CLAT UG 2026 Exam: Eligibility, Exam Date, Syllabus

The official notice of the CLAT 2026 exam was released in August 2025 by the Consortium of NLUs. Along with the notification, the CLAT 2026 exam date and application process dates were also announced. Read further to stay updated on the latest news related to UG CLAT 2026 eligibility criteria, registration process for CLAT 2026 syllabus, exam pattern for, preparation tips for CLAT 2026, and other important details.

What is CLAT?

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national-level entrance examination conducted at a competitive level by the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs). It is taken by students of premier law colleges who wish to join undergraduate (UG) law programs. The date of CLAT 2026 is December 07, 2025, and the application process for CLAT 2026 will begin on August 01, 2025. The CLAT 2026 application form will be available to apply online on the official website consortiumofnlus.ac.in. 

The Consortium has also published the application fee details of CLAT 2026. The application fee for CLAT 2026 is INR 4,000 for general category candidates and INR 3,500 for SC, ST, PwD, and BPL category candidates.

The examination is conducted offline, in pen and paper format. The candidate will be required to attempt questions from various subject areas, including English Language, current Affairs, general knowledge, legal reasoning, logical reasoning, and quantitative techniques, for the undergraduate course.

CLAT Highlights

Every year, some aspects of the CLAT exam stay unchanged. To get a better understanding of these aspects, such as the mode of exam, exam date, pattern, syllabus, purpose, and other basic information. Refer to the table below for details.

Events	Details
Exam Conducting Body	Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs).
Frequency of Conduct	Once a year.
CLAT 2026 Exam Date	December 07, 2025.
Exam Level	National-level exam.
Exam Purpose	CLAT is conducted for:Admission to UG and offered at the participating NLUs.Admissions to Private and self-financed colleges.PSUs’ recruitment for legal positions.
Application Fee	INR 4,000 for the General/ OBC category, INR 3,500 for all other reserved categories.
Mode of Exam	Pen-and-paper mode.
Question Paper Language	English (expected to be held in English/ regional languages too).
Duration of the exam	2 hours.
Number of Seats	UG program – more than 3,000 seats.
Official website	consortiumofnlus.ac.in

CLAT UG 2026 Exam Dates

The following table displays all the important dates that you need to know:

Event	Dates
CLAT 2026 Application process begins	August 1, 2025
Last date of CLAT 2026 Application Process	November 7, 2025
CLAT 2026 Application Correction Window	It was open from November 5 to 9, 2025, and is now closed.
CLAT 2026 Admit cards	Expected to be released in the third week of November.
CLAT 2026 exam day	December 07, 2025.
Official CLAT 2026 answer key	To be announced
Release of final CLAT 2026 answer key	To be announced
Declaration of CLAT 2026 Result	Third week of December or January 2026.

CLAT UG 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for UG courses is provided below:

• Candidates belonging to categories such as General/ OBS/ PWD/ NRI/ PIO/ OCI must secure a minimum of 45% marks or an equivalent grade in their qualifying examination (i.e., 10+2 or an equivalent examination).
• Candidates belonging to SC/ST categories must secure a minimum of 40% or an equivalent grade in their qualifying examination.
• Candidates who are appearing for the qualifying examinations in March/ April 2026 are also eligible to appear for CLAT 2026. However, they must provide evidence of passing the qualifying examination at the time of admission; failing to do so will result in their ineligibility for admission.

Also check: How to Score 95% in Exams.

CLAT UG 2026 Exam Pattern

Candidates preparing for CLAT 2026 must follow the prescribed syllabus and exam pattern. Candidates can check the CLAT exam pattern below:

Test Highlights	Details
Test Conducting Body	The Consortium of National Law Universities.
Test Format	MCQ-style questions.
Total Questions	120 multiple-choice questions carrying 1 mark each.
Number of questions	120 questions.
Duration of the exam	2 hours.
Marking Scheme	+1 mark to be awarded for every correct answer; 0.25 marks will be deducted for an incorrect answer. 4 incorrect answers mean -1 mark.
Test Sections	English Language Current Affairs, including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Techniques
Exam Mode	Offline mode.
Official Website	https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in

CLAT 2026 Syllabus

The UG CLAT 2026 would focus on evaluating the comprehension and reasoning skills and abilities of candidates. Overall, it is designed to be a test of aptitude and skills that are necessary for a legal education rather than prior knowledge; however, prior knowledge may be useful for responding to questions in the Current Affairs, including General Knowledge section.

The UG CLAT will be a 2-hour test comprising 120 multiple-choice questions carrying 1 mark. There shall be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. These questions would be divided across the following 5 subjects:

• English Language
• Current Affairs, including General Knowledge
• Legal Reasoning
• Logical Reasoning
• Quantitative Techniques

English Language

In the English section of the CLAT-UG 2026 exam, you will come across passages of approximately 450 words each. These passages will be taken from contemporary or historically significant works of fiction and non-fiction writing. The level of difficulty is appropriate for a 12th-grade student, and one should be able to read each passage in about 5-7 minutes.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to show your comprehension and language skills, including your ability to:

• Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage.
• Figure out the hidden meaning and final answer from the passage.
• Summarise the passage.
• Find how the different arguments in the passage are similar and how they are different.
• Understand the meaning of various words and phrases in the context in which they are used in the passage.

