The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has informed Careers360 that it will open the CLAT 2026 application form in July 2025. Candidates can register online from the official website: consortiumofnlus.ac.in. The Consortium of National Law Universities will conduct CLAT 2026 tentatively on December 7, 2025. Around 60,000 candidates are expected to appear for CLAT UG and 10,000 candidates are expected to appear for CLAT PG 2026. The CLAT UG syllabus will have sections on English Language, Current Affairs, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. The CLAT PG syllabus covers various areas of law. CLAT 2026 will be conducted in offline mode at exam centres in 131 cities across India. The revised CLAT exam pattern has only 120 questions spread across the five sections and candidates get two hours to complete the exam.
Candidates can gain admission into 5-year LLB programmes by appearing in Common Law Admission Test. On the other hand, they can gain admission into LLM programmes by appearing in the Common Law Admission Test-PG. Currently, 24 NLUs are participating in CLAT, which together offer around 3400 seats in 5-year LLB and around 1300 seats in LLM.
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Common Law Admission Test |
| Short name | CLAT, CLAT PG |
| Conducting body | Consortium of NLUs |
| Frequency | Once a year |
| Mode of exam | Offline |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Type of questions | MCQs |
| Courses offered | 5-year LLB, LLM |
| Participating NLUs | 24 |
| Seats | 5-year LLB - 3400+ LLM - 1300+ |
The Consortium of NLUs will notify the CLAT exam date on its official website, consortiumofnlus.ac.in. CLAT 2026 is likely to be conducted on the first Sunday of December 2025 which will fall on December 7, 2025. Aspiring candidates must keep track of the important dates for CLAT 2026 to successfully register and appear for the exam. The table given below provides the important dates for CLAT 2026. The dates are tentative and will be updated upon release of official notification.
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| Particulars | Dates |
|---|---|
| Release of CLAT 2026 notification | July 2025 |
| CLAT 2026 application opens | July 2025 |
| Last date to fill the CLAT 2026 application form | November 2025 |
| CLAT 2026 exam date | December 7, 2025 |
CLAT 2026 provisional answer key | December 8, 2025 |
Objection raising window | Will be notified |
CLAT 2026 result | One week after the exam |
CLAT 2026 counselling | Will be notified |
In this section, get the latest updates about the CLAT 2026 exam to be conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities.
The Consortium of NLUs has informed Careers360 that the CLAT 2026 application form will open in July 2025. Candidates will be able to apply online from the consortium's official website.
The Consortium of NLUs prescribes the CLAT eligibility criteria 2026 on its official website. The CLAT eligibility criteria include conditions about minimum educational qualifications, minimum required passing marks and age limit if any. Candidates must ensure they fulfil the eligibility criteria of CLAT 2026 before registering and appearing for the exam. Candidates who do not satisfy the CLAT 2026 eligibility criteria at any stage of the admission process will be disqualified.
| Particulars | Dates |
|---|---|
Educational qualification | 10+2 or equivalent |
Minimum passing marks | 45% for general / OBC and 40% for SC/ST candidates |
Age limit | No age limit |
The Consortium of NLUs will open the CLAT application form in July 2025. Candidates can submit the CLAT application form 2026 from the consortium’s official website. To submit the application form of CLAT 2026, candidates must follow steps such as registration, filling out application form details, and payment of the application fee. The deadline to submit the CLAT 2026 application form is likely to be the first week of November 2025.
Candidates must visit the official website- consortiumofnlus.ac.in to submit the CLAT 2026 application form. Given below are the various steps involved in the submission of the application form of CLAT 2026.
Candidates must first complete the initial registration to generate CLAT login credentials which is the first step in the CLAT application form 2026 process. The candidates will be required to provide their email ID and mobile number to set up their CLAT 2026 account. Candidates must preserve these login credentials as they would need to log in to their account at various stages of the CLAT 2026 admission process such as downloading the CLAT admit card, checking the CLAT result, and registering for CLAT 2026 counselling.
