CLAT 2026 Counselling Refund Process Explained

CLAT 2026 Counselling Refund Process Explained

Mirza Farhan BaigUpdated on 31 Dec 2025, 11:31 AM IST

The Consortium of National Law Universities has closed the CLAT 2026 counselling registrations and will publish the first round merit list on January 7, 2026. Earlier, the candidates who were invited for counselling had to pay the registration fee of Rs. 30,000 (general candidates) and Rs. 20,000 (SC and ST). Candidates who, for some reason, have decided not to seek admission to NLUs, or think they won’t be included in the CLAT 2026 merit list even till the last round of allotment, can seek CLAT 2026 counselling refund. The refunds for CLAT 2026 counselling are generally processed within two months after the end of the counselling session.

CLAT 2026 Counselling Refund Process Explained
CLAT 2026 Counselling Refund Process Explained

It is important to note that multiple instances depend on when the consortium initiates the CLAT 2026 counselling refund. If a candidate is found ineligible during the counselling stage, then Rs. 5000 will be deducted from the refund amount. Candidates have to ensure that the bank account details given are functional throughout the counselling and refund process.

CLAT 2026 Counselling Schedule

Event

Date

Counselling registration window

December 16, 2025 - December 27, 2025

CLAT 2026 first merit list

January 07, 2026

Confirmation fee payment & admission (Round 1)

January 07, 2026 – January 15, 2026

CLAT 2026 second merit list

January 22, 2026

Confirmation fee payment & admission (Round 2)

January 22, 2026 – January 29, 2026

CLAT 2026 third merit list

February 05, 2026

Confirmation fee payment & admission (Round 3)

February 05, 2026 – February 12, 2026

Last date to pay university fee (Rounds 1–3 freeze candidates)

April 24, 2026

CLAT 2026 fourth merit list

May 02, 2026

Confirmation fee payment & admission (Round 4)

May 02, 2026 – May 08, 2026

CLAT 2026 fifth merit list

May 15, 2026

Confirmation fee payment & admission (Final round)

May 15, 2026 – May 20, 2026

Last date to pay university fee (Rounds 4 & 5 freeze candidates)

May 30, 2026

CLAT 2026 Counselling Fees

Fee type

Category

Amount

Registration fee

General

Rs 30,000

Registration fee

SC / ST / OBC / EWS / PwD

Rs 20,000

Confirmation fee

All Candidates (for freeze/float)

Rs 20,000

CLAT 2026 Counselling Refund Instance

The following points explain how the CLAT counselling fee refund works, what the rules for deduction are, if any, and what options are available to you if you participate in the admission process and still want a fee refund:

CLAT 2026 Counselling Full Refund

  • Candidates will get the entire refund if they are not allotted seats even after the completion of the fifth round of counselling. Also, to those who have not chosen the Freeze/Float and Exit from the counselling process.

  • Suppose a candidate has been allocated a seat and they chose the Float or Freeze option till the fourth round, and later decide to Exit before 1:00 PM on May 8, 2026, then their counselling registration fee will be refunded in full.

  • If a candidate is allotted a seat for the first time in the fifth round of counselling, but chooses to exit or fails to complete their admission at the NLY by paying their prescribed fees, then the counselling fee will be refunded completely

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CLAT 2026 Counselling Partial Refund

  • As said earlier, if any candidate is found ineligible by the consortium due to the incorrect submission of documents or information provided Rs. 5000 will be deducted from the CLAT 2026 counselling fee.

  • In case a candidate has been allocated a seat and they chose the Float or Freeze option till the fourth round, and later decide to Exit after 1:00 PM on May 8, 2026, then Rs. 5000 will be deducted from their counselling fee.

  • If a candidate has exercised the Freeze option and taken admission at the allocated NLU, but withdrew the admission after May 30, 2026, then Rs. 5000 will be deducted, and the CLAT 2026 confirmation fee will be forfeited.

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CLAT 2026 Counselling No Refund

It is important to know this point, as in this case, candidates will not be given any refund.

  • If a candidate chooses the Exit option or fails to pay the specified NLU fees within the prescribed deadline or has been found ineligible by an NLU, then the complete Rs. 20,000 confirmation fee will not be refunded.

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Questions related to CLAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CLAT ?

Start preparing for CLAT by first understanding the exam pattern and syllabus, which includes English, Current Affairs, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. Make a simple daily routine and begin with basics read newspapers regularly for current affairs, practice comprehension passages for English and legal sections, and solve basic

Hello

With an AIR of 9076 and EWS rank of 846 in CLAT 2026, getting a top NLUs is unlikely, which is why you didn’t get a seat in the first round. However, you still have some chances in lower-tier NLUs like NLU Odisha, NLU Assam, NLU Tripura, NLU Meghalaya,

Hello

With a CLAT 2026 score of 60.75, AIR 17,715, and OBC-NCL rank 3,347 as an out-of-Delhi candidate, getting a seat in the Faculty of Law, Delhi University is very unlikely. DU’s cut-offs for OBC candidates are usually much higher, even in later rounds. You should keep backup options like

Hello,

With AIR 10542 and OBC rank 1843, getting top NLUs is unlikely. However, you still have chances in newer or lower ranked NLUs like NLU Assam, NUSRL Ranchi, MNLU Nagpur/Mumbai, especially in later or vacancy rounds. Also consider good private law colleges as backup options.

Since you scored 8000 AIR in CLAT, getting into top NLUs may not be possible, so it is a good idea to look for affordable and good law colleges.


State government law colleges are usually low in fees, and have decent reputation. Some options include Government Law College, Mumbai, Faculty