What’s CLAT Full Form? Check Eligibility, Syllabus, NLUs
The CLAT full form is “Common Law Admission Test.” It’s a national-level law entrance exam to get admission into the 5-year LLB and LLM programs of participating NLUs. There are 24 national law universities (NLUs) participating in CLAT 2026. As a national-level law entrance exam, the scores of CLAT are also accepted by over 60 law schools in the country. The upcoming CLAT 2026 will be held in December 2025, in offline mode.
Update: The CLAT 2026 Application Process is expected to begin on August 1, 2025. The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is conducted for undergraduate and postgraduate law programs offered at NLUs in India. The CLAT Exam 2026 will be held on December 7, 2025. However, the CLAT 2026 Exam Date is also the same for PG courses.
Over 60,000 candidates are expected to take the CLAT exam, which will be held in over 140 exam centres across the country.
CLAT Full Form – Highlights
| Particulars | Details |
| CLAT full form | Common Law Admission Test |
| Mode of exam | Offline mode |
| Medium of exam | English |
| Participating NLUs | 24 NLUs |
| Level of exam | National level |
| Frequency of conduct | Once every year |
| Courses offered | 5-year LLB and 1-year LLM |
What is the CLAT Exam?
To understand CLAT’s meaning and purpose, it’s good to look at a brief exam history. The National Law Universities (NLUs) were created on the lines of IITs and IIMs to redefine the legal education system in the country. India is the only country with universities solely focused on providing legal education. The National Law School of India University, Bangalore, set up in 1987, was the first NLU in the country. Today, there are 26 such National Law Universities.
Earlier, each university conducted its entrance test. This practice was challenged in court through a PIL filed by one parent.
The PIL sought to introduce a single entrance exam for admission into various national law universities. Subsequently, 7 NLUs joined hands and conducted the first-ever Common Law Admission Test, the full form of CLAT, in 2008. Subsequently, the number of universities participating in the CLAT has risen to 24. Other universities, such as the National Law University, Delhi, still conduct their entrance exams.
CLAT Exam Details – Participating Universities
Below are the participating universities in CLAT 2024. Last year, RPNLU Prayagraj also started accepting admissions into the BA LLB programme based on CLAT scores.
| Participating NLUs | |||
| 1 | NLSIU Bengaluru | 13 | NUALS Kochi |
| 2 | NALSAR Hyderabad | 14 | NLUO, Odisha, Cuttack |
| 3 | NLIU Bhopal | 15 | NUSRL Ranchi |
| 4 | WBNUJS Kolkata | 16 | NLUJA Assam, Guwahati |
| 5 | NLU Jodhpur | 17 | DSNLU Visakhapatnam |
| 6 | HNLU Raipur | 18 | TNNLU Tiruchirapalli |
| 7 | GNLU Gandhinagar | 19 | MNLU Mumbai |
| 8 | GNLU Silvassa Campus | 20 | MNLU Aurangabad |
| 9 | RMLNLU Lucknow | 21 | HPNLU Shimla |
| 10 | RGNUL Patiala | 22 | DNLU Jabalpur |
| 11. | CNLU Patna | 23 | DBRANLU, Sonipat, Haryana |
| 12 | NLUT Agartala | 24 | MNLU Nagpur |
| 25 | RPNLU Prayagraj | ||
Read More: All National Universities in India
What is the Consortium of National Law Universities?
The Consortium of National Law Universities was founded on August 19, 2017, to raise the legal education standard in India and improve the justice system by providing quality legal education and producing capable future lawyers and judges. The consortium is a legal entity registered under the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act at Bengaluru.
The group seeks to promote better coordination between the national law schools to deliver the country’s highest-quality legal education.
What is the CLAT Exam Eligibility Criteria?
The Consortium of NLUs has detailed the CLAT eligibility criteria for various UG and PG programmes on its official website. Any candidate desirous of taking the Common Law Admission Test should thoroughly go through the same. Further, candidates must also go through the individual websites of the colleges they wish to apply to to check their eligibility. The eligibility criteria include details about age and minimum qualification, among other things.
CLAT UG Eligibility Criteria
| Particulars | Details |
| Educational qualification | 10+2 or equivalent. Candidates appearing in their qualifying exams are also eligible to apply. |
| Minimum passing marks | 45% for General / OBC / PWD / NRI / PIO / OCI categories
40% for SC/ST categories |
| Age limit | No age limit |
CLAT PG Eligibility Criteria
| Particulars | Details |
| Educational Qualification | 3-year LLB or 5-year LLB. Candidates appearing in their qualifying exams are also eligible to apply. |
| Minimum passing marks | 50% for General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI categories
45% for SC/ST categories |
| Age Limit | No age limit |
What is the CLAT Syllabus?
Let’s explore the undergraduate and postgraduate CLAT exam syllabus one by one.
CLAT UG Exam Syllabus
The CLAT UG exam syllabus covers five sections: English Language, Current Affairs, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. The paper contains 120 questions, each worth one mark. 0.25 marks will be deducted from the final score for each incorrect response. The exam lasts two hours.
CLAT UG Syllabus 2025
| Subject Area | Number of Questions (New Pattern) |
| English Language | 22-26 questions |
| Current Affairs with General Knowledge | 28-32 questions |
| Legal Reasoning | 28-32 questions |
| Logical Reasoning | 22-26 questions |
| Quantitative Techniques | 10-14 questions |
PG – CLAT Exam Syllabus
The postgraduate course syllabus focuses on the aspiring candidates’ subject expertise. The CLAT LLM Exam syllabus will test the candidate’s proficiency in different laws specified in the table below.
| CLAT PG Syllabus 2025 | |
| Criminal law | Constitutional law |
| Jurisprudence | Property law |
| Constitutional law | Public international law |
| Administrative law | Tax law |
| Family law | Labour and International Law |
| Law of contract | Environmental law |
| Company law | Torts |
The PG-CLAT exam pattern consists of 120 questions, and the candidate has 120 minutes to attempt them. Each question carries one mark, with a negative marking of 0.25 for every incorrect response.
Read More: CLAT 2026 Syllabus
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the full form of CLAT?
The complete form of CLAT is the Common Law Admission Test, an entrance exam conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities for admission to the UG and PG programs offered by participating universities.
For what courses can one gain admission through the CLAT exam?
The CLAT exam is conducted to admit students to the 5-year BA LLB program and the 1-year LLM program.
Do all NLUs admit students through CLAT?
Some NLUs, such as the National Law University, Delhi, conduct their entrance exam.
When is the next CLAT exam?
As per the notification issued by the Consortium of NLU, the upcoming CLAT 2025 will be conducted in the first week of December 2025.
What is the eligibility for the CLAT exam?
To be eligible for CLAT UG, candidates must have cleared or appeared for the 12th grade exam, while CLAT PG is open to LLB graduates.
