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.
Around 96.83% of undergraduate candidates and 92.45% of postgraduate candidates appeared for the CLAT 2026 examination.
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
Since you scored 8000 AIR in CLAT, getting into top NLUs may not be possible, so it is a good idea to look for affordable and good law colleges.
State government law colleges are usually low in fees, and have decent reputation. Some options include Government Law College, Mumbai, Faculty
Hello,
With a CLAT rank of 8037 in the General category, you do have a fair chance of getting admission into UPES Dehradun, especially if you apply early and stay active during counselling rounds. UPES is comparatively flexible with CLAT ranks, and many students with ranks around this range have
With 67 marks in and SC rank 415 in CLAT, you have a very good chance of getting admission in CNLU Patna BA LLB. The SC category cut-off at Patna NLU are usually much lower than the general category, so your rank is well within the likely range. Final admission
HELLO,
For CLAT 2026 counselling , the only official registration window announced by the Consortium of NLUs was from 17 Dec 2025 to 27 Dec 2025 that was last date to register and pay the fee. There are no additional or alternate registration dates released for 2026 beyond this window.
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
Among top 100 Universities Globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026
Excellent curriculum; an impressive range of electives, besides core law courses. Up to 100% merit scholarship on a first-come, first-served basis
Ranked #18 amongst Institutions in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in India for Academic Reputation by QS Rankings | 16 LPA Highest CTC
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NAAC A+ Accredited | Among top 2% Universities Globally (QS World University Rankings 2026)
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