CLAT Exam Pattern 2026: Mode of Exam, No. of Questions, Sectional Weightage, Negative Marking

Common Law Admission Test 2025 ( CLAT )

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Anupama Mehra
Updated on Jan 22, 2025 16:34 IST

By Anupama Mehra, Assistant Manager – Content

CLAT 2026 exam pattern - The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) will release the CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 along with the CLAT Notification 2026. For CLAT 2024 Exam, the Consortium revised the CLAT exam pattern 2024. Hence, the CLAT Exam pattern was not changed for CLAT 2025. It is expected that the CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 will also remain the same. As per the exam pattern of CLAT, the CLAT Question Paper will have 120 section and five sections; i.e. English Language, Current Affairs including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Techniques. 

The exam pattern of CLAT 2026 carries all the important information such as the mode of exam, total number of questions, marking scheme, etc. Candidates are advised to go through the exam pattern of CLAT 2026 thoroughly before appearing for CLAT Exam 2026. It must be noted that the exam pattern of CLAT is also an important part of CLAT preparation. Read below all about CLAT exam pattern 2026, including sectional weightage, exam structure, sectional time limit, marking scheme and sections.

Q:   What is the Exam Pattern of CLAT 2026?

A: 

The CLAT exam pattern for UG courses will include key features like type of questions, marking scheme, subjects, Section-wise weightage and other details. CLAT 2026 exam will be held in an offline I. e. Pen-Paper based test mode. The question paper of CLAT 2026 will be of 120 marks for a total of 120 multiple choices based question. Candidates will get two hours to attempt CLAT 2026 question paper. The subjects from which questions will be asked in the exam are English Current Affairs including GK, Legal Reasoning Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Techniques. The question paper language will be English only. The subject-wise weightage for each section of CLAT UG paper will be as under:

English Language - 28-32 questions

Current Affairs including General Knowledge - 35-39 questions

Logical Reasoning - 28-32 questions

Legal Reasoning - 35-39 question

Quantitative Techniques - 13-17 questions

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Q:   What is CLAT syllabus for English?

A: 

 CLAT syllabus for English carries the following important topics: 

  • Correcting Incorrect Grammar Sentences
  • Synonyms & Antonyms
  • Tenses
  • Fill in the Blanks
  • Spotting Grammatical Errors
  • Active & Passive Voice

Through CLAT English section, the consortium tested following skills:

  • Comprehension and language skills.
  • Ability to read and comprehend the arguments and viewpoints discussed in the passage.
  • The capacity to draw inferences and conclusions
  • The ability to summarise a passage.
  • The ability to compare and contrast various arguments or viewpoints
  • Comprehension of words and phrases.
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Q:   Is CLAT exam pattern 2026 revised?

A: 

The CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 has not been officially revised as of now. The exam structure typically remains consistent, but changes are announced by the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) if required. Candidates should regularly check the official website for updates regarding any modifications. Traditionally, the CLAT exam includes:

For Undergraduate (UG) Program:

Total Questions: 120
Sections: English Language, Current Affairs (including General Knowledge), Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques
Type: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
For Postgraduate (PG) Program:

Total Questions: 120
Focus Areas: Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, and other legal subjects
Any changes for CLAT 2026 will be notified in the official notification or brochure released by the consortium.

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Q:   What changes have been made in CLAT exam pattern?

A: 

CLAT Consortium made few changes in CLAT 2024 exam pattern. Hence, the consortium has not brought any changes in exam pattern of CLAT 2025. So, it is expected that CLAT 2026 Exam Pattern will remain same. As per the CLAT Exam pattern, there will be 120 questions for CLAT UG question paper. This means, 30 questions will be reduced from CLAT UG 2026 question paper. Earlier, there were 150 questions in CLAT UG question paper. Moreover, the question paper will be on similar lines as previous series i.e. passage-based objective-types questions of 1 mark each, and 0.25 marks to be deducted for incorrect attempts.

No change in the question paper of CLAT PG has been made, and it will be held as per the previous exam pattern i.e. 120 Objective Type Questions based on core law subjects.

In 2021, the Consortium had removed the descriptive section from the CLAT LL. M. exam pattern. All LL. M. candidates had to attempt 120 multiple-choice questions of 120 marks in a duration of two hours.

