GATE Qualifying Marks 2026 (Soon): Branch Wise Cutoff, Passing Marks

Rupsa

Updated On: February 05, 2026 11:28 AM

The GATE Qualifying Marks 2026 are expected to be 25 to 30 for general category students, 22 to 27 for OBC/EWS, and 16 to 20 for SC & ST, respectively. 

GATE Qualifying Marks 2026

The GATE Qualifying Marks 2026 are likely to be 25 to 30 for general category students, 22 to 27 for OBC/EWS, and 16 to 20 for SC/ST/OBC, respectively. The GATE qualifying marks 2026 are the minimum marks that you must score to pass the exam and be eligible for the GATE 2026 counselling . The GATE 2026 qualifying marks vary category-wise.
The GATE cutoff marks 2026 are higher for the General category and lowest for the SC/ST/PwD category. To get admission into IITs and NITs through the GATE 2026 exam , you need to score the GATE admission cutoff set by the participating institutes. Students eager to know more about the GATE qualifying marks 2026 can go through the CSE, ME, CE, ECE, EE, and the previous year's GATE passing marks, etc.

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GATE Qualifying Marks 2026

The GATE qualifying marks 2026 differ depending on your category & marks secured across 30 subject papers. You can check the official GATE qualifying marks 2026 for all papers below:-

GATE Paper Code GATE Test Paper GATE Cutoff 2026
(GEN)
GATE Cutoff 2026
(OBC-NCL/EWS)
GATE Cutoff 2026
(SC/ST/PwD)
AE Aerospace Engineering 28.9 26 19.2
AG Agricultural Engineering 25 22.5 16.6
AR Architecture and Planning 40 36 26.6
BM Biomedical Engineering 29.2 26.2 19.4
BT Biotechnology 28 25.2 18.6
CE Civil Engineering 29.2 26.2 19.4
CH Chemical Engineering 27.7 24.9 18.4
CS Computer Science and Information Technology 29.2 26.2 19.4
CY Chemistry 25 22.5 16.6
DA Data Science and Artificial Intelligence 29 26.1 19.3
EC Electronics and Communication Engineering 25 22.5 16.6
EE Electrical Engineering 25 22.5 16.6
ES Environmental Science and Engineering 26.1 23.4 17.4
EY Ecology and Evolution 39.5 35.5 26.3
GE Geomatics Engineering 25.7 23.1 17.1
GG1 Geology and Geophysics (Geology) 38.4 34.5 25.5
GG2 Geology and Geophysics (Geophysics) 40 36 26.6
IN Instrumentation Engineering 25.6 23 17
MA Mathematics 25 22.5 16.6
ME Mechanical Engineering 35.8 32.2 23.8
MN Mining Engineering 30.6 27.5 20.4
MT Metallurgical Engineering 40 36 26.6
NM Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering 25.1 22.5 16.7
PE Petroleum Engineering 31.1 27.9 20.7
PH Physics 26.8 24.1 17.8
PI Production and Industrial Engineering 35.6 32 23.7
ST Statistics 30.2 27.1 20.1
TF Textile Engineering and Fibre Science 34.7 31.2 23.1
XE Engineering Sciences 35.4 31.8 23.5
XH-C1 Humanities and Social Sciences (Economics) 40 36 26.6
XH-C2 Humanities and Social Sciences (English) 40 36 26.6
XH-C3 Humanities and Social Sciences (Linguistics) 40 36 26.6
XH-C4 Humanities and Social Sciences (Philosophy) 40 36 26.6
XH-C5 Humanities and Social Sciences (Psychology) 40 36 26.6
XH-C6 Humanities and Social Sciences (Sociology) 40 36 26.6
XL Life Sciences 31.3 28.1 20.8

GATE Passing Marks 2026

The GATE 2026 passing marks are announced by IIT Guwahati. Only those students who meet the minimum GATE pass marks set by the authorities will be eligible to qualify for the GATE 2026 examination. check the table below for better understanding:

Aspect

Details

Conducting Authority

The GATE 2026 passing marks are officially announced by the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, which is the organizing institute for the GATE 2026 examination.

Meaning of GATE Passing Marks

GATE passing marks, also known as GATE qualifying marks, refer to the minimum score required to qualify for the GATE examination. Candidates scoring equal to or above these marks are considered GATE-qualified.

Eligibility Condition

Only those candidates who meet the minimum GATE pass marks set by the authorities are eligible to qualify for GATE 2026. Candidates scoring below the cutoff are not considered qualified, irrespective of how close they are to the threshold.

