The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has released the eligibility criteria for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) 2025 on the official website, jeeadv.ac.in for Indian and foreign nationals. Candidates who are preparing for the JEE exam 2025 must visit the official website to gain complete information and a comprehensive understanding of the eligibility criteria. The requirements explain the expected performance in the JEE Mains exam, age limit, number of attempts, appearance in class 12th exam, and earlier admission at IITs, etc for being eligible to take the JEE advanced examination. Candidates should note that the number of attempts for the JEE Advanced exam has been increased to three, up from the previous limit of two. Aspirants must take a look at the detailed JEE Advanced 2025 eligibility criteria provided here.
Criterion 1: Performance in JEE Mains 2025
To qualify for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced 2025, candidates must be among the top 2,50,000 performers in the Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Technology (B.E./B.Tech.) paper, also known as Paper I, of JEE (Main) 2025, across all categories. The shortlisting distribution for each category is structured as follows: 10% for General Economically Weaker Sections (GEN-EWS), 27% for Other Backward Classes-Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL), 15% for Scheduled Castes (SC), 7.5% for Scheduled Tribes (ST), with the remaining 40.5% open to all candidates.
Additionally, within each of these five categories, a 5% horizontal reservation is provided for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) candidates. The selection will adhere to a specified order for choosing the top 2,50,000 candidates, based on their performance in the B.E./B.Tech. paper of JEE (Main) 2025.
Category-wise distribution of top 2,50,000 candidates
In a ruling passed on February 3, 2023, the Supreme Court of India has decided that Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) candidates who obtained their OCI/PIO card before March 4, 2021, will be considered Indian nationals for the purpose of seat allocation to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). However, these candidates will not be eligible for any reservations, including GEN-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, and ST categories, except for the Open-PwD category. Consequently, OCI/PIO cardholders must appear in the rank list for the OPEN or OPEN-PwD categories.
Criterion A2 – Age Limit
Candidates must be born on or after October 1, 2000, to meet the age eligibility for JEE Advanced. However, candidates from the SC, ST, and PwD categories are eligible for a five-year age relaxation, allowing them to be born on or after October 1, 1995.
Criterion A3 – Number of Attempts
Candidates are allowed a maximum of three attempts at JEE Advanced, with these attempts restricted to three consecutive years.
Criterion A4 – Appearance in Class XII (or Equivalent) Examination
To be eligible for JEE Advanced 2025, candidates must have appeared for the Class XII (or equivalent) examination for the first time in 2023, 2024, or 2025, with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as compulsory subjects. Candidates who appeared for their Class XII (or equivalent) examination for the first time in 2022 or earlier are not eligible, regardless of the combination or number of subjects taken.
The term “appearance” refers to the official declaration of results by the respective examination board for that year, even if the examination was not conducted or a candidate’s result was withheld. However, candidates from boards that declared results for the academic year 2021-22 on or after September 21, 2022, and who appeared for their Class XII exams in 2022, are eligible, provided they meet all other criteria. Candidates whose results were withheld for any reason, but their board declared results before September 21, 2022, will not be eligible for JEE Advanced 2025.
Criterion A5 – Earlier Admission at IITs
Candidates are not eligible to appear for JEE Advanced 2025 if they have been admitted to any Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) under an academic program listed in the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) Business Rules of 2024 or earlier, regardless of whether they continued the programme or accepted an IIT seat through “online” reporting or at a “reporting centre.” This applies even if their admission was later cancelled for any reason.
However, candidates who were admitted to a preparatory course at an IIT for the first time in 2024 are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced 2025. Additionally, candidates who were allocated a seat in an IIT through JoSAA but did not report “online,” withdrew before the final round of seat allotment, or had their seat cancelled before the last round, are also eligible.
In all such cases, candidates must still meet the eligibility criteria outlined in Criterion A1 to Criterion A4.
Candidates can check the detailed JEE Advanced eligibility criteria 2025 as provided here.