CLAT 2026 Exam Date and Registration Last Date Complete Guide

CLAT 2026 was the single biggest gateway to the National Law Universities and every law aspirant wanted one clear record of its exam date and registration details

This guide is that record

It walks through the CLAT exam date the registration last date the application form the fee by category the eligibility rules the exam pattern the admit card and the result

Think of this page as a calm single source so that you never need to open ten tabs for one answer

Every figure here is checked against the schedule that the Consortium followed through the cycle

Where a date was revised during the cycle we have used the final confirmed value

If you are preparing seriously our CLAT Coaching in Delhi is the classroom option in the capital

Students who are also aiming at NLU Delhi join our Best AILET Coaching in Delhi NCR

For home study there is our CLAT online coaching

And our AILET online coaching brings the same live classes to a screen for AILET aspirants

CLAT 2026 exam date and key dates at a glance

The most searched fact in this cycle was the CLAT exam date for 2026

In fact the single biggest query was clat exam date 2026 registration last date which bundles the exam day and the deadline into one search

The exam itself took place on 7 December 2025 which answers every version of when is clat 2026 and when is clat exam 2026 and the shorter when is clat exam and when is clat

The undergraduate paper is what most aspirants mean so the clat ug 2026 exam date was the same 7 December 2025

Here is the full timeline in order so that the clat 2026 date and every linked deadline sit in one place

A quick note on the clat date wording that students use

Some type clat date or clat exam date without a year and some ask for the next clat exam date yet in this cycle they all pointed to 7 December 2025

The exam fell on a Sunday which is the usual choice so that working students and school goers could appear without a clash

Marking the full timeline early helped a candidate line up the form the admit card and the final revision without a rush

What is CLAT and who conducts it

CLAT stands for the Common Law Admission Test

It is a national level entrance exam held once a year for admission to the undergraduate and postgraduate law programmes at the National Law Universities

A deeper explainer lives on our what is CLAT exam page yet the short version is that CLAT is the shared test that most NLUs accept

CLAT 2026 was run by the Consortium of National Law Universities which is why searches for clat consortium 2026 come up so often

The official home of the exam is the Consortium website and the clat website that aspirants visited was that official portal

This is also where the clat 2026 login was created so that a candidate could return to the clat entrance exam 2026 form at any time

CLAT has two routes which are the undergraduate route for the five year law course and the postgraduate route for the one year law degree

Most school leavers take the undergraduate route while working lawyers and graduates take the postgraduate route

A good CLAT score opens the door to a career in litigation corporate law the judiciary and public policy

This is why lakhs of students sit for the exam each year and why one clear record of the dates is so valuable

CLAT 2026 registration last date and important dates

The headline deadline was the CLAT 2026 registration last date

Registration opened on 1 August 2025 and the first clat registration 2026 last date was 31 October 2025

The Consortium then extended it so the final clat form last date 2026 became 7 November 2025

After 7 November 2025 the portal stopped accepting new forms which also answers the plain clat form last date and the clat last date and the clat registration last date queries

Several searches describe the same few dates in different words

The clat form date 2026 and the clat 2026 form date and the clat exam form date 2026 all refer to the registration window that ran from 1 August 2025 to 7 November 2025

In the same way the clat 2026 registration date and the clat exam registration date 2026 and the clat 2026 exam date registration and the clat exam 2026 registration date and the clat exam date 2026 registration date all ask about this one timeline

The schedule was announced through the clat 2026 notification and anyone searching for clat notification 2026 was looking for this same official update

CLAT 2026 application form and how to apply online

The clat application form 2026 was available only in online mode

There was no offline or postal clat form and nothing was sold at a counter

To begin a candidate opened the clat registration form on the Consortium website and created an account

Filling the clat application followed a clean set of steps

• Step one was account creation with a working mobile number and email id which became the clat 2026 login for every future visit

• Step two was choosing the programme which was undergraduate for the five year law course or postgraduate for the one year law course

• Step three was entering personal and academic and category details exactly as they appeared on the board documents

• Step four was uploading a photograph and a signature in the sizes asked by the portal

• Step five was adding the clat 2026 application details such as preferred NLUs and preferred test cities

• Step six was paying the form fee online to submit

Many first timers asked how to appear for clat entrance exam and the honest answer is that a complete and correct online form was the first real step

