Where can I Study Law?

National Law Universities (NLUs) are some of the best public law institutes for law in India, and hence, the top choices of every law aspirant. NLUs are islands of excellence created under State Statutes with Chief Justice of India or Chief Justice of respective High Court as Chancellor. 

National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru

NLSIU was the first National Law University established in India in 1986. The premier law school was set up with a mission to pioneer legal education reforms, and to anchor the transformation of the Indian legal system through research and policy interventions

Total Seats: Approximately 300

National Academy of Legal Studies and Reasearch (NALSAR), Hyderabad

NALSAR University was established by an Act of the Andhra Pradesh State Legislature in 1998, which was subsequently amended in 2005 and 2010. Its vision is to provide quality legal education that underlines constitutionalism, rule of law and justice, with a particular focus on social justice to the marginalized communities

Total Seats: Approximately 132

West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata

NUJS was established under the WBNUJS Act, 1999 (West Bengal Act IX of 1999) adopted by the West Bengal Legislature in July, 1999. The University was notified under Clause (f) of Section 2 of the UGC Act, 1956 in August 2004 and has been granted permanent affiliation by the Bar Council of India in July 2005. Total Seats: Approx 132

Total Seats: Approximately 300

National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur

NLUJ is one of India's leading Law Schools situated at the vibrant and colourful city of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. NLUJ has constantly been ranked as one of the top law schools in India. Since its establishment in 1999, NLUJ has endeavoured to produce exceptional lawyers and legal scholars aimed at pushing and challenging the existing boundaries of knowledge.

Total Seats: Approximately 300

Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar

GNLU is the statutory university established by the Govt. of Gujarat under the Gujarat National Law University Act, 2003 . The University is recognized by the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the University Grants Commission (UGC) (2f & 12B). The University is also a member of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI)

Total Seats: Approx 204

National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal

NLIU, was established by the Rashtriya Vidhi Sansthan Vishwavidyalaya Adhiniyam, by an Act No. 41 of 1997 enacted by the Madhya Pradesh State Legislature. NLIU is recognized by the University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India

Total Seats: Approx 202

Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Mumbai

MNLU Mumbai, established under the Maharashtra National Law University Act 2014 on 20th March 2014, is one of the premier National Law Universities in India. The Act envisaged to establish National Law University in Maharashtra to impart advanced legal education and promote society-oriented research in legal studies for the advancement of the societal life of the people in the country

Total Seats: Approximately 122

National Law University Odisha (NLUO), Cuttack

NLUO was established in the year 2009 under The National Law University Orissa Act, 2008 (Act 4 of 2008) passed by the Odisha State Legislature and commenced its academic activities in the academic year 2009-10. The University has received recognition from the University Grants Commission (UGC) under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956, and has been receiving grants under the XIIth Plan.

Total Seats: Approx 180

Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur

HNLU Named after the great legal luminary Justice Mohammed Hidayatullah, the University was established by the Government of Chhattisgarh under the Hidayatullah National University of Law, Chhattisgarh, Act (Act No.10 of 2003).

Total Seats: Approx 180

Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Patiala

RGNUL The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Punjab, was established by the State Legislature of Punjab by passing the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab Act, 2006 (Punjab Act No. 12 of 2006). The Act incorporated a University of Law of national stature in Punjab, to fulfill the need for a Centre of Excellence in legal education in the modern era of globalization and liberalization.

Total Seats: Approximately 214

Chanakya National Law University (CNLU), Patna

CNLU was established in Patna under Chanakya National Law University Act, 2006 and included in section 2(f) & 12(B) of the U.G.C Act, 1956.

Total Seats: Approx 138

Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University (RMLNLU), Lucknow

RMLNLU was established by an Act of Govt. of Uttar Pradesh in 2005, U.P. Act No.28 of 2005 and came into being on 4th of January 2006 to meet up the new challenges in legal field and to strengthen the vision that was given by the establishment of first National Law School of the country.

