The CLAT 2026 examination will take place on 7th December 2025. Students attempting the examination may be unsure as to what the difference between their score on the CLAT exam and their percentile may be. This article explains the differences between the two concepts for students’ reference. This article also highlights the ranks students can expect to attain depending on their CLAT scores as well as the estimated cutoffs for top NLUs participating in the CLAT examination.
CLAT Scores Overview
The scores on the CLAT exam refer to the overall raw scores achieved by students on the CLAT examination. The raw scores include the total marks achieved by students after scoring on the CLAT exam.
The raw score for the CLAT exam is calculating all the correct answers and subtracting the marks lost on the exam due to negative marking. On the CLAT exam, 1 mark is awarded for each correct answer and -0.25 is deducted for each incorrect answer. No marks are deducted for unattempted questions however.
CLAT Percentile Overview
In comparison to scores, percentile indicates the percentage of students who score the same or lesser than a particular student. Percentile is calculated using a student’s overall rank on the CLAT examination. It does not indicate the overall percentage. The ranks or AIR attained by test-takers for the examination is based on the scores achieved on the CLAT exam paper.
Percentile on the CLAT examination showcases where a student stands in comparison to other CLAT exam test-takers. This helps streamline the admission process for NLUs providing admission to students who undertook the CLAT exam.
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CLAT Scores and Ranks
Provided below is an overview of the expected ranks students can expect to achieve based on their scores on the CLAT exam. It is important for students to note that these are estimates and may not be the actual ratio of scores and ranks when the CLAT 2026 results are declared later.
The CLAT scores and ranks are as follows:
Score | Expected Rank |
90+ | 1 - 585 |
85 - 90 | 586 - 1955 |
80 - 85 | 2000 - 3500 |
75 - 80 | 3800 - 8000 |
70 - 75 | 8000 - 9980 |
65 - 70 | 10057 - 14000 |
60 - 65 | 14000 - 17000 |
CLAT 2026 Expected Cutoffs
Provided below is an overview of the expected cutoffs for the CLAT 2026 examination. Students can keep these cutoffs as estimates on what scores they should aim to achieve on the CLAT examination. These cutoffs are for some of the best NLUs that accept scores from the CLAT exam and are part of the Consortium of NLUs. It is important for students to note that these scores and cutoffs for NLUs are based on the cutoffs from last year for the CLAT UG examination.
The expected cutoffs for CLAT 2026 are as follows:
College | Cutoff Rank Range |
1 - 112 | |
17 - 159 | |
257 - 480 | |
57 - 327 | |
159 - 367 | |
480 - 807 | |
236 - 444 | |
461 - 780 | |
564 - 1270 | |
882 - 1398 | |
350 - 1346 | |
1163 - 2141 | |
469 - 1013 |
Also Read: CLAT Best Online Coaching Resources