A returning candidate used the same clat exam form sign in to edit details or to download documents later

A useful habit was to preview the full form before payment so that no field carried a silent error

Keeping the login id and password safe saved a lot of stress at the admit card stage

A candidate could also save the form midway and return to finish it before the deadline

Only a fully submitted and paid form counted as a valid clat application so an unpaid draft did not secure a seat in the exam

CLAT 2026 application fee category wise

The clat form fees were a flat online payment that changed only with the candidate category

Whether you searched for the clat form fee the clat registration fees the clat 2026 registration fees the clat exam fees 2026 the clat exam form fee the clat exam form fees or the clat application fees the figure below is what applied

So the base clat registration fees came to Rs 4000 for a General aspirant and Rs 3500 for a reserved category aspirant

An optional add on gave access to past question papers for a slightly higher amount

The fee was non refundable once the form was submitted so candidates reviewed every field before payment

Payment was accepted through the usual online options such as net banking a card or a unified payments app

A candidate kept the payment receipt safe as proof that the clat form fees were cleared

The with past papers option was handy for aspirants who wanted official practice sets while they prepared

Documents required for CLAT 2026 registration

Keeping the right files ready made the clat application form 2026 quick to finish

These were the documents a candidate needed

• A recent passport size photograph in the format asked by the portal

• A clear scanned signature

• The Class 10 certificate for date of birth proof

• The Class 12 marksheet or the latest available marksheet for those still appearing

• A category certificate for OBC SC ST or any reserved claim

• A valid photo identity proof such as an Aadhaar or a passport

CLAT 2026 eligibility criteria

Before the dates and the form a candidate had to clear the eligibility bar

A fuller breakdown sits on our CLAT eligibility page yet the core rules for the undergraduate route were simple

• The candidate must have passed Class 12 or an equivalent 10+2 examination from a recognised board

• A General or OBC or PWD or NRI candidate needed at least 45 percent marks

• An SC or ST candidate needed at least 40 percent marks

• Students appearing in their Class 12 exams in 2026 were allowed to apply and had to show the result at admission

• There was no upper age limit so a gap year student faced no barrier

• The qualifying marks are a floor and not a target so a competitive aspirant aimed far above them

• A candidate from any stream of arts commerce or science could apply which keeps CLAT open to every school leaver

CLAT 2026 exam pattern

A clear view of the exam pattern helped at both the form stage and the study stage

The full breakdown with weightage lives on our CLAT exam pattern page and the summary is below

The CLAT 2026 undergraduate paper was an offline pen and paper test in English

It carried 120 objective questions for 120 marks

The time allowed was two hours

Every correct answer earned one mark and every wrong answer cost one fourth of a mark as a negative penalty

The paper was divided into five sections

The topic wise map of each section is the CLAT syllabus and a strong plan always began from there

Because of the negative marking a calm and accurate approach beat blind guessing every time

CLAT 2026 admit card

The admit card is the gate pass to the exam hall and no candidate was allowed in without it

The clat admit card 2026 release date fell in November 2025 which is what the clat 2026 admit card release date and the clat 2026 admit card release searches were tracking

The Consortium released it at least fifteen days before the exam

A candidate downloaded the admit card by signing in with the same clat 2026 login used during the form stage

The admit card carried the roll number the test city the reporting time and the exam day rules

Candidates carried a printed admit card along with a valid photo identity proof to the centre

It was wise to take a few printed copies and to save a soft copy on a phone as a backup

A candidate checked every detail on the admit card as soon as it arrived so that any error could be raised in time

Reaching the centre well before the reporting time left room for the entry queue and the security check

CLAT 2026 result and what came next

The wait after the exam was short

The CLAT 2026 result was declared in December 2025 as a merit list and a scorecard on the Consortium portal

Admission then moved through centralised counselling where candidates filled NLU preferences and seats were allotted on merit and choice

Those who ranked high were called for the allotment and fee steps that followed in December 2025 and January 2026

The scorecard showed the marks the rank and the category rank so a candidate knew exactly where they stood

Seat allotment moved in rounds and a candidate could accept a seat or wait for a better NLU in a later round

Those who narrowly missed a seat were kept on a waiting list which moved as higher ranked candidates took other options