Paper-wise Variation

The GATE cutoff marks 2026 vary from paper to paper. Each subject has a different level of difficulty, number of candidates, and score distribution, which directly impacts the qualifying marks.

Category-wise Cutoff

The passing marks for GATE 2026 are different for all categories, such as General, OBC-NCL/EWS, and SC/ST/PwD. Reserved categories generally have lower qualifying marks compared to the General category.

Factors Determining GATE Passing Marks 2026

The authorities determine the passing marks after considering multiple factors, including the difficulty level of the exam, number of students appearing, category of candidates, and GATE cutoff trends from previous years.

Year-wise Variation

The minimum marks to qualify GATE change every year. Depending on exam difficulty and overall performance of candidates, the cutoff may increase or decrease compared to previous years.

Basis of Preparation

Each year, the qualifying marks are finalized after analyzing student performance statistics and overall paper difficulty to maintain fairness and consistency in evaluation.

Lowest GATE Cutoff 2026 (General Category)

For GATE 2026, the lowest recorded cutoff is 25 marks (General category). This cutoff has been observed for multiple papers, including AG, EC, EE, CY, and MA.

Importance of Passing Marks

GATE passing marks act as the basic eligibility criterion for further processes such as GATE score calculation, admissions to postgraduate programs, and PSU recruitment shortlisting.

Key Insight for Candidates

Qualifying GATE by clearing the cutoff is only the first step. To secure admissions in top institutes or PSU jobs, candidates must score significantly higher than the minimum passing marks.

Difference Between GATE Qualifying Marks 2026 and Admission Cutoff

On the other hand, the GATE admission cutoff 2026 refers to the marks obtained by the student who will be admitted last for the course in a particular institute. You can check the key differences between the GATE 2026 qualifying cutoff and admission cutoff from the table below for a better assessment:-

GATE Qualifying Cutoff

GATE Admission Cutoff

Released by the conducting authority (i.e. IIT Guwahati for GATE 2026) on the official portal of GOAPS

Released separately by the respective GATE participating institutes on the official portals of CCMT/COAP after counselling

You need to achieve these minimum GATE passing marks to meet the eligibility criteria for admission. These marks serve as the cutoff for admission to IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.

The admission cutoffs represent the range of ranks within which you are selected by institutions. These are released in the form of opening and closing ranks.

Meeting the qualifying GATE cutoff marks 2026 does not guarantee admission. It simply means that you are eligible for admission.

While meeting the admission cutoff is not a guarantee of acceptance, it significantly increases the likelihood compared to just meeting the minimum qualifying marks.

The conducting authority is responsible for announcing the qualifying cutoff marks.

Each institution determines its admission cutoff based on various criteria.

Also Read: List of Colleges Accepting GATE Score in India

How to Check GATE Qualifying Marks 2026

GATE passing marks 2026 have been released on the GATE 2026 official website at gate2026.iitr.ac.in on March 19, 2026. There are no login credentials required to access the GATE cutoff marks 2026. You can check out the GATE 2026 qualifying marks by following the steps given below.

  • Step 1: Visit the GATE 2026 official website - gate2026.iitr.ac.in.
  • Step 2: Locate and click on the GATE 2026 Cutoff PDF link on the homepage
  • Step 3: A new tab will open displaying paper-wise qualifying marks for GATE 2026.
  • Step 4: You can check out the GATE qualifying marks 2026 for your category and paper.

Previous Years’ GATE Qualifying Marks

The GATE cutoff marks required to qualify can be monitored by examining the cutoffs from previous years. Below are the GATE qualifying marks for the years 2024, 2023, and 2022:-

GATE Qualifying Marks 2024

Check out the qualifying marks for GATE 2024 CSE, ME, ECE, CE, CH, MT and other GATE papers given below.

Paper Code

Test Paper

Cutoff (GEN)

Cutoff

(OBC-NCL/EWS)

Cutoff (SC/ST/PwD)

AE

Aerospace Engineering

33.3

29.9

22.1

AG

Agricultural Engineering

25

22.5

16.6

AR

Architecture and Planning

41.5

37.3

27.6

BM

Biomedical Engineering

25

22.5

16.6

BT

Biotechnology

38.9

35

25.9

CE

Civil Engineering

28.3

25.4

18.8

CH

Chemical Engineering

25

22.5

16.6

CS

Computer Science and Information Technology

27.6

24.8

18.4

CY

Chemistry

25.2

22.6

16.7

DA

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

37.1

33.3

24.7

EC

Electronics and Communication Engineering

25

22.5

16.6

EE

Electrical Engineering

25.7

23.1

17.1

ES

Environmental Science and Engineering

37.9

34.1

25.2

EY

Ecology and Evolution

35.8

32.2

23.8

GE

Geomatics Engineering

41.1

36.9

27.4

GG1

Geology and Geophysics (Geology)