Total Seats: Approx 187

National Law University (NLU), Jodhpur

Total Seats: Approximately 300

National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kochi

NUALS was established by Act 27 of 2005 of the Kerala State Legislature. By the same Act, the National Institute for Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) established by the Bar Council of Kerala Trust in 2002 merged with the NUALS. The University is recognized by the University Grants Commission under section 2(f) and section 12B of the UGC Act.

Total Seats: Approx 136

National University of Study and Research in Law (NUSRL), Ranchi

NUSRL was established by Act No. 4 of Jharkhand State Assembly in 2010. The University has subsequently been recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC) in September 2011 u/s 22, u/s 12B in the year 2018 of the UGC Act of 1956 and Bar Council of India (BCI). The University started functioning in September 2010.

Total Seats: Approx 122

Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU), Visakhapatnam

DSNLU Andhra Pradesh University of Law name was changed to “Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University” on 14 May 2012.

Total Seats: Approximately 138

National Law University and Judicial Academy (NLUJA), Guwahati

NLUJA has been established by the Government of Assam by way of enactment of the National Law School and Judicial Academy, Assam Act, 2009 (Assam Act No. XXV of 2009).

Total Seats: Approx 60

Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU), Tiruchirapalli

TNNLU was established by the Government of Tamil Nadu by an Act of State Legislature (Act No. 9 of 2012) to provide quality legal education at the global level. TNNLU is the brainchild of the former Hon'ble Chief Minister Dr. J Jayalalithaa who laid its foundation stone on 13th February 2012.

Total Seats: Approx 120

Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Nagpur

MNLU Nagpur is established by Maharashtra Government by way of enactment known as the Maharashtra National Law University Act (Maharashtra Act No. VI of 2014).

Total Seats: Approximately 240

Himachal Pradesh National Law University (HPNLU), Shimla

HPNLU was established by the State Government in the year 2016, by an Act of the Legislature (Act 16 of 2016). The University started functioning from October 5, 2016.

Total Seats: Approx 207

Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Aurangabad

MNLU was established by virtue of the Maharashtra National Law University Act, 2014. The Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad is established with intent to impart quality legal education, to develop advanced clinical pedagogies and research.

Total Seats: Approx 120

Dharmashastra National Law University (MPDNLU), Jabalpur

MPDNLU was established in the year 2018 by the Madhya Pradesh Dharmashastra National Law University Act (24 of 2018), with the object of advancing the cause of legal education and achieving excellence as a University for imparting value-based legal education.

Total Seats: Approximately 138

Dr B.R. Ambedkar National Law University (DBRANLU), Sonepat

DBRANLU is a National Law University located at Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonipat, Haryana, India. It is the 23rd National Law University established in India by the State Government of Haryana in the year 2012 by the State Legislature Act No. 15 of 2012. By an Amendment in 2014, the name of the university was changed from 'The National Law University Haryana' to 'Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University Sonepat'.

Total Seats: Approx 138

Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Silvassa

GNLU– S has been established by resolution of the Governing Bodies of Gujarat National Law University which has been empowered under the Gujarat National Law University Act, 2003 as amended by the Gujarat National Law University (Amendment) Act, 2022.

Total Seats: Approx 66

National Law University (NLUT), Tripura

NLUT established by Act No. 3 of 2022 of Tripura is a national institution of excellence in legal education located in the green capital city of Agartala.

Total Seats: Approximately 120

How can I get Admission into an NLU?

To get admitted to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law programmes offered by 24 National Law Universities in India, an aspirant must appear for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT).

CLAT is a national level entrance exam organized by the Consortium of National Law Universities. Several affiliate universities and organisations also use the CLAT exam for admissions and recruitment respectively.

Is CLAT the Only Entrance Exam for Law Schools?

Other than CLAT, there is Law School Admission Test India (LSAT – India) that provides admission into 30+ law schools of India.

Certain Universities and Colleges also conduct individual tests. For instance, All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) for NLU Delhi and Symbiosis Law Admission Test (SLAT) for Symbiosis Law Schools.

