, candidates with an allotted seat can Freeze (lock the seat), Slide (upgrade within the same institute), Float (consider upgrades across institutes) or Withdraw (exit JoSAA). Sliding and floating give the system a path to push you to a better choice in later rounds; freezing closes that path.
• Document verification happens online for most students; physical reporting is required at the institute only after CSAB special rounds in some streams. Have the originals of Class 10, Class 12, JEE Main / Advanced scorecards, category certificate and a passport-size photograph ready.
• After JoSAA, CSAB runs two special rounds in late July / early August for vacant NIT / IIIT / GFTI seats. IIT seats are not part of CSAB - the last chance for an IIT seat is JoSAA round 6.

What is the difference between JEE Main Session 1 and Session 2?

The two NTA sessions are structurally identical: same syllabus, same paper pattern, same +4 / -1 marking, same NTA percentile method. What differs is the population of candidates that sits each session, which shifts the normalisation curve, and your own state - experience from Session 1, the gaps you spotted in February, and the four to six extra weeks of focused revision before April.

• Best-of-two scoring: NTA takes the better of your two NTA percentiles for the final rank. The worse session does not drag you down; it simply does not count.
• Can you skip Session 1? Yes - nothing in the rule book forces both attempts. But almost no one should: Session 1 is a cheap, no-regret rehearsal that locks in a baseline before Session 2. Skipping it usually means you walked in to your only attempt cold.
• Can you skip Session 2? Also yes. If you cleared the JEE Advanced cut-off with Session 1 and are confident of your AIR band, some candidates rest in March-April and focus on Advanced preparation. The downside is that you forgo a free attempt at improving your best.
• Different paper difficulty: anecdotally, Session 2 has been perceived as slightly harder in some subjects in recent years - but because NTA normalises percentile within shifts, this does not translate to a lower rank for the same percentile.

Ready to test where you stand? Take a free JEE Main mock and see your indicative rank in 30 minutes.