Minimum marks required for Top NITs in JEE Main 2026 range from 180-260+, depending on the courses and category. 240-260 marks out of 300 are the safe scores that guarantee NIT seats and your desired programs.
The qualifying marks range varies from 45 to 135 across categories. To get into top NITs and demanding programs like CSE, AI, ECE, etc., you need 240+ marks.
- 240-260+: Guaranteed seats in top NITs
- 220-240: Competitive, but still can get hold of good programs
- 200-220: Top programs in mid-tier NITs can be bagged.
- 180-190+: Mechanical, EE, and other less-demand programs can be secured.
NITs-Trichy, Warangal, and Surathkal require 240- 250+ marks for admissions. Mech, Civil, EE can be obtained in other top-tier NITs such as Rourkela, Calicut, Allahabad, and Jaipur with 220- 230+ marks.
Related Articles

Key Summary
- Minimum marks required for Top NITs in JEE Main 2026 range across 200-240+ across categories and branches.
- Top NITs require 240 to 250 marks for their high-demand programs, such as CSE or ECE.
- A 190 to 200 safer score can get your seat secured in the top NITs’ 80% of the branches.
- Mid-tier NITs provide CSE/ECE and other high-demand programs with 200 to 220 marks.
- Other programs in mid-tier NITs can be secured with 180- 200+ marks.
- Eligibility to apply to NIT ranges between 115-35 for the general category and 45-65 for the reserved category.
Minimum marks required for Top NITs in JEE Main 2026
- Though the qualifying score is 115-135, to get admission assured, 220+ is the minimum marks required for Top NITs in JEE Main 2026
- You should aim for 240 to 260 and above marks to be very safe to get admissions in the top NITs.
- For CSE in top NITs, your ideal score should be 240+, and for ECE in top NITs, you typically require a 220-230+ score.
- For branches like Mechanical and Civil, around 180 to 200 marks are required in the top NITs.
Check:
JEE Main NIT Cut Off 2026Marks required for NITs
| Year | Top-NITs: Top programs | Top-NITs-any branch | Mid-tier NITs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 220–235 | 160–175 | 185–200 |
| 2021 | 225–240 | 165–180 | 190–205 |
| 2022 | 225–245 | 170–185 | 190–205 |
| 2023 | 230–245 | 180–190 | 200–210 |
| 2024 | 235–248 | 185–195 | 200–210 |
| 2025 | 240–250+ | 190–200 | 205–215 |
What percentile in JEE Main is required for NITs
- For admissions into top-tier NITs, NIT Trichy, NIT Suratkal, and NIT Warangal, a 98 to 99.5 percentile is typically required.
- For mid-tier NITs, admissions often close around the 95th to 98th percentile.
- Most NITs require at least a 95+ percentile for competitive branches such as CSE and ECE.
- The minimum percentile to be eligible to apply for admissions is 93.10 for the general category.
Check:
JEE Main College PredictorMinimum Qualifying Marks and Percentile Required for Admissions into NITs
| Category | Minimum Qualifying Percentile | Minimum Qualifying Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Open-General | 93.10-100 | 115-135 |
| Open-PwD | 0.007-93.09 | 10-115 |
| General-EWS | 80.38-93.09 | 90-115 |
| General-EWS-PwD | 0.01-80.3 | 5-90 |
| OBC-NCL | 79.43-93.09 | 85-110 |
| OBL-NCL-PwD | 0.01-79.4 | 5-85 |
| SC | 61.15-93.09 | 60-80 |
| SC-PwD | 0.01-61.1 | 1-60 |
| ST | 47.90-93.09 | 45-65 |
| ST-PwD | 0.01-47.9 | 1-45 |

Check:
JEE Main Paper Analysis Session 2Minimum Qualifying Percentile Required for Admissions into NITs 2025-2020
| Year | General/UR cut-off | EWS cut-off | OBC-NCL cut-off | SC cut-off | ST cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 93.10 | 80.38 | 79.43 | 61.15 | 47.90 |
| 2024 | 90.77 | 75.62 | 73.61 | 60.09 | 46.69 |
| 2023 | 90.77 | 75.62 | 73.61 | 51.97 | 37.23 |
| 2022 | 88.41 | 63.11 | 67.00 | 43.08 | 26.77 |
| 2021 | 87.89 | 66.22 | 68.02 | 46.88 | 34.67 |
| 2020 | 90.37 | 70.24 | 72.88 | 50.17 | 39.06 |

Marks and Percentile required for Top NITs
- To get admission hassle-free into the top 3 NITs, you would need 220- 240+.
- With 190-220+, you can get admission into the top 7 NITs.
- For core branches in NITs, a score above 190 is a must
| Top NIT | CSE | ECE/IT | Core Branches | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marks | Percentile | Marks | Percentile | Marks | Percentile | |
| Trichy | 220–240 | 99–99.5 | 200–215 | 98.5–99 | 180–195 | 97–98 |
| Surathkal | 220–240 | 99–99.5 | 200–215 | 98.5–99 | 180–190 | 97–98 |
| Warangal | 220–230 | 99+ | 200–210 | 98.5–99 | 180–190 | 97–98 |
| Rourkela | 200–215 | 98.5–99 | 180–200 | 97–98 | 160–180 | 95–97 |
| Calicut | 190–210 | 98–99 | 175–190 | 97–98 | 160–175 | 95–97 |
| Allahabad | 190–210 | 98–99 | 170–190 | 96–98 | 150–170 | 95–97 |
| Jaipur | 185–200 | 97–98.5 | 165–185 | 96–97.5 | 150–165 | 95–96.5 |
Practice JEE Main PYQs
Marks and Percentile required for Top NITs: Category-wise
- NIT Trichy, Surathkal, and Warangal require 240+ marks for General category candidates.
- Above 200 marks are required for OBC and EWS candidates.
- 140-180 is a more than safe score for reserved categories.
| Category | NIT Trichy/Surathkal/Warangal (CSE) | Rourkela/Calicut/Allahabad/Jaipur (CSE) | Core Branches | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marks | Percentile | Marks | Percentile | Marks | Percentile | |
| General | 220–240+ | 99–99.5 | 190–210 | 98–99 | 160–185 | 95–98 |
| OBC-NCL | 200-230 | 97–98.5 | 160–180 | 95–97 | 130–160 | 90–95 |
| EWS | 210-230 | 97–98.5 | 160–175 | 95–97 | 130–160 | 90–95 |
| SC | 120–140 | 85–90 | 100–120 | 75–85 | 80–100 | 65–75 |
| ST | 100–120 | 75–85 | 80–100 | 65–75 | 60–80 | 55–65 |
Minimum Marks Required for Top NITs in JEE Main 2026 FAQS
Ques: What is the expected marks for JEE 2026 vs the percentile?
Ans: 250+ marks can get you 99.9+ percentile
- 200–220 marks translate to 99–99.5 percentile
- 150–170 marks get 97–98.5 percentile
- 100–120 marks get 90–93 percentile
Ques: Is 75 percent necessary for NIT 2025?
Ans: Yes, 75% in Class 12 is compulsory for NIT, IIIT, and IIT admissions.
- 75% in Class 12 for General/OBC/EWS or top 20 percentile in respective boards is compulsory for NIT, IIIT, and IIT eligibility.
- SC/ST candidates need only 65% in Class 12.
Ques: How many marks are required to get NIT in JEE Mains?
Ans: Above 200 marks is a safer score to get into NITs via JEE Main
- Top NITs require 220–240+ marks
- Mid-tier NITs admit with 180–200 marks
- Lower NITs & core branches can be availed with 120–160 marks







Comments