Maharashtra conducts the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MH-CET) for admission into 25+ law schools.

CLAT 2025 UG Syllabus

Introduction and Overview

The UG-CLAT 2025 would focus on evaluating the comprehension and reasoning skills and abilities of candidates. Overall, it is designed to be a test of aptitude and skills that are necessary for a legal education rather than prior knowledge, though prior knowledge occasionally may be useful to respond to questions in the Current Affairs including General Knowledge section.

The UG-CLAT 2025 shall be a 2-hour test, with 120 multiple-choice questions carrying 1 mark each. There shall be negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. These questions would be divided across the following 5 subjects:

English Language
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge
Legal Reasoning
Logical Reasoning
Quantitative Techniques

English Language

In this section of the UG-CLAT 2025, you will be provided passages of about 450 words each. These passages will be derived from contemporary or historically significant fiction and non-fiction writing, and would be of a standard that a 12th standard student may be able to read in about 5-7 minutes.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your comprehension and language skills, including your abilities to:

Read and comprehend the main point discussed in the passage, as well as any arguments and viewpoints discussed or set out in the passage;
Draw inferences and conclusions based on the passage;
Summarise the passage;
Compare and contrast the different arguments or viewpoints set out in the passage; and
Understand the meaning of various words and phrases in the context that they are used in the passage.

Current Affairs Including General Knowledge

In this section, you will be provided passages of up to 450 words each. The passages will be derived from news, journalistic sources and other non-fiction writing. The questions may include an examination of legal information or knowledge discussed in or related to the passage, but would not require any additional knowledge of the law beyond the passage.

Each passage will be followed by a series of questions that will require you to demonstrate your awareness of various aspects of current affairs and general knowledge, including:

Contemporary events of significance from India and the world;
Arts and culture;
International affairs; and
Historical events of continuing significance.

Legal Reasoning

In this section, you will be expected to read passages of around 450 words each. The passages may relate to fact situations or scenarios involving legal matters, public policy questions or moral philosophical enquiries. You will not require any prior knowledge of law to attempt the questions in this section. You will benefit from a general awareness of contemporary legal and moral issues to better apply general principles or propositions to the given fact scenarios.

Each passage would be followed by a series of questions that will require you to:

Identify and infer the rules and principles set out in the passage;
Apply such rules and principles to various fact situations; and
Understand how changes to the rules or principles may alter their application to various fact situations.

Logical Reasoning

The Logical Reasoning section of the UG-CLAT 2025 will include a series of short passages of about 450 words each. Each passage will be followed by one or more questions that will require you to:

Recognise an argument, its premises and conclusions;
Read and identify the arguments set out in the passage;
Critically analyse patterns of reasoning, and assess how conclusions may depend on particular premises or evidence, and how conclusions may be strengthened or weakened as a consequence of an alteration in premises or supporting facts;
Infer what follows from the passage and apply these inferences to new situations;
Draw relationships and analogies, identify contradictions and equivalence, and assess the effectiveness of arguments.

Quantitative Techniques

The Quantitative Techniques section of the UG-CLAT 2025 will include short sets of facts or propositions, or other textual representations of numerical information, followed by a series of questions. You will be required to derive information from the passages or questions, and apply mathematical operations on such information.

The questions will require you to:

Derive, infer, and manipulate numerical information set out in such passages; and
Apply various 10th standard mathematical operations on such information, including from areas such as ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration and statistical estimation.

Preparing for the UG-CLAT 2025

The Consortium plans to publish various preparatory materials for the UG-CLAT 2025, including:

Guides to the question paper and sample questions;
Model question papers; and
Instructional materials and exercises for each of the subjects that the UG-CLAT 2025 comprises.

The Consortium will also provide candidates who have successfully completed their application to the UG-CLAT 2025 access to a learning platform where you may access the preparatory materials described above, as well as your scores on various exercises and model question papers. The Consortium shall also organise online sessions for such candidates, in which subject experts shall provide guidance on how best to prepare for each of the sections of the UG-CLAT 2025, and how candidates may approach the questions in each section.