42

37.8

28

GG2

Geology and Geophysics (Geophysics)

49

44.1

32.6

IN

Instrumentation Engineering

32.7

29.4

21.8

MA

Mathematics

25

22.5

16.6

ME

Mechanical Engineering

28.6

25.7

19

MN

Mining Engineering

25

22.5

16.6

MT

Metallurgical Engineering

41

36.9

27.3

NM

Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering

25.1

22.5

16.7

PE

Petroleum Engineering

42.6

38.3

28.4

PH

Physics

32

28.8

21.3

PI

Production and Industrial Engineering

30.5

27.4

20.3

ST

Statistics

26.6

23.9

17.7

TF

Textile Engineering and Fibre Science

28.1

25.2

18.7

XE

Engineering Sciences

36.2

32.5

24.1

XH-C1

Humanities and Social Sciences (Economics)

37

33.3

24.6

XH-C2

Humanities and Social Sciences (English)

48

43.2

32

XH-C3

Humanities and Social Sciences (Linguistics)

49.7

44.7

33.1

XH-C4

Humanities and Social Sciences (Philosophy)

39.3

35.3

26.1

XH-C5

Humanities and Social Sciences (Psychology)

52.7

47.4

35.1

XH-C6

Humanities and Social Sciences (Sociology)

36

32.4

24

XL

Life Sciences

29.3

26.3

19.5

GATE Qualifying Marks 2023

Around 670,000 students registered for GATE 2023, with approximately 517,000 students sitting for the exam. Out of these, roughly 100,000 students managed to qualify for GATE 2023, resulting in a pass rate of approximately 18%. Below are the GATE 2023 qualifying marks released by IIT Kanpur, categorized by branch and category:-

GATE Paper

Paper Code

GATE Passing Marks 2023

General

OBC-NCL/EWS

SC/ST/PwD

Computer Science & Information Technology

CS

32.5

29.2

21.6

Mechanical Engineering

ME

28.4

25.5

18.9

Electronics & Communication Engineering

EC

29.9

26.9

19.9

Electrical Engineering

EE

25

22.5

16.6

Civil Engineering

CE

26.6

23.9

17.7

Chemical Engineering

CH

32.1

28.8

21.4

Instrumentation Engineering

IN

34.8

31.3

23.2

Mathematics

MA

25

22.5

16.6

Architecture & Planning

AR

33.7

30.3

22.4

Biomedical Engineering

BM

25

22.5

16.6

Aerospace Engineering

AE

25.1

22.5

16.7

Agriculture Engineering

AG

25

22.5

16.6

Biotechnology

BT

31.6

28.4

21

Chemistry

CY

26.5

23.8

17.6

Environmental Science & Engineering

ES

27.7

24.9

18.4

Ecology & Evolution

EY

42.6

38.3

28.4

Geomatics Engineering

GE

28.7

25.8

19.1

Geology

-

36.7

33

24.4

Geophysics

-

47.7

42.9

31.8

Mining Engineering

MN

25

22.5

16.6

Metallurgical Engineering

MT

47.5

42.7

31.6

Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering

NM

25

22.5

16.6

Petroleum Engineering

PE

34.4

30.9

22.9

Physics

PH

31.1

27.9

20.7

Production & Industrial Engineering

PI

44.2

39.7

29.4

Statistics

ST

25

22.5

16.6

Textile Engineering & Fiber Science

TF

25.4

22.8

16.9

Engineering Sciences

XE

37.9

34.1

25.2

Life Sciences

XL

32.9

29.6

21.9

Also Check - GATE 2026 Cutoff for GFTI

GATE Qualifying Marks 2022

IIT Kharagpur released the GATE qualifying cutoff marks for the year 2022. The exam results showed that 112,678 out of 597,030 students passed GATE 2022, indicating a pass percentage of around 18.87%. The GATE subject papers' qualifying marks for different categories are provided in the table.

