If you are a Class 11 or Class 12 student planning to pursue law after school, CLAT 2027 is one of the most important entrance exams you should know about.
The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is the entrance examination used for admission to participating National Law Universities (NLUs) for their undergraduate law programmes.
But preparing for CLAT is not simply about memorising legal terms or reading current-affairs headlines. The official CLAT 2027 syllabus focuses heavily on comprehension, reasoning and aptitude skills needed for legal education.
This guide covers everything a student needs to know about CLAT 2027, including the exam date, registration, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, marking scheme, application fee, participating NLUs and a practical preparation strategy.
Quick answer: CLAT 2027 UG is scheduled for Sunday, December 6, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The examination will be conducted offline and will have 120 MCQs for 120 marks, with 0.25 marks deducted for every wrong answer.
CLAT 2027 at a Glance
| Particular | CLAT 2027 UG |
| Full form | Common Law Admission Test |
| Conducting body | Consortium of National Law Universities |
| Exam date | December 6, 2026 |
| Day | Sunday |
| Exam time | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM |
| Exam mode | Offline |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Total questions | 120 |
| Maximum marks | 120 |
| Question type | Multiple Choice Questions |
| Negative marking | 0.25 marks for every wrong answer |
| Sections | 5 |
| Eligibility | 10+2 or equivalent |
| Upper age limit | No upper age limit |
| Application mode | Online |
| Participating universities | 26 NLUs |
The Consortium currently lists 26 National Law Universities participating in CLAT 2027.
What Is CLAT 2027?
CLAT stands for Common Law Admission Test.
It is conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities for admission to participating universities.
For students appearing after Class 12, the relevant examination is UG CLAT, which is used for admission to five-year integrated undergraduate law programmes at participating universities.
CLAT is particularly important for students who want to explore careers in:
- Corporate law
- Litigation
- Legal research
- Judiciary
- Public policy
- Civil services
- Legal consulting
- Academia
- Compliance
- International law
However, you should not choose CLAT simply because it is a popular entrance examination.
Before preparing seriously, ask yourself:
Do I enjoy reading?
Do I like analysing arguments?
Am I comfortable working with long passages?
Do I enjoy discussing social, political or legal issues?
If the answer is generally yes, CLAT could be worth exploring.
When Is CLAT 2027?
The CLAT 2027 UG examination is scheduled for Sunday, December 6, 2026.
The scheduled examination time is:
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Eligible PwD candidates have an extended examination duration, with the official schedule listing 2:00 PM to 4:40 PM. The Consortium also states that the examination date is subject to revision if necessary.
CLAT 2027 Important Dates
| Event | Date |
| Registration begins | August 3, 2026 |
| Last date to apply | October 31, 2026 |
| CLAT 2027 examination | December 6, 2026 |
| Examination time | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM |
| Counselling | December 2026 / January 2027 |
The application deadline is currently October 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM. Students should submit their applications well before the deadline rather than waiting for the final day.
Who Can Apply for CLAT 2027?
If you are currently in Class 12, this is one of the most important sections for you.
According to the official UG eligibility criteria, there is no upper age limit for CLAT 2027 UG.
Candidates must have passed Class 12 or an equivalent examination with:
- 45% marks or equivalent grade for the general eligibility requirement
- 40% marks or equivalent grade for candidates belonging to SC/ST/PwD categories
Can Class 12 students appearing in 2027 apply?
Yes.
Students appearing for their qualifying examination in March/April 2027 are eligible to apply.
However, they must provide evidence that they have passed the qualifying examination at the time of admission. If they fail to do so, they can lose their right to admission.
So if you’re currently in Class 12 and your board examinations will take place in 2027, you don’t have to wait for your board results before appearing for CLAT 2027.
Is There an Age Limit for CLAT 2027?
No.
There is no upper age limit for candidates appearing for the UG CLAT 2027 examination.
