CLAT 2027 Registration Opens 1 August 2026: Exam Date, Pattern, and a 27-Week Roadmap

The Consortium of National Law Universities has confirmed that CLAT 2027 registrations will open on 1 August 2026 and close on 31 October 2026, with the examination on 6 December 2026 (Sunday). For Class XII students entering 2026-27 and for serious droppers, this is the single most important date on the legal-education calendar.

This guide is built for the candidate who wants to start CLAT 2027 preparation in May or June 2026, not in September. It covers what is known officially, what to expect from the paper, how to read the eight to ten months ahead, and a section-by-section approach grounded in the current paper pattern.

CLAT 2027 — Official Timeline

All registrations are conducted exclusively through consortiumofnlus.ac.in. Never use third-party portals — fraudulent application sites resurface every cycle.

What’s New for CLAT 2027 — And What’s Likely Unchanged

The Consortium has not yet released the formal 2027 notification, but the structural reforms introduced in CLAT 2024 (the move from 150 to 120 questions, the 2-hour duration, and the stronger comprehension-based question framing) have stabilised. The 2025 and 2026 papers preserved the same structure, so CLAT 2027 will almost certainly follow suit.

• Format: 120 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours, offline OMR-based.
• Marking: +1 per correct, −0.25 per incorrect, 0 for unattempted.
• Approximate section split: English Language (≈22–26), GK & Current Affairs (≈28–32), Legal Reasoning (≈28–32), Logical Reasoning (≈22–26), Quantitative Techniques (≈10–14).
• Paper style: All sections are passage-based. There are no isolated factual questions or formula-only questions.

Why an August–December Preparation Sprint Is Tight But Workable

From today (27 May 2026), you have roughly 27 weeks to the exam. The aspirants we have tracked over the last three cycles fall into three groups:

• Group A — Class XI students aiming for CLAT 2027 as primary target: 27 weeks is plenty for a balanced foundation-to-mock arc. Allocate the first 14 weeks (June–early September) to concept building, the next 8 weeks (mid-September to early November) to sectional intensification, and the final 5 weeks to full-length mocks and revision. The pitfall here is over-investing in legal-aptitude memorisation early; the current paper rewards comprehension speed far more than rote knowledge.
• Group B — Class XII students with boards in March 2027: The boards-vs-CLAT clash is the real engineering problem. Plan two intensive CLAT phases: 1 June – 31 August (foundation) and 1 October – 30 November (sectional + mocks), with a deliberate slow-down for boards revision through January-February.
• Group C — Droppers (CLAT 2026 rank beyond 22,000): Diagnose first. Spend the first two weeks reviewing your 2026 paper question-by-question; identify whether the gap was in reading speed, legal-principle application, or quant accuracy. Build the next six months around the two weakest sections, not around generic syllabus revision.

Section-By-Section Strategy for the Current Paper Pattern

English Language (~22–26 questions)

The CLAT English section is RC-only. Each passage is 450–500 words and is followed by 5–7 questions testing main idea, inference, tone, and vocabulary in context. The questions are not simple comprehension — many require ranking the strength of arguments. Train with editorials from The Hindu and the Indian Express opinion page, and time each passage to under 8 minutes including question solving.

GK and Current Affairs (~28–32 questions)

The largest scoring section in net terms because the cost of a wrong attempt is the same as any other section but the time per question is the lowest. Each GK passage covers a news event and follows it with 3–5 questions, including one or two static GK riders embedded in the same theme. Recommended cadence: 90 minutes daily of current-affairs reading from June to December, covering the entire 12-month window before the exam. Focus areas historically tested: Supreme Court rulings, government schemes, international relations, defence and ISRO milestones, sports majors, and economy/budget items.

Our daily current affairs hub and the CLAT GK section are built specifically for this purpose — short newspaper-style briefs followed by retention MCQs.

