What is CLAT Full Form: Common Law Admission Test, Top NLUs, Other details
Common Law Admission Test 2026 ( CLAT )
Registration - 1 Aug '25 - 31 Oct '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 more about CLAT.
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 as 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.
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CLAT Exam 2026 will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode. CLAT Exam Date 2026 is December 7, 2025. Read further to know more about CLAT in depth.
- CLAT Participating Universities
- CLAT 2026 Highlights
- CLAT Exam Full: Syllabus 2026
- CLAT Exam Pattern 2026
CLAT Participating Universities
Every year, 24 NLUs participate in the counselling and seat allotment process of CLAT exam for UG and PG course admission. Here's the list of NLUs for CLAT exam:
| CLAT participating National Law Universities (NLUs) |
|
|---|---|
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore |
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 |
| National Law University, Jodhpur |
Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur |
| Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar |
Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow |
| Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala |
Chanakya National Law University Patna |
| National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi |
National Law University Odisha, Cuttack |
| National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi |
National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam |
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Visakhapatnam |
The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai |
Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad |
Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla |
| Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur |
Dr B R Ambedkar National Law University Sonipat, Haryana |
| NLU Silvassa |
NLU Tripura |
CLAT 2026 Highlights
Every year some of the key details of 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 2026
Before starting your preparation, the first thing you should do is go through the CLAT syllabus carefully.
UG Syllabus CLAT 2026
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 2026 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 2026
CLAT exam is being 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 and 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:
- CLAT 2026 Logical Reasoning Questions - Preparation for Analytical Reasoning Section
- CLAT 2026 Legal Aptitude Questions - Preparation for Legal Reasoning Section
- CLAT 2026 GK Questions - Preparation for Current Affairs including GK Section
- CLAT 2026 Maths Questions - Preparation for Quantitative Techniques Section
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 weeks ago
No you can't. To get admission in ipu in BBA LLB course you have to give CLAT Exam
H
Beginner-Level 1
Answered 2 weeks ago
While it is not impossible, it is a really challenging task. To score well, you must start preparing for CLAT at least six months before. It is very important to score well if you are looking forward to getting into good NLU. For top 10 NLU, you at least need to score between 100 to 105 as per past
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 weeks ago
The CLAT Syllabus is published by the Consortium. The syllabus has been announced. Candidates who are preparing for the exam must note that there are no changes made in the syllabus so far. Candidates can check the syllabus by visiting the official website. You can only download the PDF from websit
C
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a month ago
To know if you are eligible for CLAT Exam or not you can visit the official website and check the notification. The notification which was earlier released by the consortium carries all important details like elgibility criteria, fees, exam dates etc. Once you have checked if you are eligible to app
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
You don't have to worry. In case you have forgotten your ID and password, which is pretty much normal. You can go and click on the forgot password tab in the registration window. You will receive the mail and then you have to reset your password. Once day you will be able to login.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
See, it doesn't matter that you fill the form through laptop or phone. What matters is you fill the form. Yes, you should have good network connection and internet speed. It should not happen that you have filled the form and when you reach the last step you loose the connection. So what is importan
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a month ago
Yes, the application form for CLAT was released long back in August. Those who have not filled the form yet must understand that there is no right day to fill the form. You should fill is as soon as possible. Because if you miss it you have to wait one more year unnecessarily to appear in the exam.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
This is so sad. But unfortunately, even with all the right documents, if you have not paid the application fee, your application form will be rejected. Since the application process is currently underwa, y you can still go and submit the fees. Once the window will close you won't be able to pay the
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
The last date to submit the application form is October 31, 2025. It must be noted that the consortium will open the application correction window after that. Sometimes the consortium do extend the last date for registration but it is better to fill the form way before and why to wait.
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered a month ago
Students can fill the application form by visiting the official website. You should know that there is no other way to fill the registration form. The application form is not released offline neither you can download the form and send it to the consortium. You should fill the form by October 31, 20
B
Contributor-Level 7
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