CLAT Exam 2026: Exam Dates, Eligibility, Application Form, Exam Pattern, Admit Card, Syllabus, Result, Counselling

Latest Updates

• The official CLAT 2026 exam registration notification is expected to be released in June 2025.
• The CLAT 2026 application form fill-up is expected to begin in July 2025 and is likely to close in October 2025.
• The CLAT 2026 exam is expected to be conducted in December 2025 and will be conducted in offline mode (pen-and-paper mode) across multiple cities in India
• The CLAT 2026 admit card is expected to be released in November 2025 and can be downloaded from the official CLAT website.

Overview

The CLAT 2026 (Common Law Admission Test) exam is expected to be released in June 2025, in offline mode across multiple cities in India. The exam notification is expected to be released in June 2025 and will run till October 2025. The CLAT admit card is expected to be released in November 2025. The colleges accepting CLAT scores include RGNLU, NUSRL, National Law University, Jodhpur, Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad, and many others.

Approximately 80,000 students appeared for the CLAT exam 2025 for admission to 3,600 Undergraduate seats and 1499 postgraduate seats across 25 National Law Universities. The overall difficulty level of the exam was considered easy to moderate.

CLAT 2026  Quick Highlights

The CLAT 2026 entrance exam is for admission in law programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels across India. Refer to the table below to check the details of CLAT 2026 highlights.

What is the CLAT Exam?

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national-level entrance exam that is conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities(NLUs). It facilitates admission in law programs across India, conducted once a year, at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. 

The CLAT 2026 syllabus includes English, General knowledge & Current affairs, Legal reasoning, Logical reasoning, and Quantitative techniques. The CLAT exam pattern includes 120 questions with a total of 120 marks, which have to be solved in 2 hours. The mode of the exam is a pen-and-paper mode, and 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer and +1 mark for each correct answer.

CLAT 2026 Application Process

The CLAT 2026 application process will be online. The candidates who fulfil the eligibility requirements have to submit the application form along with the required documents. The process is completely online through the CLAT official website. Refer to the points below to know about the step-by-step application process of the CLAT exam:

• Visit the official CLAT exam website and click the link ‘Register’ on the home page.
• Complete the registration process by entering your name, mobile number, and creating a password. An OTP will be sent to the registered number. Verify and complete the process.
• Fill in the application form by entering academic details, personal and contact details, and choose your preferred exam centres.
• Upload the required documents along with passport-sized photographs and signatures in the specified format.
• Select the order of your preference for NLUs and pay the application fee through online mode.
• Review your application carefully and click the “Submit” option to complete the registration and take a printout of the confirmation page and payment receipt.

CLAT 2026 Application Fees

To complete the registration process, students are required to pay a certain amount of registration fees. Refer to the table below for the details of the CLAT registration fees for the exam category-wise.

CLAT 2026 Admit Card

The CLAT 2026 admit card is expected to be released in November 2025. The students are not allowed to enter the exam hall without the admit card. The candidate must download the admit card before going to the exam centre. The admit card for CLAT 2026 is expected to be released in November 2025.

The CLAT syllabus 2026 is divided into five verticals, including English, General knowledge & Current affairs, Legal reasoning, Logical reasoning, and Quantitative techniques. Refer to the table below for all the details of the CLAT syllabus.

CLAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Students are required to fulfil the CLAT 2026 eligibility criteria to participate in the exam. Students must have passed 10+2 in any stream from a recognised board. Refer to the table below to check the eligibility criteria for the CLAT exam for UG and PG.

Eligibility criteria for the UG course

• Educational qualification: Candidate must have passed 10+2 with a minimum of 50% and 45% for reserved categories.
• Age criteria:  No upper age limit for candidates appearing for the UG Programme.
• Appearing candidates: Appearing candidates of 10+2 are also eligible to apply for the exam.