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CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 - Key Features

Candidates appearing for CLAT 2026 must note that the consortium has released the CLAT Exam Pattern. Candidates can check CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 below to start preparation:

  • Passage-based questions: Except for the CLAT Quantitative Technique section 2026, the remainder of the four sections will include passage-based questions. The English, Current Affairs, and Logical Reasoning sections will include 450-word passages. The Logical Reasoning section will have short passages of about 350 words. Each passage will be followed by a series of questions. 
  • Quantitative Techniques section: The section will include short sets of facts, propositions, graphs, pictorial representation, etc. The candidate has to derive answers from such passages, representations, etc.
  • CLAT 2026 total number of questions and marking scheme:The CLAT UG exam will contain 120 multiple-choice questions; each question will carry 1 mark.
  • Negative marking: There will be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for an incorrect answer.
  • Total marks: CLAT 2026 exam is conducted for 120 marks.
  • Exam difficulty level: The difficulty of the CLAT exam 2026 will be of Class 12. Questions asked in Quantitative Techniques are of Class 10 difficulty level.
  • Skills to be evaluated: The CLAT UG question paper will test the comprehension and reasoning skills of candidates. So, rote learning won't cut the ice.  

Also Read: Mock Test for CLAT 2026, Sample Papers: Things to keep in mind

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CLAT 2026 Exam Pattern: Highlights

Concerning CLAT 2026 exam pattern, here are the main features of the exam pattern with details about the type of questions, test medium, and other details:

Particulars CLAT Exam Pattern Highlights

Exam mode

Pen-and-paper exam

Exam duration

Two hours

Test language

English 

Type of questions

Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)

Exam subjects

Five (English Language, Current Affairs including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Techniques)

Total questions

120 MCQs

Maximum marks

120 marks

Marking scheme

+1 for correct answer

-0.25 for incorrect answer

Latest: CLAT 2026 Courses: Check complete list, subject-wise eligibility criteria and other details

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CLAT 2026 Sectional Weightage

The CLAT question paper for UG course admissions will carry 120 passage-based multiple-choice questions for a total of 120 marks. Going by the CLAT 2026 sectional weightage, candidates can check the section-wise questions weightage for each section as under:

Sections

MCQs per section

Maximum Marks

Approximate Weightage (in %)

English Language

28-32 

28-32 

18.66 - 21.33

Current Affairs including General Knowledge

35-39 

35-39 

23.33 - 26

Logical Reasoning

28-32 

28-32

18.66 - 21.33

Legal Reasoning

35-39 

35-39

23.33 - 26

Quantitative Techniques (Elementry Mathematics up to Class 10)

13-17 

13-17 

8.66 - 11.33

Total 

120

120

100%

 

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CLAT 2026 Exam Pattern: Marking Scheme

CLAT 2026 Exam Pattern has not been changed. The consortium has released the marking scheme for CLAT 2026 Exam. Aspirants can refer to the marking scheme for UG courses below:

  • For every correct answer, candidates are awarded one mark

  • For every wrong attempt, 0.25 marks are deducted from their total score 

  • No marks are awarded or deducted for questions not left un-attempted

CLAT Marking Parameters Marks Awarded
Correct answer +1 marks
Incorrect answer -0.25 marks
Un-attempted question 0 marks
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CLAT Syllabus 2026

The syllabus for UG includes mentions important topics that candidates must refer to prepare well for the exam. The details of CLAT syllabus for each section are:

CLAT Sections Important Topics
English Language
  • Grammar (correction of incorrect grammatical sentences, fill in the blanks, etc.)
  • Vocabulary
Current Affairs including General Knowledge
  • Static GK (Arts & Culture and History)
  • Knowledge of all events happening nationally and internationally
Logical Reasoning
  • Relationships
  • Analogies
  • Logical Sequences
  • Arguments
Legal Reasoning
  • General awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues
Quantitative Techniques
  • Ratios and Proportions
  • Basic Algebra
  • Mensuration
  • Statistics

Also Read: Important topics to study from CLAT 2026 syllabus

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CLAT Books 2026

Check few important section-wise CLAT books  that candidates can refer to prepare for the exam:

CLAT Sections Important CLAT Books
English Language
  • English Grammar by Wren & Martin
  • Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
Current Affairs including General Knowledge
  • General Knowledge 2022-2023-2024 by Arihant Publications
  • Manorama Year Book
Logical Reasoning
  • A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning by RS Aggarwal
  • Arihant’s A New Approach to Verbal and Analytical Reasoning
Legal Reasoning
  • Pearson's Legal Awareness and Legal Reasoning
  • Pearson’s Guide to the CLAT
Quantitative Techniques
  •  NCERT Class 10 Book
  • Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal

Also Read: CLAT Sample Papers 2026 PDF - Previous Years' Sample Paper Download Link

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CLAT 2025 Exam Pattern - Frequently Asked Questions

Some of the key questions asked around the exam pattern of CLAT exam are as under:

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