The second step in the CLAT 2026 application process is to fill up the details in the application form. These details include the following:
Personal details: This includes providing personal information regarding one’s name, parent's name, date of birth, and category.
Educational qualification: The candidate has to provide details about their educational qualification, namely class 10 and Class 12 details.
Communication details: Here, the applicant must provide the permanent address and communication address details. However, it must be noted that the entire admission and counselling process is conducted in online mode.
Uploading of documents: Candidates have to upload their passport-size photograph and signature as per the prescribed format and specifications.
The next step for the candidate is to provide the CLAT 2026 exam centre preferences. A candidate can provide a maximum of 3 choices in the order of their preference. The consortium will allot the exam centre after considering the availability and the preferences submitted by the candidate.
The applicants are required to submit their NLU preferences at the time of submitting the CLAT 2026 application form. The candidates would be considered for admission in only those NLUs that they have included in their CLAT NLU preference list. It is therefore important for candidates to carefully assess their level of preparation and chances of selection in a given NLU before submitting their preferences.
The last step in the CLAT 2026 application process is the payment of the prescribed CLAT application fee. Only after payment of the application fee will a candidate be able to complete CLAT 2026 registration. The table given below describes the CLAT 2026 application fees.
| Category | Fees |
|---|---|
General/OBC/PwD/NRI/PIO//OCI category | Rs. 4,000 |
SC/ST/BPL category | Rs. 3,500 |
The Consortium prescribes the CLAT 2026 syllabus on its official website. The syllabus of CLAT 2026 contains five sections namely English Language, Current Affairs including GK, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. The CLAT PG syllabus includes topics on different areas of law. Aspiring candidates must carefully go through the CLAT syllabus 2026 to chart out a study plan for CLAT preparation. This will help candidates understand the important topics for each section of CLAT.
| Sections | Weight | Topics |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 20% | Grammar and sentence correction, synonyms & antonyms, tense, voice |
Current Affairs including GK | 25% | National and international events, science and technology, science & technology, summits & conferences, sports, awards & honors, arts & culture, important historical events |
| Legal Reasoning | 25% | Torts, contract Law, IPC, family law, constitutional law, defamation, child rights, writs, cyber law, basic legal terms |
| Logical Reasoning | 20% | Analogies, series, seating arrangement, syllogisms, blood relations, logical sequences, and matching, calendars, and clocks. |
| Quantitative Techniques | 10% | Ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration, statistical estimation, algebra |
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
CLAT LLM topics | Constitutional law, jurisprudence, administrative law, contract law, torts, family law, international law, tax law, environmental law, labour law, criminal law, property law, company law |
The Consortium of NLUs prescribes the CLAT exam pattern on its official website. The exam pattern of CLAT 2026 provides information on the test structure, the number of questions, sections, and marking scheme in the exam. A thorough understanding of the CLAT 2026 exam pattern is essential to come on top in the exam. The CLAT exam pattern consists of 4-6 passages in each section which are then followed by multiple-choice questions based on the passage. Each question in CLAT 2026 carries one mark and there will be a negative marking of 0.25 for every wrong answer.
| Particulars | No. of questions | Marks | Marking scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 22-26 | 22-26 | 1 mark per question. 0.25 negative mark for every wrong answer. |
| Current affairs including GK | 28-32 | 28-32 | |
| Legal reasoning | 28-32 | 28-32 | |
| Logical reasoning | 22-26 | 22-26 | |
| Quantitative techniques | 10-14 | 10-14 |
You may also check-
| Commercial Law | Civil Law |
| Comparative Law | Consumer Law |
| Constitutional and Administrative Law | Business Law |
| Corporate Law | Banking Law |
| Criminology and Forensic Law | International Trade Law |
CLAT2026 is considered one of the most difficult law entrance exams in India. It is very reading-intensive and lengthy and sees intense competition every year. A good level of CLAT 2026 preparation will enable a candidate to bag the limited seats on offer at top NLUs. A few section-wise tips on how to prepare for CLAT are given below.
