CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 31 Oct' 25
The Ministry of Education, Govt. of India has released the NIRF Law Ranking 2025 on September 4, 2025. In all, there are 26 National Law Universities out of which 13 NLUs find a place in the NIRF law rankings 2025. NLSIU Bengaluru is at the top spot in the rank-wise list of NLUs. It is followed by NLU Delhi and NALSAR Hyderabad, which complete the top 3 NLUs in NIRF law rankings. Read on to get the full rank-wise best NLUs in India, including the NIRF scores and determining factors.
The rank-wise list of NLUs in the NIRF rankings is prepared after considering several factors such as teaching and learning resources, learning outcomes, outreach programmes, quality of research, and perception of the institute. The admissions at NLUs are done based on scores in the Common Law Admission Test and the All India Law Entrance Test (NLU Delhi). The Consortium of NLUs will conduct CLAT 2026 on December 7, 2025. NLU Delhi will conduct AILET 2026 on December 14, 2025. A few NLUs also conduct their law entrance exams for admission to their law programmes.
Given below is the list of factors to be considered to prepare the rank-wise list of NLUs.
Factor | Details | Weightage |
Teaching, Learning, and Resources | Includes student strength, student-faculty ratio, combined metric for faculty, and financial resources | 40% |
Research and Professional Practices | Includes combined metrics for publications quality of publications, and footprint of projects and professional practices. | 15% |
Graduation outcomes | Includes placement and higher studies details, metrics for college examinations, median salary offered to students, and students graduating with PhD | 25% |
Outreach and Inclusivity | Includes outreach and inclusivity activities undertaken by the institute | 10% |
Perception | Perception of the law college in the minds of employees and academic peers | 10% |
The table given below provides the list rank-wise list of NLUs as per their score in the NIRF law rankings. Among the top 40 law schools ranked in the NIRF rankings, 13 are NLUs.
Sl. no | Name | City | State | Score | Rank |
1 | Bengaluru | Karnataka | 82.97 | 1 | |
2 | New Delhi | Delhi | 80.00 | 2 | |
3 | Hyderabad | Telangana | 79.50 | 3 | |
4 | The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata | Kolkata | West Bengal | 79.39 | 4 |
5 | Gandhinagar | Gujarat | 76.23 | 5 | |
6 | Cuttack | Odisha | 63.66 | 15 | |
7 | Patna | Bihar | 62.40 | 17 | |
8 | Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh | 60.12 | 21 | |
9 | Bhopal | Madhya Pradesh | 57.64 | 27 | |
10 | Nagpur | Maharashtra | 56.54 | 28 | |
11 | Ranchi | Jharkhand | 55.81 | 30 | |
12 | Shimla | Himachal Pradesh | 53.49 | 34 | |
13 | Kamrup | Assam | 53.39 | 35 |
The NLU admissions require the candidates to appear for the respective law entrance exam. The NLUs which are part of the CLAT admission process accept the CLAT 2026 scores. Candidates have to appear for the centralised CLAT counselling process to obtain seat allotment. The admissions into NLU Delhi and NLU Meghalaya are conducted at the institute level, and candidates have to appear for the counselling process of the university after appearing for their respective law entrance exams.
The NLUs which offer a 3-year LLB programme also conduct their own entrance exams, such as NLSAT for NLSIU Bengaluru, NLUO 3-year LLB entrance exam for NLU Odisha and CNLU 3-year LLB entrance exam for CNLU Patna.
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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