What is CLAT Full Form: Common Law Admission Test, Top NLUs, Other details
Common Law Admission Test 2025 ( CLAT )
Counselling - To be notified
The CLAT exam is conducted for admission to 24 NLUs for UG courses and 21 NLUs for PG courses. Apart from the NLUs in India, there are 61 other private affiliated colleges that considers CLAT Scores and several PSUs that accept it for recruitment. Read further to know more about CLAT.
What is CLAT Full Form? Eligibility Criteria, Syllabus, Participating Universities, other details
CLAT Full Form: The Consortium of Law Universities (NLUs) conducts a national-level law entrance exam called as CLAT. The full form of CLAT is the Common Law Admission Test. CLAT is conducted for admission to 5-year integrated LLB (UG) and one-year LLM (PG) courses. The exam is conducted for admission to 24 NLUs for UG courses and 21 NLUs for PG courses. Apart from the NLUs in India, 61 other private affiliated colleges consider CLAT Scores and several PSUs accept it for recruitment.
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There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.Q: Why is CLAT exam important?
Q: How many candidates take CLAT exam every year?
More than one lakh candidates from different cities across India appear for the CLAT exam every year. The exam authority has informed that Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026 registered a total increase of 24.5% in applications compared to last year (CLAT 2025). Specifically, the Consortium of National Law Universities received 34.7% more Undergraduate applications and 25.8% more Postgraduate applications this year as compared to last year (CLAT 2024). For CLAT 2023, 56,472 candidates appeared out of 60,895 registrations. In 2021, 62,106 candidates appeared for the CLAT exam.
Q: How many times CLAT Exam is conducted in a year?
The CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) is conducted once a year. It is typically held in December for admission to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law programs at the participating National Law Universities (NLUs) across India. CLAT 2025 is scheduled to be held on December 1, 2024. CLAT Exam is held in pen-and-paper mode.
Q: Will there be any break in between CLAT 2026 exam duration?
No, the candidates were not allowed to take breaks or exit the exam centre while they are attempting CLAT exam. Candidates were allowed to drink water, eat or use the washroom only before or after the exam timings. Therefore, on the day of examination candidates should prepare themselves to sit for two hours straight without any breaks. They should use washroom right before entering the examination hall. They were allowed to carry a transparent water bottle for themselves. However, they should limit the amount of water intake to avoid taking break in between. No request to leave examination hall will be allowed by the centre officials to avoid cheating or any other activities. If you have any medical condition that requires you to take a break, it will be allowed only at prior notification and permission by the exam authority.
Q: For which courses CLAT Exam conducted?
The full form of CLAT is Common Law Admission Test. CLAT is a national-level entrance exam that is conducted for admission to Undergraduate B.A. LL.B. BBA LL.B.Com LL.B.Sc. LL.B. And Postgraduate LL. M. courses offered by the participating National Law Universities. The entrance exam is held in pen-paper mode for two hours. Candidates qualifying CLAT are then shortlisted for admission to the 24 NLUs through Centralized Counselling Process. CLAT exam scores are also accepted by private universities that have signed MOU with the consortium of NLUs as well as, top private law colleges in India. Meanwhile, many popular PSUs use CLAT PG scores for recruitment purposes. Therefore, CLAT for UG candidates serves the purpose of admission, and for PG candidates admissions and recruitment process.
Q: How much time is required for CLAT preparation?
Candidates are advised to give minimum one year to six months of preparation time to crack CLAT exam with high scores. CLAT is one of the most competitive law entrance exam, and candidates need to devote their time sufficiently to surpass cutoff marks. The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026 is expected to be held on December 7, 2025. For qualifying CLAT exam with maximum marks, candidates have to prepare exhaustively, but in a strategic manner.
Q: In what all languages is CLAT exam conducted?
