CLAT Last 3 years Question Papers with New Pattern

Isha GargUpdated on 03 Dec 2025, 05:04 PM IST

CLAT has primarily become a comprehension-based, critical thinking exam since 2020. The total number of questions was reduced from 200 to 150 in 2020. The number of questions was further reduced to 120 in the CLAT 2024 exam to make it student-friendly and to ease exam stress. While the exam remains moderate to difficult, sections like English, legal reasoning, and logical reasoning mainly test inference and reasoning skills. Solving CLAT past year question (PYQ) papers is crucial for cracking the CLAT because it helps understand the comprehension-based format and improves speed and accuracy.

CLAT Last 3 years Question Papers with New Pattern

CLAT 2026 Last 3 years Question Papers with New Pattern

The English Language section of the CLAT exam evaluates reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary through passage-based questions. The general knowledge and current affairs still require prior knowledge of national and international events. Legal reasoning applies legal principles to factual situations, and logical reasoning is often the toughest, involving puzzles and patterns. Quantitative techniques cover basic arithmetic, percentages, ratios, and data interpretation. Even though the questions are fewer in number, but require accuracy and speed.

Previous Year's Question Papers with Detailed Solutions

Year	Question paper PDF	CLAT UG solution PDF
2025	CLAT 2025 Question Paper	CLAT 2025 Answer Key PDF with Detailed Solutions
2024	CLAT 2024 Question Paper	CLAT 2024 Answer Key PDF with Detailed Solutions
2023	CLAT 2023 Question Paper	CLAT 2023 Answer Key PDF with Detailed Solutions

Comparison of Exam Patterns (2020 vs 2024-2026)

Exam period	Total questions	Sections	Duration	Marking scheme
Pre-2020	200	English, GK, Legal Aptitude, LR, QA	2 hours	+1 mark for correct answer and -0.25 for incorrect answer
2020-2023	150	English Language, Current Affairs (including General Knowledge), Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques	2 hours	+1 mark for correct answer and -0.25 for incorrect answer
2024 onwards	120	Same as 2020-2023 (passage-based format)	2 hours	+1 mark for correct answer and -0.25 for incorrect answer

CLAT UG Exam Section-wise Question Distribution (2024-2026)

The CLAT UG exam features 120 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 2 hours. Each correct answer awards 1 mark, with a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every incorrect response, and no penalty for unanswered questions. Questions are passage-based across five sections, testing comprehension, reasoning, and awareness skills at a 12th-grade level.

CLAT 2026 - Section-wise Distribution of Questions

Section	Number of questions	Weightage (%)
English Language	22-26	20
Current Affairs including GK	28-32	25
Legal Reasoning	28-32	25
Logical Reasoning	22-26	20
Quantitative Techniques	10-14	10

CLAT Exam Analysis - Last 3 Years (2023, 2024, 2025)

In 2023, the English section was easy, with 28-30 good attempts out of 30 questions. General knowledge was also easy to moderate with 30-35 good attempts, while quantitative aptitude was more challenging, with only 8-9 good attempts. Logical reasoning and legal reasoning were moderate to difficult, with good attempts ranging from 25-27 and 32-34, respectively. Overall, the exam was moderate to difficult.

In 2024, the CLAT exam pattern changed to 120 questions. English and general knowledge were easier, with good attempts above 20 and 25+, respectively. Quantitative aptitude and logical reasoning ranged between easy and moderate difficulty. Legal reasoning was easier compared to previous years. Overall, the exam was easy to moderate with about 105+ good attempts.

In 2025, English and general knowledge remained easy to moderate. Quantitative aptitude got relatively tougher, with good attempts rising to 24-25 from fewer questions. Legal reasoning stayed moderately difficult, while logical reasoning was considered easier compared to earlier. The total good attempts were about 90-95, indicating moderate difficulty overall.

Section-wise Difficulty and Attempts for 2023-2025

Year	Section	Good attempts	Difficulty level	Total questions
2023	English Language	28 - 30	Easy	30
	General Knowledge	30 - 35	Easy to moderate	35
	Quantitative Aptitude	8 - 9	Moderate to difficult	15
	Logical Reasoning	25 - 27	Moderate to difficult	30
	Legal Reasoning	32 - 34	Tough but easy	40
	Overall	110+	Moderate to difficult	150
2024	English	20+	Easy	24
	General Knowledge & Current Affairs	25+	Easy	28
	Quantitative Aptitude	7+	Easy to moderate	12
	Legal Reasoning	25+	Easy	32
	Logical Reasoning	20+	Easy to moderate	24
	Overall	105+	Easy to moderate	120
2025	English	18 - 19	Easy to moderate	22-26
	General Knowledge	21 - 22	Easy to moderate	28-32
	Quantitative Aptitude	24 - 25	Moderate	10-14
	Legal Reasoning	17 - 18	Moderate	28-32
	Logical Reasoning	8 - 9	Easy to moderate	22-26
	Overall	90 - 95	Moderate	120

Category-wise Expected Good Score in CLAT 2026 in Top NLUs

NLU name	General	EWS	OBC	SC	ST
NLSIU Bengaluru	100+	95+	90+	83+	78+
NALSAR Hyderabad	100+	95+	90+	82+	78+
WBNUJS Kolkata	98+	-	56+*	80+	74+
NLU Jodhpur	95+	-	88+	79+	74+
GNLU Gandhinagar	95+	90+	87+	77+	70+
MNLU Mumbai	93+	81+	77+*	71+*	41+*
RMLNLU Lucknow	91+	85+	82+*	53+*	41+*

*state category reservation

Based on past year data and expected trends for CLAT 2026, for general category candidates, a score between 90 and 100+ marks out of 120 is considered competitive for top NLUs. EWS candidates should aim for 85-95+ marks to secure good chances. For OBC candidates, a score of around 80-90+ marks is advisable. SC and ST candidates can secure admissions with scores in the range of 75-85 marks. Generally, to rank among the top candidates, scoring above 90 marks is highly recommended. Reserve categories have slightly lower cut-offs, but high scores always increase the chances of securing the preferred NLU seat.

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