What Is the CLAT Exam? Pattern, Eligibility and Colleges

The CLAT exam (Common Law Admission Test) is a national offline entrance test conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities for admission to BA LLB and LLM programmes at 24 NLUs across India. It is held once a year, carries 120 questions for 120 marks, has 0.25 negative marking, and lasts 2 hours.

Key Takeaways Before You Read Further

• CLAT is conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities, an autonomous body, not NTA or UGC.
• The UG paper has five sections: English, Current Affairs and GK, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques.
• You need a minimum of 45% marks in Class 12 (40% for SC/ST) to sit the UG paper. There is no age limit.
• 24 NLUs accept CLAT scores, including NLSIU Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, and WBNUJS Kolkata. NLU Delhi runs its own AILET, so check separately.
• Counselling is centralised through the Consortium portal, and seat allotment happens in multiple rounds.

What Is the CLAT Exam and Who Conducts It?

The CLAT exam (Common Law Admission Test) is the gateway to India’s most prestigious law schools, collectively called National Law Universities. The Consortium of NLUs, formed by the NLUs themselves, has been running the exam since 2008 when it replaced individual university-level tests. It is a centralised national entrance test held once a year, entirely offline, and a single score determines your rank for counselling at every participating NLU.

One thing students often confuse: NLU Delhi is not part of the Consortium. It conducts its own AILET exam. So if NLU Delhi is on your list, you will need to register separately for AILET on top of CLAT.

According to the Consortium of NLUs Annual Report 2023-24, over 80,000 candidates appear for the CLAT UG exam every year, competing for roughly 2,700 UG seats across 24 NLUs. That seat ratio demands serious, structured preparation.

CLAT Exam Eligibility Criteria

For the UG exam, you need to have passed or be appearing in Class 12 from any recognised board with at least 45% aggregate marks. SC and ST candidates need 40%. There is no upper age limit, which the Consortium removed in 2021.

For the PG exam, you need a completed LLB degree or an equivalent qualification with a minimum of 50% marks (45% for SC/ST). If you are in your final year of LLB, you can still apply provisionally.

Choosing law as a career path is a significant decision that sits alongside other high-stakes choices students make after Class 12. If you are still mapping out your options, the best career paths after 12th grade guide gives you a broader picture of where law fits against engineering, management, and tech tracks.

CLAT Exam Pattern, Syllabus and Marking Scheme

The CLAT exam pattern for UG carries 120 questions for 120 marks. Every correct answer earns 1 mark, and every wrong answer costs you 0.25 marks as a negative penalty. Unattempted questions carry no penalty. The paper is passage-based throughout, which is the biggest shift from older formats.

There are five sections, and the Consortium does not set a fixed per-section time limit. You manage the full 2 hours yourself.

The Five Sections of the CLAT Exam Syllabus

English Language (22-26 questions): Reading comprehension passages test your vocabulary in context, grammar, and ability to infer meaning. You will not get isolated grammar rules; everything is embedded in a passage.

Current Affairs and General Knowledge (35-39 questions): This is the largest section. Questions come from passages on recent events, constitutional developments, landmark judgments, and static GK. Following a quality newspaper daily is non-negotiable here.

Legal Reasoning (35-39 questions): No prior legal knowledge is required or assumed. Passages describe a legal principle, and you apply it to a set of facts. The skill being tested is logical application, not memorisation of statutes.

Logical Reasoning (28-32 questions): Passage-based questions test your ability to identify arguments, spot assumptions, draw inferences, and evaluate conclusions. Critical thinking, not puzzle-solving, is what this section rewards.

Quantitative Techniques (13-17 questions): Data from graphs, tables, and passages requires you to apply maths up to Class 10 level. Percentages, ratios, and basic statistics are the core skills. It is the smallest section and one many students underestimate.

The PG paper has a different structure. It is 120 marks across constitutional law, jurisprudence, and other LLB subjects, with questions drawn from passages on advanced legal topics.

CLAT Exam Date, Registration and Admit Card

According to the Consortium of NLUs Official Notification 2024, CLAT is typically held in December for admissions in the following academic year. The 2025 CLAT exam was held on 1 December 2024, a pattern that has been consistent for the past three cycles. The CLAT application form opens several months before the exam date, usually in July or August.

The Consortium releases the CLAT admit card roughly two to three weeks before the exam date. You download it from the official CLAT portal using your registration number and password. No admit card means no entry, so download and print it the moment it is live. Carry a valid photo ID alongside it on exam day.

