How to apply for IIT-JAM?
Updated: Mar 8, 2020
IIT-JAM is an Entrance Examination conducted by IIT for selecting MSc courses students in IIT, though many other institutions base there selection process on IIT-JAM. Like many of the Government processes Applying for IIT-JAM is also a processes governed by rules and policies, so make sure that you stick by the rules and Guid-lines established for the same. And to help you do it lets discuss the Application process in detail in this Blog.
Application Procedure
Candidates can apply for JAM 2020 only through JAM Online Application Processing System (JOAPS).
Normally the facility for Online Registration and Application will be available from the months of September.
A candidate has to first register on JOAPS website, by providing his/her name, a valid E-mail address, a working mobile number and a password.
The candidate must give an E-mail address that he/she uses and checks frequently, as all communication to the candidate from JAM will be sent to this E-mail address.
The candidate must not use somebody else's E-mail address and only one candidate can be registered with one E-mail address.
The candidate should provide his/her personal mobile number because most of the communication may also be sent via SMS.
The password that the candidate provides should be chosen such that it cannot be guessed easily by others and this password must not be forgotten by the candidate as he/she will require it to login to the online application website.
Upon successful registration, an E-mail containing candidate’s Enrolment ID will be sent to the E-mail address provided by the candidate.
The Enrolment ID will also be sent to the mobile number provided by the candidate. The candidate needs to use this enrolment ID along with the password for all JAM related communications or website operations.
Candidates are advised to keep the ID along with the password information safe and confidential.
JOAPS website provides an online interface to the candidate for interacting with the JAM Administration. With this interface, a candidate can:
Apply for the examination online.
Upload photograph, signature and other documents like category certificate (if applicable), PwD certificate (if applicable), etc.
Pay the application fee through any of the electronic payment modes.
Check the status of the application form: Received, Under scrutiny, Accepted, Defect status, Status after rectification, Rejected with valid reasons, Admit card ready for download, etc.
Download Admit Card.
View answers, marks and JAM score.
Download JAM scorecard.
Submission of application for Admission.
Candidates are discouraged from making application through a third person. If someone else (friend or Internet cafe person) is filling the application on behalf of the candidate, the candidate must ensure that the data submitted are correct. It has been noticed during earlier occasions that the information filled by another person on behalf of the candidate was wrong, as they did not have correct information about the candidate. We, therefore, strongly discourage such practice while filling the online application form.
Data Requirement for Filling the Application Form
To submit an application through JOAPS website, you need to fill the form and upload some documents. And to make the process of applying easier it is a good idea to be prepared and to be ready with all the data and documents that are needed. The following data and documents will be required while filling the form at JOAPS:
Personal information (name, date of birth, personal mobile number, parents’ name, parents’ mobile number, etc.).
Please note that the name of the candidate in the application form must exactly be the same as per the qualifying degree certificate. JAM 2020 Score Card will be issued as per the name entered in the application form. Prefix/title such as Mr/Shri/Dr/Mrs/Smt, etc. should NOT be used before name.
Address for communication (including PIN code). Eligibility degree details.
College name and address with PIN code.
JAM paper(s).
Choice of JAM examination cities.
High-quality image of the candidate’s photograph conforming to the requirements specified.
High-quality image of the candidate's signature confirming to the requirements specified.
Scanned copy of the Category (SC/ST) Certificate (if applicable) in pdf format.
Scanned copy of PwD Certificate (if applicable) in pdf format.
Details of the valid Identity Document (ID)
This ID proof, in original, should be carried by the candidate to the examination hall.
Net-banking/debit card/credit card details for fee payment.
The JOAPS portal is self-explanatory and user-friendly. In JOAPS portal the candidate is able to to “Enter” the data, “Save” a partially filled form, “Logout”, and “Resume Filling” by logging in again.
