What is CLAT Full Form? Eligibility Criteria, Syllabus, TOP NLUs, Other details
Common Law Admission Test 2026 ( CLAT )
Counselling - 17 Dec '25 - 27 Dec '25
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 the CLAT exam date, application process, and other important details.
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 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.
Explore colleges based on CLAT
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
Explore more Law exams with upcoming dates
19 Dec '25 - 27 Dec '25
28 Dec '25
1 Nov '25 - 29 Dec '25
1 Jan '26
1 Jan '26
30 Dec '25 - 2 Jan '26
8 Jan '26
27 Feb '26
28 Feb '26
15 Mar '26
CLAT Exam Date 2026 was December 7, 2025. The Consortium released the CLAT Provisional Answer Key 2026 PDF on December 10, 2025. The CLAT Final Answer Key has been released on December 16. Candidates can expect the result announcement anytime soon on the website. Read further to know more about CLAT in depth.
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).
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 Important Dates 2026
- CLAT Participating Universities
- CLAT Highlights
- CLAT Exam Full: Syllabus
- CLAT Exam Pattern
CLAT Important Dates 2026
Check the CLAT exam dates below
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.
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.
| Event |
Dates |
|---|---|
| CLAT 2026 exam day |
07-Dec-2025 |
| CLAT 2026 Admit Card |
22-Nov-2025 |
| CLAT 2026 Application Date |
01-Aug-2025 to 31-Oct-2025 |
| CLAT 2026 Answer Key |
10-Dec-2025 |
| Official CLAT Final Answer Key 2026 |
16-Dec-2025 |
| Declaration of CLAT 2026 results |
Expected Soon |
Also Read:
CLAT Participating Universities
Every year, 24 NLUs participate in the counselling and seat allotment process of the CLAT exam for UG and PG course admission. Here's the list of NLUs for CLAT exam:
| CLAT participating National Law Universities (NLUs) |
|
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur |
|
| Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow |
|
| Chanakya National Law University Patna |
|
| National Law University Odisha, Cuttack |
|
| National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam |
|
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Visakhapatnam |
The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur |
|
| Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla |
|
| Dr B R Ambedkar National Law University Sonipat, Haryana |
|
| NLU Tripura |
|
CLAT Highlights
Every year, some of the key details of the 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
Before starting your preparation, the first thing you should do is go through the CLAT syllabus carefully.
UG Syllabus CLAT
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 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
CLAT exam is 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 & 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 2026/ CLAT sample papers 2026 to improve test-taking skills and performance
The effective strategy for CLAT 2026 will help ensure result-oriented performance, which is to score above cutoff marks.
Also Read:
Law Education & Competitive Exams Content Specialist
Role: Senior Content Writer, Shiksha.com
Swayam writes content specializing in the law education and competitive exams domain, with around two year of experience
Read Full BioNews & Updates
Explore Other Exams
19 Dec '25 - 27 Dec '25 | AILET Counselling 2026 fee sub... |
19 Dec '25 - 27 Dec '25 | AILET Counselling Registration... |
8 Jun '25 | LSAT India 2025 May Session Re... |
May '25 | LSAT India 2025 May Exam |
15 Dec '25 - 20 Jan '26 | ULSAT 2026 Application for LLM |
15 Dec '25 - 20 Jan '26 | ULSAT 2026 Applications (5-yea... |
28 Dec '25 | SLAT 2026 Test Day 2 |
30 Dec '25 | SLS Shortlist for Personal Int... |
Apr '26 | RULET 2026 Application Process |
May '26 | RULET 2026 Correction Window |
Dec '25 | MH CET Law 2026 Application (f... |
Jan '26 | MH CET Law 2026 Application (f... |
Jul '23 | LFAT 2023 Declaration of Resul... |
1 Jun '23 - 7 Jun '23 | LFAT 2023 Reserved Exam Dates |
Feb '26 | ACLAT Exam 2026 |
1 Oct '25 | ACLAT 2025 Application |
Mar '26 | PU UGLAW 2026 online registrat... |
Apr '26 | PU UGLAW 2026 last date of fee... |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
No, you don't have to take the CLAT 2026 exam to get admission in Chandigarh University. Instead, you must take the university's own entrance examination, the CUCET (Chandigarh University Common Entrance Test), which is very simple to pass. The best thing is that if you score well in CUCET, you can
J
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 4 days ago
Hi.
Level: Comparable overall. NLET may be slightly more analytical/legal-reasoning oriented.
Preparation Overlap: Preparing for CLAT will largely cover NLET syllabus, but you may need extra practice on complex legal reasoning questions for NLET.
Difficulty: Both are competitive; CLAT is high due to la
h
Scholar-Level 18
Answered 4 days ago
Hi...
Colleges You Can Get With Your CLAT Rank (General Guide)
Since you didn’t mention your exact CLAT rank, here’s a helpful list of law colleges that accept CLAT scores, including National Law Universities (NLUs) and good non‑NLU options, including options for mid to higher ranks. All these accept
h
Scholar-Level 18
Answered a week ago
To raise grievances on the CLAT 2026 Result, log in to your account on the Consortium of NLUs website (consortiumofnlus.ac.in), find the 'Submit Grievance' button, detail your issue (score/rank discrepancy, conduct) with supporting proof within the specified time, and submit online; accepted grievan
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can. Candidates can raise their grievances by sending an email. Candidates can follow the steps given below
- Go to the consortiumofnlus.ac.in
- Login using your email
- Enter your password
- Click on the grievance option
- Submit
B
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can get admission based on CLAT Score. Apart from that you can also appear for ULSAT Exam conducted by the university.
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can absolutely prepare for CLAT and UPES ULSAT together, as they share significant syllabus overlap (Legal/Logical Reasoning, GK, English, Quant), making integrated preparation efficient; focus on core areas for both but tailor extra practice for ULSAT's specific GK/current affairs and CLAT
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
You should understand that once you opt to get out of the counselling process you can not go back. You will get option to either freeze your seat or choose to let it go and participate in next round. You can anytime exit the whole process too.
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
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.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a week ago
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.
A
Contributor-Level 7
CLAT Notifications
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.