JoSAA Reservation Policy 2026: Category-wise Reservation, Home State Quota & Seat Allocation
The Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) reservation policy is a set of seat allocation rules that governs the counseling process for admissions into institutions such as IITs, NITs, IIITs, IIEST Shibpur, and other government-funded technical institutes (GFTI). The reservation policy follows Government of India guidelines to provide equitable access to technical education for candidates who belong to reserved categories.
The JoSAA reservation policy has two types of reservations: vertical and horizontal. Vertical reservations are provided to OBC-NCL, SC, ST, and EWS candidates. Horizontal reservations are provided to persons with disabilities (PwD). Furthermore, the NIT institutes use the home state (HS) vs. other state (OS) quota system while the IIT institutes utilize only categorical reservation systems, with no home state quota.
It is important to understand how the JoSAA reservation policy impacts seat allocation (what is available), cutoff ranks (the lowest score a candidate needs in order to receive a seat), category eligibility (whether or not a candidate qualifies for a category) and ultimately, whether or not the candidate will receive an admission offer.
1.0What is the JoSAA Reservation Policy?
The JoSAA Reservation Policy governs how seats are distributed among different categories during counselling. It applies to admissions through:
- Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
- National Institutes of Technology (NITs)
- Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)
- IIEST Shibpur
- Other Government Funded Technical Institutes (Other-GFTIs)
Candidates are allotted seats based on:
- JEE Main or JEE Advanced rank (depending on the institute)
- Category
- Reservation eligibility
- Seat availability
- Choice preferences
- JoSAA Business Rules
2.0Category-wise Reservation in JoSAA
The reservation percentages followed by JoSAA are based on the Government of India's reservation policy.
Note: Candidates claiming reservation benefits must possess valid category certificates in the prescribed format during document verification.
3.0JoSAA Reservation Categories Explained
- General (OPEN): General or OPEN category candidates compete for unreserved seats. Reserved category candidates who qualify on merit can also secure OPEN seats without using their reservation benefit.
- OBC-NCL Reservation: Candidates belonging to the Other Backward Classes – Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL) are eligible for 27% reservation.
To claim this reservation:
- The caste must be included in the Central OBC List.
- Candidates must belong to the Non-Creamy Layer.
- A valid OBC-NCL certificate in the prescribed format is mandatory.
- SC Reservation: Candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category receive 15% reservation in participating institutes. A valid SC certificate issued by the competent authority is required during counselling.
- ST Reservation: Candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category receive 7.5% reservation. Candidates must produce a valid ST certificate issued in the prescribed format.
- EWS Reservation: The Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category receives 10% reservation. Only candidates who satisfy the Government of India's income and asset criteria are eligible. A valid EWS certificate is mandatory to claim reservation benefits.
- PwD Reservation: Candidates with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD) are eligible for 5% horizontal reservation within each category.
This means PwD reservation is available separately within:
Candidates must possess a valid disability certificate issued by the competent medical authority.
4.0Vertical vs Horizontal Reservation
JoSAA follows both vertical and horizontal reservation policies.
Vertical reservations allocate a fixed percentage of seats to specific social categories, whereas horizontal reservation cuts across all categories and reserves seats for candidates with benchmark disabilities.
5.0Home State and Other State Quota in NITs
JoSAA uses home state (HS) and other state (OS) quota policies as the basis for admission to National Institutes of Technology (NITs).
There are special provisions for home state seat share outlined in the JoSAA Business Rules at some NITs, such as at NIT Goa and NIT Srinagar.
6.0Reservation Policy for IITs
There is no home state quota for IITs; admission at IITs is determined by:
- JEE Advanced Rank
- Category Reservation
- Seat Availability
- JoSAA Choice Filling
Only the Government of India reservation policy is applicable.
7.0Female-Only Seats
JoSAA provides female-only (supernumerary) seats for female students to help improve diversity in engineering programs in IITs, NITs and many of the IIITs & IIESTs.
Eligible female candidates can be considered for admission through:
- Gender-Neutral Seats
- Female-Only Seats
The addition of female-only seats increases the number of available openings for female students while also preserving all available gender-neutral seats.
8.0Documents Required for Reservation
Candidates claiming reservation benefits should keep the following documents ready:
- Category Certificate (SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS)
- PwD Certificate (if applicable)
- JEE Main or JEE Advanced Score Card
- Class 10 Certificate
- Class 12 Mark Sheet
- Photo Identity Proof
- Passport-size Photographs
- JoSAA Seat Allotment Letter
All certificates must be in the prescribed format and valid as per the JoSAA Business Rules.
9.0Important Points About JoSAA Reservation
- Reservation benefits are available only after successful document verification.
- Reserved category candidates can also compete for OPEN seats based on merit.
- OBC reservation is applicable only to candidates included in the Central OBC List.
- PwD reservation is horizontal and applicable across all categories.
- Home State Quota is applicable only to NITs and certain NIT-system institutes, not to IITs.
- Incorrect or invalid category certificates may result in allotment under the General category or cancellation of the reserved claim.