- Engineering
- BE/BTech
- MTech/ME
How to Get Admission in IIT 2027: Eligibility & Entrance Exams
Content Manager
Want to study at one of India's top IITs? Discover how to get admission in IIT in 2027, from eligibility criteria and entrance exams to JEE Advanced and JoSAA counselling. Explore admission routes, selection criteria and key steps to secure your seat.
How to get admission in IIT after Class 12? Clear JEE Main, rank in the top 2,50,000, qualify JEE Advanced, then win a seat in JoSAA counselling. That is the only route to a B.Tech seat in the 23 IITs. If you finish Class 12 in 2027, the first date is close, because JEE Main 2027 Session 1 applications close on 22 November 2026. So the real question is how to plan the next 18 months so that each exam opens the door to the next one.
23
IITs you can join through JoSAA
Part of 138 institutes in JoSAA 2026
2 attempts
Allowed in JEE Advanced
In two consecutive years
22 Nov 2026
Last date to apply for JEE Main 2027 Session 1
Up to 11:50 PM
How to get admission in IIT after Class 12: the four steps
Here is how to get admission in IIT, one step at a time. There are four steps between you and an IIT seat. You pass them in order, and a miss at one step stops you at the next. The JEE Main dates are from the official 2027 information bulletin. The JEE Advanced 2027 date is not announced yet.
Step 1
Class 12 with the right subjects and marks
Take Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. You need 75% in five subjects (65% for SC, ST and PwD) or a place in your board's top 20 percentile.
Step 2
JEE Main 2027
Rank in the top 2,50,000 of the B.E./B.Tech paper to move ahead. The dates for both sessions are in the table below.
Step 3
JEE Advanced 2027
Qualify in both papers. The 2026 exam was held on 17 May 2026. The official site has no 2027 dates yet.
Step 4
JoSAA counselling
Fill your choices of IIT and branch after the JEE Advanced result. Seats are given by rank in several rounds.
Step 2 is the one with fixed dates right now. Apply for Session 1 first, and keep Session 2 as your second chance.
| JEE Main 2027 | Application window | Exam dates |
|---|---|---|
| Session 1 | 24 Oct to 22 Nov 2026 | 20 to 24 and 28 Jan 2027 |
| Session 2 | 5 Jan to 3 Feb 2027 | 2 to 7 Apr 2027 |
Late applications with a ₹500 fee are taken from 23 to 26 November for Session 1. Corrections run from 27 to 29 November. The admit card comes on 13 January 2027. You can skip Session 1, but if you take both sessions, your best NTA score is used.
Think of it as a funnel. JEE Main is open to a large group. JEE Advanced is open to the top 2,50,000 of that group. JoSAA is open only to those who qualify. Before you plan how to get admission in IIT in detail, you need to know whether you are allowed to enter each step. So the next part covers eligibility.
How can I get admission in IIT? Check the eligibility first
If you ask how can I get admission in IIT, the first answer is about rules, not rank. Every step has its own conditions. The JEE Advanced 2027 brochure is not out, so the JEE Advanced and IIT rules below are from the 2026 brochure. The JEE Main rules are from the 2027 bulletin.
To take a seat in an IIT you need Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in Class 12. You must pass at least five subjects. You must also meet one of two conditions.
- 75% aggregate: The limit is 65% for SC, ST and PwD candidates.
- Top 20 percentile: You must be in the top 20 percentile of successful candidates in your board, category-wise.
This is Clause 26 of the JEE Advanced 2026 brochure. Your board result decides whether a good rank becomes a seat, so do not treat boards as a side task.
Do not assume the 2027 JEE Advanced rules
The Class 12 year in condition A4 moves with each exam cycle. The 2026 brochure names 2025 and 2026. The 2027 brochure will name the years for you, so read it before you register.
Once you know you are eligible, the question becomes how the first big exam works, and what a good JEE Main plan looks like.
How to get in IIT: Start with JEE Main
If your question is how to get in IIT, the first answer is JEE Main. It is the door to JEE Advanced, and it also decides your NIT, IIIT and other institute options. So even if the IIT is your only goal, a good JEE Main plan is also your backup. You are shortlisted for JEE Advanced by your rank in the B.E./B.Tech paper, and the quota is split by category.
| Category | Share of the 2,50,000 shortlist (2026) | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| OPEN | 40.5% | 1,01,250 |
| OBC-NCL | 27% | 67,500 |
| SC | 15% | 37,500 |
| ST | 7.5% | 18,750 |
| GEN-EWS | 10% | 25,000 |
The shares above are from the 2026 JEE Advanced eligibility page. Each category also has 5% horizontal reservation for PwD candidates. OCI and PIO(I) candidates are eligible under OPEN or OPEN-PwD only.
- Apply for Session 1 by 22 November 2026, and keep Session 2 in April as your second chance.
- Use the official syllabus, and match it with the JEE Main syllabus page.
