CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) Notification, Dates, Application Form, Syllabus
CLAT or Common Law Admissions Test is an all India entrance examination conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities for admissions to their under-graduate and post-graduate p degree programs, which are LL.B & LL.M
The Consortium of National Law Universities was formed in 2017 with the aim of improving the standard of legal education in the country. The Consortium also helps in better coordination amongst National Law Schools (NLUs), conducts CLAT and co-ordinates admission process of its member institutes and to achieve the highest standards of legal education in India as well make Indian Law Schools amongst the best in the world. At present, 21 National Law Universities of India are members of the Consortium as founder members.
Law Universities and Colleges providing 5 - Year Integrated Law Program (LLB) Admission with CLAT Exam
Law Universities and Colleges providing LL.M Program Admission with CLAT Exam
Eligibility for CLAT
CLAT UG Program
· There is no upper age limit for UG Programme.
· Minimum percentage of marks in the qualifying examination (i.e., 10+2 or an equivalent examination) are 45% for candidates belonging to General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI categories and 40% marks or equivalent in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories.
· Candidates appearing in the qualifying examination in March/April of each year are also eligible to appear in CLAT examination of each year; however student must pass the qualifying examination at the time of admission.
CLAT PG Program
· An LL.B Degree or an equivalent examination with a minimum of 55% marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI categories and 50% marks or its equivalent grade in case of candidates belonging to SC/ST categories.
· Candidates appearing in the qualifying examination in April/May of that year are also eligible to apply.
· No upper age limit is prescribed for appearing in CLAT Exam for PG Program.
Syllabus for UG Programme for CLAT Exam
Details of the Syllabus are given in the information brochure. The different subject areas are given below.
1. English including comprehension
2. General Knowledge and Current Affairs
3. Mathematics:
4. Legal Aptitude:
5. Logical Reasoning
Private Universities accepting CLAT 2019 scores
CLAT score is also used by other Law colleges for admission to their law courses. Some of the private colleges using the CLAT score are listed below.
CLAT Dates
· The online registration for CLAT opens in the month of January each year and closes on a particular date in April.
· The applications can only be submitted online on the official site (clatconsortiumofnlu.ac.in).
· The CLAT examination is usually held on a Sunday, in the latter half of May each year.
Tentative Calendar - CLAT
1 | Registration of Online form opening | First half of January |
2 | Registration of Online form closing | Second half of April |
3 | CLAT Exam Date | CLAT Exam Date Sunday, the second half of May |
4 | Declaration of Results with merit list. | The first Middle of June |
5 | Publication of First Provisional Seat Allotment List based on merit-cum-preference | Same date as result |
6 |
Date for payment of counselling fee of Rs. 50,000 and Date for locking of allotted seats or exercising options option for upgrading in the next Seat Allotment List. |
period of 5-7 days from the date of the result. |
7 | Publication of the Second Provisional Seat Allotment list 7-9 days after the result7-9 days after the result | 7-9 days after the result |
8 | Date for payment of counselling fee for the candidates whose names appear for the first time in the second allotment list | 7-10 days after the result |
9 | Date for locking of allotted seats after exercising option for upgrading/shifting or withdrawing from the admission process against the second allotment list | 7-10 days after the result |
10 | Publication of the Third Provisional Seat Allotment List | Two weeks after the result |
11 |
Payment of 50,000 for students who have been allotted seat for first time in Third list. Locking or Withdrawing of seat allotted in Third list |
Two weeks after the result |
12 | For completing the admission formalities at the allotted NLU’s for admission against allotment list. Candidates to refer to the respective NLU website for date of visit to complete admission formalities and payment of balance fees. | Left to the allotted Universities |
13 | Date for receiving status of admission from the participating NLUs in the CLAT Office | Third week of July |
Information about the CLAT Entrance Exam
The CLAT examination is usually held in OFFLINE mode each year.