In addition, you should develop your capacity to read and understand bodies of text, ensure you stay abreast of news and current affairs by regularly reading quality newspapers and periodicals, and improve your speed of answering questions on quantitative techniques by practising with materials such as 10th standard mathematics textbooks.

CLAT UG Exam Eligibility

There is no upper age limit for candidates appearing for UG Programme through the CLAT 2025.
Candidates who have passed in 10+2 or an equivalent examination with a minumum of:
1. Forty five percent (45%) of marks or its equivalent in grade or
2. Forty Percent (40%) of marks or equivalent in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST/PwD categories.
Candidates appearing for the qualifying examination in March/ April, 2025 are also eligible to apply. However, they shall be required to produce an evidence of their passing the qualifying examination at the time of admission, failing which they shall lose their right to be considered for admission.
The result of the qualifying examination (i.e., 10+2) shall be submitted by the candidate at the time of admission, failing which the candidate shall be ineligible for admission to the course they may have applied for.
If more than one candidate secures an equal number of marks in the CLAT 2025, the break of tie shall be by the following procedure and order as under:
1. Higher marks in the component/section on Legal Aptitude in the CLAT 2025 exam;
2. Higher age;
3. Computerised draw of lots.

CLAT UG 2025 Question Format

Maximum Marks

120
Duration of CLAT 2025 Exam

02:00 Hours
Multiple-Choice Questions

120 questions of one mark each
Negative Marking

0.25 Mark for each wrong answer

Subject Areas with weightage:	(approximate number of questions)
English Language	22-26 questions, or roughly 20% of the paper
Current Affairs, including General Knowledge	28-32 questions, or roughly 25% of the paper
Legal Reasoning	28-32 questions, or roughly 25% of the paper
Logical Reasoning	22-26 questions, or roughly 20% of the paper
Quantitative Techniques	10-14 questions, or roughly 10% of the paper

CLAT 2025 UG Instructions

General Instructions

The CLAT 2025 examination will be held in OFFLINE mode
The applications have to be submitted ONLINE only from consortiumofnlus.ac.in website.
The date of examination is scheduled on 1st December, 2024 from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. (Subject to revision in case of necessity) and Eligible Candidates belonging to PWD Category 2:00 P.M. to 4:40 P.M.
Indian Nationals/NRIs seeking admission to the UG programmes can appear in CLAT 2025.
Foreign Nationals are not eligible to appear for CLAT.
For any information relating to the 24 NLUs, the candidate may refer to the e-brochure of the respective Institutions available in the Consortium website.
For NRI/NRI Sponsored/Foreign National seats, the applicants are advised to refer to the e-brochures as well as the websites of the respective NLUs for more details. All NRI Category candidates have to appear for the CLAT 2025 examination for those NLUs where such category is admitted through CLAT 2025 rankings and not admitted directly by the concerned Universities. Please note that for admission in these categories, you will need to apply directly to the concerned NLU in addition to appearing for the CLAT exam. Please refer to the NLU website for more information.
Information regarding the details of intake, reservation policies and the courses offered along with the fee structures of various participating National Law Universities is available in the Information Brochure which can be accessed from the official website of CLAT and also from the websites of the participating NLUs. The candidates are, therefore, advised to thoroughly go through the rules, policies and the fee structure of the participating NLUs before filling in the application form for UG courses, and also for the NRI and Foreign National seats.
Information provided in the e-Brochure regarding the intake, reservation policy, fee, courses offered and the subjects taught at various levels including the areas of specialization, etc., has been specified very briefly. For detailed information regarding the same, the candidates may refer to the information available at the websites of the participating NLUs.
Candidates are advised to visit CLAT 2025 website regularly for updates. The allotment of seats and the offer for admission under CLAT 2025 shall be provisional and shall not create any right of admission in favour of a candidate.

