CLAT Exam 2026 - Important Dates, Exam Pattern, & Syllabus

What is the CLAT Exam?

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national-level entrance test for admission to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law studies at India's 24 National Law Universities.

CLAT is conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities, which includes the representative universities. Several affiliated institutions and companies utilize the CLAT test for admissions and recruitment.

All admissions to the 5-year integrated L.L.B. and LL.M. programs beginning in the Academic Year 2026-2027 shall be through the CLAT exam 2026.

Keep checking the table below to stay updated on the important exam dates.

CLAT 2026 Test Details

This page is periodically updated and includes Consortium announcements for academic years 2026-2027. CLAT exam 2026 is on the way, and the best practice is to know about the test details in advance.

CLAT 2026 Important Dates

The tentative dates for CLAT 2026 are mentioned in the table below. These dates are based on the previous CLAT exam calendar.

CLAT Exam Pattern 2026

Each section in the CLAT exam has a different weightage and number of questions. The CLAT exam pattern is designed in a way that the exact number of questions is never known, but the weightage for each section is highlighted in the table below.

Every question carries 1 mark, and 0.25 marks will be deducted for every wrong answer.

CLAT 2024 and CLAT 2025 had the same number of questions in each section. Whether this pattern is suggestive of the future exam pattern or not is hard to say, but students must keep a note of this.

CLAT Notification 2026

If the Consortium has to follow the pattern of previous years, which is unlikely due to the halt in the results and counselling session process, then they must release the CLAT notification 2026 by the next month, which is June 2025.

The CLAT Notification entails all the important details such as the exam date, eligibility criteria, and more.

CLAT 2026 Eligibility Criteria

In the CLAT notification, the Consortium also adds the CLAT eligibility criteria to appear for the CLAT UG exam. Following the previous year's trend, CLAT 2026 is likely going to have the following eligibility criteria.

Educational Qualification

Any applicant who has passed the 10+2 or an equivalent examination can apply for the CLAT 2026 exam. The minimum marks required for different categories are listed below:

• 45% marks for General/ Other Backward Class (OBC)/ Specially abled person categories
• 40% marks for Scheduled Class (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories

Note: Candidates who will pass the Class 12th examination in March/ April 2025 are also eligible for the test. 

Upon admission, these candidates must provide proof that they passed their Class 12th exam. Candidates who fail to fulfill this will be rejected and lose their right to admission.

CLAT 2026 Age Limit

The Consortium does not have an upper age limit for candidates who wish to appear for the CLAT exam. As long as you meet the eligibility criteria you can give the exam.

For an in-depth analysis of the Consortium’s latest Eligibility Criteria for CLAT, read about the CLAT Eligibility Criteria in detail.

How to Apply for CLAT 2026?

The steps to apply are as follows:

• Candidates must first register on the CLAT website using their personal mobile number and email address.
• An OTP will be given to the registered mobile number for validation after registration.
• Once the mobile number has been verified, applicants can log in with the registered mobile number and the password they gave during registration.
• Once logged in you can fill out the form, pay the fees, and upload the relevant documents.

Note: Once an application has been submitted and paid for, the candidate will be unable to modify the program, category, or BPL field. Any change/alteration found in the name entered may disqualify the candidature.

CLAT Exam Fee

The fee for CLAT examination can only be paid in online mode, via NEFT and NetBanking. Once paid, students must remember that the CLAT exam fee is non-refundable.

The category-wise CLAT exam fees are mentioned below:

If you're stuck somewhere in the form-filling process, read about the exact CLAT Registration steps to be followed at the time of form-filling, or you can also watch our expert fill out the form.

CLAT Application Form 2026 Correction Window

The Consortium allows CLAT 2026 candidates time to change or update the information previously filled in the application form by the candidates. Any subsequent requests to change or update the details are not entertained by the Consortium. 

Steps to update the test location preferences on the portal:

• Log in to your CLAT account at the CLAT 2026 website.
• Click the 'Edit Application Form' button.
• Navigate to the 'Test Centre Preferences' tab.
• Check your test location preferences and update if required.
• Click the Next (>) button to go to the ‘Reservation’ tab.
• Scroll down, and agree to the declaration
• Click the ‘Submit Form’ button.

NOTE:

Candidates may also take this opportunity to review and, if necessary, correct their Names,

Date of Birth, Programme applied (UG/PG), and reservation eligibility. To do so,

Follow these steps:

• To verify your details, log in to your CLAT account at the CLAT 2026 website.
• Click the ‘Print Application’ button;
• Check your details to see if they are accurate.
• If any changes are required, click the ‘Edit Application’ button.
• Once you have made any changes necessary, carefully review the complete application form.
• Go to the Reservations tab and click the ‘Submit Form’ button.

CLAT 2026 Help Desk

For any queries related to your center or queries related to your registration process, candidates can also write their concerns on the official website.

However, candidates should make sure that they fill out the CLAT 2026 Application Form in time, as most official websites crash due to heavy traffic in the last few days.

CLAT 2026 Syllabus

The test is conducted in offline mode where the paper has 120 questions from five different sections. Below is a summary of the section-wise CLAT Syllabus 2026 based on the syllabus of the previous CLAT exam.

