CLAT 2024: Everything You Need to Know

This page is periodically updated and includes Consortium announcements for academic years 2024-2025. CLAT 2024 is on the way, and the best practice is to know about the test details in advance.

Based on the previous year's revised deadlines for the exam announced by the consortium, here are the important dates the candidate should keep a note of.

Let’s take a look at the five sections that comprise CLAT. These sections test one's aptitude and reasoning abilities, and hence, require months of preparation and practice.

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

Want more information about the exam pattern? Read our detailed page on the CLAT exam pattern.

Educational Qualification

Any applicant who has passed the 10+2 or an equivalent examination can apply for the 2024 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 cleared the Class 12th examination in March/ April 2024 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.

Age Limit

CLAT doesn't have an age limit. As long as you meet the eligibility criteria you can give the exam.

Candidates seeking admission to undergraduate law courses offered by the participating NLUs can fill out the application form for the exam on the official Consortium website.

The steps to apply are as follows:

• Candidates must first register on the CLAT 2024 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.

Documents Required

Given below is a list of documents that a student will need while applying for CLAT 2024.

The CLAT 2024 cut-off is the minimum marks and rankings required for admittance 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.

It should be noted that the cut-off differs per college and across all student categories.

The test is conducted in offline mode where the paper has 120 questions from five different sections. Below is a summary of the scope. The full syllabus in detail can be found on the CLAT exam syllabus page.

English language

The English Language section of the exam comprises multiple passages, each approximately 450 words in length. These passages will be sourced from contemporary or historically significant works of both fiction and non-fiction. They will be of a standard that a 12th-grade student can comfortably read within 5-7 minutes.

Following each passage, a series of questions will measure your understanding and linguistic skills. These questions are designed to measure your abilities to:

• Grasp the main ideas, arguments, and viewpoints presented in the passage.
• Make logical inferences and draw conclusions based on the content.
• Summarize the key points of the passage.
• Analyze and compare different arguments or viewpoints expressed.
• Discern the meanings of various words and phrases within the passage's context.

Current Affairs including General Knowledge

The General Knowledge and Current Affairs section of the exam will include comprehension-type passage-based questions from Static general knowledge and current affairs, each with a maximum length of 450 words. The General Knowledge part will include questions about current events in India and throughout the world, including arts and culture, international affairs, and historical events and their relevance.

Following each passage, a series of questions will assess your understanding of various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge, which may include:

• Significant current events in India and throughout the world.
• Topics related to arts and culture.
• International developments.
• Historical events of enduring significance.

Legal Reasoning

The Legal reasoning portion of the exam will have 450-word comprehension-type sections. Following the comprehension readings will be objective-type questions. This section will assess candidates' abilities in identifying and inferring the rules and principles given in the passage, applying the rules and principles to various fact situations, and comprehending how modifications to rules or principles may affect their application to different factual situations.

Following each passage, you will encounter a series of questions that will assess your ability to:

• Identify and deduce the rules and principles outlined in the passage.
• Apply these rules and principles to various factual scenarios.
• Understand how modifications to these rules or principles might affect their application to different factual scenarios.

Logical Reasoning

The logical reasoning section will include 300-word paragraphs. This section of the exam will assess candidates' ability to identify arguments and their premises and draw conclusions, critically analyze patterns of reasoning, assess how conclusions may depend on specific premises or evidence, infer what follows from the passage, and apply these inferences to new situations, draw relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence, and evaluate argument effectiveness.

Quantitative Techniques

The Quantitative Techniques section of the exam will encompass brief presentations of facts, propositions, or numerical data, followed by a series of questions. Your task will be to extract and deduce information from these passages or questions, and subsequently employ mathematical operations.

These questions will entail:

• Extracting, deducing, and manipulating numerical data as presented in the passages.
• Applying various mathematical operations at a 10th-grade level, including those pertaining to ratios and proportions, elementary algebra, geometry, and statistical estimation.

