CLAT Vs SLAT: Differences, Eligibility, Accepting Colleges, Syllabus, Difficulty Level

What are the key differences between CLAT and SLAT?

Infographics - Between CLAT and SLAT

Eligibility Criteria of CLAT and SLAT

The eligibility criteria for CLAT 2026 and SLAT are the same. The difference between CLAT and SLAT lies in the institutions accepting the scores. The criteria are mentioned below:

• The students should have completed their 12th class.

• Students who are currently in 12 standard and are due to pass out in

• The passing percentage of the 12th standard should be 45% for the general category and 40% for the SC/ST category.

• There is no age limit to appear in the examination.

CLAT and SLAT: Syllabus

The syllabus of CLAT and SLAT consists of 5 subjects each. The syllabus of both exams are quite similar, but the patterns of the questions asked differ. One of the major differences between the questions asked in the exam is that CLAT focuses more on passage-based questions. Check the table for a detailed syllabus.

CLAT vs SLAT: Which exam is more difficult?

The complex exam pattern and marking schemes of the CLAT make it more difficult than the SLAT examination. In the CLAT exam, students have to answer the questions from the passages given for each section. Candidates must decipher the passages before selecting the right answers, and each wrong answer carries a negative marking of 0.25. On the other hand, questions asked in the SLAT exam are direct-objective type, and there is no negative marking.

CLAT vs SLAT: Selection process for admission

Both examinations are held for admission to top law schools in India. However, there is a difference between CLAT and SLAT in terms of their selection process. The details are given below.

CLAT Selection Process

The CLAT exam is held offline in more than 130 exam centres across the country. The students have to appear in the examination. After the CLAT results are announced, the Consortium of NLU conducts CLAT counselling. The candidates are allotted seats based on their NLU preferences and rank in the merit list.

SLAT Selection Process

Whereas the SLAT selection process has two stages. The first round is the SLAT examination. It carries 70% weightage in the selection process. After the result declaration, the admission process becomes decentralized as the participating institutes conduct the SLAT counselling separately. The second phase of the SLAT selection process includes a Personal Interview (PI) conducted by each law school. Candidates can attend the interview round only for those SLSs for which they have paid the programme registration fee.

Previous year’s question paper analysis: CLAT vs SLAT

The exam pattern of CLAT and SLAT is different in terms of the number of questions asked and the weightage given to each section. As per the previous year's paper of the SLAT, the number of questions asked in each section is equal. An equal number of questions in each section denotes that each section's marks are the same.

However, according to the analysis of the previous year’s question paper of the CLAT, each section has a different number of questions and mark weightage. In the CLAT exam, legal reasoning often has the most number of questions, whereas the quantitative section has the least. Let’s take a look at the table for more clarity about the pattern of question papers of both exams.

CLAT vs SLAT: Question Paper Comparison

Participating institutes in CLAT and SLAT

Students take the CLAT examination to get admission to the top-ranked NLUs of India. The SLAT examination is for candidates who want to pursue law at top Symbiosis colleges. Below is the list of institutions that accept CLAT and SLAT scores. There are 24 NLUs participating in CLAT and 4 four Symbiosis Law Schools participating in SLAT. The seat intake is given below.

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Seat matrix of CLAT and SLAT

The number of students who appear for CLAT is around 50,000 to 70,000. However, the seats are limited in the top-ranked law universities. There are around 3400+ seats in 5-year integrated LLB around 1400+ LLM seats offered through CLAT counselling. The four SLSs offer 1080 5-year LLB seats through SLAT.

CLAT participating NLUs, courses, and seats

Regarding SLAT, the law schools offer 1080 seats in BA LLB and BBA LLB courses. Around 20,000 candidates appear for SLAT exam every year. Refer to the table below for more clarity about the seat matrix of SLAT.

SLAT participating SLS, courses, and seats

CLAT vs SLAT: Exam schedule

The application form for the CLAT was released on August 01, and registration for the examination remains open till October 31, 2025. The CLAT examination will be conducted on December 7, 2025.

Whereas, for the SLAT exam, the commencement of the application was on August 1, 2025. SLAT will be conducted on December 20 and December 28, 2025, in two phases. The SLAT is conducted twice in the same month, and if the student appears for both of the exams, the higher marks are counted for the final percentile calculation.

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