CLAT 2021: Application Form, Exam Dates, Eligibility, Exam Pattern, Result and Counselling

CLAT is a national level entrance test organized by NLUs to provide admissions to law aspirants to 3 year and 5 year integrated LLB and LLM programs. CLAT 2021 official notification will be released in the 3rd week of December, 2020. Candidates who wish to appear for the exam can apply online from 1st week of January 2021.

There are 21 NLUs that participate in CLAT examination, along with 53 private universities accepting CLAT 2021 score. Students can apply for the exam at clat.ac.in using their personal email id and passwords. 

Want to appear for CLAT 2020? Apply here

Latest: The consortium of NLUs has decided to change CLAT 2020 Exam Pattern. The number of questions are supposed to be reduced from 200 to 150. Official CLAT 2020 Notification has been released. The updated CLAT 2020 Syllabus will contain questions on English language, Current affairs including general knowledge, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques.

The Consortium announces changes in CLAT 2020 via Press Release. Read here

• For LLM Admission Test, candidates who secure 40% marks (35% in case of SCT/ST/PWD) out of 100 objective questions will qualify for evaluation of their descriptive answers.

• There is no upper age limit to apply for CLAT. Candidates appearing or having qualified class 12 with 45% marks (40% for SC, ST) satisfy CLAT 2020 Eligibility for LLB program.

• CLAT 2020 Application fee for General, OBC and EWS category is INR 4000 while SC and ST candidates are required to pay a sum of INR 3500.

• Upon successful registration, candidates can download their CLAT 2021 Admit card from the third week of April 2020.

• CLAT 2021 Cutoff will be released separately for 21 NLUs in the month of June 2021.

CLAT 2020 Exam Dates have been released. Check Here

CLAT 2021 - Important Dates

Candidates can refer to the following exam calendar for reference. The dates are tentative in nature and subject to change.

CLAT Eligibility 2021

CLAT Exam Core Committee defines the eligibility for LLB and LLM program. The eligibility is measured on the following grounds:

For LLB Program

1. Age Limit: As per revised rules, there is no upper age limit for CLAT 2021.

2. Academic Qualification: Candidate must have passed 10+2 or any equivalent examination with at least 45% marks, 40% in case of SC/ ST students.

3. Appearing Candidates: Candidates appearing in the qualifying examination in April/ May 2020 are also eligible to appear in CLAT 2021.

For LLM Program

1. Age Limit: There is no upper age limit for the LLM program.

2. Academic Qualification: Candidate must have an LLB or any other equivalent degree with at least 55% marks, 40% in case of SC/ ST students.

3. Appearing Candidates: Candidates appearing in the qualifying examination in March/ April 2020 are also eligible to appear in CLAT 2021. 

Wish to know whether you are eligible for CLAT 2020 or not? Read here

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Fill CLAT 2021 Application Form

CLAT Registration window will become functional from January 1, 2021. Visit the CLAT Official Website to access the application form of CLAT 2021. Completing CLAT Registration primarily involves four steps – 

Step 1: Basic CLAT Registration

Law aspirants have to register first to get a provisional Registration ID and Password. The following details will be required:

Note: Information should be entered carefully as it cannot be changed in later stages. The credentials will be sent to the registered Email and Mobile No after completion of registration.

Step 2: Upload Photo & Signature

Log in with the temporary ID and Password (provided during registration), and upload the documents as instructed. Check Photo and Signature Size Format

Step 3: Fill CLAT Application Form

Fill in further required details in the application form. The information can be entered in any order. The sections are as follows:

• Personal Details like name, DOB, Gender, mobile number, category, Parent’s name, Residential Address etc.

• Qualification Details such as graduating year, marks scored, name of the Board etc. 

• Preference for NLU as per your choice.

Step 4: Pay CLAT Application Fee

• The final step requires the candidates to pay the application fee.

