We present the results of a systematic search for candidate quiescent galaxies in the distant universe in 11 JWST fields with publicly available observations collected during the first 3 months of operations and covering an effective sky area of ~145arcmin^2^. We homogeneously reduce the new JWST data and combine them with existing observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. We select a robust sample of ~80 candidate quiescent and quenching galaxies at 33, as could be expected for highly clustered massive systems. Importantly, JWST enables the robust identification of quenching/quiescent galaxy candidates at lower masses and higher redshifts than before, challenging standard formation scenarios.

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/947/20/uvjgal (UVJ-selected galaxies; see Section 3.1 (eazy_output_v4.0_uvj_selection_3.0z6.5_robust.fits))

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/947/20/gmmrob (*NUV-U, U-V, V-J Gaussian mixture model (GMM) selected galaxies; truly passive (P_Q,50%_>=0.7); see Section 3.2)

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/947/20/gmmprob (*NUV-U, U-V, V-J Gaussian mixture model selected galaxies with 0.1<=P_Q,50%_<0.7; see Section 3.2)

Cone search capability for table J/ApJ/947/20/match (selected by Carnall+ 2023MNRAS.520.3974C; (eazy_output_match_carnall_2022_brammer_v4.0_new.fits) see Appendix B.4.)