Note:

Tie-breaker rule: If more than one candidate secures an equal number of marks in the CLAT 2025, the break of the tie shall be by the following procedure and order as under:

1. Higher marks in the component/section on Legal Aptitude in the CLAT 2025 exam;
2. Higher age;
3. Computerised draw of lots

Eligibility criteria for the PG course

• Educational qualification: Candidate must have an LLB degree with a minimum of 50% and 45% for reserved categories.
• Age criteria:  No upper age limit for candidates appearing for the UG Programme.
• Appearing candidates: Appearing candidates are also eligible to apply for the exam.

Note:

Tie-breaker rule: If more than one candidate secures an equal number of marks in the CLAT 2025, the break of the tie shall be by the following procedure and order as under:

1. Higher age
2. Computerised draw of lots

CLAT 2026 Exam Pattern

The CLAT 2025 exam pattern generally contains five sections, which are conducted offline, that is, in pen-and-paper mode. Refer to the table below to know the details of the CLAT exam pattern.

CLAT Exam Pattern for UG

CLAT Exam Pattern for PG

CLAT 2026 Previous Years’ Question Papers

The CLAT previous years' question papers help the students to prepare for the upcoming CLAT exam. The previous year's question helps in the analysis of the questions and the topics to be focused on. Students get an idea of the exam pattern, which helps them in the exam for their future. Here are the links to the CLAT previous year question papers:

CLAT 2026 Preparation Tips

The CLAT exam 2026 is expected to be conducted in December 2025. However, with the right preparation and strategies, candidates can get a good score and rank in the CLAT exam. Here are some preparation tips that need to be followed:

• The candidate must understand the exam pattern and syllabus and be familiar with the CLAT exam pattern.
• The candidate must make a practical study schedule and divide time subject-wise, and include weekly mock test sessions.
• The candidate must stick to the NCERT books and practice the question banks and previous year question papers.
• The candidate must practice mock tests regularly and review their mistake to improve recovery.
• The candidate must keep short notes for quick revisions and revise important formulas and concepts weekly.

Exam Day Guidelines and Dress Code

The candidate must know what to carry or avoid on the exam day. The guidelines are mentioned on the admit card to avoid any confusion. 

• The candidates must report to the exam centre at least 1 hour before the exam time to avoid any rush.
• The candidates are not allowed to enter the exam centre after the exam has begun.
• The candidates are not allowed to carry any study materials, online gadgets, smartphones, or other valuables.
• The candidates are not allowed to leave early from the exam centre before the exam ends. 

Things to Avoid During the Exam

The students need to avoid carrying certain things on the CLAT exam day, which will lead to a conflict. The things which should be avoided include mobile phones, Bluetooth devices, calculators, cameras, or any other valuables.

CLAT 2026 Answer Key

The CLAT 2026 answer key will be released about a week after the exam is conducted. The answer key date of CLAT 2026 is yet to be announced. The CLAT answer key will be released on the official website of CLAT. Candidate can download the answer key by entering their login credentials. 

CLAT 2026 Result

The CLAT 2026 result date is yet to be announced by the Consortium of National Law Universities(NLUs). Candidates who have appeared for the exam can download the result from the CLAT official website consortiumofnlus.ac.in. The qualified candidates can go further in the counselling process for admission to law institutes.

CLAT 2026 Counselling

The CLAT 2026 counselling process will begin after the CLAT cutoff declaration. The CLAT counselling includes the registration process, the NLU preference form, and paying the counselling fee. Candidates who have been qualified according to the cut-off will be eligible for counselling. Refer to the points below to know about the step-by-step CLAT counselling process:

Step 1: Update NLU preferences

• Log in to your CLAT account. If you have been invited for counselling, you will see a “Update NLU Preferences” button. Click that button and update your NLU Preferences as required. 
• Candidates are requested to review the different programs and seat matrix by reviewing the brochures of the NLUs available on the Participating Universities page, and provide their preferences carefully. 
• Candidates should provide a minimum of 15 preferences. You can also provide more preferences, & Candidates will be considered only for those NLUs for which they have provided a preference. 
• Candidates can update their preferences any number of times until the closure of the counselling registration. 
•  Candidates should note that they can only move up to the higher preferences and can not go down in the preferences given. 
• Requests for change of preferences after the last date shall not be considered/accepted. 