The CLAT English language section is a test of one’s reading and comprehension skills and proficiency in grammar. Candidates must develop regular reading habits to improve their reading speed. They can also refer to CLAT English books on grammar, and flashcards to develop a good vocabulary.
The passages in the English section are mostly snippets taken from articles appearing in newspapers or magazines. So, candidates must also build a habit of reading daily newspapers and magazines to find it easy during the exam.
The CLAT current affairs and GK section has questions that focus on recent events or any events from the past that have contemporary relevance. Candidates must stay updated with current affairs by following the news regularly. They can also make use of knowledge encyclopedias such as Manorama yearbook or Lucent’s GK. A regular reading habit for law magazines will keep the candidates updated on legal current affairs.
Even though the CLAT legal reasoning section does not require the candidate to have prior knowledge of the law, the questions deal with legal principles and concepts that are covered in a given passage based on which the questions are asked. Therefore candidates must refer to good law books that cover various laws such as Constitutional law, criminal law, child rights, and family law among others.
Regularly reading law magazines will also help the candidates develop good legal aptitude and perform well in the legal reasoning section.
The CLAT logical reasoning section tests the candidates to think logically and solve problems and puzzles such as directions, seating arrangements, analogies, and blood relations. Candidates must constantly practice with problems and puzzles that require them to apply logical reasoning to sharpen their thinking abilities. They can refer to books such as A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning by R S Agarwal which will help them in building conceptual clarity and also contain enough practice questions.
The CLAT quantitative techniques section is of class 10th-class level. It tests the candidate's ability to perform basic arithmetic operations, calculating ratios and proportions, profit and loss, and time and work. To prepare for the CLAT maths section, candidates can refer to books such as Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by RS Agarwal and the Class 10 NCERT Maths textbook.
The Consortium of National Law Universities will release the CLAT 2026 answer key tentatively a day after the exam. Candidates will be allowed to submit their objections against the provisional answer key after paying the prescribed objection fees. After considering the valid objections, the Consortium of NLUs will publish the CLAT 2026 final answer key.
Candidates can download the answer key of CLAT 2026 by following the steps given below -
The Consortium of NLUs will declare the CLAT 2026 result tentatively one week after the exam. Candidates will be able to download the CLAT 2026 scorecard from the official website. The result of CLAT 2026 will be declared as per the final answer key. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to participate in the counselling process.
The Consortium of NLUs will notify the CLAT 2026 counselling schedule on its official website. It will open the counselling registrations tentatively a day after the result. Candidates will be able to register for the counselling through their login after paying the counselling registration fees. Candidates must also provide their NLU preferences at the time of counselling registration. The consortium usually conducts five rounds of CLAT counselling. It will publish the CLAT 2026 merit list for each round of counselling.
Candidates shortlisted in the CLAT 2026 merit list are required to accept the seat by paying the confirmation fees. Later, the candidates must also pay the university fees within the prescribed deadline. to finalise their seat allotment.