For a Class 12 student, however, the more important eligibility requirements are your qualifying examination and required percentage.
CLAT 2027 Exam Pattern
The CLAT 2027 UG paper consists of:
120 questions
120 marks
2 hours
5 sections
0.25 negative marking for every incorrect answer
All 120 questions are multiple-choice questions carrying one mark each.
Section-wise CLAT 2027 pattern
| Section | Approx. Questions | Approx. Weightage |
| English Language | 22–26 | 20% |
| Current Affairs, including General Knowledge | 28–32 | 25% |
| Legal Reasoning | 28–32 | 25% |
| Logical Reasoning | 22–26 | 20% |
| Quantitative Techniques | 10–14 | 10% |
| Total | 120 | 100% |
The Consortium describes these numbers as approximate ranges.
What does this tell you as a student?
Two sections — Current Affairs & GK and Legal Reasoning — each carry approximately 25% of the paper.
That means ignoring either section can seriously affect your overall score.
At the same time, English and Logical Reasoning together account for roughly 40% of the paper, making reading and reasoning skills extremely important.
CLAT 2027 Marking Scheme
The marking scheme is straightforward:
- Correct answer: +1
- Incorrect answer: -0.25
- Unattempted question: 0
The official paper format confirms that 0.25 marks are deducted for every incorrect answer.
Example
Suppose you attempt 100 questions.
You get:
- 80 correct
- 20 incorrect
Your score would be:
80 − (20 × 0.25)
= 80 − 5
= 75 marks
This is why accuracy matters.
Don’t develop a preparation strategy based only on increasing the number of attempts.
Your goal should be:
High attempts + high accuracy + good time management
CLAT 2027 Syllabus
One of the biggest misconceptions about CLAT is that students need to study a huge amount of law before appearing for the exam.
That’s not what the official syllabus says.
The Consortium states that UG CLAT is designed to assess comprehension and reasoning skills and abilities necessary for legal education, rather than prior knowledge of law. Prior knowledge may occasionally help in Current Affairs and General Knowledge.
The five sections are:
- English Language
- Current Affairs, including General Knowledge
- Legal Reasoning
- Logical Reasoning
- Quantitative Techniques
Let’s understand what each section actually tests.
- English Language
The English section contains passages of approximately 450 words.
These passages may come from contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction.
The section tests your ability to:
- Understand the main idea
- Identify arguments and viewpoints
- Draw inferences
- Draw conclusions
- Summarise passages
- Compare arguments
- Understand words and phrases in context
How should you prepare?
Instead of spending all your time memorising vocabulary, build a reading habit.
Read:
- Editorials
- Essays
- Quality newspapers
- Non-fiction articles
- Long-form journalism
After reading, ask yourself:
What was the author’s main argument?
What evidence was provided?
What conclusion can I draw?
That type of reading is much closer to the skills CLAT tests.
- Current Affairs Including General Knowledge
This section carries approximately 25% of the CLAT paper.
The passages can be based on news, journalistic sources and other non-fiction writing.
The official syllabus highlights areas such as:
- Contemporary events in India and the world
- Arts and culture
- International affairs
- Historical events of continuing significance
How to prepare for CLAT current affairs
Don’t try to memorise every single headline.
Instead, understand:
What happened?
Why did it happen?
Who is involved?
What is the background?
Why is it important?
This makes current affairs much easier to revise later.
- Legal Reasoning
Legal Reasoning is another section carrying approximately 25% of the paper.
Here’s something important:
You don’t need prior legal education to attempt this section.
The official syllabus says candidates will encounter passages involving legal matters, public policy questions or moral/philosophical issues and will need to identify and apply principles or rules presented in the passage.
You may need to:
- Identify a rule or principle
- Understand the principle
- Apply it to a situation
- Infer what follows from the rule
- Understand how changing the rule changes its application
The basic approach
Think:
Rule → Facts → Application → Conclusion
That’s much more useful than simply trying to memorise legal terminology.