This is why a strong performance in the exam mattered as much as a timely form at the start of the cycle

Notable changes in the CLAT 2026 cycle

The CLAT 2026 cycle brought a few points worth remembering

The registration last date was first set as 31 October 2025 and was later extended to 7 November 2025 after many students asked for more time

The exam stayed on its single afternoon slot from 2 PM to 4 PM on 7 December 2025

The paper kept the shorter format of 120 questions that the Consortium had moved to in recent years which rewarded careful reading over raw speed

The fee stayed at Rs 4000 for General and OBC and Rs 3500 for SC ST and BPL which kept the exam within reach for most families

These signs of stability are the reason why the dates and the pattern on this page are a safe guide for the cycles that follow

Participating NLUs and seats

CLAT decides entry to a large yet highly sought after pool of seats

More than 3000 undergraduate seats are offered through CLAT across 24 National Law Universities

A strong CLAT rank is therefore a direct route into a premier national law school

This is the core reason why the CLAT 2026 registration last date and the exam date mattered so much

A missed deadline meant waiting a full year for the next chance

The National Law Universities that accept CLAT sit across the whole country from Bengaluru and Hyderabad to Kolkata and Lucknow

Each NLU has its own seat matrix and its own closing rank so the same score can open different doors at different universities

The top NLUs close at very high ranks which is why even a few extra marks can change the university a candidate lands

A clear grasp of the seat picture helped aspirants set a realistic target rank from the start

How to prepare for CLAT the smart way

Knowing the dates is only the first step and the real work is the preparation that follows

A simple plan built around the five sections carried most aspirants a long way

• English Language rewarded daily reading so one editorial a day built comprehension speed

• Current Affairs including General Knowledge asked for the events of the last year so a monthly digest helped

• Legal Reasoning tested principle and fact sets so steady practice of passages built accuracy

• Logical Reasoning needed puzzles and argument based drills done in short daily sets

• Quantitative Techniques covered class 10 level maths so revision of the basics was enough

Solving CLAT previous year papers under real timing was the single habit that lifted the most scores

A full CLAT exam preparation strategy ties these pieces into a weekly routine

Time management in the CLAT paper

Time was the quiet skill that decided many ranks

With 120 questions in two hours a candidate had about a minute for each question

Legal Reasoning and Current Affairs carried the most questions so they deserved the most mock practice

Because of the negative penalty a disciplined attempt always beat a wild guess

Full length mock tests under real timing taught a candidate when to attempt and when to let a question go

Common mistakes to avoid during CLAT registration

Many strong aspirants lost easy ground at the form stage rather than in the exam hall

These were the slips that came up again and again

• Waiting until the CLAT 2026 registration last date to open the form which left no room for a payment failure or a slow server

• Entering a name or a date of birth that did not match the board documents

• Uploading a blurred photograph or a signature in the wrong size

• Choosing only one test city and then struggling with long distance travel

• Losing the clat 2026 login details which delayed the admit card download

• Skipping mock tests and walking into the hall with no sense of timing

CLAT 2026 exam day and what to carry

The test city and the reporting time were printed on the admit card

A candidate picked preferred cities during the form stage and the final centre came from that choice

Reaching the centre early avoided the last minute rush at the gate and left time for the security check

A printed admit card and a valid photo identity proof were the two must carry items

Electronic gadgets smart watches and any study material were not allowed inside the hall

The paper ran from 2 PM to 4 PM so a calm and even pace through the two hours was the safe approach

A candidate who had practised under timed mocks walked in with a plan rather than with nerves

Looking ahead to CLAT 2027

Since the CLAT 2026 window is closed a fresh aspirant should now plan for the next cycle

CLAT 2027 will follow the same December pattern so the next clat exam date will fall in late 2026

The pattern the fee structure and the timeline explained here are the best guide to what the 2027 cycle will look like

Starting early is the single biggest advantage a serious candidate can give themselves

How Law Prep Tutorial helps you crack CLAT

Preparation is where structured coaching changes outcomes

Our classroom and online batches are built around the exact pattern and five sections described above

Scholarship support rewards early and consistent performers

Our results speak to the records our students have set over the years

Many toppers began with our two year foundation course which gives school students a long runway to build speed and accuracy