JEE Main Exam Pattern 2027: Total Marks, Questions and Marking Scheme
Quick answer: The JEE Main exam pattern for 2027 keeps Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) at 75 questions and 300 marks, to be solved in 3 hours on a computer. Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics contribute 25 questions each, made up of 20 multiple-choice questions and 5 numerical-value questions. A correct answer earns 4 marks and a wrong one costs 1 mark. Session 1 is scheduled on 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28 January 2027, and Session 2 on 2 to 7 April 2027.
Before you attempt even one mock test, it helps to know exactly what the real paper will ask of you. The JEE Main exam pattern tells you how many questions to expect, how marks are gained and lost, how much time you get and which paper applies to which course. Once that is clear, you can plan your speed, accuracy and revision around the actual exam instead of guessing.
This guide covers the JEE Mains exam pattern 2027 for every paper, with a subject wise breakup, total questions, total marks, the marking scheme, session dates, the official PDF, syllabus weightage trends and the JEE Advanced pattern. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued its 2027 information bulletin, and the structure it follows is the same one used in the last two cycles. Even so, confirm every rule against the official bulletin before the exam.
JEE Main Exam Pattern 2027 at a Glance
JEE Main is not a single paper. NTA runs three papers: Paper 1 for B.E./B.Tech, Paper 2A for B.Arch and Paper 2B for B.Planning. Each has its own subjects, question count and total marks, which is why many students mix up the figures.
| Particulars | Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) | Paper 2A (B.Arch) | Paper 2B (B.Planning) |
| Conducting body | NTA | NTA | NTA |
| Mode | Computer-based test | Computer-based test; drawing on paper with pen | Computer-based test |
| Subjects | Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics | Mathematics, Aptitude Test, Drawing Test | Mathematics, Aptitude Test, Planning Test |
| Total questions | 75 | 77 | 100 |
| Total marks | 300 | 400 | 400 |
| Duration | 3 hours | 3 hours | 3 hours |
| Marking | +4 correct, -1 wrong, 0 unattempted | Same (drawing evaluated separately) | Same |
A few more points apply to all papers. Candidates with benchmark disabilities who are eligible for extra time get 4 hours for Paper 1. A student who writes both Paper 2A and Paper 2B gets 3 hours 30 minutes in total. The question paper is available in 13 languages: English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
The pattern is identical in both sessions. If you appear in January and April, NTA takes the better of your two NTA scores for the rank list, so a weak first attempt does not pull your result down.
JEE Mains Exam Pattern Subject Wise (Paper 1)
For engineering aspirants, Paper 1 is the one that matters. It is divided equally among three subjects, and every subject has two sections. Nothing in the paper is optional.
| Subject | Section A (MCQs) | Section B (Numerical) | Questions | Marks |
| Physics | 20 | 5 | 25 | 100 |
| Chemistry | 20 | 5 | 25 | 100 |
| Mathematics | 20 | 5 | 25 | 100 |
| Total | 60 | 15 | 75 | 300 |
Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions
Each subject has 20 MCQs with four options, only one of which is correct. Because wrong answers are penalised, a calculated skip is often smarter than a blind guess.
Section B: Numerical-Value Questions
Each subject has 5 numerical-value questions with no options. You work out the answer and type an integer using the on-screen keypad; a decimal result is rounded to the nearest whole number. Until the 2024 cycle, students could pick any 5 of 10 numerical questions. Since 2025 that choice is gone, and all 5 are compulsory.
Each subject carries one-third of the total, so a strong score in Mathematics cannot fully rescue a weak Chemistry section.
JEE Main Total Questions and Total Marks
JEE Main total questions
Paper 1 has 75 questions: 60 MCQs plus 15 numerical-value questions. Paper 2A has 77 (25 Mathematics, 50 Aptitude, 2 drawing), and Paper 2B has 100 (25 Mathematics, 50 Aptitude, 25 Planning). Older articles still quote 90 questions for Paper 1. That figure counted the extra numerical questions students could skip, and it no longer applies.
JEE Main total marks
The JEE Main total marks for Paper 1 are 300, which is 75 questions multiplied by 4. Each subject contributes a maximum of 100. Papers 2A and 2B are worth 400 marks each, and in Paper 2A, 100 of those marks come from the two drawing questions.
