List of NLUs in India (Updated List): NIRF Ranking 2025, Admissions, Eligibility, Courses, Fees and Seats
NLUs are the first choice of law aspirants because many of them are listed among the top law colleges as ranked by NIRF Rankings. The Ministry of Education releases the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings every year which helps many aspirants to understand which college to pursue law from. In this article, we take a close look at NLUs in India including, NIRF Ranking 2025 Law, courses offered, seat matrix, fee structure, and admission criteria.
Any law aspirant worth his salt knows or at least has heard about the National Law Universities (NLUs). In fact, institutes like NLSIU Bangalore, NALSAR, and NLU Delhi are the flag bearers of law education in the country, having produced and shaped some of the sharpest legal minds. So, come application season, there is a great rush to get admission to the NLUs. But admission to the NLUs is easier said than done, especially the older ones, many of which are the top law colleges in the country. To begin with, the number of applications these colleges receive is huge, and on top of that, the NLU entrance exam is no walk in the park.
Also Read: Judicial Service Exams 2025: State-wise exam pattern, Syllabus, Eligibility Criteria, Prelims, Mains
In this article, we look at the list of NLUs in the country, the course-wise seat availability at each NLU, the admission process, and much more. Keep reading.
- NIRF Law Ranking 2025: NLUs Position
- List of NLUs in India - NIRF Ranking, UG and PG seats
- Law Courses offered at NLUs
- NLU Admission Process 2026
- Difference in CLAT and AILET exam pattern for UG courses:
- Difference in CLAT and AILET exam pattern for LLM courses:
- Eligibility Criteria for NLU Admissions 2026
NIRF Law Ranking 2025: NLUs Position
The Ministry of Education has released the NIRF Ranking for the year 2025. Candidates can check the NIRF Ranking Law Colleges 2025 and the top 5 ranked NLUs in India below for reference:
- NLSIU Bengaluru
- NLU Delhi
- NALSAR University of Law
- The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS)
- GNLU Gandhinagar
The detailed NIRF Law Ranking List has been published as under:
| NIRF Ranking 2025 |
NIRF Ranking 2024 |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
|
| 2 |
2 |
|
| National Academy of Legal Study & Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad |
3 |
3 |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata |
4 |
4 |
| 5 |
8 |
|
| 6 |
5 |
|
| 27 |
21 |
|
| - |
- |
|
| 21 |
20 |
|
| - |
24 |
|
| 17 |
31 |
|
| - |
38 |
|
| 15 | 26 | |
| 30 |
22 |
|
| 35 |
27 |
|
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Visakhapatnam |
- |
- |
| - |
- |
|
| - |
31 |
|
| 28 |
34 |
|
| - |
- |
|
| 34 |
- |
|
| - |
- |
|
| - |
- |
|
| - |
- |
|
| Dr. Rajendra Prasad National Law University, Prayagraj | - |
- |
| New NLUs in India |
||
| National Law University, Tirupura (Admissions on Hold for academic year 2023) |
- |
- |
| GNLU Silvassa Campus (w.e.f. 2023) |
- |
- |
| RPNLUP Prayagraj |
- |
- |
Check college predictor for CLAT and college predictor for AILET based on your marks in these entrance exams.
Also read: Top 10 Private Law Colleges in India - NIRF Ranking 2025
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List of NLUs in India - NIRF Ranking, UG and PG seats
Now, there are a total of 24 NLUs in India offering admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate law courses (seat intake) as listed below:
| NLUs in India |
NIRF Ranking 2025 |
NIRF Ranking 2024 |
Seats (UG and PG courses) |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore |
1 |
1 |
310 seats for UG and 100 seats for PG course |
| National Law University, Delhi |
2 |
2 |
123 seats for UG (including Supernumerary seats) and 83 and seats for PG course (including Supernumerary seats) |
| National Academy of Legal Study & Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad |
3 |
3 |
132 seats for UG and 66 seats for PG course |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata |
4 |
4 |
132 seats for UG and 70 seats for PG course |
| Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar |
5 |
6 |
172 seats for UG and 57 seats for PG course |
| National Law Institute University, Bhopal |
27 |
14 |
102 seats for UG and 60 seats for PG course |
| National Law University, Jodhpur |
- |
8 |
120 seats for UG and 50 seats for PG course |
| Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow |
21 |
15 |
187 seats for UG and 33 seats for PG course |
| Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala |
- |
16 |
180 seats for UG and 60 seats for PG course |
| Chanakya National Law University Patna |
17 |
- |
132 seats for UG |
| National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi |
- |
26 |
120 seats for UG and 60 seats for PG course |
| National Law University Odisha, Cuttack |
15 | 18 |
180 seats for UG and 46 seats for PG course |
| National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi |
30 |
- |
120 seats for UG and 50 seats for PG course |
| National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam |
35 |
20 |
60 seats for UG and 40 seats for PG course |
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Visakhapatnam |
- |
28 |
120 seats for UG and 60 seats for PG course |
| The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli |
- |
- |
120 seats for UG and 60 seats for PG course |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai |
- |
- |
100 seats for UG and 50 seats for PG course |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur |
28 |
- |
120 seats for UG and 60 seats for PG course |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad |
- |
- |
60 seats for UG and 60 seats for PG course |
| Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla |
34 |
- |
180 seats for UG and 80 seats for PG course |
| Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur |
- |
- |
120 seats for UG and 50 seats for PG course |
| Dr B R Ambedkar National Law University Sonipat, Haryana |
- |
- |
120 seats for UG course |
| Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur |
- |
- |
170 seats for UG and 90 seats for PG course |
| Sikkim National Law University, Gangtok |
- |
- |
- |
| National Law University, Tirupura |
- |
- |
120 seats for UG and 50 seats for PG course |
| GNLU Silvassa Campus |
- |
- |
66 seats for UG and 33 seats for PG course |
| Dr. Rajendra Prasad National Law University, Prayagraj (RPNLU) |
- |
- |
60 seats for UG course |
Also Read: What are NLUs (National Law Universities)? How are these different from other Law schools?
