The National Law Universities are the most prestigious law schools in India. Every year CLAT exam is conducted for admission to 26 NLUs and IIULER Goa. Students are shortlisted based on their ranks and Common Law Admission Test scores. Usually, the top NLUs give admissions to students scoring ranks under 1000. However, as the counselling rounds move ahead, the cut-off relaxes a little based on many factors like upgradation, withdrawal of admissions, etc. While entering the NLU preferences, candidates must have a good idea of which colleges to target according to their ranks. In this article, we will discuss the NLU options available to students who score CLAT ranks between 1800 to 2000.
The CLAT 2026 has been conducted offline on December 7, 2025. The Consortium of NLUs will declare the CLAT 2026 result tentatively a week after the exam day. The CLAT counselling 2026 will commence shortly after the results are declared.
Here are the top NLUs offering admissions to candidates getting ranks between 1800-2000 for all rounds.
NLU Name | Course | Category | Closing Rank |
BBA LLB Hons | General | 1850 | |
BA LLB Hons | General | 1951 | |
BBA LLB Hons | General | 1994 | |
BA LLB Hons | General | 1987 | |
B.Sc LLB Hons | EWS | 1890 | |
BA LLB Hons | EWS | 1921 | |
BA LLB Hons | EWS | 1922 | |
National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi | BA LLB Hons | EWS | 1911 |
Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Visakhapatnam | BA LLB Hons | EWS | 1872 |
NLU Name | Course | Category | Closing Rank |
BCom LLB | General | 1838 | |
Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad | BA LLB Hons | General | 1831 |
BA LLB Hons | General | 1886 | |
National Law Institute University, Bhopal | B.Sc LLB Hons | EWS | 1997 |
Chanakya National Law University, Patna | BA LLB Hons | EWS | 1950 |
NLU Name | Course | Category | Closing Rank |
Tamil Nadu National Law University, Tiruchirappalli | BCom LLB | General | 1947 |
Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad | BA LLB Hons | General | 1949 |
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonepat | BA LLB Hons | General | 1930 |
88,657 students appeared for CLAT exam 2026 and around 4,000 seats are available for admissions in NLUs through CLAT exam. Candidates must aim at getting a rank of less than 5,000 to be able to get into any NLU. A rank less than 1000 is considered a very good rank in CLAT 2026. Coming to the score, the maximum marks in CLAT 2026 are 120. Given the difficulty level of the exam, a score above 100 can be termed as a really good score in the CLAT exam. If candidates are wondering what is a good score in CLAT is, the below given table below will give them some clarity.
NLU | General Rank | General Marks | EWS Rank | EWS Marks | OBC Rank | OBC Marks |
NLSIU Bengaluru | 112-115 | 98+ | 700 | 89 | 1540 | 85 |
NALSAR Hyderabad | 160-165 | 95+ | 550 | 90 | 1220 | 86 |
WBNUJS Kolkata | 300-350 | 93+ | - | - | 4200* | 78 |
NLU Jodhpur | 350-360 | 92+ | 980 | 88 | 1770 | 84 |
GNLU Gandhinagar | 430-450 | 91+ | 1120 | 87 | 2300 | 83 |
NLIU Bhopal | 480-500 | 91+ | 1370 | 86 | 1750 | 84 |
MNLU Mumbai | 550-600 | 90 | 7500* | 73 | 8000* | 72 |
HNLU Raipur | 800–830 | 89 | - | - | 2400 | 83 |
*state category reservation
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
There are many good NLUs candidates can get in a rank between 1800-2000 like RMNLU Lucknow, GNLU Gandhinagar, CNLU Patna, DSNLU VIsakhapatnam etc.
A score above 100 can be termed as a really good score in CLAT 2026.
Candidates must have a rank less than 500 to get admission in NALSAR Hyderabad in General category. A rank of 1800 can also get candidates admission in NALSAR Hyderabad given that they belong to the Home State - OBC - BC-B category.
According to past year trends, only OBC category candidates can get admission in the BSc LLB Hons Cyber Security programme in a rank range of 1800-2000.
The CLAT 2026 counselling after the results are declared in the third week of December 2025.
On Question asked by student community
With an AIR of 34724 and OBC category rank of 7153, chances of getting a seat in DSNLU Visakhapatnam are low in early rounds. However, since you are already invited for counselling, there may be some chance in later rounds depending on seat vacancy and cut-off movement. You should participate
With a CLAT LLM rank of 13656, getting a top NLU is difficult. You may have chances in lower-ranked NLUs or private law universities, depending on seat availability and category.
You can check CLAT LLM counselling details here:
https://law.careers360.com/articles/clat-llm-cut-off
Hello there,
Having a 15000 general rank and 1740 as your SC category rank, your chances of securing a seat are very low. As per the previous trends, it is a direct no for you to get into the top-tier NLUs since the closing general rank is around 1500-3000. If
With a CLAT PG rank of 1257 in the SC category and being a woman candidate with Rajasthan domicile, you do have a realistic chance of securing admission to several National Law Universities, though the top NLUs may be difficult at this rank. Admission chances depend heavily on category-wise cut-offs,
With a CLAT PG rank of around 11,000, getting admission into the top National Law Universities (NLUs) is not likely, as their general category cut-offs usually close much earlier. However, you still have realistic chances in lower-ranked and newer NLUs, especially in the later rounds of CLAT counselling or through
Among top 100 Universities Globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026
Ranked #18 amongst Institutions in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in India for Academic Reputation by QS Rankings | 16 LPA Highest CTC
AICTE & UGC Approved | NAAC A+ Accredited
NAAC A++ Approved | Curriculum Aligned with BCI & UGC
India's Largest University | BCI approved | Meritorious Scholarships up to 5 lacs |
Integrated Learning – A balanced blend of management and legal education