• It can be paid through both online (Debit/Credit or Net Banking) and/or offline (Bank Challan) modes of payment.

Application fee for each category is tabulated below.

Note: Candidates are not allowed to buy any hard copy of the online form and information brochure under any circumstances. 

Read Career alternatives other than CLAT

CLAT Admit Card will be released in the third week of April 2021 for successfully registered candidates. A valid photo ID proof (Aadhar Card/Voter ID/ Passport/Driving license) along with CLAT Exam Admit Card is mandatory at the examination centre.

How to download CLAT Admit Card?

Step 1: Visit the official CLAT website i.e. clat.ac.in

Step 2: Click on ‘Download Admit Card’ tab.

Step 3: Enter Registered Email ID and Password

Step 4: Click on Login/ Submit tab. 

Step 5: Check and download the hall ticket.

Note In case a candidate forgets their password, they may retrieve it from the ‘Forget Password’ tab by clicking on the same and filling in the required fields.

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CLAT 2021 Exam Pattern

The duration of the law entrance examination will be two hours. The offline mode exam will have 150 objective type questions. Highlights of CLAT exam pattern is as follows:

• Mode of Examination: Offline

• Number of Sections: LLB- 5 Sections and LLM – 3 sections

• Nature of Questions: Objective type (MCQs)

• Total Questions: 150

• Marking Scheme: 1 mark of each question

• Negative Marking: 0.25 marks will be deducted for a wrong answer

Exam Pattern for LLB

• The question paper will contain five sections namely - English (Comprehension), General Knowledge & Current Affairs, Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability), Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning for undergraduate courses.

• For every correct answer, a candidate will be awarded one mark and the ¼ or 0.25 mark will be deducted for every wrong answer.

Exam Pattern for LLM

• Postgraduate courses as per CLAT Paper Pattern will contain three sections namely Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, Contract, Torts, Criminal Law, International Law, IPR etc.

• A total of 150 multiple choice questions will be there in the question paper for postgraduate courses.

• In the LLM admission test, some subjective portion would also be included in 2020. 

• The details of the subjective portion will be worked out by the CLAT Executive Committee.

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The consortium of NLUs releases the official CLAT Syllabus, and there are no changes in the curriculum. Applicants who are applying for UG program can refer to CLAT Syllabus from the official website which comprises of:

Section 1: English including Comprehension

In this section, questions are from comprehension and grammar. They are designed to test a candidate’s aptitude in English. Assessment of the candidates in the comprehension section is based on their understanding of the passage, its central theme, the meaning of words etc. In the grammar section, candidates are assessed on spotting the errors, fill in the blanks with an appropriate choice etc. 

Section 2: General Knowledge and Current Affairs

Candidates’ awareness of national and international issues including static General Knowledge is tested in this section. It is important to keep oneself up-to-date with the news and other topics discussed in the print and digital media from January 2020 to April 2020.

Section 3: Mathematics

In this section, questions are asked from elementary mathematics. Candidate’s calculative aptitude taught up to Class 10 is tested.

Section 4: Legal Aptitude

This particular section tests a candidate’s interest in the study of law along with their research aptitude and problem-solving ability. The official website states – ‘Questions will be framed with the help of legal propositions (described in the paper), and a set of facts to which the said proposition has to be applied. Some propositions may not be "true" in the real sense (e.g. the legal proposition may be that any person who speaks in a movie hall and disturbs others that are watching the movie will be banned from entering any movie theatre across India for one year). Candidates will have to assume the "truth" of these propositions and answer the questions accordingly.’

Section 5: Logical Reasoning

The logical reasoning section is designed to test a candidate's ability to identify patterns, rectify illogical arguments and relevant links. The questions will be based on syllogisms, logical sequences, analogies, etc. However, visual reasoning will not be tested.

