JEE Advanced Eligibility Criteria 2025 – Who Can Apply, Age Limit, Attempts, & More

The JEE Advanced Eligibility Criteria 2025 has been officially released by IIT Kanpur for both Indian and international candidates. As per the latest update, a one-time relaxation has been introduced, allowing some candidates to attempt the exam three times instead of two. This special provision is based on a Supreme Court directive and applies only to candidates who meet specific criteria.

To be eligible for JEE Advanced 2025, candidates must rank among the top 2,50,000 qualifiers in JEE Main 2025 Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech.) across all categories. The seat distribution is as follows: 10% for GEN-EWS, 27% for OBC-NCL, 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST, and 40.5% for the OPEN category. In addition, each category includes a 5% horizontal reservation for PwD candidates.

Quick Summary: Who is eligible for JEE Advanced in 2025?

JEE Advanced Eligibility Criteria 2025 – Detailed Guide

Performance in JEE Main 2025

Only the top 2,50,000 candidates (across all categories) in JEE Main 2025 Paper 1 are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced 2025. Here's the category-wise seat breakup:

Age Limit for JEE Advanced 2025

• General/OBC: Born on or after October 1, 2000

• SC/ST/PwD: Born on or after October 1, 1995 (5-year relaxation)
  
  

Number of Attempts Allowed

• Normally, candidates can appear only twice in two consecutive years.

• Exception for 2025: Candidates who dropped out between Nov 5 – Nov 18, 2024 can apply for a third time as per Supreme Court orders.
  
  

Class 12 or Equivalent Examination

You must have appeared in your Class 12 board exam (with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics) for the first time in either:

• 2024, or

• 2025

• Special case: If your board declared results for 2023 exams after June 28, 2023, you’re still eligible if you appeared in 2023 and meet all other criteria.

Earlier Admission at IITs

You are not eligible for JEE Advanced 2025 if:

• You already joined any IIT program (regardless of whether you continued).

• Your seat was cancelled after joining any IIT.
  
  

However, you are eligible if:

• You were allocated an IIT seat in 2024 but:

• Did not report, or

• Withdrew before the final round, or

• Seat was cancelled before the final allotment
  
  

Special Exception – Supreme Court Order

As per the Supreme Court ruling (Writ Petition 854/2024 & 17/2025), students who exited an IIT program between 5th to 18th November 2024 are eligible for JEE Advanced 2025, even if they’ve attempted it twice already.

JEE Advanced Eligibility Criteria 2025 for Foreign Students

The general eligibility criteria for foreign nationals were as follows:

• Citizenship: Foreign nationals, including OCI (Overseas Citizens of India) and PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) cardholders,  are eligible to apply.

• Educational Qualification: Candidates should have completed their 10+2 or equivalent examination, which is recognised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) as equivalent to the Indian 12th standard. The required subjects might vary depending on the candidate's chosen field of study (usually Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics).

• Performance in Qualifying Exam: Candidates should have secured a minimum percentage of marks (which might vary) in the qualifying examination, as specified in the JEE Advanced brochure.

• Age Limit: There might not be a different age limit criteria for foreign nationals applying for JEE Advanced.

• Number of Attempts: The number of attempts for foreign nationals might be different from that of Indian nationals. In some years, there might be no limit on the number of attempts for foreign students.

• JEE Main Qualification: Foreign nationals might be required to qualify for the JEE Main examination before being eligible for JEE Advanced.

Essential Study Material Links for JEE Advanced 2025