- Logical Reasoning
Logical Reasoning contains short passages followed by questions.
The section tests your ability to:
- Recognise arguments
- Identify premises and conclusions
- Analyse reasoning
- Evaluate evidence
- Identify assumptions
- Draw inferences
- Strengthen or weaken arguments
- Identify contradictions
- Understand relationships and analogies
How to improve
When you get a reasoning question wrong, don’t simply look at the correct option.
Ask:
Where exactly did my reasoning go wrong?
That habit will help you improve much faster.
- Quantitative Techniques
Quantitative Techniques carries approximately 10% of the paper.
Questions involve numerical information presented through short sets of facts, propositions or other representations.
The official syllabus refers to mathematical operations at approximately the Class 10 level, including areas such as:
- Ratios and proportions
- Basic algebra
- Mensuration
- Statistical estimation
Should you ignore Quantitative Techniques?
No.
Although it has the smallest approximate weightage, the marks can still make a difference to your final score.
If you are weak in maths, don’t wait until the final months to start practising it.
CLAT 2027 Registration
CLAT 2027 applications are submitted online.
The official registration window opened on August 3, 2026 and is scheduled to close on October 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
How to register for CLAT 2027
The basic process is:
- Visit the official CLAT website.
- Register using your mobile number and email ID.
- Verify your mobile number through OTP.
- Log in.
- Select the appropriate programme and category.
- Enter your personal and academic details.
- Upload the required documents.
- Pay the application fee.
- Submit the application.
The Consortium advises students to enter their name and parents’ names exactly as they appear on official certificates, marksheets or identity documents.
CLAT 2027 Application Fee
The current application fee is:
| Category | Application Fee |
| General/OBC | ₹4,000 |
| SC/ST/BPL/PwD | ₹3,500 |
The Consortium also lists the cost of previous years’ question papers as ₹500, which is separate from the application fee.
The application fee is non-refundable and non-adjustable.
Documents Required for CLAT 2027 Application
Students should keep the required documents ready before starting the application.
The official instructions list:
- Recent passport-size photograph with a plain background
- Candidate’s signature
- Category certificate, where applicable
- PwD certificate, where applicable
- BPL certificate, where applicable
The Consortium states that the documents/certificates should be uploaded in PDF format.
CLAT 2027 Participating NLUs
The Consortium currently lists 26 National Law Universities participating in CLAT 2027.
These include institutions such as:
- National Law School of India University, Bengaluru
- NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad
- National Law Institute University, Bhopal
- The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
- National Law University, Jodhpur
- Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
- Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
- Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow
- Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab
- Chanakya National Law University, Patna
- National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi
- National Law University Odisha
- National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi
- National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
- MNLU Mumbai
- MNLU Nagpur
- HPNLU Shimla
- Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur
- Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Haryana
- National Law University Tripura
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad National Law University, Prayagraj
- India International University of Legal Education and Research, Goa
- National Law University Meghalaya
The official participating-university list should be treated as the source of truth because participating institutions, seats and admission policies can change.
Which NLU Should You Target?
Don’t make the mistake of choosing an NLU solely because someone calls it a “top NLU.”
Your priorities can be different from another student’s.
Before making a preference list, compare:
- Course structure
- Fees
- Seat intake
- Reservation policy
- Location
- Hostel facilities
- Academic opportunities
- Internships
- Career opportunities
- Your expected CLAT rank
The Consortium specifically advises candidates to check the individual NLU websites for detailed information about courses, fees, intake and reservation policies.
This is also where Aaopadhein’s future “Best NLUs Through CLAT 2027” article will become useful.
Internal link opportunity:
Compare the best NLUs accepting CLAT 2027 scores →
How to Prepare for CLAT 2027
A good preparation strategy doesn’t begin with buying ten books.
It begins with understanding what CLAT actually tests.
The exam rewards students who can:
Read → Understand → Analyse → Reason → Answer accurately
So your preparation should develop those skills.
