Know all about Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)

Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is conducted for admissions to undergraduate law courses offered at 19 National Law Universities. The CLAT exam is conducted by NLUs on rotational basis every year. There are as many as 2400 seats for five-year LLB programme i.e. BA. LLB, B.Sc. LLB and B.Com. LLB. The exam is held in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode only. The candidates seeking admissions to UG law courses can get complete details about CLAT including eligibility, application process, exam pattern, exam dates and selection procedure.

Key features of Common Law Admission Test:

Exam authority – CLAT committee

Conducted by – by either of the 19 NLUs on rotational basis

Exam level – National level

Exam mode – Online mode (CBT)

Seats – 2400 seats for five-year integrated law courses

Participating Institutes – 19 National Law Universities and also, more than 30 private law colleges accepting CLAT scores

Important dates of CLAT:

Eligibility Criteria of CLAT:

The candidates need to fulfil the eligibility criteria for CLAT, as per the requirements mentioned by CLAT committee which includes education qualification, nationality and age limit criteria. It is important for candidates to fulfil the eligibility criteria because if they are found ineligible at any stage of the admission their admission will be cancelled. Check below the eligibility criteria of CLAT as mentioned below –

Educational requirements –

• The candidates must be passed in Class 12^th board examinations
• They should have obtained 45% marks in Class 12^th if they belong to general category/ OBC category/Specially Abled Person
• If candidates belong to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Category, then they need to score at least 40% marks

Age limit: As for the age limit requirement, there is no maximum age limit for candidates.

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How to apply for CLAT?

Candidates can apply for CLAT in online mode only. The application form of CLAT is generally available from the first week of January and candidates can apply till the last week of March. Candidates can check below how to fill CLAT application form –

1. Registration: Candidates need to visit the official website of CLAT i.e. clat.ac.in and first, they need to register for CLAT by filling up details like candidates name, e-mail id, phone number, date of birth, nationality, and create password. After registration, a user id and password is sent through confirmation mail on the registered email address of candidates. They can use these credentials (user id and password) to login and fill the application form of CLAT.

2. Fill the application form: Candidates need to fill personal details, academic qualification details, exam appearing details like exam centres, exam city and also, communication address and reserved category details.

3. Upload documents: Candidates need to upload their recent coloured photograph and a scanned copy of their signature as specified in the instructions.

4. Payment of application form: candidates can pay application fee for CLAT can be paid either in online mode only using Debit Card/Credit Card/NET Banking/Mobile Wallet options or in offline mode using e-challan for HDFC bank. The application for CLAT is Rs. 4000 plus charges for general category, OBC category and Specially Abled Candidates. However, the application fee for SC/ST candidates is Rs. 3500 plus charges.

5. Submitting application form: Candidates can submit the CLAT application form in online mode only and there is no need to send any offline application form or e-challan copy to the official address. However, the candidates need to keep the copies of submitted application form for future references.

Exam Pattern of CLAT:

Exam mode: Computer based online test

Time duration: 2 hours

Type of Questions: Multiple choices based questions

Total Questions: 200 MCQs

Total Marks: 200 marks

Sections: 5 sections with subjects as under –

• Legal Aptitude
• Logical Reasoning
• English Comprehension
• General Knowledge & Current Affairs
• Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability)

Weightage:

Marking Scheme:

Each question carries one mark and there is negative marking scheme as well and, one-fourth marks is deducted from the allotted marks for the question i.e. 0.25 marks will be deducted.

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CLAT Participating Institutes:

1. National Law School of India University, Bangalore
2. National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad
3. National Law Institute University, Bhopal
4. West Bengal National University of Judicial Science, Kolkata
5. National Law University, Jodhpur
6. Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur
7. Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
8. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow
9. Rajiv Gandhi National Law University, Patiala
10. Chanakya National Law University, Patna
11. National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi
12. National Law University Odisha, Cuttack
13. National University of Study and Research in Law, Ranchi
14. National Law University and Judicial Academy, Guwahati
15. Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Vishakhapatnam
16. Tamil Nadu National Law University, Trichy
17. Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai
18. Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur
19. Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad

Colleges accepting CLAT Score:

More than 30 private law schools accept CLAT scores for admissions to UG law courses. Some of the private law colleges accepting CLAT scores for admissions are –

• Amity Law School/Amity University
• Nirma University Institute of Law
• Manipal University
• Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies
• SRM University
• Delhi Institute of Rural Development (DIRD)