JEE Main Marking Scheme and Negative Marking
| Situation | Marks |
| Correct answer (MCQ or numerical) | +4 |
| Wrong answer (MCQ or numerical) | -1 |
| Unattempted | 0 |
| Drawing test in Paper 2A | Evaluated out of 100; no negative marking |
Suppose you attempt 60 questions in Paper 1 and get 48 right and 12 wrong. Your raw score is (48 × 4) − 12 = 180. Had you left half of those wrong answers blank, you would have gained 6 marks without solving anything extra.
On numerical questions, read carefully. Most current summaries of the 2027 pattern state that the -1 penalty applies to Section B as well, which makes sense now that all five numerical questions are compulsory. A few older pages still claim there is no penalty. Treat every numerical answer as a risk, and check the official bulletin and the on-screen instructions at the start of your test.
Paper 2A and Paper 2B Pattern (B.Arch and B.Planning)
Both papers carry 400 marks and use the same +4 and -1 scheme in the objective parts.
| Part | Paper 2A (B.Arch) | Paper 2B (B.Planning) |
| Mathematics | 25 questions (20 MCQs + 5 numerical), 100 marks | 25 questions (20 MCQs + 5 numerical), 100 marks |
| Aptitude Test | 50 MCQs, 200 marks | 50 MCQs, 200 marks |
| Drawing Test | 2 questions, 100 marks | Not applicable |
| Planning Test | Not applicable | 25 MCQs, 100 marks |
| Total | 77 questions, 400 marks | 100 questions, 400 marks |
The drawing test is the only part of JEE Main not taken on a computer. You answer it by hand on paper, and each of the two questions is worth 50 marks.
JEE Mains 2027 Exam Date: Session 1 and Session 2
NTA announced a two-session calendar. The Session 1 dates were revised in the latest notice, so use the dates below and ignore earlier schedules that circulated online. For the latest changes, keep an eye on the JEE Main 2027 exam dates page.
| Event | Date |
| Session 1 registration | 24 October to 22 November 2026 |
| City intimation slip | 30 December 2026 |
| Session 1 admit card | 13 January 2027 |
| Session 1 exam | 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28 January 2027 |
| Provisional answer key | February 2027 (tentative) |
| Session 2 registration | 5 January to 3 February 2027 |
| Session 2 exam | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 April 2027 |
Each exam day is split into shifts, and the paper-wise and shift-wise allotment appears on your admit card. Registration for Session 1 closes on 22 November 2026, so complete the JEE Main 2027 application form before then. Recheck the dates on the NTA website, because this exam’s schedule has been rearranged before.
JEE Main Exam Pattern PDF: Official 2027 Download
If you are looking for the JEE Main exam pattern 2027 PDF download, the only authoritative file is the information bulletin NTA publishes for the year. Coaching sites offer handy one-page summaries, but those are interpretations, and if one disagrees with the bulletin, the bulletin wins.
To get it, open the official portal (jeemain.nta.nic.in), find the JEE Main 2027 information bulletin under the latest announcements, and download the PDF. Then go straight to the sections on the scheme of the examination and the marking rules. Many students copy the pattern table onto one page and keep it beside their study desk.
JEE Mains 2027 Syllabus Weightage
When people search for JEE Mains 2027 syllabus weightage, they want to know which chapters fetch the most marks. NTA does not publish a chapter-wise distribution. What is fixed is the subject-level weightage: Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics are worth 100 marks each. Chapter-level trends come from analysing previous papers, and they shift from year to year.
Based on previous-year analysis by education portals and coaching institutes, these areas have appeared repeatedly:
| Subject | Areas that have appeared frequently |
| Physics | Modern physics, thermodynamics, optics, current electricity, electrostatics, rotational motion, oscillations |
| Chemistry | Coordination compounds, electrochemistry, chemical equilibrium, thermodynamics, redox reactions, chemical bonding, carbonyl compounds |
| Mathematics | Calculus (limits, continuity, integrals), complex numbers, quadratic equations, sequences and series, conic sections, vectors and 3D geometry, probability |
Use this list to decide what to revise first, not what to skip. With five compulsory numerical questions in every subject, a chapter you ignored can cost you straight marks. The syllabus itself is fixed by NTA and covers Class 11 and Class 12; you can go through it topic by topic in the JEE Main syllabus guide.
