Among the law entrance exams conducted in India, CLAT and SLAT are among the most popular exams. The basic difference between CLAT and SLAT is that the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is conducted for admission to 24 prestigious National Law Universities (NLUs), whereas Symbiosis Law Admission Test (SLAT) is accepted by four law schools of Symbiosis International University (SIU). Both CLAT and SLAT are considered gateways to some of the top law schools in India. As per the NIRF law rankings 2024, three of India's five top law colleges are NLUs that are part of the CLAT admissions process, with NLSIU Bengaluru ranked at the top. SLS Pune occupies the fifth position.
The upcoming CLAT 2026 will be held in the first week of December 2025. Whereas SLAT 2026 will be held in two phases tentatively in December 2025, in online mode. Students looking for admission to top law schools can simultaneously prepare for both examinations due to overlapping subjects. While the syllabi of both exams overlap with each other, there are many key differences between them in terms of difficulty level, mode of examination, exam pattern, and selection process. This article discusses the differences between the CLAT and SLAT in detail for better student understanding.
Differences | CLAT | SLAT |
|---|---|---|
Conducting body | ||
Mode of examination | Offline (pen and paper) | Online (computer-based) |
Difficulty level | Very difficult | Moderately difficult |
Exam duration | 2 hours | 1 hour |
No. of questions asked | 120 | 60 |
Total marks | 120 | 60 |
Negative marking | -0.25 | No negative marking |
Seats available | 3,243 | 1,080 |
Frequency of examination | Once a year | Twice a year |
Selection process | Two-stage:
| Three stage
|
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.
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The syllabus of CLAT and SLAT consists of 5 subjects each. The syllabus of both of the exams are quite similar but the pattern 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 syllabus | SLAT syllabus |
|---|---|
English language:
| Reading comprehension:
|
Current affairs including general knowledge:
| General knowledge:
|
Legal reasoning:
| Legal reasoning:
|
Logical reasoning:
| Logical reasoning
|
Quantitative technique:
(Basic 10th standard maths) | Analytical reasoning
|
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.
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.
The CLAT exam is held offline in more than 130 exam centers 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.
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.
The exam pattern of CLAT and SLAT is different in the matter 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 marks 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.
| Sections | CLAT | SLAT |
|---|---|---|
English language | 24 | 12 |
Current affairs - general knowledge | 28 | 12 |
Legal reasoning | 32 | 12 |
Logical reasoning | 24 | 12 |
Quantitative technique/Analytical reasoning | 12 | 12 |
Total questions | 120 | 60 |
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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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.
| NLU Name | Course | CLAT Seats |
|---|---|---|
BA LLB (Hons.) | 310 | |
BA LLB (Hons.) | 132 | |
BA LLB (Hons.) | 104 | |
BSc LLB (Hons.) (No Admissions for 2025-26 session) | 59 | |
BA LLB (Hons.) | 108 | |
B.Sc LLB (Hons.) | 50 | |
BA LLB (Hons.) | 90 | |
BBA LLB (Hons.) | 30 | |
BA LLB (Hons.) | 170 | |
5-year LLB (BA LLB(Hons.); BCom LLB(Hons.); BSc LLB (Hons.); BBA LLB(Hons) and BSW LLB(Hons) | 172 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 66 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 169 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 180 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 69 | |
BBA LLB (Hons) | 69 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 106 | |
BBA LLB (Hons) | 53 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | |
BBA LLB (Hons) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 56 | |
BCom LLB (Hons) | 56 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 100 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | |
BA LLB (Hons in Adjudication and Justicing) | 60 | |
BBA LLB (Hons) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons.) | 60 | |
BBA LLB (Hons) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | |
BBA LLB (Hons) | 60 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 120 | |
BA LLB (Hons) | 60 | |
| RPNLU Prayagraj | BA LLB (Hons) | 60 |
| IIULER Goa | BA LLB (Hons.) BBA LLB (Hons.) | 120 (BA LLB) 60 (BBA LLB) |
Total | 3649 |
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.
