Law is one of the few professional careers you can walk into straight after Class 12, without a bachelor’s degree first. The route is the five-year integrated LL.B., and for the 26 National Law Universities the entrance test is CLAT. Applications for CLAT 2027 open on 3 August 2026 and close on 31 October 2026, with the exam on 6 December 2026, according to the Consortium of NLUs’ official CLAT 2027 page. This guide explains what the course is, who can apply and what the test actually measures.
Latest Updates
[09 Aug 2026, 2:30 PM IST] NLU Delhi has published the AILET 2027 admission notice, dated 7 August 2026, and the application window is now open. The portal’s Important Dates panel confirms applications close on 10 November 2026, admit cards are issued on 30 November 2026 and the exam is held on 13 December 2026. The application fee is Rs 3,000 for General, OBC and EWS candidates and Rs 1,000 for SC, ST and PwD candidates, with a full waiver for SC/ST and women candidates below the poverty line. Source: https://nationallawuniversitydelhi.in/.
[03 Aug 2026, 3:35 PM IST] One national law school does not admit through CLAT at all. National Law University Delhi runs its own entrance, AILET, and its official notification dated 23 July 2026 sets AILET 2027 for Sunday 13 December 2026, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, at all-India level, for the five-year B.A.LL.B. (Hons.) and the LL.M. for the 2027-28 session. The admission notice and the online application form go live on the university site from 7 August 2026. Source: nationallawuniversitydelhi.in.
What a five-year integrated LL.B. actually is
The usual path to a law degree is three years of LL.B. after finishing any bachelor’s degree — six years in total. The integrated programme compresses that. You join after Class 12 and study a general bachelor’s subject alongside law for five years, finishing with a single integrated LL.B. qualification.
The Consortium states that all admissions to the five-year integrated LL.B. programmes beginning in the academic year 2027-28 at its member universities happen through CLAT 2027. The exact degree title and the general subject paired with law differ from one university to another, so check the individual university’s own page on the official participating universities list before you decide where to apply.
One point students often miss: the Consortium also notes that several affiliate universities and organisations use the CLAT score for their own admissions. So a single application can be useful beyond the 26 NLUs — but confirm this on each institution’s own website, not on hearsay.
Who can apply
From the official CLAT UG eligibility page:
| Condition | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Qualification | Passed Class 12 (10+2) or an equivalent examination |
| Minimum marks — General | 45% or equivalent grade |
| Minimum marks — SC / ST / PwD | 40% or equivalent grade |
| Upper age limit | None for the UG programme |
| Still in Class 12? | Candidates appearing in March / April 2027 may apply, but must produce proof of passing at the time of admission |
That last row matters. If you are in Class 11 now, you sit CLAT 2027 in December 2026 while you are still in Class 12 — the board result comes later. Losing the seat for failing to produce the pass certificate at admission is avoidable, so keep your board paperwork in order.
The dates that matter
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Applications open | 3 August 2026, 10:00 AM |
| Last date for receiving applications | 31 October 2026 |
| CLAT 2027 exam | 6 December 2026 |
Source: consortiumofnlus.ac.in/clat-2027. Nearly three months is a comfortable window — which is exactly why students leave it to the last week and then hit portal queues. Apply early.
What the test measures
The official question paper format sets out the structure:
| Section | Questions | Share of paper |
|---|---|---|
| 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% |
The paper carries 120 multiple-choice questions of one mark each, runs for two hours, and deducts 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.
The single most useful thing on the official syllabus page is what it says the test is not. The Consortium describes UG-CLAT as a test of comprehension and reasoning aptitude rather than of prior knowledge, and states plainly that the Legal Reasoning section needs no prior knowledge of law — every rule you must apply is given to you inside the passage.
Three further details from that page are worth planning around:
- Everything is passage-based. Sections are built on passages of roughly 450 words, pitched so a Class 12 student can read one in about five to seven minutes.
- Current Affairs is also comprehension. Questions come from the passage; general awareness of Indian and world events, arts and culture, international affairs and historically significant events helps you read faster, but the answers sit in the text.
- The maths is Class 10 level. Quantitative Techniques applies Class 10 operations — ratio and proportion, basic algebra, mensuration, statistical estimation — to numerical information given in short passages.
What this means for your preparation
Because the paper rewards reading speed and reasoning rather than memorised content, preparation looks different from JEE or NEET:
- If you are in Class 11: you have over a year. Build a daily habit of reading a newspaper editorial and one longer non-fiction article. Speed and comfort with dense prose is the skill being tested, and it is slow to build.
- If you are in Class 12: you are preparing alongside boards. Protect your board study, and use CLAT practice for timed reading rather than fresh syllabus. Do not let Class 10 maths get rusty.
- Any stream works. Nothing in the eligibility rules or the syllabus requires Science, Commerce or Arts. A PCM student and a Humanities student sit the same paper.
- Practise with negative marking on. At 0.25 marks a wrong answer, guessing habits formed without the penalty will cost you.
Official helpdesk, and one safety note
The Consortium lists clat@consortiumofnlus.ac.in and 08047162020, available 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on working days, as its contact for CLAT queries.
Use only the Consortium’s own website for the application. Law-entrance searches attract a large number of copycat sites and coaching pages that look official. No genuine official ever asks you for your account password or an OTP — not by phone, not by email, not by message. If someone does, it is a fraud attempt.
Always confirm on the official website before acting.