- Check the JEE Main dates and JEE Main registration pages so that you do not miss the late-fee window.
You need to rank high in JEE Main only to reach the next step. The exam that decides your IIT seat is JEE Advanced, so that is where we go now.
How to get admission in IIT through JEE Advanced
JEE Advanced is the main answer to how to get admission in IIT. It is held by one of the IITs, and the organising IIT changes each year. It has two papers of 3 hours each, and you must appear in both. The 2026 exam had 102 questions and 360 marks, as covered in our guide on how many questions are there in JEE Advanced. The result gives you a Common Rank List (CRL) rank and a category rank.
To appear on the list, you need minimum marks. These come from the 2026 brochure.
| Rank list | Minimum in each subject | Minimum aggregate |
|---|---|---|
| Common Rank List | 10% | 35% |
| GEN-EWS and OBC-NCL lists | 9% | 31.5% |
| SC, ST and PwD lists | 5% | 17.5% |
Ties are broken in a fixed order. The candidate with more positive marks ranks first. If the tie remains, higher Mathematics marks win, then higher Physics marks.
Qualifying only puts you in the counselling list. It does not give you a seat, and the seat depends on your rank and your choices. That is where JoSAA comes in.
How to get seat in IIT through JoSAA counselling
No plan for how to get admission in IIT is complete without JoSAA. It is the single counselling system for IITs, NITs, IIITs and other government-funded technical institutes. In 2026 it covered 138 institutes: 23 IITs, IISc Bengaluru, 31 NITs, IIEST Shibpur, 26 IIITs and 56 other institutes. Your rank decides the seat, and your choice order decides which seat you get first. This is how to get seat in IIT once your rank is out.
- For IIT seats: JoSAA uses your JEE Advanced rank.
- For NIT, IIIT and other seats: JoSAA uses your JEE Main rank.
- One seat only: Even if you qualify in both exams, only one seat is made available from the choices you fill in.
Step 1: Register and fill your choices
Register on the JoSAA website after the JEE Advanced result. List the IIT and branch pairs in the order you prefer them. Only the choices you fill in are considered, so add many options and keep your dream choices at the top.
Step 2: Read the seat matrix and past ranks
JoSAA publishes the category-wise seat matrix for each programme. It also publishes opening and closing ranks of past rounds. Use both to build a realistic list.
Step 3: Pick Freeze, Float or Slide in each round
After a seat is allotted, you choose Freeze, Float or Slide. Freeze means you accept this seat and stop. Float and Slide let you stay open for a better choice in later rounds. Float and Slide are not available in the last round.
Step 4: Pay the fee and report
You accept a seat by paying the partial admission fee and then reporting to the institute with your documents. Check the JoSAA schedule for the dates of each round, as they change every year.
Reservations and extra seats
IIT seats are reserved as follows: GEN-EWS 10%, OBC-NCL 27%, SC 15% and ST 7.5%. Each category has 5% horizontal reservation for PwD candidates. IITs also add female supernumerary seats so that women make up at least 20% of each undergraduate programme. Seats left empty in SC, ST and PwD quotas can go to a one-year preparatory course, after which the student is placed in the seat originally allotted.
A common doubt is how can I get admission in IIT with a rank that is not in the top 1,000. Past ranks help you judge this. Use the official JoSAA opening and closing ranks and the JoSAA seat matrix. JoSAA says it is not responsible for the seat data that institutes supply, so check the final matrix before you fill choices.
The next worry is how tough the filter is, so here are the real numbers.
How hard is it to get admission in IIT?
JEE Advanced 2026 was announced by IIT Roorkee. In that exam, 1,87,389 candidates registered and 1,79,694 appeared in both papers. A total of 56,880 qualified. That means nearly one in three who appeared made it onto a rank list. Qualifying is the lower bar, however. A seat in a top branch needs a much better rank, and the JoSAA closing ranks show that gap. These numbers show how selective it is to get admission in IIT.
What this means for you:
- Treat JEE Main as a real filter, not a warm-up.
- Plan for two attempts. You have the year you finish Class 12 and the next year.
- Choose your fallback early. A good JEE Main rank keeps NIT and IIIT seats open through the same JoSAA process.
Many students ask at this point whether a seat is possible without the JEE route. That question has a more careful answer than most websites give.
How to get into IIT without JEE for B.Tech
Students often ask how to get into IIT without JEE for B Tech. For a B.Tech seat, there is no way to get into an IIT without JEE Advanced. This is true even for the sports route. IIT Madras has a Sports Excellence Admission. But it asks for a JEE Advanced rank, the minimum Class 12 marks and a medal in the last four years. The seat is added on top of the regular seats and is outside JoSAA.
What you can do without JEE is study at an IIT in a different programme. The routes below are real and official, and each gives a different degree.