GATE Paper

Paper Code

GATE Passing Marks 2022

General

OBC-NCL/EWS

SC/ST/PwD

Computer Science & Information Technology

CS

25

22.5

16.6

Electronics & Communication Engineering

EC

25

22.5

16.5

Biotechnology

BT

35.5

31.9

23.6

Chemical Engineering

CH

25.3

22.7

16.8

Statistics

ST

25

22.5

16.6

Metallurgical Engineering

MT

46.2

41.5

30.8

Mathematics

MA

27.3

24.5

18.2

Electrical Engineering

EE

30.7

27.6

20.4

Textile Engineering & Fibre Science

TF

36.8

34.9

25.6

Mechanical Engineering

ME

28.1

25.2

18.7

Physics

PH

26.5

23.8

Life Science

XL

33.9

30.5

22.5

Ecology & Evolution

EY

33.4

30

22.2

Agriculture Engineering

AG

26.3

23.6

17.5

Chemistry

CY

27.5

24.7

18.3

Mining Engineering

MN

25.5

22.9

17

Engineering Sciences

XE

40.3

36.2

26.8

Institute-Wise GATE Admission Cutoff 2026

Nevertheless, to be eligible for admission to the top IITs, a GATE cut-off score of 2026, ranging from 650 to 700, is necessary. Students can simply click on the links provided in the table below to check the GATE 2026 expected cutoff for IITs and the previous years’ GATE qualifying cutoff:-

So, the GATE qualifying marks 2026 are the minimum cutoff scores that you must achieve to be eligible for further counselling rounds. Students must strategically prepare for the exam to get good scores in the exam. They must revise thoroughly, go through sample papers, mock papers & keep a check on their preparation levels.

Related Articles:

For any queries regarding the GATE qualifying marks 2026, log on to our CollegeDekho Q&A Zone or contact our toll-free helpline number 18005729877.

FAQs

What is GATE score out of 100?

The GATE exam is held for a total of 100 marks. The total marks that students score out of 100 in the GATE exam are their raw scores. A GATE score out of 100 is determined based on the student’s performance and the marking scheme.

When will the GATE qualifying marks 2026 be released?

The GATE qualifying marks 2026 will be released on March 19, 2026, along with the GATE result 2026. 

What is the passing marks for GATE 2026?

As per the previous year's trends, the expected GATE passing marks 2026 for CSE are between 18-28, Civil Engineering between 18-28, ECE between 15-25, ME between 19 and 29, and so on.

Does the GATE qualifying marks 2026 vary branch-wise?

Yes, the GATE qualifying marks 2026 vary as per each engineering branch.

What is the minimum GATE score for IIT MTech admission?

The GATE cutoff marks for each IIT varies. Based on the previous year's cutoff, the student must have a GATE rank of 200 or lower. Furthermore, students with rankings ranging from 600 to 800 can enroll in IITs. At the absolute least, the score should be between 400 and 800 to get admission into the IIT colleges of India.

What is the expected marks vs rank for GATE 2026?

The GATE marks vs rank 2026 gives an indication of the likely range of rank for specific marks. Students who score 93 or higher in GATE 2026 might expect a high ranking. The maximum mark for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is 100. Marks above 90 are acceptable, and scores of 93 or above are considered to be excellent scores. 

What factors determine the GATE qualifying marks 2026?

The factors determining the GATE 2026 qualifying marks are the difficulty level of the GATE question paper, the number of students who appeared for the exam, the category of the students, the total number of seats available for admission, and the previous year’s GATE cutoff trends. 

What is the difference between the GATE qualifying marks and admission cutoff?

GATE qualifying marks 2026 are the minimum cutoff required to pass the exam while the GATE admission cutoff refers to the cutoff ranks based on which students are selected for for admission at IITs, NITs, IITs, and GFTIs.

What is GATE admission cutoff?

The GATE admission cutoff is the specific range of opening and closing ranks used for the final selection of candidates. It is determined by the participating institutes individually. 

Who will determine the passing marks for GATE 2026?

The GATE exam conducting body i.e. IIT Roorkee will decide and release the GATE passing marks 2026 based on various factors. 

What were the GATE passing marks 2023 for CS?

The passing marks for GATE CSE in the year 2023 were 32.5, 29.2, and 21.6 for students belonging to the general, OBC, and SC/ST/PWD categories, respectively.

Will the passing marks for GATE 2026 differ for general and reserved category students?

Yes, the qualifying scores in GATE will vary for general category students and reserved category students. 

Are passing marks in GATE enough for admission into IITs?

No, the minimum GATE passing marks 2026 do not guarantee admission into IITs as these participating institutes establish their own GATE cutoffs for M.Tech admissions after the COAP counselling.

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