The Pattern of Question Paper for the UG Courses for CLAT
Duration of CLAT Exam | 02:00 Hours |
No. of Multiple-Choice Questions | 200 questions of one mark each |
Subject areas with weight-age: | |
English including comprehension | 40 marks |
General Knowledge and Current Affairs | 50 marks |
Elementary Mathematics (Numerical Ability) | 20 mark |
Legal Aptitude | 50 marks |
Logical Reasoning | 40 marks |
Negative Marking | .25 Mark for each wrong answer |
Maximum Marks | 200 |
The Pattern of Question Paper for the PG Courses for CLAT
Duration of CLAT Exam | 02:00 Hours |
No. of Multiple-Choice Questions | 100 questions of one mark each |
Subjective Questions | |
Two Essay type questions each of 25 Marks, 800 words per essay) on the topics of law and contemporary issues |
50 Marks |
Syllabus: | |
Constitutional Law | 40 Marks |
Other Law Subjects such as Contract, Torts, Criminal Law, International Law, IPR and Jurisprudence |
60 Marks |
Negative Marking | .25 mark for each wrong answer |
Maximum Marks | 150 |
Information about the CLAT Registration Form
· The applications can only be submitted online on the official site (clatconsortiumofnlu.ac.in)
· After registration, a login and password is generated for the student. This needs to be noted down.
· No alteration/editing in the online application form can be done after the successful submission of the form.
· The category to which the candidate belongs, the preference for the NLUs and the Centre of the Entrance Test submitted by the candidates shall not be allowed to be changed after submission of form under any circumstances.
· In case the information furnished at any stage of the application, examination and admission process is found to be false or incorrect the provisional admission offered to the candidate shall stand cancelled with immediate effect
· The candidate will have to fill his/her preference order for all 21 NLUs at the time of the online application itself.
· No change is allowed in the preference once the form is submitted by the candidate.
Documents to be uploaded with the CLAT Online Application.
· Front facing passport size recent self-attested photograph with plain background
· Signature of the candidate
· Category certificate if one is applying under SC/ST/OBC
· Relevant certificate issued by competent authority if one is P.W. D or belongs to BPL
· Relevant certificate for one’s respective State of Domicile issued by the revenue department/taluk office.
· The photograph and signature of the candidate need not be attested while submitting the Online Application Form.
· No hard copy of the filled-in filled in online application form is to be sent to the CLAT Consortium Office.
· All documents/certificates should be uploaded in pdf format only.
Application Fee for CLAT
The fees may change each year. The official webpage or information brochure will carry the details of the fees each year. In general, following applies
· Application fees is to be paid online.
· Application fee for General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI candidates is approx. Rs.4,000/-
· Application fee for SC/ST/BPL category candidates is approx. Rs.3,500/-
· The cost of previous years' question papers is Rs.500/-
· Application Fees is non-refundable.
Special Information about CLAT
1. Indian Nationals/NRIs/PIO/OCI seeking admission in either of the UG/PG programmes shall appear in CLAT exam.
2. Foreign Nationals need not appear for the test
3. For information about any NLU, the candidate can refer to the e-brochure of the respective Institutions available in the CLAT Consortium website.
4. For NRI/Foreign National seats, the applicants should refer to the e-brochures as well as the websites of the respective NLUs for all details.
Admit Card/Hall ticket for CLAT exam
The Admit Card/Hall ticket is downloaded by the candidate by logging into his/her account. The exact date on which the hall tickets are made available will be intimated on the official website.
Admission Procedure after CLAT result is announced
The admission to UG and PG programmes in participating universities is completed through centralised online counselling conducted by the CLAT Consortium Office each year. The basis of allotment of seats is 'merit-cum-preference'. Online counselling shall start after the declaration of CLAT Results and will be finished in three rounds as per dates announced each year.
Conclusion
Thus, CLAT or Common Law Admission Test is a very important entrance exam after class 12 to gain admission into the best law colleges of India for the five year LLB undergraduate course or LLM postgraduate program after graduation of LLB. CLAT experts unanimously agree that the overall difficulty level of CLAT exam is moderate, but varies from year to year.