| Type of fee | Amount |
|---|---|
CLAT 2025 counselling registration fee | Rs 30000 for general, Rs 20000 for ST/ SC/ OBC/ BC/ EWS/ PWD |
Confirmation fee | Rs 20000 |
Balance university fees | - |
Currently, 24 NLUs are participating in CLAT. While all the participating NLUs offer the 5-year LLB programme, there are a few NLUs that don’t offer the LLM programme or do not admit students into LLM through CLAT. The complete list is given below
NLUs | Courses | UG Seat Intake | LLM Seat Intake |
|---|---|---|---|
BA LLB (Hons) | 300 | 120 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 132 | 66 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 132 | 100 | |
BA LLB (Hons), B.Sc LLB, LLM | 202 (BA LLB 134, B.Sc LLB 68) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | 50 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 180 | 90 | |
BA LLB(Hons.),BCom LLB(Hons.),BSc LLB (Hons.), BBA LLB(Hons), BSW LLB(Hons) | 172 (total seats for all the courses) | 57 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 66 | 33 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 169 | 48 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 180 | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons), BBA LLB (Hons) | 138( 69 seats each for BA LLB and BBA LLB | - | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 60 | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons), BBA LLB (Hons) | 180 (BA LLB 120, BBA LLB 60) | 50 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 134 | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 60 | 40 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 138 | 69 | |
BA LLB (Hons), B.Com LLB (Hons) | 120 (BA LLB 60 , B.Com LLB 60) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) , BBA LLB (Hons) | 100 | 50 | |
BA LLB (Hons) , BBA LLB (Hons) | 120 (BA LLB 60, BBA LLB 60) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) , BBA LLB (Hons) | 120 (BA LLB 60, BBA LLB 60) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) , BBA LLB (Hons) | 120 (BA LLB 60, BBA LLB 60) | 80 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | 50 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | - | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 60 | 50 | |
| RPNLU Prayagraj | BA LLB (Hons.) | 60 | 10 |
| IIULER Goa | BA LB (Hons.), BBA LLB (Hons.) | 120 (BA LLB), 60 (BBA LLB) | 40 |
Top NLUs Cut off marks:
CLAT 2026 will be conducted tentatively on the first week of December 2025.
Through CLAT 2026 candidates can get admission into 5-year LLB and LLM programmes of participating NLUs.
Candidates who have cleared 10+2 or are appearing for their class 12 exams are eligible to appear for CLAT 2026. Graduates who have completed either a 3-year LLB or a 5-year LLB are eligible to apply for CLAT PG.
CLAT 2026 will be conducted in offline mode.
The CLAT 2026 application form will open tentatively in July 2025.
Candidates should refer to good CLAT books to build a solid conceptual understanding. They must also practise with the previous year's question papers of CLAT to build speed and improve performance on the exam day. Additionally, candidates can also enrol for CLAT coaching if they need proper guidance and mentorship during their preparation.
The sections in CLAT 2026 are English, current affairs including GK, legal reasoning, logical reasoning, and quantitative techniques.
Dear student,
For Delhi University’s BA LLB program through CLAT, EWS category admissions last year (2024) typically closed around a rank of 1100 to 1200. This means if you scored around 90–95 marks in CLAT, you had a good chance of getting in. The exact cut-off can change slightly each year depending on competition and seat availability, but staying within the top 1200 is generally safe for EWS candidates.
The cutoff for DU BA LLB for CLAT ews has not been released yet.You can check the cutoff in this website after notification of release of cutoff - https://clat2024.consortiumofnlus.ac.in/clat-2024/
Yes, you can get direct admission into BBA LLB at VIPS (Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies) with 82 percent in your Class 12 exams, but not without appearing in CLAT or IPU CET.
VIPS is affiliated with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), and admissions to BBA LLB are done strictly through entrance exams. The primary mode of admission is through CLAT UG, as GGSIPU has adopted CLAT scores for law programs in recent years. Previously, the IPU CET was used for law admissions, but that has been phased out for integrated law courses like BBA LLB.
So, even with a good Class 12 score, you cannot get admission into VIPS for BBA LLB without a valid CLAT score. The university does not allow direct management quota admissions outside the entrance process for its law programs. You may need to wait for the next CLAT attempt or consider private universities that allow direct admission based on 12th marks.
All the best!
Hi Akash,
It is good to see institutions like NMIMS have selected you for master of law based on your CLAT PG scores. If we compare the three then to be very clear:
For the best academic value and recognition choose NMIMS, or the Nirma University is also good. The DNLU is newer and can be considered as well but if we choose any one, then it is NMIMS.
ALL THE BEST !
Hello,
With an All India Rank (AIR) of 38095 and OBC rank of 7627, it is very difficult to get a seat in any of the NLUs, even under the Tamil Nadu government school quota. Most NLUs close their OBC seats at a much lower rank. Also, the government school quota is not accepted by all NLUs.
You can still attend all rounds of CLAT counselling and keep checking for any vacancy or special rounds, but chances are very low with this rank. It is better to also look for other good law colleges as a backup.
Hope it helps !
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