CLAT Exam 2026 – The Consortium of NLUs is expected to conduct the CLAT 2026 exam in the 1st week of December 2025.
The exam will be conducted in a pen-and-paper mode and will be of 2 hours duration. The CLAT 2026 question paper will include 120 questions of 1 mark each. There is negative marking of -0.25 marks per incorrect question.
The consortium will likely release the admission notification and CLAT 2026 application form in the 3rd week of July 2026. The link to fill out the application form will be provided here.
Candidates who meet CLAT 2026 eligibility criteria must apply before the last date. Keep reading to learn the full updates about the CLAT 2026 exam, including the CLAT 2026 exam syllabus and CLAT 2026 exam pattern.
Table of Contents
CLAT Important Dates 2026
The tentative dates for the CLAT 2026 exam are given in the table below.
| Event | Tentative Dates |
| CLAT 2026 registration START Date | 3rd week of July 2025 |
| Last date to apply | 4th week of October 2025 |
| CLAT Application Correction Window | 4th week of October 2025 |
| Release of admit card | 3rd week of November 2025 |
| CLAT 2026 exam date | 1st week of December 2025 Exam timings: 2 pm – 4 pm |
| Release of provisional answer key | 1st week of December 2025 |
| Answer key Objection Window | 1st week of December 2025 |
| Release of FINAL answer key | 2nd week of December 2025 |
| Declaration of CLAT 2026 result | 2nd week of December 2025 |
| START of CLAT 2025 Counseling | December 2025 |
CLAT Exam 2026 – Highlights
The key features of the CLAT 2026 exam are outlined in the table below.
| Particulars | Description |
| Name of the exam | Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT) |
| Conducting body | The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) |
| Tentative CLAT Exam Date | 1st week of December 2025 |
| Exam mode | Pen-and-paper exam |
| Exam duration | Two hours |
| Number of seats | UG courses – 3, 213 PG courses – 1,217 (This does not include sponsored, supernumerary, NRI, and extra seats.) |
| Accepting colleges | 24 participating NLUs, and 61 private law colleges |
| Top-ranked participating NLU | Top-ranked law colleges as per NIRF Ranking 2024 NLSIU Bengaluru – Rank 1 NALSAR – Rank 3 WBNUJS Kolkata – Rank 4 |
| Exam helpdesk number | 8047162020 |
| Official website | https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/ |
| Download | CLAT Exam-day Guidelines (Official) |
Also Read:
- How to Prepare for CLAT
- CLAT Colleges 2025 – List of NLUs and Affiliated Law Colleges
- CLAT Question Papers
CLAT Exam Pattern 2026
The CLAT Consortium will update the official exam pattern of CLAT 2026 at consortiumofnlus.ac.in.
The exam pattern has insights into the question paper structure, including the mode and duration of the exam, types and number of questions asked, and marking scheme.
The candidate needs to refer to the exam pattern to orient their exam preparation strategy.
| Category | UG program | PG program |
| Duration | 120 minutes | 120 minutes |
| Mode | Offline mode | Offline mode |
| Type of Questions | Multiple-Choice Questions | Multiple-Choice Questions |
| Number of Questions | 120 question | 120 |
| Subjects | English Language Current Affairs, including GK Legal Reasoning Logical Reasoning Quantitative Techniques | Constitutional Law Other areas of law such as Jurisprudence, Administrative Law, Law of Contract, Torts, Family Law, Criminal Law, Property Law, Company Law, Public International Law, Tax Law, Environmental Law, and Labour & Industrial Law |
| Total Marks | 120 marks | 120 marks |
| Marking scheme | +1 mark for a correct answer. -0.25 marks for an incorrect answer. | +1 mark for a correct answer. -0.25 marks for an incorrect answer. |
CLAT Syllabus 2026
Candidates appearing in the CLAT 2026 exam are urged to strictly follow the official exam syllabus.
This is because questions in the CLAT exam will be asked per the official CLAT syllabus 2026.
CLAT 2026 Syllabus (UG Courses): Subjects and Weightage
| Subjects | Number of Questions | Approx Weightage (%) |
| English Language | 22-26 | 20% |
| Current Affairs, including GK | 28-32 | 25% |
| Logical Reasoning | 28-32 | 25% |
| Legal Reasoning | 22-26 | 20% |
| Quantitative Techniques | 10-14 | 10% |
| Total | 120 questions | 120 marks |
CLAT LLM 2026 syllabus
The official exam pattern for CLAT LLM 2026 is given below:
- Constitutional Law
- Other areas of law such as Jurisprudence, Administrative Law, Law of Contract, Torts, Family Law, Criminal Law, Property Law, Company Law, Public International Law, Tax Law, Environmental Law, and Labour & Industrial Law
Best Books to Prepare for CLAT Exam
Here are some of the best books for CLAT exam recommended by experts and toppers to prepare for the entrance exam.