Step 2:  Payment of counselling registration fees

• Complete the payment of the Counselling Registration Fee; Click the ‘Make Payment’ button. Candidates from the General Category: Rs. 30,000/- (Rupees Thirty thousand only.) Candidates from the ST/ SC/ OBC/ BC/ EWS/ PWD categories are required to pay Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees Twenty thousand only) & Wait till you see a ‘Payment Successful’ message.
• Payments can only be made online after logging in to the CLAT 2025 portal through the Consortium website &The counselling registration fee for the admissions counselling process is refundable.
• Candidates are advised not to wait till the last minute to make payments to avoid payment-related issues.
• The Consortium will not be responsible for any issues relating to the payments.
• Only candidates who have completed the registration process for the Admissions Counselling Process will be considered for the allotment of seats.
• Registration for the Admissions Counselling Process does not guarantee admission at the member NLUs in any manner.
• If you have already paid the counselling fees, no need to pay again.

Step 3: Complete the counselling process

• The candidate needs to fill out the counselling registration form, including personal and educational details.
• After the form fills up, submit it, and you will receive an email confirming your registration.

Step 4: Application form download

• After the application form, download the form from the page.
• Keep a copy of the application form for future reference in the counselling process.

Documents Required for CLAT 2026 Counselling

For the counselling process, candidates need to submit certain documents necessary for the further process. Here is the list of the required documents during counselling:

• Grade 10 statement of marks
• CLAT 2025 admit card
• Grade 12 Statement of Marks 
• Character Certificate/Conduct Certificate from the Educational Institution last attended 
• Transfer/Migration Certificate from the Educational Institution last attended. 
• Caste Certificate (SC, ST, OBC, etc.) if applied and allotted under the Reserved category of seats. 
•  PwD/SAP Certificate, if applied and allotted under the PwD category.
• Domicile/Residence Certificate, if applied for and allotted under the domicile/resident category seat.
• Any other supporting documents to claim your seat for the category you have applied (E.g., Wards of Serving/Retired Defence Personnel, EWS certificate, Sons/daughters of Ex-servicemen/Defence service personnel, etc.)

Colleges Accepting CLAT 2026 Score

The CLAT 2026 score is accepted by some of the colleges, each has unique specialisations and advantages. Refer to the points below to know bout the colleges accepting the CLAT score:

• NLSIU, Bengaluru
• NALSAR, Hyderabad
• NLIU, Bhopal
• NLUJ, Jodhpur
• HNLU, Raipur
• WBNUJS, Kolkata
• NLUO, Cuttack

The CLAT 2026 exam is expected to be conducted in December 2025, as per the schedule. The official notification is expected to be released in June 2025, and candidates are advised to keep a regular check on the official website for the latest updates. Refer to the table below for the CLAT exam and schedule 2026.

The CLAT 2026 cutoff will be released by the Consortium of National Law Universities(NLUs) after the CLAT results. The previous year cutoff for the general category was around 87-98, and for OBC, it was 83-95, for SC, ST, it was 74-90 & 70-86, and for EWS 85-96. After the exam declaration, NLUs will start releasing their CLAT cut-off percentile. The CLAT result 2026 date is yet to be released. The candidates can go through the previous cutoff to analyse the cutoff score of the upcoming event. 

CLAT 2026 Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the CLAT 2026 exam?

CLAT is a national-level entrance exam that is conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities(NLUs). It facilitates admission in law programs across India, conducted once a year, at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

2. When will the CLAT exam 2026 be conducted?

The CLAT exam 2026 is expected to be conducted in December 2025 across India.

3. Who can apply for the CLAT exam 2026?

The candidate with 50% in their graduation and 45% for SC/ST can apply for the CLAT exam 2026.