As of now, CLAT is conducted only in English language. However, there is no confirmation yet on whether CLAT 2025 will be conducted in regional languages. However, the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has said that they are considering the possibility of conducting the exam in regional languages in the future. Earlier, the Central government has cleared its stand on conducting CLAT 2024 Exam in regional languages. While supporting the petition before the Delhi High Court to hold the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) in regional languages, the Education Ministry has given its no objection to holding CLAT 2024 in regional languages.
Q: What is the validity of CLAT Score?
No, the CLAT score is valid for 1 year only as previous year scores will not be considered to get admission in upcoming years. The CLAT paper duration is only 2 hours and 120 questions are answered in this time. The syllabus of this course is Legal Reasoning legal general knowledge, English comprehensive, mathematics and Current Affairs. It is valid until the admission procedure of all the institutions accepting CLAT score is closed and expires at the occurrence of the next CLAT exam.
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CLAT Exam 2026 will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode. CLAT Exam Date 2026 has not been announced yet. However, it is expected that CLAT 2026 Exam will be held on December 7, 2025. Read further to know more about CLAT in depth.
CLAT Participating Universities
Every year, 24 NLUs participate in the counselling and seat allotment process of CLAT exam for UG and PG course admission. Here's the list of NLUs for CLAT exam:
| CLAT participating National Law Universities (NLUs) |
|
|---|---|
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore |
National Academy of Legal Study & Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata |
National Law Institute University, Bhopal |
| National Law University, Jodhpur |
Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur |
| Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar |
Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow |
| Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala |
Chanakya National Law University Patna |
| National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi |
National Law University Odisha, Cuttack |
| National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi |
National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam |
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Visakhapatnam |
The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai |
Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad |
Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla |
| Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur |
Dr B R Ambedkar National Law University Sonipat, Haryana |
| NLU Silvassa |
NLU Tripura |
CLAT 2026 Highlights
Every year some of the key details of CLAT exam remain the same including exam mode, pattern, syllabus, marking scheme, etc. CLAT 2026 can be understood from the table given below which also carries details of CLAT important dates 2026:
| Features | Details |
|---|---|
| Name of the exam | Common-Law Admission Test |
| Popularly known as | CLAT |
| Conducting body | The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) |
| Exam Level | National-level exam |
| Exam Purpose | CLAT is conducted for:
|
| Application Fee | INR 4,000 for General/ OBC category, INR 3500 for all other reserved categories |
| Question Paper Language | English |
| Exam mode | Pen-and-paper exam |
| Exam duration | Two hours |
| Number of seats | For UG courses - 3, 213 and for PG courses - 1,217 (Not including sponsored, supernumerary, NRI, and extra seats.) To read more about CLAT score accepting institutes - Click Here |
| Accepting colleges |
24 participating NLUs, and 61 private law colleges
|
| Top-ranked participating NLU |
Here are top-ranking participating NLUs as per NIRF Ranking 2022
|
| Exam helpdesk number | 08047162020 |
| Official website | https://clatconsortiumofnlu.ac.in/ |
CLAT Exam Full: Syllabus 2026
Before starting your preparation, the first thing you should do is go through the CLAT syllabus carefully.
UG Syllabus CLAT 2026
Take a look at the syllabus and weightage for CLAT UG as mentioned in the table below:
| Subjects | Topics | Marks |
| Current Affairs, including GK |
|
35 - 39 marks |
| English |
|
28 - 32 marks |
| Logical Reasoning |
|
28 - 32 marks |
| Quantitative Techniques |
|
13 - 17 marks |
| Legal Reasoning |
|
35 - 39 marks |
CLAT LLM 2026 Syllabus - Section-Wise Weightage
Check the table below for more details on LLM syllabus for CLAT:
| CLAT LLM Sections | Main Topics | Marks Per Section |
|---|---|---|
| Sec A – Constitutional Law |
|
120 |
| Sec B - Contract, Torts, Criminal Law, International Law, IPR and Jurisprudence |
|
|
| Sec C – Law topics and Contemporary issues | Important constitutional and legislative provisions, recent judgments, historical case law and amendments, legal issues and facts. |
CLAT Exam Pattern 2026
CLAT exam is being held in pen-and-paper mode at various exam centres in the country. Read key points related to the exam pattern below.
