JEE Advanced 2026 provisional answer key went live on the candidate portal at 10:00 IST today, Monday, 25 May 2026. IIT Roorkee (the organising institute) has simultaneously opened the objection window, which closes at 17:00 IST on Tuesday, 26 May 2026 — giving you almost exactly 31 hours to lock in your score, verify every response against the official key, and challenge any answer you can defend with a published reference. This is not a passive download exercise. Every well-argued objection that the subject panel accepts on 1 June will lift your raw score, your AIR, and — by extension — the IIT branch you land in JoSAA.
This guide walks you through (a) how to read the provisional key correctly, (b) the section-wise marking scheme so your self-calculated score matches the eventual scorecard, (c) the exact objection-filing flow, and (d) what to do between today and result day on 1 June.
How to download the JEE Advanced 2026 provisional answer key
- Open jeeadv.ac.in and click the Candidate Portal link, or go directly to candidate-portal.jeeadv.ac.in.
- Log in with your JEE (Advanced) 2026 registration number, date of birth, mobile number and email — the same credentials used for the response sheet on 21 May.
- Download both Paper 1 and Paper 2 answer key PDFs. They are released in English and Hindi versions; the answers are identical, only the question text differs.
- Open them alongside the candidate response sheet already in your portal. Do not rely on coaching keys — only the IIT-released key is examinable.
JEE Advanced 2026 marking scheme: the only formula that matters
Every Paper 1 / Paper 2 has Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, with three to four sections per subject. The section-wise marking pattern in 2026 follows the structure published in the official question papers (Paper 2 English):
- Single Correct (Section 1): +3 for correct, 0 unattempted, −1 for wrong.
- Multiple Correct (Section 2): +4 if all correct options chosen; partial credit (+3 / +2 / +1) for picking only some correct options without any wrong tick; −2 for any incorrect tick.
- Non-Negative Integer (Section 3): +4 for correct, 0 otherwise. No negative marking.
- Match-the-List / Paragraph (variable section): +3 correct, −1 wrong (check the front page of your specific paper).
Build a simple spreadsheet: one row per question, columns for marked, key, marks awarded. Sum the two papers — that is your raw aggregate (out of ~360). Add the per-subject raw too; JEE Advanced has a subject-wise cut-off as well as an aggregate cut-off, and many borderline candidates miss out because of a weak single subject.
The 31-hour objection window: when to challenge, when to walk away
The objection (response-to-key) facility is live from 25 May 10:00 IST to 26 May 17:00 IST. Use it only when you have defensible textual evidence — not a hunch. The subject panel reviews every challenge and the final answer key on 1 June is binding.
What to challenge
- Single-correct questions where two options are defensible. If you can cite NCERT, H.C. Verma, Irodov, J.D. Lee or a standard textbook page showing your option is also correct, file it.
- Multiple-correct questions where the key marks fewer correct options than your reading of the problem. Partial credit makes these high-leverage challenges.
- Integer questions with ambiguous data — particularly Physics numericals where unit or significant-figure conventions could shift the answer.
What NOT to challenge
- “I read the question wrong” — not grounds for objection.
- Disagreement with a definition you cannot back from a standard text.
- Repeating a coaching institute’s objection without verifying the source.
Each successful challenge that the panel accepts changes everyone’s marks for that question — so even if your answer was wrong, an accepted objection that drops a question can still help your normalised rank. Conversely, an unsuccessful challenge costs nothing in marks but does cost the per-question fee charged in the candidate portal.
From provisional key to final result: the calendar to memorise
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Mon, 25 May 2026 (10:00 IST) | Provisional answer key live + objection window opens |
| Tue, 26 May 2026 (17:00 IST) | Objection window closes |
| Mon, 1 June 2026 (10:00 IST) | Final answer key + JEE Advanced 2026 result |
| Tue, 2 June 2026 (17:00 IST) | JoSAA 2026 registration tentatively opens |
| Thu, 4 June 2026 (09:00–12:00 IST) | Architecture Aptitude Test (AAT) for B.Arch aspirants |
| Sun, 7 June 2026 (17:00 IST) | AAT result |
All dates verified against the JEE Advanced 2026 official Important Dates page.
How to use today, tomorrow and the next six days
- Today (25 May): Calculate your raw score honestly. Cross-check every question against two reference texts before flagging it for objection.
- Tomorrow (26 May, before 17:00): File only the objections you can defend with a citation. Keep a copy of every text reference you submitted.
- 27–31 May: Read our JoSAA 2026 Counselling Playbook and start building a choice-list draft (60–120 program-institute combinations).
- 1 June (result day): Note your Common Rank List (CRL) rank and your category rank. Use last year’s JoSAA opening & closing ranks to slot your CRL into realistic IITs.
- 2 June onwards: Register on josaa.nic.in using your JEE Advanced credentials and start choice filling.
Score-to-rank: rough bands from previous years
JEE Advanced does not publish a fixed rank-vs-marks table — it normalises per session. As a rough guide drawn from past official results:
- ~330+ aggregate: top 100 CRL band (target for IIT Bombay CSE)
- ~270–300: top 500 CRL band (IIT-D / IIT-K / IIT-M CSE comfort range)
- ~210–250: 500–2 500 CRL band (top-7 IIT core branches realistic)
- ~160–200: 2 500–7 500 CRL band (newer IITs & ISM Dhanbad branches)
For a deeper rank-cutoff analysis built on official JoSAA OR-CR data, see our IIT Madras vs Bombay vs Delhi branch cheatsheet.
FAQ
When exactly did JEE Advanced 2026 provisional answer key release?
Monday, 25 May 2026 at 10:00 IST on the candidate portal at jeeadv.ac.in. The objection window closes 26 May 17:00 IST.
Is there a fee per objection?
Yes — the candidate portal charges a non-refundable fee per challenged question, payable by net banking, debit or credit card. The exact fee for 2026 is shown when you submit your first challenge in the portal.
What if my objection is accepted?
The change is applied to every candidate’s score on 1 June. A question may also be dropped, in which case its marks are redistributed per IIT’s rules.
Can I challenge after 26 May?
No. After 17:00 IST on 26 May the window closes irrevocably. The final answer key on 1 June is binding for ranking and JoSAA seat allocation.
Where do I check the final answer key and result?
Both go live on 1 June at 10:00 IST at jeeadv.ac.in. The result page will show your subject-wise marks, aggregate, CRL and category rank.