Law Courses offered at NLUs
Undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses, Ph.D., and diploma courses are offered at NLUs include:
| UG Courses |
PG courses |
|---|---|
| BA LLB (Hons.) (Five-year Integrated Law course) |
|
| BBA LLB (Five-year Integrated Law course) |
|
| BSc LLB (Five-year Integrated Law course) |
|
| BLS LLB (Five-year Integrated Law course) |
PG Diploma in Urban Environmental Management and Law (NLU Delhi) |
| BCom LLB (Five-year Integrated Law course) |
Post Graduate Diploma in Tourism and Environmental Law (NLU Delhi) |
| Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law and Policy (NLU Delhi) |
|
| Three-year LLB Course at NLSIU Bangalore |
Also Read:
- All About NLU Courses - Five-Year LLB, LLB, LLM, PhD in Law and Distance Law Courses
- NLU Fees for the five-year LLB courses
NLU Admission Process 2026
Admission to all the NLUs, except for NLU Delhi, is conducted based on CLAT scores. NLU Delhi conducts its own entrance exam, the AILET.
| Name of the NLU | Entrance exam |
|---|---|
| NLU Delhi | AILET |
| NLUs that are members of the NLU consortium | CLAT |
Also Read:
CLAT Sample Papers 2026 (PDF Link) - Past Years' Sample Paper Download Here
Let us understand the basic difference between the two above-mentioned law entrance exams for NLU admissions:
What is CLAT?
CLAT is a national-level law entrance exam, conducted for admission to 26 National Law Universities in India (except for NLU Delhi). A consortium of NLUs conducts the law entrance exam, the governing body of which includes vice-chancellors of all the 24 NLUs. Through CLAT, admissions are open to 3,213 seats for five-year integrated law courses and 1,217 seats for postgraduate law courses. The intake mentioned above doesn't include extra, supernumerary and NRI seats. CLAT exam will be conducted on December 7, 2025 in a pen-paper based test mode.
What is AILET?
All India Law Entrance Test, popularly known as AILET, is the only entrance exam conducted and accepted by NLU Delhi. This national-level exam is conducted once a year for admission to the university’s five-year integrated LLB and LLM courses. The LLB course has 110 seats, and LLM course has 70 seats, not including J&K, supernumerary and NRI seats. The AILET 2026 will be held on December 14, 2025.
Difference in CLAT and AILET exam pattern for UG courses:
Last year, CLAT Consortium made major changes in the exam pattern of CLAT. However, NLU Delhi still continues with its previous AILET exam pattern. Check the table below for key features of CLAT pattern and AILET pattern for UG courses:
| Exam Features |
CLAT UG |
AILET UG |
|---|---|---|
| Exam mode |
Offline |
Offline |
| Test duration |
2 hours |
1 hour 30 minutes |
| Test subjects |
Five subjects as under:
|
Five subjects as under:
|
| Type of questions |
Multiple choices questions (MCQs) |
Multiple choices questions (MCQs) |
| Total marks |
150 marks |
150 marks |
| Marking scheme |
1 mark for each correct answer. -0.25 marks for each wrong attempt |
1 mark for each question answered correctly. -0.25 marks deducted for each wrong attempt |
Difference in CLAT and AILET exam pattern for LLM courses:
The CLAT consortium removed the 'Descriptive Paper' of CLAT LLM in 2020. However, the Consortium has re-introduced the subjective section in the exam from 2023. On the other hand, the exam pattern of AILET 2024 for LLM courses remains the same as previous years. Check the exam pattern of CLAT and AILET for PG course:
| Exam Features |
CLAT PG |
AILET PG |
|---|---|---|
| Exam mode |
Offline |
Offline |
| Test duration |
2 hours |
1 hour 30 minutes |
| Test subjects |
One question paper based on:
|
Major law subjects as under:
|
| Type of questions |
Objective and subjective questions |
Objective questions only |
| Total marks |
150 marks |
150 marks |
| Marking scheme |
|
|
Check complete CLAT LLM exam pattern and AILET LLM exam pattern for PG courses.
Eligibility Criteria for NLU Admissions 2026
The eligibility criteria for undergraduate and postgraduate law courses offered at NLUs (including NLU Delhi) is as under:
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Academic criteria for UG admissions:
- Candidates who have passed or are appearing in Class 12 qualifying examination are eligible to apply for NLU admissions
- They must secure at least 45 percent marks in the qualifying examination if belonging to General/ OBC/ PWD/ NRI/ PIO/ OCI categories
- For candidates belonging to SC/ ST categories, a five percent relaxation in minimum qualifying marks is given i.e. they should obtain at least 40 percent marks in the qualifying examination of Class 12.
Academic criteria for PG admissions :
- Candidates seeking admission to LLM courses offered at NLUs should possess an LLB degree or an equivalent from any recognised law college or university
- They should obtain at least 55 percent marks in the qualifying law degree if they belong to General/ OBC/ PWD/ NRI/ PIO/ OCI categories
- For candidates belonging to SC/ ST categories, the minimum marks required is 50 percent or an equivalent grade
- Candidates appearing in the final year examination of their law degrees are also eligible to apply
Age limit criteria for NLU admissions :
The Bar Council of India has removed any upper or lower age limit criteria for admissions to law courses. Check CLAT eligibility.
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