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CLAT Books and Preparation Tips

The initial stage of preparation includes knowing about the exam pattern and syllabus of the exam. Students have to prepare five subjects namely English Comprehension, Elementary Mathematics, General Knowledge & Current affairs, Legal Aptitude & Logical Reasoning for undergraduate courses. Out of all the sections, Legal Aptitude is the most important section. In order to prepare this section, you can refer to the “Universal Guide to CLAT or A.P. Bhardwaj CLAT guide”. All applicants are advised to read newspapers regularly to prepare for current affairs questions. For elementary mathematics, candidates are required to prepare the syllabus of class 9th & 10th. In English comprehension, there will be 4-5 short passages on which around 20-22 questions will be asked with 7-8 questions based on antonyms & synonyms and rest questions will be on Grammar. Candidates can practice previous year mock test papers and may also refer to the topics from online tutorials available for CLAT. 

Learn how to strategize your preparation for CLAT 2020. Read here

Here is a small list of books that the applicants may refer to during their CLAT preparation:-

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CLAT 2021 Results/ Scorecard

Visit CLAT Official Website to check the results, carrying the qualifying status of candidates in CLAT 2021. Enter the registered Email ID and Password to access CLAT Results. The result is released in the form of scorecard which includes – 

• CLAT Scores

• All India Rank (AIR)

• Category Rank in CLAT

Steps to check CLAT Results

Step 1: Go to the official CLAT website 

Step 2: Click on ‘Result’ tab.

Step 3: Enter your Registration No./ Roll No., DOB (dd/mm/yyyy) and security code.

Step 4: Click on the ‘Login’ tab.

Step 5: View your results.

Important Points related to CLAT Results:

• NLU Authorities prepare the results.

• It is compiled based on a candidate’s score in the law entrance exam.

• The authorities also issue a merit list.

• It will include state merit list and India merit lists.

• These lists are prepared as per candidate’s category, like, Unreserved/SC/ST/OBC/Women/SAP for CLAT 2021 exam.

Note: NLU Delhi does not accept CLAT Scores as they have their admission procedure.

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The cut off for CLAT is subject to increase, with the increase in the number of test-takers every year. It is expected to increase by 5% to 10% this year. The results are declared by CLAT Participating institutes individually.

• Cut off is the minimum score that needs to be secured to participate in the counselling procedure. 

• CLAT Cut Off forms the basis of counselling and seat allotment. 

CLAT cut off is based on multiple factors such as:

• The difficulty level of the paper,

• Availability of seats,

• Average marks scored in the test

• Total test population.

CLAT Cutoff

Tabulated below is the first rank list:

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CLAT Counselling 2021

• The CLAT Office will conduct the centralised counselling.

• Seats will be offered as per ‘merit-cum-preference’ basis. 

• Candidate must indicate the NLU where they prefer to take admission.

• To secure allotted seat during counselling procedure, candidates to deposit INR 50,000.

How to attend CLAT Counselling?

Step 1: Visit the official website of CLAT and click on ‘CLAT Counselling 2021’ link.

Step 2: Provide login credentials i.e. User Id/ Registration Id and Password.

Step 3: Click on ‘Counselling’ tab.

Step 4: Go through the indicative seat allotment list of NLUs.

Step 5: Pay the requisite amount of CLAT 2021 counselling fee (applicable to only those candidates who have their names in the indicative list for the first time).

Step 6: Use the ‘Seat Lock’ option given against the allotted NLU.

Step 7: Save a copy of the NLU seat allotted list. Click on Logout option

Documents Required for Counselling

• CLAT 2021 Application Form

• CLAT 2021 Admit Card

• CLAT 2021 Score Card

• Class 10th Marks-sheet (Date of Birth proof)

• Class 12th Marks-sheet (Academic Qualification/ Eligibility Criteria)

• Caste Certificate (If applicable)

• Specially-Abled Certificate (If applicable)

• NRI Certificate (If applicable)

• Sponsored NRI Certificate (If applicable)

• Domicile Certificate (If applicable) 

Read More about CLAT 2020 Counselling

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