CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 31 Oct' 25
The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has published the CLAT 2026 notification. The CLAT 2026 exam will be held on December 07, from 2 pm to 4 pm. Meanwhile, the registration for CLAT will remain open from August 1 to October 31. CLAT is held annually for admission to 24 national law universities, and several affiliated law schools. With a pass rate of just 5-6%, CLAT is one of the most competitive law entrance exams in India. The top 5-6 NLUs see notoriously infamous competition with less than 1% in the general category finding seats in these.
So if the candidates are preparing for CLAT 2026, with 4 months left, it is time to gauge the level of competition and plan accordingly. One aiming for top NLUs has to be extremely calculated and organised not just in study, but also in targeting scores in the CLAT mock tests. A score of 95+ marks can be termed as a really good score in CLAT 2026 and candidates will become contenders for a seat in the top 5 NLUs with this score.
Event | Dates |
Release of CLAT 2026 application form | August 1, 2025 |
Last date of filling application form | October 31, 2025 |
CLAT 2026 Exam Date | December 7, 2025 |
When it comes to the best law schools of India, NLSIU Bengaluru definitely tops the chart. NLSIU Bengaluru is the number one ranked law school in India. NLU Delhi is the ranked two law college in India, but admissions to NLU Delhi is not done through CLAT exam. NALSAR Hyderabad is the third ranked law school in India. The below-given table lists down the NLUs based on the NIRF rankings:
NLU Name | NIRF Ranking 2024 |
NLSIU Bangalore | 1 |
NLU Delhi | 2 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 3 |
WBNUJS Kolkata | 4 |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 8 |
RMNLU Lucknow | 20 |
NLIU Bhopal | 21 |
NUSRL Ranchi | 22 |
RGNUL Patiala | 24 |
NLU Odisha, Cuttack | 26 |
NLUJA Kamrup | 27 |
CNLU Patna | 31 |
MNLU Mumbai | 31 |
MNLU Nagpur | 34 |
NUALS Kochi | 38 |
DSNLU Visakhapatnam | 39 |
NLU Jodhpur | - |
NLU Trichy | - |
MNLU Aurangabad | - |
NLU Shimla | - |
NLU Jabalpur | - |
HNLU Raipur | - |
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University | - |
GNLU Silvassa | - |
NLU Tripura | - |
NLU Meghalaya | - |
RPNLU Prayagraj | - |
Generally candidates must score somewhere between 90-100 marks to get admissions in the top 5 NLUs. The CLAT 2025 cutoff is released in terms of opening and closing ranks. However, candidates can collate the ranks with the marks through our analysis. The below-given table gives candidates an idea about the marks and ranks required for admission to top NLUs of India:
NLU Name | General Category Closing Ranks | Closing marks |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 100 | 95+ |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 150 | 93+ |
WBNUJS Kolkata BA LLB | 285 | 92+ |
WBNUJS BSc LLB | 652 | 90+ |
NLIU Bhopal BA LLB | 458 | 92+ |
NLIU Bhopa; BSc. LLB | 821 | 89+ |
NLU Jodhpur | 357 | 93+ |
HNLU Raipur | 765 | 89+ |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 402 | 92+ |
GNLU Silvassa | 1252 | 86+ |
RLMNLU Lucknow | 721 | 89+ |
RGNUL Patiala | 1146 | 87+ |
CNLU Patna BA LLB | 1278 | 86+ |
CNLU Patna BA LLB | 1424 | 85+ |
NUALS Kochi | 1175 | 87+ |
NLU Odissa BA LLB | 943 | 88+ |
NLU Odissa BBA LLB | 1034 | 88+ |
NUSRL Ranchi BA LLB | 1476 | 85+ |
NUSRL Ranchi BBA LLB | 1504 | 85+ |
NLUJ Assam | 1643 | 84+ |
DSNLU Visakhapatnam | 1489 | 85+ |
TNNLU Tiruchirappalli BA LLB | 1516 | 85+ |
TNNLU Tiruchirappalli BA LLB | 1642 | 84+ |
MNLU Mumbai | 536 | 90+ |
MNLU Nagpur BA LLB | 1353 | 86+ |
MNLU Nagpur BBA LLB | 1375 | 86+ |
MNLU Aurangabad BA LLB | 1580 | 85+ |
MNLU Aurangabad BBA LLB | 1850 | 84+ |
HPNLU Shimla BA LLB | 1951 | 83+ |
HPNLU Shimla BBA LLB | 1994 | 83+ |
MPDNLU Jabalpur | 1762 | 84+ |
DBRANLU Sonepat | 1621 | 84+ |
NLUT Agartala | 2098 | 83+ |
RPNLU Prayagraj | 1987 | 83+ |
IIURL Goa BA LLB | 2096 | 83+ |
IIURL Goa BBA LLB | 2150 | 83+ |
On Question asked by student community
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.
Hi dear candidate,
Both the colleges Maharaja Agrasen (MAIMS) or Gitarattan (GIBS) are affiliated to IP University and allows admission either by CLAT or IPU CET Law. Without either of these exams, your admission is NOT accepted there. You can try looking for management quota seats in these colleges if you have got good marks in 12th class.
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Hi dear candidate,
You can easily register yourself for CLAT exam by visiting the Consortium of NLUs official website and follow these steps:
Know the complete process at:
CLAT Registration 2026 (Started): Documents Required, Application Fee, Link, Steps to Apply
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