JEE Advanced PYQ: Previous Year Question Papers 2016–2026

This page lists JEE Advanced previous year question papers for 11 years, 2016 to 2026, with 35 official PDFs (question papers and answer keys). JEE Advanced (Joint Entrance Examination Advanced) is conducted by one of the IITs, in rotation, and covers two compulsory papers, Paper 1 and Paper 2, each with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Pick a year below for the paper, answer key and a timed practice plan; confirm dates and pattern on jeeadv.ac.in.

Explore: Question papers by year · Syllabus & pattern · Pattern changes · FAQ

Year-wise question papers

Prefer to practise one chapter at a time? JEE Advanced chapter-wise PYQs lists all 1164 questions from 22 official JEE Advanced papers by chapter, with the official answers.

About JEE Advanced

JEE Advanced is the entrance exam for the IITs. Its rank is used for B.Tech, dual degree and integrated programmes at all the IITs through JoSAA counselling, and a few other institutes such as IISc’s undergraduate programme and IISER also use it. You can only sit it if you are among the top two and a half lakh or so candidates in the JEE Main B.E./B.Tech paper, and you get at most two attempts, in consecutive years.

There is no permanent conducting body. Each year one of seven older IITs organises the exam under the Joint Admission Board, and the organiser rotates in a fixed order. The paper has two parts, Paper 1 and Paper 2, each 3 hours long and both compulsory, sat on the same day. Each paper has Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Old papers are more useful for JEE Advanced than any coaching material, for one simple reason. The organising IITs release the official question papers and answer keys every year, so you can practise on the real thing. Each paper is written by IIT faculty with a style no test series quite copies: questions that combine two or three ideas, lengthy calculations that reward a clean method, and question formats that change from year to year. The syllabus and eligibility rules are on the JEE Advanced syllabus and pattern page.

How the paper has changed since 2016

JEE Advanced has never had a fixed format. The number of questions, the types of questions and the marks per question change almost every year. That is deliberate, and the instructions page of each paper is part of the test. The broad structure, two 3-hour papers covering all three subjects, has stayed the same.

Across these years you will see a handful of question types. Single-correct MCQs usually carry negative marking. Multiple-correct MCQs usually give partial marks when you choose some of the right options and none of the wrong ones, and a wrong option costs marks. Numerical answer questions ask you to type a value, often correct to two decimal places, and in most years carry no negative marking. Matching questions (List-I with List-II) and paragraph-based questions appear in some years and not others.

The exact marks for each type are given in that year’s instructions. Read them before every attempt, even in practice. A habit of reading the marking scheme first is one of the cheapest ways to protect your score on the day.

The 2023 syllabus revision added a few topics and removed a few. When you solve papers from before 2023, check any unfamiliar question against the current syllabus before you spend time on it.

What the papers show, subject by subject

Physics

JEE Advanced Physics rarely tests a single formula. A typical question puts two ideas together, such as rotation with collisions, or electrostatics with a moving conductor, and expects you to set up the problem from first principles. When you review, write down the idea you missed as well as the right answer.

Mechanics (especially rotational dynamics and work-energy), electrostatics and magnetism, electromagnetic induction, optics, modern physics and thermodynamics carry steady weight. Questions on errors and experiments appear regularly too, and students often skip them because they look small.

A useful way to review a Physics section is to sort each question into three groups: questions you understood but made a slip on, questions you understood but could not finish in time, and questions where you did not see how to begin. The first group needs checking habits. The second needs speed. The third needs you to go back to the chapter.

Chemistry

Chemistry is the section where many students make up ground. Physical chemistry has calculation-heavy questions on thermodynamics, equilibrium, electrochemistry, kinetics and solutions. Inorganic chemistry leans on coordination compounds, chemical bonding, the p-block and d-block, and qualitative analysis. Organic chemistry asks you to follow multi-step reaction sequences and identify unknown compounds from a chain of reactions.

The organic questions in particular test whether you understand mechanisms. Memorised conversions will get you part of the way, but a long sequence with an unusual reagent will not match anything you have seen. When you miss one, redo the full sequence from the start and write the mechanism for each step.

NCERT still matters here, mostly for inorganic chemistry. A surprising number of inorganic questions can be answered from the NCERT tables if you have read them closely.

Mathematics

Mathematics in JEE Advanced is often the longest section, and the one where time runs out. Calculus (limits, continuity, differentiability, definite integrals, area and differential equations), algebra (complex numbers, matrices and determinants, probability, sequences and series), coordinate geometry and vectors with 3D geometry all appear regularly.

Many questions are designed to take a long route if you do not spot a shortcut, such as a symmetry property in a definite integral or a geometric reading of a complex number problem. After each paper, look at the official solution or a good one for every question you solved the slow way. Learning the faster method is often worth more than solving a new question.

Multiple-correct questions in Mathematics deserve extra care. Students often get three options right and then lose marks by guessing a fourth. If you are not sure, leaving an option out is usually safer than adding it.

Notes on recent years

2025 was set by IIT Kanpur and followed the mix of formats seen in recent years. Sit Paper 1 and Paper 2 on the same day with a short break, as in the real exam, because the second paper is where fatigue starts to cost marks.

