The CLAT 2026 exam is less than a month away, and candidates must score well enough to secure their dream NLUs. When it comes to NLUs, NLSIU Bengaluru is the best NLU and the number one-ranked law college in the country. Normally, general category candidates require more than 95 marks for admission in this college. However, the CLAT 2026 cutoff for NLSIU Bengaluru might slightly come down or go up depending on the difficulty level of the exam. After NLSIU Bengaluru comes NALSAR Hyderabad. The CLAT 2026 cutoff for NALSAR Hyderabad will be slightly less than NLSIU Bengaluru. Closely following NALSAR Hyderabad is WBNUJS Kolkata. In this article, we will discuss in detail the expected CLAT 2026 cutoff for the top six NLUs
As mentioned above, NLSIU Bengaluru is the top-ranked law school and NLU in the country. In the list of best NLUs in India through CLAT 2026, the second place is taken by NALSAR Hyderabad, followed by WBNUJS Kolkata. The table given below denotes the list of top NLUs that accept admissions through CLAT 2026.
NIRF 2025 Rank | Name of the NLU |
1 | NLSIU Bengaluru |
3 | NALSAR Hyderabad |
4 | WBNUJS Kolkata |
5 | GNLU Gandhinagar |
15 | NLU Odisha |
17 | CNLU Patna |
The NIRF 2025 law rankings have been mentioned by many experts, given that some of the top colleges do not make it to the list. Just for instance, NLIU Bhopal is ranked behind NLU Odisha and CNLU Patna. One good way of ranking colleges is based on how hard it is to get into these NLUs. The list below ranks NLUs based on which ones have the highest cutoffs:
Rank | NLU |
1 | NLSIU Bengaluru |
2 | NALSAR Hyderabad |
3 | WBNUJS Kolkata( BA LLB) |
4 | NLU Jodhpur |
5 | GNLU Gandhinagar |
6 | NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB) |
The CLAT 2026 cutoff will be released in the form of opening and closing ranks. However, candidates can also get a good idea of the CLAT marks vs rank data through our analysis. The top NLUs have cutoff ranks under 500 for the general category. In this section, we will discuss the expected CLAT 2026 cutoffs for the top 6 NLUs for all categories.
Opening Rank | Closing Rank | |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 1 | 112 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 17 | 159 |
WBNUJS Kolkata( BA LLB) | 57 | 327 |
NLU Jodhpur | 159 | 367 |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 236 | 444 |
NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB) | 257 | 480 |
NLU | EWS | OBC | SC | ST | ||||
Opening Rank | Closing Rank | Opening Rank | Closing Rank | Opening Rank | Closing Rank | Opening Rank | Closing Rank | |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 119 | 703 | 209 | 1541 | 182 | 3133 | 678 | 3396 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 372 | 546 | 333 | 1219 | 1483 | 3273 | 1311 | 3621 |
WBNUJS Kolkata( BA LLB) | - | - | 1359* | 4168* | 3048 | 4753 | 4823 | 6343 |
NLU Jodhpur | 542 | 986 | 1333 | 1776 | 3343 | 5445 | 4343 | 5955 |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 819 | 1118 | 1396 | 2303 | 974 | 5934 | 4457 | 8568 |
NLIU Bhopal (BA LLB) | 787 | 1377 | 1658 | 1757 | 5077 | 5763 | 6166 | 8243 |
The CLAT admission process will begin soon after the announcement of the results of the exam. In the CLAT 2026 counselling, the consortium will invite 3–5 times the number of candidates as available seats. Candidates who will be invited for CLAT counselling 2026 will first have to complete counselling registration. During this process, candidates must also select their NLU preferences. During the CLAT 2026 seat allotment process, candidates will be allotted seats based on their preferences and ranks.
On Question asked by student community
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
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