CLAT is a national-level entrance exam conducted by the Consortium of NLUs for the candidates who want to take admission into either undergraduate and postgraduate candidates. Candidates get the option to take admission into 26 National Law Universities (NLUs). Every year, CLAT is conducted in the month of December. The CLAT exam pattern 2026 will consist of 120 questions in total spread across five main sections. Candidates will be given +1 mark for every correct answer and -0.25 for every incorrect answer.
CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 Overview
Check below the overview of the CLAT exam pattern 2026 to know about the test details in order to start the preparation on time:
| Test Highlights | Details |
| Full Form | CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) |
| Test Frequency | Once a year |
| Test Conducting Body | The Consortium of National Law Universities |
| Test Level | UG |
| Test Duration | 120 Minutes |
| Test Mode | Offline |
| Test Purpose | BCom LLB, BA LLB, BSc LLB, BBA LLB, BSW LLB, and LLM courses |
| Test Language | English |
CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 – Important Dates
The exact dates or the CLAT 2026 exam have not been released yet however, the aspirants can check the tentative dates for the CLAT 2026 exam:
| Particulars | Dates (Expected) |
| CLAT 2026 Notification | First week of July |
| CLAT 2026 Application Form release date | Second week of july |
| Last Date to Register | Fourth week of October |
| Last Date to correct mistakes | To be released |
| CLAT 2026 admit card | Two weeks before the actual exam |
| CLAT 2026 exam date | December 2025 |
| Provisional answer key date | 1-2 days before the exam |
| Raise of Objections | To be released |
| Final Answer Key | To be released |
| CLAT Result Date | To be released |
| CLAT 2026 Counselling | To be released |
| Last day to register for counselling | To be released |
| Release of first allotment list | To be released |
CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 (UG) – Tentative
Each section in the CLAT exam is given a different weightage and number of questions. Each question will be given a +1 mark for every correct answer and -0.25 marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer. Check below the tentative CLAT exam pattern 2026 below:
| Duration of the test | 120 minutes (2 hours) |
| Mode | Offline mode |
| Type of Questions | Multiple Type Questions (MCQs) |
| Number of Questions | 120 |
| Test Sections | English Language, Current Affairs, including General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Quantitative Techniques |
| Marking scheme | Total marks: 120 marks, Objective questions will each carry 1 mark. 0.25 marks to be deducted for an incorrect answer. |
| Language | English |
CLAT Exam Pattern 2026 (PG) – Tentative
Check below the CLAT exam pattern for the PG exam 2026:
| Particulars | CLAT Paper PG |
| Exam Mode | Offline |
| Language Medium | English |
| Number of Questions | 120 |
| Total Marks | 120 |
| Time Duration | 2 hours |
| Types of Questions | MCQ based |
| Correct Marks | 1 mark |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 |
CLAT 2025 Exam Pattern
In the 2025 exams, the number of questions asked was the same. Students can get an idea about the CLAT 2026 exam pattern by following the below CLAT 2025 pattern:
| Subject/Section | Number of questions (weightage) | CLAT 2025 (No. of Questions) |
| English Language | 22-26 (20% of the paper) | 24 |
| Quantitative Techniques | 10-14 (10% of the paper) | 12 |
| Logical Reasoning | 22-26 (20% of the paper) | 24 |
| Current Affairs, including General Knowledge | 28-32 (25% of the paper) | 28 |
| Legal Reasoning | 28-32 (25% of the paper) | 32 |
| Total Questions | 120 questions of one mark each | 120 |
| Total Marks | 120 | 120 |
| Total Time (min) | 120 | 120 |
| Marks for correct answer | 1 | 1 |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 marks for each wrong answer | 0.25 marks for each wrong answer |
CLAT Exam Marking Scheme 2026 – Tentative
Based on previous year paper pattern for both UG and PG exams candidates will be given +1 mark for each correct answer and 0.25 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer. Also, no marks will be deducted for unanswered questions.
| Response | Marks |
| Correct Answer | + 1 Marks |
| Incorrect Answer | 0.25 Marks |
| Unanswered/ Unattempted Question | 0 Mark |
Changes in the CLAT Exam Pattern Over the Years
The CLAT exam has undergone a number of changes over the years especially for the UG program. Check below the latest changes:
CLAT UG Exam Pattern
- The number of questions have been reduced to 120 from 150 MCQ based.
- The time duration has remained the same which is 2 hours.
- Each correct answer will be given +1 mark and each incorrect answer will be given
CLAT UG Exam Pattern Details – Subject – Wise
Candidates must check the CLAT UG exam pattern subject-wise in detail:
CLAT English Language – The English language section will consist of 22 to 26 questions and it is given 20% weightage in the exam. The CLAT English Language section will comprise passages of 450 words from different topics.
CLAT Quantitative Techniques – The maths section is given the minimum weightage. There will be a total of 10 to 14 questions from various topics such as Arithmetic, algebra, mensuration, ratio and proportion, etc.
CLAT Legal Reasoning – The CLAT legal reasoning section will consist of 28 to 32 questions in total. The questions will be based on 450 words each on topics such as legal matters, moral philosophical inquiries, and public policy-making.
CLAT Logical Reasoning – This section consists of 22 to 26 questions with 20% weightage in the CLAT exam. The CLAT logical reasoning section will consist of passages of 450 words each.
FAQs
The CLAT 2026 exam will consist of 120 MCQ questions to be solved in 2 hours. The exam is expected to be divided into five main sections such as English Language, Current Affairs with GK, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Techniques. Candidates will be given +1 mark for each correct answer and -0.25 marks for each incorrect answer.
As per the reports of the CLAT 2025 exam, it is expected that the Consortium of NLUs will ask tougher questions in logical and legal reasoning.
As per the previous year analysis, the exam duration of the CLAT 2026 exam will be 2 hours. The candidates will be asked to solve 120 questions in a total duration of 120 minutes.
The CLAT 2026 answer key will be released after the CLAT 2026 exam. Candidates also have the option to raise objections after the provisional answer key is released.