Step 1: Understand the Complete Exam
Before starting preparation, know:
- Exam duration
- Number of questions
- Sections
- Approximate weightage
- Negative marking
- Question format
You should be able to explain the exam pattern without looking at your notes.
Step 2: Build a Daily Reading Habit
Reading is one of the most useful long-term habits for CLAT.
Start with around 30–45 minutes of focused reading each day.
But don’t read passively.
After reading an article, ask:
- What is the central idea?
- What is the author’s argument?
- What evidence is provided?
- What assumptions are present?
- What conclusion can be drawn?
This transforms ordinary reading into CLAT preparation.
Step 3: Develop Current Affairs Notes
Don’t create enormous notebooks full of newspaper headlines.
Create short, revision-friendly notes.
For each important topic, record:
Topic
What happened?
Why it matters
Important people/institutions
Background
Important facts
This will make revision much easier.
Step 4: Practise Passage-Based Questions
CLAT is heavily passage-based.
So your preparation should include:
Passage → Questions → Timer → Analysis
Don’t focus only on solving questions quickly.
First develop accuracy.
Then gradually increase speed.
Step 5: Start Previous-Year Questions
Previous-year questions help you understand how CLAT actually tests comprehension and reasoning.
Don’t just check your score.
For every incorrect answer, ask:
Why did I choose the wrong option?
Was it:
- A comprehension problem?
- A reasoning problem?
- A vocabulary issue?
- A calculation mistake?
- A time-pressure mistake?
- A careless error?
Your mistakes are data.
Use them to improve your preparation.
Step 6: Start Mock Tests
Once you have a reasonable foundation, introduce full-length mocks.
At first, don’t obsess over your score.
Instead, analyse:
Accuracy
How many questions did you get wrong?
Speed
Where did you spend too much time?
Attempts
Did you leave too many questions?
Sectional performance
Which section consistently causes problems?
Decision-making
Did you spend too long on difficult questions?
This analysis is often more valuable than simply taking another mock.
A Simple CLAT 2027 Daily Study Plan
If you’re a Class 12 student, you also have school and board examinations to manage.
So don’t copy unrealistic study schedules from social media.
Here’s a practical starting point:
| Activity | Suggested time |
| Newspaper/current affairs | 30 min |
| English/comprehension | 30 min |
| Legal Reasoning | 30–45 min |
| Logical Reasoning | 30–45 min |
| Quantitative Techniques | 20–30 min |
| Revision | 20 min |
You can adjust this depending on your strengths and school schedule.
The goal is consistency, not simply increasing the number of hours on paper.
CLAT Preparation for Class 11 Students
If you’re in Class 11, you have a major advantage:
Time.
Don’t rush into taking multiple full-length mocks every week.
Instead, spend your early preparation on:
- Reading
- Vocabulary in context
- Current affairs
- Basic reasoning
- Legal reasoning fundamentals
- Quantitative basics
Build the skills first.
Intensive mock-test preparation can come later.
CLAT Preparation for Class 12 Students
If you’re in Class 12, time management becomes more important because you have two major priorities:
Board examinations + CLAT
Don’t treat them as completely separate.
Strong reading, English comprehension and reasoning skills can support both your academic studies and CLAT preparation.
Create a schedule that protects your board preparation while maintaining consistent CLAT practice.
Is CLAT Difficult?
CLAT can be challenging, but difficulty isn’t simply about the syllabus.
The real challenge is combining:
- Reading speed
- Comprehension
- Reasoning
- Current affairs
- Accuracy
- Time management
A student who knows a lot but cannot manage time may struggle.
A student with average academic performance but strong comprehension and reasoning skills can perform much better than expected.
That’s why preparation should focus on skills rather than simply hours studied.
Common CLAT 2027 Preparation Mistakes
- Starting current affairs too late
Current affairs is not something you can comfortably build in the final few weeks.
Start early.
