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Anupama Mehra
Assistant Manager – Content
Updated on Sep 19, 2025 14:45 IST
Eligibility criteria mention all key requirements a candidate must fulfill to secure admission at the CLAT participating colleges. CLAT eligibility criteria 2026 include academic qualification requirements, age limit and minimum marks. Check the complete CLAT eligibility here.

The Consortium of NLUs prescribes CLAT eligibility criteria 2026 for five-year LLB, and LLM courses for academic requirements, minimum marks, and age limit. Read the updated CLAT exam 2026 eligibility requirements here.

CLAT Eligibility Criteria 2026: The Consortium of NLUs will conduct the CLAT Exam soon. The Consortium announced the CLAT Exam Dates earlier. CLAT Exam is scheduled to be held on December 7, 2025. In the CLAT Official Notification, the Consortium also mentioned the CLAT 2026 eligibility criteria for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. CLAT 2026 Application Form was released on August 1, 2025. Candidates must fill the CLAT Application Form on or before October 31, 2025. 

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Also Read: CLAT 2026 Registration Fees: Check category-wise CLAT fees

Candidates who are interested to appear in CLAT 2026 must check the eligibility criteria for five year LLB and LLM courses both. The eligibility criteria for CLAT defines the educational requirements, minimum marks, and age limit that an aspirant must fulfill to fill the application form and secure a seat at National Law Universities in India. Also, the top colleges accepting CLAT scores will have similar eligibility criteria for admission.

The CLAT Consortium adheres to the eligibility criteria for law courses as prescribed by the Bar Council of India, the regulatory authority for legal education and professional standards in India. The CLAT Consortium verifies the eligibility of shortlisted candidates during the counselling process, and candidates must submit supporting documents to ensure their eligibility for admission. In this article, detailed CLAT 2026 eligibility criteria are mentioned, and candidates can check it before filling out the application form to avoid disqualification at a later stage in the exam.   

Q:   How will I know if I am eligible to appear in CLAT exam or not?
A:

In order to know if you are eligible or not check the official notification and the eligibility criteria. There is no other way to check the the eligibility criteria.  Do not fill the form without checking the eligibility criteria. 

Q:   What if I am not satisfied with the CLAT seat allotment?
A:

If the candidates is not satisfied with the CLAT seat allotment result, they can either accept or opt for upgradingt the college alloted. The Freeze option is used by candidates to confirm their choice of NLU. Apply for upgrade option is used when candidates want to change the allotted institute to his or her higher choice (upward shifting).

Q:   Can I get NLU if my CLAT Rank is 1500?
A:

Yes, with a CLAT Rank of 1500, you have a very good chance of getting into several good NLUs. Some fo the NLU where your chances are high are NLIU Bhopal or NLU Jodhpur.

CLAT Application form 2026 should be filled out by candidates who meet the eligibility criteria; or candidates may be declined admission on the grounds of ineligibility. CLAT 2026 will be held in a pen-paper-based test mode. CLAT 2026 scores will be used for admission to the academic year 2026-2027.

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Table of contents
  • CLAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria for UG Law Courses
  • CLAT 2026 Eligibility: Age Limit
  • CLAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria for LLM Course
  • CLAT 2026 LLM Eligibility: Age limit

CLAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria for UG Law Courses

Parameters that candidates need to meet to fulfill CLAT eligibility criteria for undergraduate (UG ) level law courses are mentioned below:

BCI standards for undergraduate law courses are as stated, "Bar Council of India may from time to time, stipulate the minimum percentage of marks not below 45% of the total marks in case of general category applicants and 40% of the total marks in case of SC and ST applicants, to be obtained for the qualifying examination, such as 2 Examination in case of Integrated Five Years’ course or Degree course in any discipline for Three years’ LLB course, to apply for and getting admitted into a Law Degree Program of any recognized University in either of the streams.

Provided that such a minimum qualifying marks shall not automatically entitle a person to get admission into an institution but only shall entitle the person concerned to fulfill other institutional criteria notified by the institution concerned or by the government concerned from time to time to apply for admission.

Q:   How many times I can appear for CLAT Exam?
A:

There is no restriction as such for the CLAT exam. Thus, one can give CLAT any number of times they want to. Candidates should not feel bad if they are not able to clear the CLAT exam in first time. 

Q:   Can I get admission in NLUs without clearing CLAT Exam?
A:

No you can not get admission to 24 participating NLUs without clearing CLAT Exam. For admission to NLU Delhi, you need to clear AILET Exam. 

 

CLAT Educational Requirements

  • Candidates should clear Class 12 with a minimum 45 per cent aggregate (applicable for candidates belonging to General/ Other Backward Class (OBC)/ Person with Disability (PwD)/ Non-Resident Indian (NRI)/ Person of Indian Origin (PIO)/ Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) category)
  • Candidates should clear Class 12 with a minimum 40 per cent aggregate (applicable for candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST) category)
  • Candidates appearing for their Class 12 board examinations in March/April are also eligible to apply for CLAT 2026 exam. However, such candidates need to produce proof of passing Class 12 or equivalent exam at the time of admission. Candidates unable to produce the evidence shall forfeit their right of admission through CLAT exam

Also Read: 

CLAT Exam Pattern CLAT Syllabus CLAT Sample Paper and Question Paper
Section-Wise CLAT Books to Read Tips to Prepare for English Section of CLAT Exam  

 CLAT 2026 Eligibility: Age Limit 

The exam authorities and universities in India set upper or lower age limit for admission to their courses. However, to cater a large number of law aspirants, BCI capped the age restriction the five-year LLB course admission. Therefore, now CLAT consortium follows the same for CLAT eligibility criteria. 

  • There is no upper age limit to appear for the CLAT 2026 exam as well.
  • This means that candidates belonging to any age group can apply for the law entrance exam

CLAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria for LLM Course

Postgraduate (PG) law programme in which candidates can secure admission through CLAT  exam is LLM (Master of Law). Basic criteria that candidates need to fulfill in order to meet CLAT eligibility criteria for LLM course are mentioned below:

CLAT 2026 LLM Academic Eligibility

  • Candidates belonging to General/ OBC/ PwD/ NRI/ PIO/ OCI category should possess an LLB or equivalent degree with minimum 50 per cent aggregate
  • Candidates belonging to SC/ ST category should possess an LLB or equivalent degree with minimum of 45 per cent aggregate
  • Candidates appearing for the final year examination of their qualifying degree are also eligible to apply for CLAT

CLAT 2026 LLM Eligibility: Age limit

Given that, there is no age limit for five-year and three-year LLB courses, BCI has relaxed age limit for LLM course admission as well. Therefore, 

  • There is no upper age limit to apply for the CLAT PG exam as well.
  • However, candidates securing same rank and marks in CLAT LLM will be given preference, if they are higher in age than the others.

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About the Author
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Anupama Mehra
Assistant Manager – Content

She has over 10 years of experience in the education and publishing sectors. She specialises in exam coverage and content creation. At Shiksha, she writes, analyses, and presents information for students preparing f

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