CLAT 2026 Exam Centers

While filling out the form, you will be able to select 3 Center locations of your preference.

Here is a list of cities where the CLAT Exam Centres 2026 are located.

CLAT 2026 Admit Card

In the month of November, at least 15 days prior to the exam, the Consortium of NLUs releases the CLAT 2026 Admit Card. The admit card once out, can be downloaded from the official website - consortiumofnlus.ac.in

Possessing an admit card is mandatory for appearing in CLAT. The admit card contains information such as the candidate's roll number, the name and address of the exam center, exam times, and instructions.

Steps to download the CLAT Admit Card 2026 once it's out

Step 1: Go to the exam's official website, https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in

Step 2: Select the CLAT exam 2026 and log in by providing your registered mobile number and password.

Step 3: Once logged in, on the top right of the screen, click the Download Admit Card link.

Step 4: Save the admission card PDF file to your device.

Step 5: Print at least two-to-three copies of the admission card on A4 paper for future reference.

CLAT 2026 Answer Key

The Consortium generally releases the provisional CLAT answer key on the same day or the next day. For example, for CLAT 2025 exam, the provisional answer key was released on the next day of the exam, i.e, on December 2, 2024, at 4 PM.

However, students must note that it would be a provisional answer key. The final version of the CLAT Answer key was released on December 7, 2024, shortly before the release of the CLAT Result.

Since there were escalations, the final CLAT Answer Key was decided upon by the Supreme Court and was released by the Consortium on May 17, 2025.

CLAT 2026 Result

The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) releases the CLAT result right after the release of the final CLAT answer key.

For example, Hours after the Consortium released the CLAT answer key for CLAT 2025, the result was declared too.

The CLAT 2026 results are released in PDF format. The scorecard includes the total marks received in the exam, the overall rank attained in CLAT, the category, and other information. Candidates will be invited to the counseling procedure based on their scores. Counseling is the final stage of admission to National Law Universities (NLUs).

CLAT 2026 Expected Cutoff

The CLAT exam cutoff is the minimum marks and rankings required for admission to NLUs. After the counseling rounds, each NLU releases the cut-off in the form of opening and closing rankings. The table below shows the basic expected cut-off based on expert analysis of previous years.

Based on the exam difficulty level of CLAT 2025, below is a snapshot of the top NLUs for CLAT 2025.  

It should be noted that the cutoff differs per college and across all student categories. Refer to the detailed CLAT cutoff to check the different criteria applicable to CLAT cutoffs.

CLAT 2026 Reservation Policy

The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) offers about 3400 seats for the 5-year LLB program. These seats are distributed based on reservations for several groups, including OBC, SC, ST, PWD, KM (Kashmiri Migrants), Armed Forces, and others.

During the CLAT 2024 seat allocation procedure, the reservation criteria established by each NLU are critical. Each university has its own reservation policy, which differs depending on the institution. Candidates should check the individual NLU's website to know their reservations for different castes.

CLAT Exam Analysis

It is important for students to look back before they look ahead, as it provides an idea about the trends and questions of the CLAT exam.

CLAT 2025 was an interesting variant of the paper, and thus, students must check and read about the CLAT 2025 Exam Analysis to sum up the student reactions, mentor analysis, and more.

CLAT 2026 Last-Minute Prep Strategy

Let's start with some preparation advice from our specialists to get the right solution to "How to Prepare for CLAT 2026"

With the time remaining, the CLAT 2026 preparation strategy should ideally include:

• Reviewing the curriculum
• Revising it 2-3 times
• Practicing reading comprehension
• Developing reading skills
• Answering a large number of mock examinations and sample papers

However, there are some other significant aspects to consider when studying for the CLAT test.

1. Make and Design a Study Routine

Candidates studying for the exam should follow a well-organized study schedule. Now that the exam is 1 year away, aspirants should create a plan that is feasible to follow with school preparation. 

2. Improve Your Reading Speed & Accuracy

Reading speed will always be a work in progress for aspirants. 

Candidates have to read and attempt around 120 questions in 120 minutes which requires reading around 18-20 passages of around 350 - 450 words. The ability to read rapidly and grasp the content will put the applicants ahead of the competition.

As a result, applicants should inculcate a habit of reading articles, newspapers, and complicated sections, particularly those from legal publications, while studying for the examination.

3. Solve Mock Tests & Sample Papers

It is recommended that aspirants attempt as many CLAT mock tests and past-year questions as possible. 

Toppers recommends that students do 80-100 practice examinations during their CLAT preparation. Furthermore, these problems will train applicants to complete the exam in the allotted time frame.

CLAT Past-year questions will assist applicants in grasping the paper's difficulty level, exam pattern, question trends, and other key features.

Key Takeaways

Here are some of the important points and key takeaways to know for CLAT 2026.

• CLAT 2026 is going to be held in December 2025. 
• The Consortium of NLUs will release the CLAT Admit Card in mid-November 2025. 
• The syllabus consists of five different sections and has 120 questions.
• Have a well-structured study plan.
• Concentrate on the fundamentals and fully cover all test subjects.
• Practice mock tests and previous years' papers to become acquainted with the exam format.
• Seek mentorship, attend CLAT coaching institutions, or seek online courses for more assistance.
• Stay motivated, keep a good attitude, and have faith in your talents.