UCEED 2027 is held by IIT Bombay on Sunday, 17 January 2027, from 9 AM to 12 noon. Registration runs from 1 to 31 October 2026. It is open to Class 12 students from any stream, which means Science, Commerce and Arts. The B.Des programmes are at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIT Roorkee and IIITDM Jabalpur. See the UCEED registration page and the official UCEED 2027 page.
These degrees are not a B.Tech, and they have different structures. But they are real degrees from an IIT. They open a path for students who are not in the PCM stream or who missed the JEE rank. The last route on our list is for students who already hold a degree.
How to get admission in IIT for PhD
A PhD at an IIT is a post-graduation route. It starts after a degree, not after Class 12. So how to get admission in IIT for PhD works differently. Each IIT and each department sets its own rules, so there is no single national exam for it. Many IITs take applications for both semesters. The IIT Kanpur and IIT Delhi sites both show notices for the second-semester intake.
The usual entry is a master's degree in the subject or a four-year bachelor's degree with a high CGPA. For example, an IIT Kanpur notice for the 2025-26 second semester asks for 6.5 CGPA or 65% in both graduation and post-graduation. It does not accept master's degrees in Arts or an MBA for that department. Other departments set their own cut-offs, so read the notice for your department.
If you are still in Class 12, bookmark this section for later. Your degree and your project work in the next four years will decide this route. For now, the work is in the next few months, so here is a plan.
What to do in the next 90 days
The next 90 days contain two fixed dates and one that is not announced. Use this checklist as your short plan for how to get admission in IIT in 2027.
- Apply for JEE Main 2027 Session 1 by 22 November 2026. Keep your Class 12 marksheet details ready.
- If design interests you, apply for UCEED before 31 October 2026.
- Pick a mock test schedule for the 20 to 28 January 2027 window.
- Plan Session 2 as a second try, with the application window from 5 January to 3 February 2027.
- Watch the JEE Advanced dates page for the 2027 brochure.
- Read about the IITs on MSM Unify, such as IIT Madras and IIT Delhi, so that your choice list is based on facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to get admission in IIT after Class 12?
Take Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Clear JEE Main and rank in the top 2,50,000. Qualify JEE Advanced, then fill choices in JoSAA counselling. You also need 75% in Class 12 (65% for SC, ST and PwD) or a place in your board's top 20 percentile.
How can I get admission in IIT in 2027?
Apply for JEE Main 2027 Session 1 by 22 November 2026, or for Session 2 between 5 January and 3 February 2027. Then watch the official JEE Advanced site for the 2027 brochure. The JEE Advanced 2027 dates are not announced yet.
How to get in IIT without coaching?
The brochure lists no coaching requirement. Admission depends on your JEE Advanced rank, your Class 12 marks and your JoSAA choices. You can use the official syllabus and the past question papers on the JEE Advanced website to plan how to get admission in IIT on your own.
How to get into IIT without JEE for B Tech?
There is no route to a B.Tech seat in an IIT without JEE Advanced. Even the sports admission at IIT Madras needs a JEE Advanced rank. You can join other IIT programmes such as B.Des through UCEED or the online BS degrees at IIT Madras.
Where this leaves you
How to get admission in IIT comes down to four steps: Class 12 marks, JEE Main, JEE Advanced and JoSAA. For 2027, the first date is 22 November 2026. If your goal is design, UCEED closes on 31 October 2026. If you want to study at an IIT without JEE, the IIT Madras BS programmes are open. For a PhD, the route starts after your degree.
Data sources: JEE (Main) 2027 public notice and information bulletin (jeemain.nta.nic.in), JEE (Advanced) 2026 Information Brochure and eligibility page (jeeadv.ac.in), JoSAA 2026 website and Business Rules (josaa.nic.in), UCEED 2027 (uceed.iitb.ac.in), GATE 2027 (gate2027.iitm.ac.in), IIT Madras programme and Sports Excellence Admission pages, and IIT Kanpur admission notices.
Content authored by:
Updated on
Headline: EdTech Leader | AI & SEO Strategist | Computer Science Engineer: Atul leads SEO, content, and data at MSM Unify India. He plans the organic content strategy and also owns the structured data that feeds it. He works with a team of product managers, engineers, QA, designers, writers, and SEO specialists. Together they create guides for Indian students and parents on colleges, entrance exams, and studying abroad. Atul has built a step-by-step content process that uses AI tools with a human in the loop. Every page goes through several stages. It starts with research, where each fact is checked on the official source. A second, independent source is then used to confirm that the fact is correct and the latest. Third-party sites are used only to spot differences and are never treated as a source. Before writing, the team studies what students actually search for and what the top results leave out. This study covers Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, including AI answers and “People also ask” questions. Pages written by Atul are in plain English that can be understood in one read, and they open with the question the reader is most likely to have. Before a page goes live, every number, name, date, and fact is checked again against its official source. Finally, an editor reads and humanises every page, however good the draft is. Atul believes that advice on education should be simple, honest, and based on official facts. Fees and figures should come with their source. A student should be told clearly when a college is not the right fit.