| CLAT Exam Pattern | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | 5-Year LLB | 3-Year LLB |
| Exam mode | Pen-and-paper mode | Pen-and-paper mode |
| Exam duration | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Type of questions | Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) | Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) |
| Total questions | 150 questions | 120 questions |
| Maximum marks | 150 marks | 120 marks |
| Marking scheme |
|
|
| Test language | English | English |
While the candidates who are aiming to crack CLAT 2026 must be in preparation mode. They must have a strategy for effective preparation and best results. Those who are still wondering how to prepare for CLAT can plan it as under:
- Make an effective preparation plan
- Have a subject-wise approach
- Get all the prep material based on the exam pattern and syllabus of CLAT
- Cross-check and practise previous year papers for CLAT (past 3 years are relevant as per the new pattern)
- Take CLAT Mock Test 2025/ CLAT sample papers 2025 to improve test-taking skills and performance
The effective strategy for CLAT 2025 will be helpful in ensuring result-oriented performance, which is to score above cutoff marks.
Also Read:
- CLAT 2025 Logical Reasoning Questions - Preparation for Analytical Reasoning Section
- CLAT 2026 Legal Aptitude Questions - Preparation for Legal Reasoning Section
- CLAT 2026 GK Questions - Preparation for Current Affairs including GK Section
- CLAT 2025 Maths Questions - Preparation for Quantitative Techniques Section
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 16 hours ago
The approval process for entering the 5-year law program at Institute of Law Nirma University through the B.A. LL.B. Hons. degree relies on obtaining a passing score in the CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) as well as meeting the qualifying cutoff score for the particular admission year. Secure admis
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
Your probability of securing admission in National Law Universities (NLUs) stands poor due to an All India Rank (AIR) of 26746 and a category rank of 1439 in the SC category. Although your chances are limited you possess eligibility to enter admission competitions at select NLUs with reduced cutoff
K
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
Success in the Common Law Admission Test offers students several different professional options within the law field. The success in CLAT examination enables you to achieve entry at top National Law Universities to study their five-year integrated law program. Students who finish their studies at NL
K
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
With an All India ST Rank of 721, you have a good chance of getting admission to NALSAR based on your category, as the cutoff for the ST category is usually much lower than the general category, making it likely that your rank falls within the admission range for NALSAR for the ST category.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered Yesterday
It's difficult to say whether you can get a seat at National Law University and Judicial Academy Assam (NLUJA) with an AIR of 51586 and a ST category rank of 1206 in CLAT. The admission process for NLUJA is based on CLAT ranks, and the cut-offs vary each year.
Explanation
CLAT ranks
The CLAT 2025 rank
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
The Andhra Pradesh PGLCET and CLAT PG (Common Law Admission Test for Postgraduate) exams are both law entrance exams, but there are some key differences in their difficulty levels:
AP PGLCET: The difficulty level is generally considered moderate. It focuses on areas like Constitutional Law, Jurisprud
P
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 2 days ago
With the rank of 37 in ST category rank in CLAT ,the 37 rank in st category in a very good rank , specially belonging to ST category
You will definately get the admission in B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore in the Reserved Seats.
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
With a category-wise rank of 28 in Telangana for CLAT 2025, you have a very good chance of securing admission to NALSAR, especially if you belong to a reserved category; however, it's important to monitor the cut-offs as they can vary slightly each year.
To appear for counseling, you need to register
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
With a CLAT general quota rank of 38291 and 39 marks, you can expect to get admission into lower-ranked National Law Universities (NLUs) like the Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur, or potentially the newer NLUs in states like Assam or Jharkhand, depending on their cut-offs; admission to to
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
With a CLAT 2025 rank of 6845, your chances of admission to a National Law University (NLU) are very less, as this rank falls outside the range for most top NLUs but you can be considered for lower-ranked NLUs or could potentially miss out on admission altogether depending on your category and chos
A
Contributor-Level 6
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