NTA Clarifies No Calculator Will Be Allowed in JEE Main 2026

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued a clarification regarding the use of calculators in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026. Contrary to an earlier announcement, there will be no onscreen calculator available during the exam.

This update comes two days after the NTA stated candidates would have access to a virtual calculator. In a notice released on Sunday, the agency described the previous mention of this feature as a "typographic error." They emphasized that while the calculator option exists on their standard testing platform, it is not applicable to JEE Main.

The NTA's notice explained, "In the Appendix-VIII of the Information Bulletin for JEE (Main) – 2026, it was mistakenly mentioned that an onscreen standard calculator would be available during the Computer-Based Test (CBT). However, the use of calculators in any form is not permitted in this examination."

The application process for JEE Main 2026 commenced on October 31 and will close on November 27. The first session of the exam is scheduled from January 21 to 30, 2026, with results expected to be announced on February 26.

Initially, the NTA's information bulletin had stated that a basic calculator would be available for mathematical operations, including addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication, along with functions for square roots and percentages. However, this section has now been removed in the revised bulletin.

The NTA expressed regret for the confusion caused by the typographic error and encouraged candidates to download the updated Information Bulletin. JEE Main is conducted twice a year, with Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) being a computer-based test featuring 75 questions for a total of 300 marks.

Approximately 14.15 lakh students sat for JEE Main 2024, while around 14.75 lakh participated in 2025.