State-Wise NLU Cut-Off Trends: Is 90 a Safe Score in CLAT 2026?

State-Wise NLU Cut-Off Trends: Is 90 a Safe Score in CLAT 2026?

Isha GargUpdated on 07 Dec 2025, 06:14 PM IST

Whether scoring 90 marks is a safe score or not depends on the difficulty level of the exam, specific NLU, CLAT seats matrix and CLAT reservation criteria. For top NLUs like NLSIU Bengaluru and NALSAR Hyderabad, scoring 90 can be a borderline mark. These top universities typically close admissions near 94-95 marks with closing ranks around 110-160. However, scoring 90 marks or slightly above is generally safe for mid-tier NLUs such as NLIU Bhopal, GNLU Gandhinagar, and MNLU Mumbai, which have closing marks between 90 and 91 and closing ranks from 440 to 560.

State-Wise NLU Cut-Off Trends: Is 90 a Safe Score in CLAT 2026?
State-Wise NLU Cut-Off Trends: Is 90 a Safe Score in CLAT 2026?

Additionally, spot rounds also further increase the chances of getting into several reputed NLUs at 90. Reserved categories (SC, ST, OBC, EWS) have lower CLAT cut-offs, where 85-90 often secures seats easily. Aspirants targeting tier 1 NLUs should aim to exceed 92-93 marks for a safer admission route.

Top NLUs Closing Ranks and Closing Marks 2025 for General

NLU

Main counselling closing rank

Main closing marks

NLSIU Bengaluru

112

94.4

NALSAR Hyderabad

159

93.9

WBNUJS Kolkata

327

92.2

NLU Jodhpur

367

91.8

GNLU Gandhinagar

444

91

NLIU Bhopal

480

90.6

MNLU Mumbai

558

90.1

Spot Round Closing Ranks and Marks 2025

NLU

Spot round closing rank

Spot round closing marks

NLSIU Bengaluru

-

~99.5+ (AIR 1)

NALSAR Hyderabad

168

93.8

WBNUJS Kolkata

485

90.6

GNLU Gandhinagar

451

90.9

NLIU Bhopal

527

90.4

MNLU Mumbai

550

90.3

NLUs Accessible at 85-90 Marks Tier-Wise

Here are the tier-wise categories of NLUs accessible with a score of 85-90 marks in CLAT 2026:

  • Tier 1 NLUs: Top NLUs such as NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, WBNUJS Kolkata, NLIU Bhopal, GNLU Gandhinagar, and NLU Jodhpur face high competition. 90 marks are seen as borderline in these institutions and can not ensure admission for general candidates. However, reserved category students (SC, ST, OBC, EWS) can secure seats at these NLUs with this score due to lower cut-offs.

  • Tier 2 NLUs: A score of 90 marks is usually sufficient for admission here. These universities include NLIU Bhopal, WBNUJS Kolkata, HNLU Raipur, RMLNLU Lucknow, NLU Odisha, NUSRL Ranchi, DSNLU Visakhapatnam, MNLU Mumbai, MNLU Nagpur, CNLU Patna, and NUALS Kochi.

  • Tier 3 NLUs: A score of 90 marks comfortably ensures admission in these institutions. These NLUs are: GNLU Silvassa, RGNUL Patiala, NLUJA Assam, TNNLU Tiruchirappalli, MNLU Aurangabad, HPNLU Shimla, MPDNLU Jabalpur, DBRANLU Sonepat, NLUT Agartala, RPNLU Prayagraj, and IIULER Goa.
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Questions related to CLAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CLAT ?

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