Legal Reasoning (~28–32 questions)

Legal Reasoning at CLAT does not test law you have studied — it tests your ability to apply a principle stated in the passage to a factual scenario. The skill is bidirectional. You need to read a 250–300 word legal passage in 2 minutes, internalise the principle in 30 seconds, and then apply it to 4–6 factual scenarios in roughly 60 seconds each. Speed-of-application is the rate-limiting step. Focus on Constitutional Law (Articles 14, 19, 21 carry disproportionate weight), Contract Law (offer, acceptance, consideration, breach), Torts (negligence, vicarious liability), and Criminal Law (basic principles, intent, mistake of fact). Read recent LiveLaw and Bar & Bench coverage of Supreme Court rulings — many CLAT legal passages have been spotted to closely mirror these write-ups.

Logical Reasoning (~22–26 questions)

CLAT 2024 onwards, Logical Reasoning is heavily passage-based. Pure puzzles (seating arrangement, blood relations) are minimal. The dominant question types are argument-strength analysis, assumption identification, conclusion validity, and inference. Study critical reasoning texts (e.g., LSAT-style sample sets, but stay away from full LSAT-prep books which over-train on US-specific paradoxes). One pass through a focused critical-reasoning workbook + 30 timed RC-LR passages per month is enough.

Quantitative Techniques (~10–14 questions)

The smallest section but often the highest-accuracy section for serious candidates. Data interpretation (caselets, tables, pie charts), percentages, ratios, averages, time-speed-distance, and basic profit-and-loss together cover 95% of CLAT quant. Class X NCERT-level comfort with arithmetic is sufficient. Daily 30 minutes from June onwards is enough.

The Mock-Test Schedule That Works

Mocks are the single highest-leverage activity in CLAT preparation. The pattern that has produced consistent results across the last three cycles:

• June–August 2026: 1 sectional test every 3 days. No full-length yet — section-level mastery first.
• September 2026: 2 sectional tests per week + 1 full-length per week.
• October 2026: 2 full-length mocks per week (Wednesday and Sunday), with detailed Tuesday/Saturday analysis.
• November 2026: 3 full-length mocks per week.
• 30 November – 5 December 2026: taper down — 1 mock on 30 Nov, then complete rest with no new content.

Browse our CLAT mock-test series — the question bank is calibrated to the 120-question, 2-hour pattern and includes detailed analytics on time-per-question, accuracy-per-section, and trend over time.

Eligibility, Fees and Documents

Eligibility for CLAT UG 2027 is unchanged in expectation:

• Qualification: Passed/appearing 10+2 (or equivalent).
• Minimum marks: 45% aggregate for General/OBC, 40% for SC/ST and PwD.
• Age: No upper age limit.
• Application fee: Around ₹4,000 General/OBC, ₹3,500 SC/ST/PwD (subject to change in 2027 notification).
• Documents required at registration: Class X & XII mark sheets (or appearing certificate), category certificate (if applicable), photograph, signature, valid email and phone, and a payment instrument.

Don’t Wait for the Notification — Start Now

The biggest mistake CLAT 2027 aspirants make is treating the August notification as the starting gun. By August, the top 10% has already invested 12 weeks. CLAT is not an exam where last-six-months heroics work — the GK and Legal Reasoning sections in particular reward sustained reading over months.

If you are serious about CLAT 2027, structure your prep this week. Block out 90 minutes daily for current affairs, 60 minutes for one section in rotation, and one sectional mock every three days. Track every score in a spreadsheet so the August-onwards intensification has a baseline.

Test Your Understanding

Frequently Asked Questions

Need a Structured Prep Plan?

Browse our CLAT 2027 courses, sit a free diagnostic mock, or speak to a mentor on 7033005444 to map a personalised 27-week roadmap. You can also see our team and methodology on the about page.

Sources: Consortium of NLUs; LiveLaw and Bar & Bench coverage of CLAT cycle reforms; CLAT 2024–2026 official notifications.