JEE Advanced Exam Pattern and Total Marks
JEE Main is also the qualifying step for JEE Advanced, the entrance test for the IITs. Roughly the top 2.5 lakh Paper 1 candidates become eligible to sit for it. The JEE Advanced exam pattern is set each year by the host IIT, and the 2027 brochure is not yet out, so the details below describe recent cycles.
| Feature | Details (recent cycles) |
| Conducting body | One of the IITs, on rotation |
| Papers | Two, both compulsory |
| Duration | 3 hours per paper |
| Mode | Computer-based test |
| Subjects | Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in each paper |
| Question types | Single-correct MCQs, multiple-correct MCQs with partial marking, numerical-value questions; the mix changes by year |
| Language | English and Hindi |
Total marks of JEE Advanced
The total marks of JEE Advanced are not fixed by rule. In both 2025 and 2026 the exam was worth 360 marks, with 180 in each paper, even though the number of questions rose from 96 to 102. Verify the 2027 figure in the brochure. Your All India Rank is based on the combined score of both papers.
JEE Main vs JEE Advanced: Pattern Comparison
| Aspect | JEE Main | JEE Advanced |
| Conducted by | NTA | A rotating IIT |
| Leads to | NITs, IIITs, GFTIs and other institutes; gateway to JEE Advanced | IIT admissions |
| Papers | One for B.Tech; Paper 2A and 2B for architecture and planning | Two compulsory papers |
| Total marks | 300 (Paper 1) | 360 in recent cycles |
| Duration | 3 hours | 3 hours per paper |
| Question style | MCQs and numerical, same marking | Varied formats, partial marking |
| Attempts per year | Two sessions, best score counts | One exam per year |
How to Use the Exam Pattern in Your Preparation
Knowing the JEE Main exam pattern only helps if it changes how you study. For a full study plan, read how to prepare for JEE Main 2027, and use these pattern-based habits alongside it:
- Budget time per subject. Three hours across 75 questions is about 2.4 minutes per question. Start with 60 minutes per subject and adjust after each mock test.
- Practise numerical questions separately. With 15 compulsory numericals and no options to hint at the answer, calculation accuracy needs its own routine.
- Track wrong answers, not just scores. A mistake costs more than a skipped question, so note which errors came from guessing and which from calculation slips.
- Give all three subjects equal respect. Each is worth 100 marks, so a neglected subject is a direct loss.
- Take full-length computer-based mocks. Reading on a screen, using the on-screen keypad and managing the question palette are skills built by repetition.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the JEE Main exam pattern for 2027?
Paper 1 for B.E./B.Tech is a 3-hour computer-based test with 75 compulsory questions worth 300 marks. Each of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics has 20 MCQs and 5 numerical-value questions. Papers 2A and 2B carry 400 marks each.
How many questions are asked in JEE Main Paper 1?
There are 75 questions, 25 from each subject. All must be attempted for a full score, because no question is optional.
What are the total marks of JEE Main?
Paper 1 is worth 300 marks. Paper 2A and Paper 2B are worth 400 marks each.
Is there negative marking for numerical questions?
Most current sources report a deduction of 1 mark for a wrong numerical answer, the same as for MCQs. Because older pages say otherwise, check the official bulletin and your exam-day instructions.
Are the numerical questions optional in JEE Main 2027?
No. The old choice of answering any 5 out of 10 was discontinued from 2025. All 5 numerical questions per subject are compulsory.
When is JEE Main 2027 Session 1?
It is scheduled on 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28 January 2027. Registration closes on 22 November 2026.
Is the pattern the same for the January and April sessions?
Yes. Both use the same structure and marking scheme, and your better NTA score is used for the rank list.
What are the total marks of JEE Advanced?
The last two editions were worth 360 marks, split evenly across two papers. The 2027 figure will be confirmed in the JEE Advanced brochure.
Final Thoughts
The JEE Main exam pattern rewards students who are balanced, accurate and calm under a clock. With 75 compulsory questions, equal weight across three subjects and a penalty for wrong answers, the paper favours consistent preparation over lucky guessing. Note the dates, download the official bulletin, practise with the same structure you will see on exam day, and revisit this page whenever NTA or the host IIT issues an update.
