National Law University, Delhi

Overview

National Law University Delhi, commonly written NLU Delhi or NLUD, is one of India's most sought-after National Law Universities and the only premier NLU that admits through its own exam, AILET, rather than CLAT. Ranked second in the NIRF 2025 law list with a score of 80.00, it has held the number two spot for years, behind only NLSIU Bengaluru. Established in 2008 under the National Law University Act, 2007, it sits in Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi, and carries a NAAC A grade. Its location in the capital gives students unmatched access to the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, top law firms and policy institutions. This profile covers its ranking, courses, eligibility, admission, seats, cutoff, fees, hostel, scholarships and placements.

Why NLU Delhi is among the top NLUs

NLU Delhi holds second place in the NIRF 2025 law ranking and has maintained that position for years. It performs strongly on teaching and resources, research, graduation outcomes and perception. Its Delhi location, small batch size and the fact that it runs its own selective entrance test give it one of the highest cutoffs of any law school in India, and its recruiter interest for corporate, litigation and policy roles is among the deepest.

Courses offered at NLU Delhi

The flagship programme is the five-year integrated BA LLB (Hons), admitted through AILET. NLU Delhi also offers a one-year LLM through AILET PG, joint and specialised master's options in areas such as intellectual property and constitutional law, and PhD research programmes in Law and in Social Sciences. Most aspirants target the five-year BA LLB, which is the focus of the sections below unless stated otherwise.

NLU Delhi eligibility criteria

For the BA LLB (Hons), you must have passed class 12 or an equivalent examination with at least 45 percent marks, or 42 percent for OBC candidates and 40 percent for SC, ST and PwD candidates. Candidates awaiting their class 12 results may apply and appear for AILET, subject to meeting the requirement at admission, and there is no upper age limit. For the LLM, you need an LLB degree with at least 50 percent marks, or 45 percent for SC and ST candidates.

NLU Delhi admission process and how to apply

NLU Delhi does not accept CLAT. Admission to the BA LLB (Hons) is only through AILET, the All India Law Entrance Test, which the university conducts itself. Register on the official website, nationallawuniversitydelhi.in, during the application window, appear for AILET, and if your rank clears the category cutoff you are called for counselling, document verification and seat allotment. Admission is purely on AILET merit, with no management or donation quota. Foreign national and OCI or PIO seats are filled directly on academic merit rather than through AILET. The LLM is admitted through AILET PG. The university is located at Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi.

NLU Delhi seats and reservation

NLU Delhi offers 120 seats in the BA LLB (Hons), of which about 110 are filled through AILET for Indian nationals and around 10 are reserved for foreign nationals and OCI or PIO candidates. The General category holds about 50 of these seats, which is why competition is so intense. The LLM has 81 seats. Seats are reserved vertically for the SC, ST, OBC and EWS categories as per Government of India norms, while horizontal reservations run across all categories, with 30 percent of seats for women and 5 percent for persons with disabilities. Kashmiri Migrant and Jammu and Kashmir resident seats are supernumerary.

NLU Delhi AILET cutoff

Because NLU Delhi runs its own exam and has only about 50 general seats, its cutoff is among the very toughest in the country. In the general category the AILET closing rank was about 61 in 2025 and about 71 in 2026, so a seat typically needs a rank inside the top 60 to 75. Around 22,000 to 25,000 candidates compete each year for roughly 110 AILET seats, and the 2026 topper scored 142.5 out of 150. Reserved categories close at higher ranks that move noticeably year to year, so treat any single figure as indicative. To check whether your expected rank is in range, use the college predictor, and see the NLU cut-offs page for the round by round closing ranks.

NLU Delhi fees, year by year

NLU Delhi keeps tuition relatively low, but the all-inclusive cost with accommodation is in line with the other premier NLUs. Tuition is about 1.5 lakh rupees a year, rising by roughly 7,000 rupees annually, and students who take campus accommodation pay hostel and mess charges on top. Across the five years the total, including tuition, hostel and mess, comes to roughly 20.5 to 21 lakh rupees. Hostel availability is limited and is allotted by distance from the university, so students who arrange their own accommodation do not pay hostel and mess charges.

To compare NLU Delhi against the other NLUs on total cost, see the NLU fees comparison.

NLU Delhi hostel and campus

NLU Delhi occupies a compact urban campus in Sector 14, Dwarka, in south-west Delhi. Unlike the fully residential NLUs, hostel accommodation here is limited and is allotted on the basis of how far a student lives from the university, so not every student is guaranteed a room. The campus has hostels, a law library, moot court facilities and the usual academic and sports infrastructure. Its greatest advantage is location: proximity to the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, tribunals, top law firms and policy organisations gives students exceptional access to internships and practical exposure.

Scholarships at NLU Delhi

For the 2026 admission cycle NLU Delhi introduced, for the first time, a full scholarship for the All India Rank 1 holder in the first year of the BA LLB. Beyond this, the university offers need-based financial aid, and SC and ST students can apply for government and university scholarships and fee reimbursements. Read each year's official notification for the current terms.

NLU Delhi placements: median, highest and recruiters

NLU Delhi has one of the strongest placement records of any NLU, second only to NLSIU. In the NIRF 2025 data its median undergraduate package was about 18 lakh rupees a year, the highest reported median among the NLUs, and about 82 percent of eligible BA LLB students were placed. In recent years the average package has been around 15 to 18 lakh rupees and the highest around 24 to 25 lakh rupees. Placement is coordinated by a student-run Recruitment Coordination Committee, and regular recruiters include Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, AZB and Partners, Khaitan and Co, Trilegal and Saraf and Partners, along with corporates such as Amazon, ICICI, Reliance and Indian Oil. Graduates also move into chambers, the judiciary, policy, academia and international organisations. For how NLU Delhi compares with the other premier NLUs, see the NLU placements comparison.

Related NLUs

Comparing your options is the smart way to build a preference list. See the profiles of the other premier NLUs: NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, WBNUJS Kolkata and GNLU Gandhinagar, or return to the NLU profiles hub for the full list. Because NLU Delhi uses AILET, many aspirants target it alongside a CLAT NLU to widen their options.

How to get into NLU Delhi

Because NLU Delhi closes within roughly the top 60 to 75 general-category AILET ranks, a seat here calls for a focused AILET strategy. AILET has its own pattern, with 150 questions in two hours across English, current affairs and general knowledge, and legal and logical reasoning, so preparation should be tuned to that format rather than only to CLAT. Law Prep Tutorial Delhi trains aspirants specifically for AILET and the top-NLU cutoffs. Explore the college predictor to see your realistic options, then return to the NLU profiles hub to build your full preference list.