CLAT 2026 eligibility you must know before filling application

CLAT 2026 eligibility you must know before filling application

Ongoing Event

CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 31 Oct' 25

Mirza Farhan BaigUpdated on 04 Aug 2025, 09:05 AM IST

With the CLAT 2026 registrations underway, candidates planning to appear for the Common Law Admission Test must make sure they meet the eligibility criteria before beginning their registration. Understanding the CLAT eligibility criteria 2026 will ensure a smooth admission process to the CLAT-participating NLUs. Failing to meet the eligibility requirements for CLAT 2026 can lead to rejection of the application, disqualification from the exam, or cancellation of the admission process during document verification or counselling - wasting time and money eventually. The last date to register for CLAT 2026 is October 31, 2025.

CLAT 2026 eligibility you must know before filling application
CLAT 2026 eligibility

The eligibility criteria of CLAT 2026 include requirements regarding the educational qualification, minimum passing marks and age limit. As per the CLAT 2026 admission eligibility, candidates who have completed class 12th or are appearing for the class 12 exams in March/April 2026 are also eligible to apply. Read the complete article to get a comprehensive understanding of the detailed eligibility requirements for CLAT 2026.

CLAT 2026 Detailed Eligibility Requirements for 5-year LLB and LLM

As per the CLAT exam eligibility, candidates must have completed class 12 from any recognised board with a minimum of 45% marks and for the SC/ST category, candidates must have 40% marks. The details are given in the table below.

CLAT UG 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Eligibility

Educational Qualifications

  • Candidates must have completed their class 12 from a recognised board.

  • Candidates currently in their class 12 and are due to pass out in 2026 are also eligible to apply.

Minimum marks required in qualifying exam

  • General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI candidates need to score a minimum of 45%.

  • SC/ST category candidates need to score a minimum of 40% aggregate marks in their class 12

CLAT exam Age Limit

  • There is no age limit for appearing in the CLAT 2026 exam.

CLAT Exam Eligibility Criteria for LLM 2026

The CLAT LLM eligibility criteria require students to have a minimum of 50% marks in Class 12 exams from a recognised board. Candidates who belong to the SC/ST category should have 45% marks to be eligible to appear in the exam.

CLAT PG 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Eligibility

Educational Qualifications

  • Candidates must have completed their 5-year LLB or 3-year LLB graduation from any law school recognised by the Bar Council of India.

  • Candidates who are appearing for their final year LLB exams are also eligible to apply.


Minimum marks in the qualifying exam

  • General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI candidates need to score a minimum of 50% in their LLB undergraduate degree.

  • SC/SC category candidates need to score a minimum of 45% aggregate marks in their LLB

Age Limit

  • There is no age limit for appearing in the CLAT PG 2026 exam

CLAT Eligibility Criteria 2026 for NRI Students

The CLAT 2026 eligibility criteria for NRI students require aspiring NRI/NRI-sponsored candidates to appear for the CLAT exam and obtain a valid score. Such candidates must then apply separately to the NLU where they wish to seek admission.

Documents Required for CLAT NRI 2026 Admission

NRI candidates must submit the following documents when applying to the desired NLU.

  • Certificate showing the NRI status of the candidate (Annexure-I) or the NRI status of the person sponsoring the study, in case of NRI Sponsored category (Annexure-II)

  • Class 10/Secondary school mark sheet and certificate

  • Class 12/Intermediate marksheet and certificate

  • Mark Sheet of final year 5-year LLB/3-year LLB from a recognised University (for LLM candidates)

  • Character Certificate from the Institution/University last attended

  • Transfer certificate/Migration Certificate from the Institution/University last attended

  • Recent colour photograph of the candidate

  • CLAT2026 Admit Card

  • CLAT 2026 scorecard

  • Affidavit for the year gap, if any

  • Application fee as prescribed by the university, which will be adjusted against the balance university fee.

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Questions related to CLAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CLAT ?

Hello,

For CLAT PG 2026 application :

Photograph: JPEG/JPG, 200x230 pixels, 20–50 KB, white/light background, recent passport-size photo.

Signature: JPEG/JPG, 140x60 pixels, 10–20 KB, sign on white paper with black ink, must match exam documents.

Hope it helps !

Hi dear candidate,

On our official website, you can find various study material EBooks and Sample Papers that can help you prepare better that you can download for free.

Kindly refer to the link attached below:

CLAT E-books and Sample Papers

CLAT Study Material 2026 PDF - Books, Mock Test, Question Papers

BEST REGARDS


Hello,

While NLUs are costly, you can still pursue government-funded law education through state-funded universities and their affiliated colleges that accept CLAT scores, such as institutes like Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University.

I hope it will clear your query!!

It is always better to take the CLAT exam right after Class 12 if your goal is to build a career in law, because CLAT UG is specifically designed for admission into integrated five-year law programs like BA LLB, BCom LLB, or BBA LLB. Appearing after Class 12 saves you time, as you complete both graduation and law together in a single course. On the other hand, if you first complete graduation and then plan for law, you will not be eligible for CLAT UG but instead for CLAT PG, which is meant for admission into LLM programs. This path takes longer, because you first spend three or four years on graduation and then add another three years in an LLB program if you choose not to go for an integrated course. So, if you are already sure about pursuing law as your career, writing CLAT right after Class 12 is the smarter and time-saving option, while writing it after graduation makes sense only if you are considering higher studies in law or a shift in career later.

For CLAT, the most important topics are from  Legal Reasoning, Current Affairs & GK, the Indian Constitution, English Language, Quantitative Techniques and Logical Reasoning. For a brief detail you can go through the following link: https://law.careers360.com/articles/clat-important-topics

Thank You.