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

• Make a monthly and weekly schedule and have the curriculum ready.
• Make certain that all subjects and ideas are covered on time and that they are reviewed at regular intervals.
• Write fake tests and practice tests on a regular basis, then analyze the results to identify and improve weak areas.
• Make no assumptions when answering questions in the actual exam, as each incorrect response will cost you 0.25 points.

Forming a preparation plan

1. Knowing the marking scheme inside out
   It is critical that you understand the marking structure. You should know which section is best for you to get the necessary scores to pass the exam.
2. Understanding the exam and building strong conceptual skills
   A good conceptual grasp is required for an exam as difficult as CLAT. Brush up on your fundamentals and review key ideas on a regular basis to ensure you have a firm grasp of the concepts tested.
3. Analyse and practice
   Once the principles are clear, it is critical to write the practice exam on the same day to reinforce the notion. It will improve your conceptual knowledge and assist you in identifying your weak points.

To have an in-depth dive into CLAT preparation, check out our CLAT preparation guide.

The exam centers are situated in various cities across India. Candidates can select their exam center when completing the CLAT Application Form. Once assigned, the exam center cannot be altered. Candidates should carefully select their desired exam center and ensure that they can get there easily on the day of the exam.

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 Exam Centres are located.

The CLAT 2024 Admit Card will be released by the consortium of NLUs at least 15 days before the exam date, which is expected to be in the final week of November 2023. 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 2024. The admission 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 CLAT Admit Card 2024

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

Step 2: Select CLAT 2024 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 5: Save the admission card PDF file to your device.

Step 6: Print at least two-to-three copies of the admission card on A4 paper for future reference.

The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) will likely release CLAT 2024 results in the second week of December 2023. The results will be available on the consortium website. By entering into their registered account, candidates may get the CLAT 2024 result PDF.

The scorecard includes the total marks received in the exam, the overall rank attained in CLAT 2024, the category, and other information. Candidates will be invited to the counseling procedure based on their scores. Counselling is the final stage of admission to National Law Universities (NLUs).

Since CLAT 2024 is right around the corner it's only natural to feel the weight of the exam. There are thousands of exam takers who will feel they aren’t ready enough or don’t meet the eligibility criteria set worth. Worse even there are people that often don't make it on their first try.

There isn’t any need to worry as there are no limitations on how many times you can attend CLAT. With that in mind let’s look at some of the preparation strategies for CLAT 2025.

CLAT 2025 preparation strategy should ideally include:

• Reviewing the curriculum;
• Revisiting it 2-3 times;
• Practicing reading comprehension;
• Developing reading skills and;
• 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.

Make and design a study plan

Candidates studying for the exam should follow a well-organized study schedule. They must complete a large curriculum, thus they must study at least 6-7 hours every day. It is recommended that you complete the CLAT course at least two months before the test so that you have enough time for review.

Improve your speed and accuracy

Candidates have to read and attempt around 28-30 sections in 120 minutes. They must have extraordinary reading abilities in order to read all of these passages and answer the underlying questions. The ability to read rapidly and grasp the content will put the applicants ahead of the competition.

Candidates with fast reading speeds will also be able to finish the paper on time. As a result, applicants should create a practice of reading articles, newspapers, and complicated sections, particularly those from legal publications, while studying for the examination.

Solve mock tests and sample papers

It is recommended that aspirants solve as many mock exam papers and sample papers as feasible. Toppers recommends that students do 80-100 practice examinations during their CLAT preparation.

Sample tests will assist applicants in grasping the paper's difficulty level, exam pattern, question trends, and other key features. Furthermore, these problems will train applicants to complete the exam in the allotted time frame.

Key takeaways

Here are some of the important points and key takeaways to know for CLAT 2024.

• CLAT 2024 will be held on 3 December 2023.
• The syllabus consists of five different sections and will have 120 questions instead of 150 this year.
• Have a well-structured study plan.
• Concentrate on the fundamentals and fully cover all test subjects.
• Practise mock tests and previous year's papers to become acquainted with the exam format.
• Seek mentorship, attend coaching institutions, or seek online courses for more assistance.
• Stay motivated, keep a good attitude, and have faith in your talents.