CLAT 2026 Domicile Category Cut-Offs: How State Quota Boosts Admission Chances
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CLAT 2026 Domicile Category Cut-Offs: How State Quota Boosts Admission Chances

Shubham BhakuniUpdated on 05 Aug 2025, 09:05 AM IST

The domicile quota, regardless of its fairness, presents a strategic advantage for students seeking admission to prestigious National Law Universities (NLUs). All NLUs participating in CLAT 2026 offer domicile reservation, ranging from 25% to 70% of total intake — there is no uniformity in this reservation. But one trend is very clear — state quota significantly reduces the cutoff ranks in NLUs.

CLAT 2026 Domicile Category Cut-Offs: How State Quota Boosts Admission Chances
CLAT 2026: How Domicile Quotas Can Sharply Lower NLU Cut-Offs and Boost Admission Chances

For instance, NLSIU Bangalore, where competition is cut-throat and general category success rate is below 0.5%, the all India general category admission closed at AIR 112 in CLAT 2025, but reserved seats for general category - Karnataka were filled up to AIR 460, a drop of 4x. NALSAR Hyderabad, where three rounds of CLAT counselling ended general category admission at AIR 162, the domicile quota seats in the same category were offered till AIR 607, a drop of 3.7x.

Similarly, NLIU Bhopal BA LLB cutoffs were 480 for all India general category and 1085 for general-domicile category. The allotment list for GNLU Gandhinagar shows all India general category admission closing at 444 in third round of CLAT counselling, whereas, the domicile reserved seats in general category were closed at 2609 (vacant) and 2549, the last provisionally admitted candidate.

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All the data presented above, and in the table below, shows how state quota seats change the admission standards for certain candidates.

CLAT Cut-Offs 2025: General vs. Domestic Categories

NLU

Gen Male Cut-Off Rank- All India

Gen Male Cut-Off Rank- State Quota

Drop in AIR

NLSIU Bangalore

112

460

348

NALSAR Hyderabad

162

607

445

WBNUJS Kolkata

327

1119

792

NLU Jodhpur

367

581

214

GNLU Gandhinagar

444

2549

2105

GNLU Silvassa

1461

33059

31598

NLU Bhopal

480

1085

605

NLU Ranchi

1667

5514

3847

NLU Assam

2141

3128

987

NLU Trichy

1763

3912

2149

Source: CLAT 2025 counselling third round admission lists

Domicile Quota in NLUs:

The National Law Universities (NLUs), despite carrying the term "national" in their names, are, in fact, state universities. They are established through Acts passed by the respective state legislatures. Consequently, the domicile quota is also governed by the reservation policies of the individual states. As a result, there is no uniformity in domicile reservation offered across NLUs. In several cases, the reservation exceeds 50% of total intake, significantly reducing all-India intake and further diluting the national character implied by their names. For example, all three MNLUs — Mumbai, Nagpur and Aurangabad keep around 72% seats reserved for Maharashtra candidates, leaving only 28% seats in the all-India category.

Takeaways: What’s Next for CLAT 2026 Aspirants?

It is clear — the domicile reservation can change the game and bypass the intense competition CLAT has. The CLAT 2026 applications are currently open. The registration window closes on October 31. Adding domicile reservation criteria is the last stage of the application process. Candidates should carefully review the eligibility, which in some NLUs extends beyond the criterion of having a formal residency certificate in the state. While students are not required to submit the domicile certificates at this stage, admission under the state quota will be offered only upon fulfilling the eligibility and submitting the relevant certificates. They need to submit the documentary proof at the time of admission.

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Questions related to CLAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CLAT ?

Hi, you can apply for admissions in Nirma University, NFSU Ahemdabad, Alliance, IPU University and affiliated instiutes (in case you are reserved category candidates), UPES Dehradun, BITS Law School etc.

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.