Name of colleges | Courses offered and seats | Total seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
Symbiosis Law School, Pune | BA LLB | 120 | 300 |
BBA LLB | 180 | ||
Symbiosis Law School, Noida | BA LLB | 120 | 300 |
BBA LLB | 180 | ||
Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur | BA LLB | 120 | 240 |
BBA LLB | 120 | ||
Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad | BA LLB | 120 | 240 |
BBA LLB | 120 | ||
Total | 1080 | ||
The application form for the CLAT is usually released in the first week of July, and registration for the examination remains open till the first week of November. The CLAT examination is conducted in the first week of December.
Whereas, for the SLAT exam, the commencement of the application is expected to start in August 2025. SLAT will be conducted tentatively in December 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.
Also, check - Top Law Colleges in India
No, CLAT is more difficult than SLAT. The higher number of candidates appear in CLAT which makes it more competitive.
Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) and Symbiosis Law Admission Test (SLAT) are the two entrance examinations in which candidates appear to get admission to top-rated law universities.
CAT examination is more tough to crack in comparison to CLAT. The CAT is the most important entrance examination to get admission to top management institutes. A very high number of applicants appear for the CAT every year which makes it competitive. Apart from that, the exam is also tough to crack because of the weightage given to the quantitative section.
The CLAT exam is highly competitive and tough to crack. However, with the right strategy and hard work, cracking the exam is not that difficult.
The cut-off of the SLAT examination is different for all the four colleges that come under the exam. It varies from 35 to 48.
The syllabus for SLAT and CLAT are almost the same. However, instead of Quantitative Reasoning in CLAT exam, the SLAT exam has Analytical Reasoning in its syllabus.
The Symbiosis Law School conducts SLAT exam to offer admission to 5 year LLB and SLSAIAT exam for LLM programmes.
Dear student,
For Delhi University’s BA LLB program through CLAT, EWS category admissions last year (2024) typically closed around a rank of 1100 to 1200. This means if you scored around 90–95 marks in CLAT, you had a good chance of getting in. The exact cut-off can change slightly each year depending on competition and seat availability, but staying within the top 1200 is generally safe for EWS candidates.
The cutoff for DU BA LLB for CLAT ews has not been released yet.You can check the cutoff in this website after notification of release of cutoff - https://clat2024.consortiumofnlus.ac.in/clat-2024/
Yes, you can get direct admission into BBA LLB at VIPS (Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies) with 82 percent in your Class 12 exams, but not without appearing in CLAT or IPU CET.
VIPS is affiliated with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGSIPU), and admissions to BBA LLB are done strictly through entrance exams. The primary mode of admission is through CLAT UG, as GGSIPU has adopted CLAT scores for law programs in recent years. Previously, the IPU CET was used for law admissions, but that has been phased out for integrated law courses like BBA LLB.
So, even with a good Class 12 score, you cannot get admission into VIPS for BBA LLB without a valid CLAT score. The university does not allow direct management quota admissions outside the entrance process for its law programs. You may need to wait for the next CLAT attempt or consider private universities that allow direct admission based on 12th marks.
All the best!
Hi Akash,
It is good to see institutions like NMIMS have selected you for master of law based on your CLAT PG scores. If we compare the three then to be very clear:
For the best academic value and recognition choose NMIMS, or the Nirma University is also good. The DNLU is newer and can be considered as well but if we choose any one, then it is NMIMS.
ALL THE BEST !
Hello,
With an All India Rank (AIR) of 38095 and OBC rank of 7627, it is very difficult to get a seat in any of the NLUs, even under the Tamil Nadu government school quota. Most NLUs close their OBC seats at a much lower rank. Also, the government school quota is not accepted by all NLUs.
You can still attend all rounds of CLAT counselling and keep checking for any vacancy or special rounds, but chances are very low with this rank. It is better to also look for other good law colleges as a backup.
Hope it helps !
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