CLAT
Gateway to the five-year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) programmes at the National Law Universities (NLUs) of the 26-member Consortium (NLU Delhi is the notable exception), and used by many private law schools and PSUs (for the PG paper) as well.
Eligibility
Candidates must have passed or be appearing in Class 12 (any stream) with at least 45% marks (40% for SC/ST). There is no upper age limit and no cap on the number of attempts. Candidates appearing for the qualifying exam in March/April 2027 may also apply for CLAT 2027.
Age limit: No upper age limit
Exam pattern
Offline (pen-and-paper) test of 2 hours, held 2:00–4:00 pm. The UG paper has 120 multiple-choice questions across five sections: English Language, Current Affairs including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Techniques. Every question is passage-based — you read a short passage and answer 4–6 questions on it. Each correct answer earns 1 mark; 0.25 marks are deducted per wrong answer.
Syllabus at a glance
English comprehension and vocabulary in context; current affairs and static GK woven into news-style passages; legal reasoning based on principles and facts (no prior law knowledge assumed); critical/logical reasoning; and quantitative techniques at roughly Class 10 level (percentages, ratios, graphs, basic mensuration).
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| CLAT 2027 notification released | 22 Jul 2026 | confirmed |
| Application window | 3 Aug – 31 Oct 2026 | confirmed |
| CLAT 2027 exam | 6 Dec 2026 (Sunday, 2–4 pm) | confirmed |
| Result declaration | Third week of Dec 2026 | expected |
| Counselling begins | Late Dec 2026 | expected |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- Word Power Made Easy — Norman Lewis
- Legal Awareness and Legal Reasoning — A.P. Bhardwaj (Pearson)
- Analytical Reasoning — M.K. Pandey
- Quantitative Aptitude — R.S. Aggarwal
- Manorama Yearbook (current edition)
- Universal's Guide to CLAT & LL.B. Entrance Examination
How toppers play it
- The whole paper is passage-based, so reading speed decides your score: build to comfortably reading dense editorial prose at 400+ words per minute with retention.
- Quantitative Techniques is only 12–14 questions of Class 10 maths — do not over-invest there; Legal and Logical Reasoning together carry nearly half the paper.
- With 0.25 negative marking, a disciplined 100–105 well-chosen attempts at high accuracy usually beats attempting all 120.
- Track current affairs from about a year before the exam; the Consortium frames GK as passages, so read news stories in full rather than one-line facts.
- Take full-length offline (OMR) mocks in the actual 2–4 pm slot — bubbling time and afternoon fatigue are real factors in a 2-hour, 120-question paper.