Loading page
About this tool
Apply the published tie-breaking order of NEET, JEE Main, UPSC, SSC and IBPS to two candidates and see which criterion decides the rank.
A tie-breaker rule is the ordered list of criteria an examining body applies when two candidates finish on identical marks, and it is applied strictly in sequence — the first criterion on which they differ fixes the rank and nothing after it is consulted. This explainer runs the published order for NEET UG, JEE Main, UPSC Civil Services, SSC and IBPS or SBI recruitment against two candidates and shows exactly which criterion decided the result. Each rule set is presented with the body that issued it, because these lists are revised: NEET dropped both the age criterion and the draw of lots within three years.
Open Tie Breaker Rule Explainer on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Add your input to the workspace.
Adjust the options until the result looks right.
Copy or download the output and put it to work.
Criteria are evaluated in sequence and later ones are visibly marked as never reached.
NTA, UPSC, SSC and the bank recruitment boards each use a different logic, shown side by side.
Every rule set ships with a realistic pair of candidates that demonstrates the sequence.
In order: higher marks in Biology (Botany plus Zoology), then Chemistry, then Physics, then the lower ratio of incorrect to correct answers across all subjects, then the same ratio within Biology, Chemistry and Physics. NTA removed the age criterion and the computerised draw of lots from 2024, so candidates identical on every criterion now share a rank.
Higher NTA score in Mathematics comes first, then Physics, then Chemistry, then the lower ratio of wrong to correct answers, then the older candidate. Candidates still level after all five are given the same rank.
By total marks in the final stage, then marks in the earlier tier, then date of birth with the older candidate placed higher, then alphabetical order of the first name. Because the last criterion can always separate two people, SSC results do not have shared ranks.
Where age is used, being older helps. UPSC, SSC and the bank recruitment boards all place the senior candidate higher, and JEE Main does the same at its fifth criterion. NEET UG no longer uses age at all.