The official cutoffs for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026 General Category, Round 1, have now been released. These cutoffs are the minimum scores or ranks students needed to get admission into their preferred National Law Universities (NLUs) for the current academic year. A total of 1,752 seats are available for general category students across 26 participating NLUs this year.
Students who have been allotted a seat in this first round can now check their category-wise All India Rank (AIR) against these official cutoffs. If a student's rank meets or is better than the cutoff rank for a specific NLU, they are eligible to secure admission there.
What is CLAT?
The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national-level entrance exam for students who wish to study law. It is taken by many students every year to get into undergraduate (BA LLB, BBA LLB, etc.) and postgraduate (LLM) law programmes offered by various National Law Universities across India. The exam is competitive, and securing a good rank is essential for admission to top law colleges.
Understanding CLAT Cutoffs for NLUs
A CLAT cutoff rank shows the last rank (or highest score) accepted for admission into a particular NLU in a specific round. For example, if the cutoff for NLU Bengaluru is rank 101, it means students with ranks from 1 to 101 were offered a seat in the general category during this round. Students with ranks higher than this (e.g., 102, 103) did not meet the cutoff for that NLU in this round.
These cutoff ranks are different for each NLU because some universities are more popular and sought after. Top-tier institutions like NLU Bengaluru and NALSAR Hyderabad usually have lower (better) closing ranks. This means that only students with very high scores and excellent ranks secure admission to these universities. Other NLUs have higher closing ranks, which means a wider range of students can get admission there.
CLAT 2026 General Category Round 1 Cutoffs by NLU
Below is the detailed list of official general category cutoffs (closing ranks) for Round 1 for all participating National Law Universities:
| National Law University (NLU) | CLAT 2026 General Category Cutoff (Closing Rank) |
| NLU Bengaluru | 101 |
| NALSAR Hyderabad | 148 |
| NLIU Bhopal | 432 |
| WBNUJS Kolkata | 284 |
| NLU Jodhpur | 310 |
| HNLU Raipur | 736 |
| GNLU Gandhinagar | 376 |
| GNLU Silvassa | 1259 |
| RMLNLU Lucknow | 747 |
| RGNUL Punjab | 1059 |
| CNLU Patna | 1141 |
| NUALS Kochi | 1076 |
| NLU Odisha | 800 |
| NUSRL Ranchi | 1297 |
| NLUJA Assam | 1764 |
| DSNLU Visakhapatnam | 1281 |
| TNNLU Tiruchirappalli | 1370 |
| MNLU Mumbai | 481 |
| MNLU Nagpur | 1225 |
| MNLU Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar | 1518 |
| HPNLU Shimla | 1824 |
| MPDNLU Jabalpur | 1740 |
| NLU Sonepat | 1665 |
| NLU Agartala | 2015 |
| RPNLUP Prayagraj | 1930 |
| IIULER Goa | 2127 |
Next Steps for Students Allotted a Seat
Students who have been offered a seat in an NLU based on these Round 1 cutoffs must take action to confirm their admission. The immediate steps are:
- Freezing the Seat: This means you accept the seat offered to you and do not want to be considered for any other NLU in later rounds. By freezing, you secure your current admission.
- Paying Confirmation Fee: A specific admission fee must be paid online to secure your allotted seat. Students must complete this payment within the given deadline.
It is important for all students to visit the official CLAT website for the exact deadlines, payment process, and further instructions. Missing these deadlines can lead to the loss of the allotted seat.
