<p>To better understand the stress and deformation characteristics and determination of effective anchorage length of rockbolts installed in the layered soft rock roadways in coal mines. A nonlinear theoretical model describing the load transfer mechanism of rockbolts in layered soft rock is proposed. The characteristics of shear displacement, axial force, and shear stress along the rockbolt are analyzed. One advantage of the proposed model is to analyze the effect of rockbolts at the interface of layered soft rock under pull-out loads and the failure mode transfer paths. The other advantage is to analyze the effect of soft rock mechanical parameters, thickness, and number of layers on rockbolt deformation and stress distribution characteristics. The shear displacement and shear stress change abruptly at the interface of the layered soft rock, and the axial force fluctuates. The failure transfer path of layered soft rock: rock #2 ⟹ at the interface of rock #1 and rock #2 ⟹ rock #1. When the softer rock becomes soft rock, the shear displacement and axial force decrease while the shear stress increases. An increase in the thickness of the softer rock layers increases the shear displacement at the interface. The residual shear stress coefficient (<i>K</i>) is proposed to establish the theoretical model of the effective anchorage length of the rockbolt. The effective anchorage length of the rockbolt is closely related to the thickness of the soft rock. The proposed model is verified by comparing it with the laboratory pull-out tests and numerical simulation.</p>