- Ignoring reading
You cannot become faster at passage-based questions without regular reading practice.
- Treating Legal Reasoning like a law degree
The official CLAT syllabus says prior knowledge of law is not required for Legal Reasoning.
Focus on understanding and applying the principles given in the passage.
- Ignoring Quantitative Techniques
It’s the smallest section by approximate weightage, but those marks still count.
- Taking mocks without analysing them
A mock test tells you what went wrong only if you analyse it.
- Following outdated information
This is especially important for CLAT.
Dates, participating universities, seats, policies and other admission details can change.
Always check the latest information from the Consortium and the respective NLU.
CLAT 2027 Exam-Day Strategy
The CLAT 2027 UG exam is currently scheduled to be conducted offline.
So don’t prepare exclusively on a computer.
Include paper-based practice in your preparation.
Practise:
- Reading passages on paper
- Marking answers carefully
- Tracking time
- Moving away from difficult questions
- Avoiding careless mistakes
- Returning to questions when appropriate
Your exam strategy should be tested before exam day.
CLAT 2027: What Should You Do Now?
If you’re planning to appear for CLAT 2027, don’t try to do everything at once.
Follow this sequence:
- Check your eligibility
Make sure you meet the Class 12 requirements.
- Understand the paper
Know the five sections and marking scheme.
- Build your reading habit
Make reading a daily activity.
- Start current affairs
Follow important national and international developments.
- Practise reasoning
Work on Legal and Logical Reasoning regularly.
- Strengthen Quantitative Techniques
Don’t leave maths until the end.
- Solve previous-year questions
Understand the style of questions.
- Start mocks
Gradually move towards full-length timed papers.
- Analyse your mistakes
Your mistakes should shape your next study plan.
CLAT 2027 Frequently Asked Questions
When is CLAT 2027?
CLAT 2027 UG is scheduled for December 6, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, subject to revision if necessary.
When does CLAT 2027 registration start?
Registration opened on August 3, 2026.
What is the last date to apply for CLAT 2027?
The current deadline is October 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
How many questions are there in CLAT 2027?
The UG paper has 120 multiple-choice questions carrying one mark each.
What is the duration of CLAT 2027?
The UG examination duration is 2 hours.
Is there negative marking in CLAT?
Yes. 0.25 marks are deducted for every incorrect answer.
Is CLAT 2027 conducted online?
No. The official instructions state that the UG examination will be conducted offline.
Can Class 12 students apply for CLAT 2027?
Yes. Students appearing for their qualifying examination in March/April 2027 can apply, subject to the eligibility requirements and submission of proof of passing at admission.
What percentage is required for CLAT 2027?
Candidates must have at least 45% in Class 12 or equivalent, while the requirement is 40% for SC/ST/PwD candidates.
Is there an age limit for CLAT 2027?
There is no upper age limit for UG CLAT 2027.
Do I need to study law before CLAT?
No. The official UG syllabus is designed around comprehension and reasoning skills, and prior legal knowledge is not required for the Legal Reasoning section.
How many NLUs are participating in CLAT 2027?
The Consortium currently lists 26 participating National Law Universities for CLAT 2027.
Final Takeaway
CLAT 2027 is not simply a test of how much information you can memorise.
It is a test of how well you can:
Read → Understand → Reason → Apply → Decide
The current official CLAT 2027 UG format consists of 120 questions for 120 marks, to be attempted in 2 hours, across five areas: English Language, Current Affairs including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Techniques. There is a 0.25-mark penalty for every incorrect answer.
If you’re in Class 11, use your extra time to build strong fundamentals.
If you’re in Class 12, focus on balancing boards with consistent CLAT preparation.
And if you’re serious about getting into an NLU, don’t wait until the last few months to start developing the skills the exam actually tests.
Start small. Read every day. Practise regularly. Analyse your mistakes. Improve consistently.
Also Read : Govt. college VS private college ; which is better choice ?