Other instructions

The online enrolment for CLAT 2025 will open on 15th July, 2024 and close on 15th October, 2024.
The application form, complete in all respects and after payment of fees must be finally submitted and paid on or before 15th October, 2024 (11:59 P.M.). Incomplete application forms shall not be considered. The candidates shall fill and submit the application form well in time to avoid last minute hassles. The CLAT Office or the organizing University shall in no case be responsible for any incomplete information or misinformation or inconvenience faced by the candidate in this regard.
The candidates are first required to register themselves at the CLAT 2025 website by using personal mobile number and e-mail Id. Upon registration, an OTP will be sent to the registered mobile number for validation. Once the mobile number is validated, candidates can login using the registered mobile number and the password provided at the time of registration.
Please fill the form carefully. The Name of the candidate and the parents shall be spelt correctly in the application as it appears in the Certificates/Mark sheets/Identity proof. Any change/alteration found may disqualify the candidature.
Please note that once the application is submitted and paid, the candidate cannot change the program, category, and BPL field.
Updates to application form will be not be entertained after the closure date.
The candidates are required to read the instructions carefully and furnish correct and authentic information. In case the information furnished at any stage of the application, examination and admission process is found to be false or incorrect or if there is any discrepancy or mismatch between the information furnished by the candidate at the relevant section and the certificates/documents produced at the time of admission, the provisional admission offered to the candidate shall stand cancelled with immediate effect without assigning any further reason. If such discrepancy or mismatch relates to the candidate's eligibility for inclusion in a particular reservation category, that candidate shall be considered for admission to the NLUs in subsequent rounds of the Admissions Counselling Process, without being included in that reservation category.
The candidates are requested to choose the program (UG/PG) and category correctly. Requests for change of program or category in the application form will not be entertained.
In the event of unforeseen incidents resulting in the cancellation of a Test city or centre, or insufficient or extra number of candidates opting to appear from a particular Test Centre, the Convenor, CLAT 2025 reserves the right to cancel such a City/Centre and shift the applicant to another City/Centre
In order to claim the benefit of reservation, the candidate must produce the relevant certificates as prescribed by the Government of India/State Government and as required by the respective NLU at the time of admission, as notified by them.
The CLAT 2025 application fee is non-refundable and non-adjustable.
Participating National Law Universities reserve the right to change the total number of seats and break-up of seats as per their policy before the final allotment. The reservation policy is subject to change as decided by the concerned Government from time to time.
If a candidate has filled-in more than one online application form, the candidate's last online application form only will be considered. In such cases, the application fee for the previous application forms will not be refunded.

Documents to be uploaded with the Online Application.

Front facing passport size recent photograph with plain background
Signature of the candidate
Category certificate if you are applying under SC/ST/OBC
Relevant certificate issued by competent authority if you are applying if candidate is P.W.D
Relevant certificate issued by competent authority if you are coming under BPL category

NOTE:

The original certificates/documents issued by the competent authority as specified in the brochure are to be submitted to the allotted University in the form and manner as specified by the respective universities at the time of admission.
The photograph and signature of the candidate need not be attested while submitting the Online Application Form.
All documents/certificates should be uploaded in pdf format only.

Application Fee

Application fees can be paid online only.
Application fee for General/OBC/NRI candidates: Rs.4,000/-
Application fee for SC/ST/BPL/PWD category candidates: Rs.3,500/-
The cost of previous years' question papers is Rs.500/- (not included in the CLAT 2025 application fee of Rs.4,000/- or Rs.3,500/- as the case may be.)
The candidates themselves will have to bear the bank transaction charges for remitting the fee online. The actual bank transaction charges will be displayed in the payment gateway page after candidates choose the mode of payment.
Application Fees is non-refundable.

Admit Card/Hall ticket

The Admit Card/Hall ticket can be downloaded by the candidate by logging into his/her account. The exact date on which the hall tickets will be made available will be intimated on the website.