2023 and 2024 were the first two papers on the revised syllabus, set by IIT Guwahati and IIT Madras. They are the closest guide to the current scope of the exam, so keep at least one of them for the final month.

2022, set by IIT Bombay, is remembered as a tough and lengthy paper. It is good practice for staying calm when the first few questions do not go well, and for deciding early which questions to leave.

2020 and 2021 were held later than usual because of the pandemic, in September and October. The papers themselves follow the normal computer-based format and are good for full-length practice.

2016 to 2019 cover both the last pen-and-paper years and the first computer-based ones. The 2016 and 2017 papers have single-digit integer answers, which are easier to guess than the decimal numerical answers you will see now. Use them for content practice, and treat 2018 and 2019 as the start of the current style.

Using old papers in your preparation

With a year or more to go

Use JEE Advanced questions as the last exercise for each chapter. After you finish a chapter and its standard problems, solve the past JEE Advanced questions from it. The older IIT-JEE papers from before 2013 are excellent for this too. Do not worry about your score at this stage. You are learning what an IIT-level question on that chapter looks like.

With about six months to go

Your focus in these months is usually JEE Main, since you have to clear it first. Keep JEE Advanced in the plan by solving one or two Advanced questions from each chapter as you revise, and one full paper (both parts) every two or three weeks, starting with the older papers.

After each full paper, spend a whole session going through it. JEE Advanced papers have fewer questions than JEE Main, so every question you review teaches you more.

In the weeks between JEE Main and JEE Advanced

This is the stretch where old papers do the most work. Sit both papers of one year in a single sitting at least twice a week, at the same times as the real exam. Use the days between to fix the topics your error log points to.

Save 2023, 2024 and 2025 for the last two or three weeks. Read the instructions page of each paper before you start, and decide how you will treat each question type, especially the multiple-correct ones, before you look at the first question.

Mistakes students make with past papers

The most common mistake is to treat a JEE Advanced paper like a long JEE Main paper. The formats are different, and the marking scheme for multiple-correct questions punishes guessing. If you practise only on test series with simpler marking, you can lose a lot of marks on the day without realising why.

The second is solving Paper 1 and Paper 2 on different days. In the real exam you sit them a few hours apart, and many students do noticeably worse in Paper 2. Practise them together at least a few times.

Some students also stop at checking the answer key. In JEE Advanced, a wrong answer usually points to a gap in understanding, not a missing fact. The review should end with you knowing why the right method works, and preferably solving one similar question from an older paper.

Finally, do not use your score on a hard year to decide you are not ready. Raw marks in JEE Advanced vary a lot between years, and the cut-off changes with them. Compare your score with how others did on that paper, not with a fixed number.

FAQ

Where can I get JEE Advanced previous year question papers?

The organising IIT publishes the official question papers and answer keys on jeeadv.ac.in after each exam, and the archive covers past years. Our year pages host the official papers and link to the original files, with notes on what each paper tested.

How many years of JEE Advanced papers should I solve?

Solve every paper from 2016 to 2025 as full tests, both parts together. If you have time, use the older IIT-JEE papers chapter-wise as well. Keep the 2023 to 2025 papers for the final weeks, since they are on the current syllabus.

What is the JEE Advanced exam pattern?

There are two compulsory papers, each 3 hours long, on the same day. Each paper has Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The number of questions, question types and marks change every year, and the marking rules for each section are printed in the instructions. Check the current information brochure on jeeadv.ac.in before your exam.

How does partial marking work in multiple-correct questions?

In recent years, choosing all the correct options gets full marks, choosing only some of the correct options and no wrong ones gets partial marks, and choosing any wrong option gets negative marks. The exact numbers have varied, so read the instructions for each paper you practise.

Are JEE Advanced papers from 2016 and 2017 still useful?

Yes. They were pen-and-paper and used single-digit integer answers instead of decimal numericals, but the problems are as good as any. A few questions may be on topics changed in the 2023 syllabus revision, so check those before spending time on them.

Should I solve old IIT-JEE papers from before 2013?

They are very good for chapter-wise practice, since many classic problem types started there. Use them topic by topic. For full-length timed practice, stick to the JEE Advanced papers from 2016 onwards, which match the current computer-based format.

When should I start solving JEE Advanced papers?

Start with chapter-wise questions as soon as you finish each chapter in Class 11 and 12. Full papers can wait until you have covered the syllabus once. The period between JEE Main and JEE Advanced is when you should be sitting full papers most often.

Do I need to solve Paper 1 and Paper 2 together?

Yes, at least for some of your practice. The two papers are held on the same day, and tiredness in Paper 2 is a common reason for a lower score. Sitting both on one day in practice tells you how your concentration holds up.

Where to get the official papers

The organising IIT publishes JEE Advanced papers, answer keys, results and the information brochure on jeeadv.ac.in. Use the official answer key there when an answer is in doubt. We link to official sources and add notes on each paper, but the current brochure is the final word on dates, pattern and eligibility.