How to Prepare for the CLAT Exam

Preparing for the CLAT exam requires a structured, consistent approach across all five sections. Here are the core preparation strategies toppers consistently follow:

• Read a national newspaper daily — The Hindu or Indian Express — to build the Current Affairs and GK base, which covers the largest section of the paper.
• Practise passage-based questions from previous years’ CLAT papers. The exam is entirely passage-based, so speed and comprehension are the primary skills to develop.
• Do not skip Quantitative Techniques — Class 10 maths is sufficient, but many students lose easy marks here by ignoring it during preparation.
• Take full-length timed mock tests at least once a week in the final three months to build exam stamina and time management under the 2-hour constraint.

The career planning guide for Class 12 and college students walks you through how to map your strengths to long-term goals, which is exactly the kind of thinking that separates reactive applicants from intentional ones.

Which Colleges Accept CLAT Scores?

All 24 member NLUs of the Consortium accept CLAT scores. These are the institutions the CLAT exam was built for. A handful of private law schools also accept CLAT ranks, but the NLUs are the primary draw.

Top NLUs by Historical Cut-Off Rank (UG General Category)

Source: Consortium of NLUs CLAT 2024 Counselling Closing Ranks (official portal data). Cut-offs shift every year based on difficulty and the candidate pool. Always verify the current year’s closing ranks on the official Consortium portal before making decisions.

How CLAT Counselling Works

Once CLAT results are declared, the Consortium opens a centralised counselling portal. You fill in your NLU preferences in order of priority, pay a seat acceptance fee, and wait for allotment. There are typically three to four rounds, including a spot round for remaining seats.

Home-state quota matters here. Most NLUs reserve 25-30% of seats for domicile candidates from their respective state. If you are from Gujarat, your effective competition for GNLU’s domicile quota is much smaller than the all-India pool.

Choosing law is just one of many high-investment decisions students face. If you are also weighing routes through IITs, IISERs, or IIMs, the IIT, IISER, and IIM courses after 12th guide is worth a read alongside this one.

What About Private Law Schools?

Symbiosis Law School (SLS Pune), Jindal Global Law School, and several other private universities accept CLAT scores for their LLB programmes. These are not NLUs, so their admission process and fee structures differ significantly. Always check their individual admission notifications since they sometimes set their own eligibility criteria on top of CLAT.

Careers and Salary After an NLU Degree

According to the National Law School of India University Placement Report 2023, median campus placement packages at top NLUs range from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 25 lakh per annum at the entry level, with top corporate law firms and Big Four consulting arms offering significantly higher figures. The legal profession’s earning potential at the senior level is well above average for Indian professional careers. The high-salary jobs in India after 12th guide covers where law sits in the broader picture.

Law graduates increasingly work at the intersection of technology and regulation, particularly in areas like cyber law, data privacy, and digital forensics. If you are curious how legal and tech careers overlap, the cybersecurity careers after 12th page shows you what that crossover looks like in practice, and the cyber security course eligibility page explains how tech education entry requirements compare to law entrance frameworks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the CLAT exam and who conducts it?

The CLAT exam (Common Law Admission Test) is a centralised national offline entrance test for admission to BA LLB, BBA LLB, and LLM programmes at 24 National Law Universities across India. The Consortium of National Law Universities conducts the CLAT exam, not the NTA. It has been held annually since 2008.

What is the CLAT exam eligibility criteria?

For CLAT UG, you need Class 12 with at least 45% marks (40% for SC/ST). There is no age limit. For CLAT PG, you need an LLB or equivalent with at least 50% marks (45% for SC/ST). Final-year students can apply provisionally in both categories.

What is the CLAT exam pattern and marking scheme?

The CLAT exam UG paper has 120 questions across five sections: English, Current Affairs and GK, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. Each correct answer earns 1 mark. Each wrong answer carries a 0.25 negative mark. The exam is offline, lasts 2 hours, and is entirely passage-based. There is no section-wise time limit.

Which colleges accept the CLAT score?

All 24 member NLUs of the Consortium of NLUs accept CLAT scores, including NLSIU Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, and WBNUJS Kolkata. Several private law schools like Symbiosis Law School also accept CLAT ranks. NLU Delhi is not part of the Consortium and conducts its own AILET exam separately.

Is there negative marking in the CLAT exam?

Yes. The CLAT exam carries negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. Unattempted questions carry no penalty. This makes selective, confident answering more effective than attempting every question blindly. Most toppers recommend skipping passages where you are genuinely uncertain rather than guessing under time pressure.

How does CLAT counselling work after results?

The Consortium runs centralised CLAT counselling through its official portal after results are declared. You submit NLU preferences in priority order, pay a provisional seat fee, and receive allotment based on your rank and category. Multiple rounds run until all seats are filled. Home-state domicile quotas apply at most NLUs, which can significantly affect your effective cut-off rank.

Last updated: September 2026. Reviewed by the 3University editorial team.

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