JEE Main 2026 Session 2 City Intimation Slip covers over 320 cities, with the most common exam cities located in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh.

This slip informs candidates of their exam city for the JEE Main Session exam which will be conducted from April 2 to 9, 2026.

  • During the JEE Main application process candidates can choose upto 4 exam centres of their choice on the basis of their location.
  • NTA allots the exam centre on the basis of the options chosen by candidates and it can not be changed once allotted.
  • According to a report of Times of India, the number of exam cities for JEE Main has increased to 323 in 2026 by NTA which was 284 in 2025 so that students don’t have to travel much for exam.
  • The final exam city allotment is based on: candidate preference order, availability of seats in exam centres, regional demand and infrastructure, and geographical proximity to the candidate.

The JEE Main 2026 Session 2 city intimation slip is expected to be released between March 8 and March 20, 2026 by NTA on official website.

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Most Common Exam Cities in JEE Main 2026 Session 2 City Intimation Slip

Key Summary

  • The JEE Main 2026 Session 2 city intimation slip helps candidates know their exam city in advance so they can plan travel before the admit card release.
  • The increase in exam cities from 284 in 2025 to around 323 in 2026 indicates that exam authorities are expanding testing infrastructure to improve accessibility for candidates.
  • Large metropolitan and education hubs continue to dominate exam centre allocation because they have higher computer-based testing capacity and better infrastructure.
  • States with larger student populations and higher engineering aspirant density generally receive a greater number of exam cities compared to smaller states or union territories.

Common JEE Main Exam Cities in JEE Main 2026 Session 2

These 10 common exam cities in JEE Main contributes around 40-45% of the total candidates appearing in the exam.

  • New Delhi is one of the most common city for JEE Main exam that alone contributes 6-8% of the candidates.
  • Kota with major coaching hub contributes around 6-8% of the candidates.
  • Hyderabad contributes around 5-6% of the total candidates.
City Reason Percentage of Candidates Appeared
Delhi / New Delhi One of the largest exam hubs with many CBT centres 6-8%
Kota Major coaching hub for JEE aspirants 5-7%
Hyderabad Very high number of applicants from Telangana & AP 5-6%
Bengaluru Large student population & multiple centres 4-6%
Mumbai / Navi Mumbai High demand from Maharashtra candidates 4-5%
Pune Major education city with many CBT labs 3-4%
Chennai Large engineering aspirant population 3-4%
Ahmedabad / Gandhinagar Major Gujarat testing region 3-4%
Jaipur Big coaching hub like Kota 3-4%
Lucknow Large number of candidates from Uttar Pradesh 2-3%
Common JEE Main Exam Cities in JEE Main 2026 Session 2

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Ques. When will the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 city intimation slip be released?

Ans. The city intimation slip for JEE Main 2026 Session 2 is expected to be released between March 8 and March 20, 2026 by NTA on the official website. Candidates can download it using their application number and date of birth.

JEE Main 2026 Exam Cities State-wise List

The number of JEE Main exam cities in every state varies from 1 to 30 on the basis of number of appearing candidates. States with higher number of candidates like UP, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu have higher number of exam cities so that they should not travel a long distance.

State / UT Major Exam Cities Total No. of Exam Cities
Andaman & Nicobar Islands Port Blair 1
Arunachal Pradesh Itanagar, Naharlagun 2
Assam Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar, Tezpur, Dibrugarh 5
Andhra Pradesh Anantapur, Guntur, Kurnool, Nellore, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram 30
Bihar Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Darbhanga 11
Chhattisgarh Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai 5
Delhi New Delhi 1
Gujarat Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar 15
Haryana Faridabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Ambala, Kurukshetra 5
Himachal Pradesh Shimla, Dharamshala, Hamirpur 7
Jammu & Kashmir Srinagar, Jammu 5
Jharkhand Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro 6
Karnataka Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Hubballi, Dharwad 16
Kerala Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Thrissur 14
Madhya Pradesh Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain 10
Maharashtra Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Solapur, Amravati 30
Odisha Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur 20
Punjab Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar 6
Rajasthan Jaipur, Kota, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Bikaner 13
Tamil Nadu Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Tirunelveli 29
Telangana Hyderabad, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad 5
Uttar Pradesh Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ghaziabad, Noida, Agra, Meerut, Gorakhpur 27
Uttarakhand Dehradun, Haldwani, Roorkee 5
West Bengal Kolkata, Durgapur, Siliguri, Asansol 14

Check: JEE Main 2026 Session 2 City Slip Releasing Soon: Check Your Allotted Exam City & Zone in 2 Minutes

Ques. Is the city mentioned in the intimation slip the final exam centre?

Ans. No, the city intimation slip only tells the exam city. The exact exam centre address, reporting time, and exam instructions are provided later in the JEE Main admit card.

Highest Allotment Trends in JEE Main Exam Centres

The allotment of JEE Main exam centres in various states is mostly done on the basis of number of engineering candidates and regional accessibility. States having a large number of candidates can get the highest number of exam cities and centres in order to decrease travel distance and overcrowding.

  • Maharashtra (30 exam cities) and Uttar Pradesh (27 exam cities) are the two states with highest number of exam cities.
  • Tamil Nadu with 29 exam cities and Andhra Pradesh with 30 exam cities also receive a high allocation of exam centres because of the large number of engineering candidates in southern India.
  • Kerala (14), Karnataka (16), and Odisha (20) also have a larger number of exam cities so that candidates from different districts can choose their close exam city.
  • Highly populated states like Bihar with 11 exam cities and West Bengal with 14 exam cities also have a good number of exam cities because large number of students appear for the exam from these states every year.
  • Overall, there are around 300+ exam cities in India so that candidates can choose nearby locations so they need to travel less in the exam.

Check: How many students appeared for JEE Main 2026?

Ques. Can candidates change their exam city after the intimation slip is released?

Ans. No, once the exam city is allotted by NTA, candidates cannot request a change. The allotment is done based on candidate preferences and seat availability at exam centres.

JEE Main Number of Exam Cities in India (2020-2026)

The number of exam cities in India for JEE Main keeps changing every year on the basis of number of candidates applied for the exam.

  • The highest number of JEE Main exam cities was in 2022 (501 cities in India) when NTA expanded centres significantly after the pandemic to reduce crowding.
  • In 2023 the number of exam cities decreased to 399 and keep decreasing in 2024 and 2024.
Year Exam Cities in India
2020 224
2021 232
2022 501
2023 339
2024 300
2025 284
2026 323
JEE Main Number of Exam Cities in India

Also Check:

Reddit Discussion on JEE Main Exam Centres 2026

A user on Reddit mentioned there are 8 exam cities added in Andhra Pradesh only in 2026. Similarly some of the exam cities are added in other states also.

Reddit Discussion on JEE Main Exam Centres 2026

Source: Users discussion on Reddit

Ques. How many exam cities are available for JEE Main 2026?

Ans. According to recent reports, around 323 exam cities are expected to host the JEE Main 2026 exam, which is an increase compared to 284 cities in 2025.

Ques. What should candidates do after downloading the city intimation slip?

Ans. After downloading the slip, candidates should:

  • Verify their allotted exam city
  • Start planning travel and accommodation if required
  • Regularly check the official website for the admit card release.

Ques. Is the city intimation slip mandatory for appearing in the exam?

Ans. No, the city intimation slip is not required at the exam centre. It is only issued to inform candidates about the exam city in advance. The admit card is the mandatory document required on the exam day.

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