The Joint Entrance Exam Main 2026 (JEE Main 2026) dates have been officially announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The exam will be conducted in two sessions: the first session in January and the second session in April 2026. 

Specifically, Session 1 will be held from 21 January to 31 January 2026, and Session 2 is scheduled between 1 April and 10 April 2026. 

Candidates can begin applying in October 2025 for the January session, while the application window for the April session opens in the last week of January 2026. 

Here’s how candidates can apply: 

• Visit the official website of the agency - jeemain.nta.nic.in.

• On the homepage, click on "New Registration" under the "Candidate Activity" board.

• Enter the required login credentials.

• You will be successfully registered for the examination.

As per NTA guidelines, applicants must keep certain documents ready: their Aadhaar card, the UDID card (for persons with disabilities), and any valid category certificates for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), or Other Backward Classes-Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL). 

The JEE Main exam is the national-level entrance test for undergraduate engineering and architecture programmes. It consists of two papers: Paper 1 for BE/BTech admissions through institutes including NITs, IIITs and other centrally funded technical institutions, and Paper 2 for BArch/BPlanning admissions. 

Qualifying JEE Main Paper 1 also enables students to sit for the JEE Advanced exam, which is the gateway to admission into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). 

Candidates are advised to monitor the official NTA website carefully for detailed instructions, registration links, and updates as the timelines approach.