Upon logging into the JAM 2020 application processing website, the candidate needs to fill in information, such as parent/guardian's name and mobile number, city choices, the number and choice of test paper(s) that he/she wishes to appear, date of birth, gender, address for communication, category and PwD status. The candidate's application fee will get determined based on this information. The candidate should also fill his/her other details, such as information on qualifying degree, percentage of marks/CGPA, details of valid personal ID information, etc. It may be noted that the candidate can specify any one of the following photo ID cards for the personal ID information: Aadhaar ID, College ID, Driving License, Employee ID, PAN Card, Passport, or Voter ID. The JAM 2020 application requires that your photograph and signature are uploaded electronically at JOAPS.
Uploading photograph and signature that does not meet the specifications can result in disqualification of the application without any refund of the application fee.
After filling in the required fields in the application form and uploading the required documents, the candidate must review his/her complete application form before the final submission and making of the payment.
Normally the the last date for completing and submitting the IIT-JAM application is somewhere in the 1st and 2nd week of October.
Any application that is incomplete in any respect and does not have the required valid documents will be summarily rejected. The candidates must take care to fill in the details in the application form correctly and must upload correct and valid documents, including signatures and photographs.
Photograph Requirements
Please pay attention to upload only a good quality photograph. The JAM Score Card will be printed with the photograph you submit.
The photograph must match with your appearance on the day of the examination.
A passport size (3.5 cm Width × 4.5 cm Height) photograph of the face of the candidate is required for the application form.
The photograph must be in COLOUR and taken in the month of August in a professional studio. Photographs taken using a mobile phone and other self-composed portraits may result in the rejection of the application.
The photo should be in a JPEG format and also on a standard 3.5 cm × 4.5 cm (Width × Height) print.
Maximum size of the JPEG image can be 480×640 in pixels (0.3 Mega pixel). The minimum pixel size of the JPEG image should be 240×320. The file size of the image should be in the range of 5KB to 200KB.
Background of the photograph must be white or a very light colour.
The face should occupy at least 50% of the area of the photograph with a full-face view looking into the camera directly.
The main features of the face must not be covered by hair of the head, any cloth or any shadow. Forehead, eyes, nose and chin should be clearly visible.
If you normally wear spectacles, a photograph with glare on glasses is not acceptable in your photo. While you may wear spectacles for the photo shoot, if glare cannot be avoided, then remove the spectacles.
You must not wear spectacles with dark or tinted glasses, only clear glasses are permitted.
Poor quality of the photograph submitted will lead to rejection of your JAM application, without any refund of the application fee.
Some samples of acceptable good-quality photographs and unacceptable poor-quality photographs are shown below. (taken from official IIT-JAM Website)
Signature Requirements
Please draw a rectangular box of size 2 cm × 7 cm (Height × Width) on a white paper. Sign with black or dark blue ink pen completely within this box horizontally.
A signature with all CAPITAL LETTERS, Initials or in any other colour (other than black and blue) shall NOT be accepted.
Get the digital image of the rectangular box (with your signature inside) scanned by using a professional scanner. Crop it to the border of the box.
Only JPEG image format will be accepted.
The maximum image size of the signature should be 160×560 in pixels.
The minimum image size of the signature should be 80×280 in pixels.
The file size of the image should be in the range of 5KB to 100KB.
Some samples of acceptable good-quality signatures and unacceptable poor-quality signatures are shown below.
Category Certificate
Candidates who belong to SC or ST category have to upload a valid documentary proof for concession in application fees. Certificate need to be issued ONLY by authorised officials. The Originals of the same document are required to be submitted to the Admitting Institute at the time of admission. The SC/ST certificates will be checked and approved by the Admitting Institute.
Person with Disability (PwD) Certificate: In order to avail application fee concession under the Person with Disability (PwD) category, the candidates should attach a recently obtained valid PwD certificate issued by the competent authority. The same document shall be required to be submitted to the Admitting Institute at the time of admission.
OBC-NCL/EWS candidates are NOT required to submit/upload any category certificate along with the filled online application form. However, they are required to submit this certificate in the prescribed format, issued ONLY by authorised officials, at a later date.
