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Consortium of National Law Universities

CLAT

Five-year integrated law at the National Law Universities.

Any streamReading-comprehension heavyNo maths beyond Class 10 CommercePCMPCMBPCBArts

Part of Law › the jobs it leads to

1 in 20

who appeared went on to a place (five-year integrated UG seats across the 26 participating NLUs)

Highly competitive

What you come out with

Course Five-year integrated LLB · 5 years
Degree LLB, awarded together with a bachelor's in arts, commerce or management
Where it admits you 26 participating National Law Universities
Which university a rank reaches is decided in counselling, and the Consortium publishes the seat matrix per university rather than a total. This site does not yet carry that matrix or the ranks that closed at each.
What the course costs Not sourced yet. The fee above is what it costs to sit this exam, which is a very small fraction of what the course costs after admission.

Competition, recent cycles

Year Registered Appeared Qualified Seats Seat per appeared
2026 75,009 72,631 3,705 5.1%
2025 62,832 60,544
2024 54,808 53,180
2023 44,763 42,766

Exam pattern

SectionQuestionsAsked in 2026What it testsShare of paper
English Language 22–26 24 Comprehend a 450-word passage: its main point, the arguments and viewpoints in it, inferences and conclusions, a summary, and the meaning of words in context about 20%
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge 28–32 28 Contemporary events of significance from India and the world, arts and culture, international affairs, and historical events of continuing significance about 25%
Legal Reasoning 28–32 30 Identify the rules and principles set out in the passage and apply them to fact situations, including how a change in the principle changes the outcome. No prior knowledge of law is required about 25%
Logical Reasoning 22–26 26 Recognise an argument's premises and conclusions, analyse patterns of reasoning, infer what follows and apply it, draw analogies and identify contradictions about 20%
Quantitative Techniques 10–14 12 Derive and manipulate numerical information given in the question, using Class 10 operations: ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration and statistical estimation about 10%

"You will not require any prior knowledge of law to attempt the questions in this section," the Consortium says of Legal Reasoning: the principles are set out in the passage, and nothing beyond it is required. Almost the whole paper works that way — English, current affairs, legal and logical reasoning are all built on passages of around 450 words, and only the data behind the quantitative questions is not prose. In CLAT 2026 one question was withdrawn, so the paper was marked out of 119 and the highest score was 112.75.

Who can appear

Class
10+2 or an equivalent examination, passed or being taken this year
Minimum marks
45% or equivalent grade — 40% for SC, ST and PwD candidates
Age
No upper age limit for the UG programme
Subjects
None specified. The criteria name no subject requirement, so any Class 12 stream qualifies
Still in Class 12
Candidates sitting the qualifying examination in March or April of the admission year may apply, but must produce proof of having passed it at the time of admission or forfeit their claim to a seat

Before you apply

Mode
Pen and paper
Negative marking
Yes, on every wrong answer. 0.25 of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer, against 1 mark for a correct one. With 120 questions in 120 minutes there is no time to work everything out, so what to leave blank is part of the paper.
Age — everyone
There is no upper age limit for the UG programme.
Class 12 marks — general
45% in Class 12 or an equivalent examination
Class 12 marks — OBC (non-creamy layer)
45% in Class 12 or an equivalent examination
Class 12 marks — SC
40% in Class 12 or an equivalent examination
Class 12 marks — ST
40% in Class 12 or an equivalent examination
Class 12 marks — candidates with disability
40% in Class 12 or an equivalent examination
Fee — general
₹4,000 · 2027 cycle
Fee — OBC (non-creamy layer)
₹4,000 · 2027 cycle
Fee — SC
₹3,500 · 2027 cycle · also applies to candidates from BPL families
Fee — ST
₹3,500 · 2027 cycle · also applies to candidates from BPL families
Fee — candidates with disability
₹3,500 · 2027 cycle · also applies to candidates from BPL families

What preparing for it involves

Body of knowledgePreparation
Maths & quantitative ≈ 40 h
English & comprehension ≈ 180 h
Reasoning ≈ 200 h
General awareness & domain ≈ 250 h

A leading approximately marks hours that were estimated rather than counted from a syllabus topic list. How these figures are derived is set out in the overlap model.

Exam day and admin

When to apply

For CLAT 2027 the application window ran from 3 August 2026 to 11:59 p.m. on 31 October 2026, and the exam is on Sunday, 6 December 2026 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The exam is always sat in the December before the academic year it admits to.

Offline, on paper

CLAT is written by hand at a test centre, not taken on a computer — one of the few exams here that still is. Candidates entitled to compensatory time sit until 4:40 p.m. rather than 4:00 p.m.

Where it is held

CLAT 2026 was held at 156 test centres in 25 states and 4 union territories. Candidates choose preferred centres when applying, and the Consortium reserves the right to move an applicant to another city or centre.

The fee does not come back

The application fee is non-refundable and non-adjustable in every case. Previous years' question papers cost a further ₹500 through the same form.

Reservation certificates

Candidates claiming reservation benefits produce the certificates prescribed by the Government of India or the state government at the time of admission, not with the application.

Sources