| Subject | Book Recommendation for CLAT Preparation |
| Logical Reasoning | A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning by RS Aggarwal Verbal Reasoning by RS Aggarwal Analytical Reasoning (English) by MK Pandey A New Approach to Verbal and Analytical Reasoning by Arihant |
| Legal Reasoning | Legal Awareness and Legal Reasoning by Pearson Legal Aptitude and Legal Reasoning by AP Bhardwaj Objective Legal Aptitude by RS Aggarwal |
| Quantitative Techniques | Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Arihant Publications 30 days wonder for Math by S Chand Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Pearson’s Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal |
| GK & Current Affairs | General Knowledge by Arihant Publications Current Affairs Yearly by Arihant Publications Manorama Year Book by Manorama Publications General Knowledge by Lucent’sGeneral Knowledge by Tarun Goyal |
| English | Objective General English by SP Bakshi Objective General English by RS Aggarwal The Pearson Guide to the CLAT by Pearson’s Word Power Made Easy by Norman LewisCLAT Guide by Tata McGraw-Hill |
CLAT Exam Answer Key 2026
The Consortium of NLUs will release the provisional answer key of CLAT 2026 on the next day of the exam. The keys will be uploaded on the admission portal of the consortium in downloadable pdf format.
To download the keys, click on the “CLAT 2026 answer key” download tab. No log-in is required.
The provisional key will contain the official answers to all the questions asked in the entrance exam. Using the keys, you can calculate probable scores. Follow the marking scheme outlined in exam pattern to assign marks.
The probable score will give you a fair idea about your chances of admission even before CLAT 2026 results are declared.
Objections against provisional CLAT answer key
The consortium will also allow candidates the provision to challenge the provisional key. The objection window will be available for around 24 hours.
To make challenges, the candidate has to pay INR 1000 per challenge.
Also, each challenge has to be accompanied by supporting documents.
Release of FINAL key
The final answer key of CLAT will be prepared by considering feedback given by the candidate. There will be no provision to challenge the final CLAT 2026 answer key.
CLAT Exam Results 2026
The Consortium of NLUs will declare the CLAT 2026 results around the 2nd week of December 2026. The link to check the results will be provided here.
To check your results, log in to the result portal using the following details:
- CLAT 2026 application number / Admit card number
- Date of birth
Download and take a printout of the result. The CLAT 2026 scorecard will contain details like the roll number, sectional and overall score, category and AIR.
Note that hard copies of the scorecard will not be available.
CLAT Exam Counseling 2026
The consortium will conduct CLAT 2026 counseling a few weeks after results are declared. The counseling process will be held online as a centralized seat-allotment process.
As part of the counseling process, eligible candidates have to register and participate in choice filling (combination of academic program and institute).
The CLAT 2026 allotment will be merit-based and depend on the following factors:
- The category of the candidate
- Category-wise and OPEN merit rank
- Academic option selected by the candidate
- Seats available
Once an allotment is made, the candidate may have options like freeze, float, and exit. To confirm a seat, the candidate will have to pay the seat-acceptance fee before the deadline.
CLAT Exam Question Paper 2026
The consortium of NLU will release the question paper of CLAT 2026 along with the provisional answer key.
In the previous edition of the CLAT exam (CLAT 2026), the question paper that was earlier released on December 2 was revised. 4 questions were dropped, which reduced the total number of questions were reduced to 116 from 120. So, the question paper was evaluated out of 116 marks.
The candidate must make it a point to solve previous years’ CLAT question papers as well as sample papers to prepare for the exam. The question papers will provide insights into the types of questions asked, the difficulty level, marking scheme, scope of the syllabus, etc.
Meanwhile, by solving the sample papers, one can build one’s problem-solving and time-management skills.
CLAT Exam Admit Card 2025
The candidate had to bring the CLAT 2025 admit card and a valid photo ID proof on the day of the exam. No candidate was allowed to enter the exam hall without these documents.
The admit card contained details like the name and address of the CLAT 2025 exam center, roll number, exam timings, reporting time, and exam-day guidelines.
CLAT Exam Timings
Understanding CLAT exam-day bell timings is recommended for an event-free exam experience. As explained in the table below, each bell type has a specific significance.
| Timing | Bell Type | Event |
| 1 pm | Long Bell | Entry inside exam hall STARTS |
| 1.30 pm | Long Bell | Entry of Candidates inside the hall/ classroom |
| 1.50 pm | Short Bell | Distribution of the sealed Envelopes and announcement of Instructions by the Invigilators |
| 2 pm | Long Bell | Exam begins and candidates can open the seal of QB |
| 2.15 pm | Short Bell | Last chance to enter inside the exam center |
| 3 pm | Short Bell | Completion of 60 minutes |
| 3.50 pm | Short Bell | Warning bell for 10 minutes remaining for the exam |
| 4 pm | Long Bell | Exam ends |
| 4.15 pm | Short Bell | Candidates allowed to exit from the test center |