Authorities Who May Issue SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS Certificate
District Magistrate
Additional District Magistrate
Collector
Deputy Commissioner
Additional Deputy Commissioner
1st Class Stipendiary Magistrate
Sub-Divisional Magistrate
Taluka Magistrate
Executive Magistrate
Extra Assistant Commissioner (not below the rank of 1st class Stipendiary Magistrate)
Chief Presidency Magistrate
Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate
Presidency Magistrate
Revenue Officer not below the rank of Tehsildar
Sub-Divisional Officer of the area where the candidate and/or his/her family normally resides
Application Fee Payment Procedure
The application fee is to be paid online only. The candidate will be able to make the payment using his/her net -banking account, debit or credit card until the last date. Additional bank charges may apply for the transaction depending on the payment option. This charge will be specified on the payment portal. Before proceeding for making any payment, the applicant should view his /her application by clicking the "Save and Preview" button. They should go through the application and ensure that there is no error in the application form and all the relevant and valid documents are uploaded. If there is any mistake , they can go back and do the correction. After this they should click on "Proceed for Payment" button. Once a candidate presses “Proceed for Payment” button, NO FURTHER CHANGES in the application form can be made and the candidate will be directed to the payment portal. On the fee payment portal, the fee amount and bank charges will be shown and the candidate has to confirm that the payment is for JAM. Once confirmed and payment is successful, the candidate will be redirected back to the JOAPS Website, where it shows confirmation of the fee payment. If the candidate had selected only ONE Paper there will be an option to choose a second paper. If the candidate desires to do so, he/she can proceed by paying the additional amount as indicated.
If a candidate has difficulty making the payment (due to internet connection or power failure, for example) or is not sure whether payment has been processed or not, then he/she should log in to JOAPS website after one -hour and check the status of the payment. If the status is “Fee Pending/Not Paid” then a fresh online payment through JOAPS fee payment portal may be initiated. If it is not done the application will be rejected due to non -payment of the application fee in time. In case the fee amount has been debited from your bank account, but JOAPS does not acknowledge any fee payment, then the money will be credited back to your account within seven working days.
Examination Fee
A candidate can appear in either one or two Test Paper(s). Such a candidate desirous of appearing in two Test Papers must ensure that these Test Papers are not scheduled in the same session. For appearing in the second Test Paper, a requisite additional fee should be paid as per the following:
For Females(all Category)/SC/ST/PwD - ₹750 (One Test) | ₹1050 (Two Test)
For All Others - ₹1500 (One Test) | ₹2100 (Two Test)
Important Points to be Noted
An application once submitted CAN NOT be changed/rectified. Therefore, before submitting the JAM application, please ensure that all the details and all the necessary supporting documents are filled/uploaded and there is NO ERROR.
Please also ensure to pay the application fee as per the gender/category and test paper option. If the fee paid is NOT as per the Gender and Category and the number of Test Paper(s) entered in the Application Form, then the filled in form will be rejected without any intimation to the candidate.
Multiple applications submitted by a candidate are liable for rejection. Hence, DO NOT submit multiple application forms. After submitting an application, if a candidate decides to appear in other test paper or to change test paper(s), he/she can ADD THE ADDITIONAL TEST PAPER or can change the TEST PAPER(S) before the closing date in the earlier submitted application form. In such cases the candidate has to pay an additional fee online before the closing date as per Table below (from IIT-JAM Official Website).
The status of an application will be updated after the scrutiny of the application.
The status of an application can be checked at any point of time by logging in JOAPS.
Candidates who have wrongly entered the Category or Gender will be allowed to change the Category or Gender on the JOAPS website with an additional fee as per Table below(from IIT-JAM Official Website). All such candidates are required to pay the additional fee ONLINE.
All the applications submitted for JAM 2020 Examination shall be scrutinised to verify the accuracy of the data entered by the candidate with the submitted supporting documents and clarity of the photograph, signature, and relevant supporting documents. If everything is found to be in order, the application will be accepted. Otherwise, defects in the application will be marked and intimated to the candidate for rectification within a stipulated time period. The status of the application and defects marked in the application will be intimated to the candidates through E-mail and/or SMS. The latest status of an application will be updated after the receipt and re-scrutiny of the application. The status of an application can be checked at any point of time by logging in JOAPS.
Candidates should rectify the marked defects in the application before the stipulated deadline. Failing to rectify the defects within the stipulated time can lead to the application being rejected and no further communication will be entertained in this regard.