Current Affairs Including General Knowledge

In this section, you will be provided with passages of up to 450 words each. The passages will be derived from news, journal sources, and other non-fiction writing. Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to prove your awareness of  various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge, including:

• Important current events happening in India and around the world.
• Arts and culture.
• International affairs.
• Important historical events and why they still matter.

Legal Reasoning

In this section, you will be expected to read passages of around 450 words each. The passages may relate to fact situations and scenarios involving legal matters, public policy questions or moral philosophical enquiries. There will be no requirement for any prior knowledge of law to attempt the questions in this section. You will perform better if you have a basic understanding of current legal and moral issues worldwide. Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to:

• Find the rules that are clearly stated in the passage, and identify the ones that are not directly stated but can be understood.
• Use those rules and principles to solve different situations.
• Understand how changing the rules can change the way they work in different situations.

Logical Reasoning

The logical reasoning section of the CLAT UG 2026 will include a series of short passages, each about 450 words. Each passage will be followed by one or more questions that will require you to:

• Understand an argument and identify its main points and conclusion.
• Read the passage and find the arguments it makes.
• Study how people reach conclusions and see how those conclusions can change if the facts or reasons behind them change.
• Identify the passage’s conclusions and use them to understand new situations.
• Find connections, compare ideas, identify areas of conflict, and check how strong the arguments are.

Quantitative Techniques

In the Quantitative techniques section of CLAT UG 2026, you will get short passages with numerical information, including facts and propositions, and you must answer questions based on them. You will be required to apply mathematical operations to the information derived from the passages and questions.

The questions will require you to:

• Understand the numbers in the passage, draw a conclusion from them, and use them to solve problems.
• Apply various 10th standard mathematical operations on such information, including from areas such as ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration and statistical estimation.
• The exam will ask math questions at the Class 12 level only.

CLAT SYLLABUS 2026: Subjects & Weightage

The CLAT UG 2026 question paper will show different weightage to each subject. Candidates must check the table given below.

Section	Questions	Marks	Weightage (%)
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge	28-32	35 – 39	23.33 – 26
Quantitative Techniques	10-14	13 – 17	8.66 – 11.33
Legal Reasoning	28-32	35 – 39	23.33 – 26
English Language	22-26	28 – 32	18.66 – 21.33
Logical Reasoning	22-26	28 – 32	18.66 – 21.33
Total	120	120	100

CLAT 2026 Application Process

• Please note that the UG CLAT 2026 application form will be available online at consortiumofnlus.ac.in, once released.
• To begin the application process, candidates must register themselves by creating a login account using either an email ID or a personal/parental phone number.
• The application form must be carefully filled. The form must be filled with due care, the student’s name and any other relevant details must be checked twice. Any changes found may result in the disqualification.
• The application form must be submitted before the stated deadline. Applications received after that will not be considered.
• Students must choose the order of NLU’s when applying, as they are not allowed to change it afterwards.
• The CLAT UG 2026 application form requires students to upload signed scanned copies of their certificates in the online form. Candidates don’t have to send printed documents to the CLAT office.

CLAT 2026 Admit Card

The UG CLAT 2026 admit card will be released by the Consortium of NLUs at least 15 days before the exam date. To download the official admit card, candidates must visit their official website consortiumofnlus.ac.in. In order to get access, they need to enter their registration details, such as registration number/ application number and date of birth. Candidates should also check if the admit card is updated or not in terms of exam centre and session before downloading it for UG CLAT 2026.

How To Download UG CLAT 2026 Admit Card

Candidates who have already registered for the UG CLAT 2026 can download their admit card by following these steps:

Step 1: Go to the official exam website. Click here: Consortium.

Step 2: Enter your registered mobile number or email ID in the provided space.

Step 3: Click the login button. 

Step 4: At the top right of the screen, click the Download Admit Card Link option.

Step 5: Download and save the Admit Card PDF to your device.

Note: Just to be safe, keep at least three extra copies of the admit card to prevent any future mishaps.

CLAT 2026 CUTOFF

Before the release of the UG CLAT 2026 cutoffs, the counselling process of CLAT will be conducted online on the official website of the Consortium of NLU’s. Once the counselling process is done, the Consortium of NLU’s will release the CLAT cutoff marks for all participating institutions. CLAT cutoffs will be released for each category, including open, PwD, SC, ST, and OBC. The CLAT cutoff is the minimum score a student needs to obtain before being admitted. Those who score below the cutoff marks or ranks may not be able to secure admission to their preferred Law colleges.

Conclusion

The UG CLAT 2026 exam works as a gateway for candidates aspiring to pursue law at India’s top Law Universities. Understanding exam dates, eligibility criteria, syllabus, marking scheme, weightage, cutoffs, etc., helps students prepare and feel ready beforehand more effectively. With a well-structured pattern and clear guidelines, students can prepare with confidence and focus on strengthening the required skills for UG CLAT 2026, such as comprehension, reasoning, and analytical thinking. Staying up to date with official notifications, practising regularly, and managing time will increase the chances of securing a good rank. Make sure you complete all the application formalities carefully and within the deadlines to ensure a smooth UG CLAT 2026 journey. Begin your preparation early and follow the right strategy.

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