CLAT 2026 Exam Date Announced: Apply from August 1 to October 31

CLAT 2026: As per the notification, CLAT 2026 will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2025, and will be conducted offline (pen-and-paper). Read the complete article and get more details here.

CLAT 2026 Exam Date

The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has released the dates for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026, which is the national-level entrance test for Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) law courses in 24 participating NLUs. As per the announcement, CLAT 2026 will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2025, in a pen-and-paper (offline) mode. The application window is to be opened on August 1, 2025, and will stay open until October 31, 2025, giving prospective candidates a three-month duration to register.

The Executive Committee and Governing Body of the Consortium of National Law Universities (the "Consortium") at their Meetings convened on the 20th day of July 2025, resolved that the CLAT 2026 will be held on Sunday, the 7th December 2025, between 2 PM-4 PM," the notice made available on the consortium website stated.

The official announcement for CLAT 2026, including detailed information like the syllabus, exam pattern, marking scheme, fee of application, eligibility criteria, and other important details, is likely to be released shortly on the CLAT website.

As per the eligibility criteria, applicants who have passed Class 12 with at least 45 per cent marks (40 per cent for reserved classes) can apply for the CLAT UG exam. For CLAT PG, a candidate should hold an LLB degree with a minimum of 45 per cent marks, whereas SC, ST, and PwD category candidates need a minimum of 40 per cent.

Last year, the application charge was Rs 4,000 for applicants belonging to the General and OBC categories and Rs 3,500 for SC, ST, and BPL category applicants.

CLAT 2025 exam was controversial last year. More than five months after the test was conducted amid a series of court cases, Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) undergraduate course results were revised and announced on Saturday (May 17).

This year, CLAT, conducted on December 1, 2024, was challenged in court cases regarding a few questions that were posed in the exam and their correct answers. The issue has highlighted the pattern of questions and the conduct of the test, with the Supreme Court showing "deep anguish" in a ruling last week "concerning the callous and casual approach in which" the Consortium of NLUs has been setting questions for CLAT, "an examination based on which merit-based candidates get admission in to the prestigious National Law Universities of the nation.