Exam guide · CLAT

CLAT: a reading test with a law degree at the end

CLAT fills the five-year BA LLB seats at the national law universities. Every section is built on passages, so the skill that decides your rank is reading fast and reading carefully.

By Anuj Arora · Last verified: 10 Nov 2026

CLAT 2027 is on 6 December 2026

If you are taking it now: stop new topics. Take a full mock every other day in the 2-to-4 pm slot, analyse it the next morning, and read the last four months of current affairs once more. The plans below are for CLAT 2028.

The paper at a glance

CLAT UG: five passage-based sectionsCLAT UG has 120 questions in 2 hours: English about 24, Current affairs and general knowledge about 30, Legal reasoning about 30, Logical reasoning about 24, Quantitative techniques about 12. 1 2 3 4 5 1 English Language22–26 questions 2 Current Affairs incl. GK28–32 questions 3 Legal Reasoning28–32 questions 4 Logical Reasoning22–26 questions 5 Quantitative Techniques10–14 questions One mark per question; a quarter mark lost for each wrong answer.
CLAT 2027 UG: 120 questions, 120 marks, 2 hours. No legal knowledge is needed; the legal passages explain the rule.
Conducted byConsortium of National Law Universities
DatesCLAT 2027: 6 Dec 2026 · CLAT 2028: usually early December. Exam calendar
Marking+1 for a right answer, −0.25 for a wrong one
Also considerAILET for NLU Delhi (13 Dec 2026); SLAT for Symbiosis
Official formatconsortiumofnlus.ac.in

The 12-month plan

For CLAT 2028, start now and run through Class 12. Reading is the base; everything else sits on it.

CLAT study plan in phasesTwelve-month plan: months 1 to 3 daily reading habit and current affairs, months 4 to 7 legal and logical reasoning, months 8 to 9 board exams, months 10 to 12 mocks every week rising to three a week. Six-month plan: months 1 to 2 reasoning and current affairs, months 3 to 4 sectional tests, months 5 to 6 full mocks. 12 months M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12 Reading habit Legal + logical Boards Full mocks 6 months M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 Reasoning + news Sectional tests Full mocks
Green: learning. Amber: exams and testing. Current affairs run through every month, not as a last-minute block.
MonthsFocusDone when
1–3Two editorials a day; monthly current affairs notes; one novel or long article a weekYou read 700 words in under four minutes and can summarise them
4–7Legal reasoning passages daily; logical reasoning; Class 10 maths for the quant sectionSectional accuracy above 75%
8–9Board exams; keep 30 minutes of news dailyBoards done, news notes up to date
10–12One full mock a week, rising to three; analysis takes as long as the mockScore stable; you finish with time to review

The six-month version

MonthsFocusDone when
1–2Legal and logical reasoning passages; daily news notesTwenty passages a week
3–4Sectional tests; past CLAT papers from the consortium siteWeakest section identified and improving
5–6Three full mocks a week in the exam's time slotCalm, fixed exam-day routine

A day that works

Reading in the morning, news at night, a mock in the exam's own afternoon slot on test days.

Daily routine for CLATClass 12 student: news 6 to 7 am, school 7:30 am to 2 pm, reasoning 4 to 6 pm, passage practice 7 to 8:30 pm, current affairs notes 8:30 to 9 pm. Drop year: reading 7 to 9 am, legal reasoning 9:30 am to 12 pm, mock 2 to 4 pm, analysis 4:30 to 6:30 pm, current affairs 7:30 to 8:30 pm. Self-study Tests and practice papers School, meals, rest 5:00 7:00 9:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00 Class 12 student School Lunch Reasoning Play Sets Free Drop year Reading Legal Lunch Mock Analysis Sleep Bars run from 5:00 am to 11:00 pm. Exact times are in the tables below.
Class 12 student: about 5 hours of self-study. Drop year: about 9.5 hours. Both keep 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

Class 12 student

TimeWhat to do
5:30 am – 6:00 amWake up, water, quick walk
6:00 am – 7:00 amTwo editorials; underline the argument
7:30 am – 2:00 pmSchool
2:00 pm – 4:00 pmLunch and rest
4:00 pm – 6:00 pmLegal or logical reasoning passages
6:00 pm – 7:00 pmExercise or outdoor play
7:00 pm – 8:30 pmTimed passage set (25 questions)
8:30 pm – 9:00 pmCurrent affairs notes for the day
9:00 pm – 11:00 pmFree time; sleep by 10:30 pm

Drop year

TimeWhat to do
6:30 am – 7:00 amWake up, water, short walk
7:00 am – 9:00 amEditorials and long-form reading
9:00 am – 9:30 amBreakfast
9:30 am – 12:00 pmLegal reasoning, then logical reasoning
12:00 pm – 2:00 pmLunch and rest
2:00 pm – 4:00 pmFull mock in CLAT's slot, or sectional tests
4:30 pm – 6:30 pmAnalyse the mock: every wrong and every guessed question
6:30 pm – 7:30 pmExercise outdoors
7:30 pm – 8:30 pmCurrent affairs and quant practice
8:30 pm – 9:30 pmDinner with family
9:30 pm – 11:00 pmSleep by 10:30 pm

Sundays: one full mock test in the exam's time slot, then the rest of the day off. Log the week on the free Self Tracker.

Three habits that move rank the most

  • Read the question before the passage on reasoning sets; read the passage first on English.
  • Keep one page of notes per month of news; revise all of them in the last month.
  • Skip, don't guess: a wrong answer costs a quarter mark.

Where CLAT takes you

Every national law university and the NIRF top 40 law schools, with yearly fee and entrance test.

College finderAfter 12th Arts

Sources

  1. CLAT 2027 UG question format (Consortium of NLUs)
  2. CLAT 2027 on 6 December 2026 (Bar & Bench)
  3. AILET 2027 on 13 December 2026 (Bar & Bench)