The CLAT exam paper is a single offline pen and paper test of 120 questions taken in two hours. Confirm the total marks and marking scheme in the official notification from the Consortium of National Law Universities before you set a score target, because the sources used here do not state a CLAT total.

What the CLAT exam paper is

CLAT stands for Common Law Admission Test. It is India's national law entrance exam, conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities (CNLU). It selects students for the five-year integrated LLB, which is an undergraduate law degree, and the one-year LLM, which is a postgraduate law degree, at participating National Law Universities (NLUs).

The main advantage for students is that one paper covers many NLUs. You do not sit a separate entrance test for each university. Most NLUs use CLAT scores for admission, so one preparation effort serves many applications. You can read more on our page on How to Clear CLAT Exam: Full Preparation Strategy | Clat Coaching.

The same paper is used for both programmes. A Class 12 student applying for the five-year LLB and a graduate applying for the LLM sit the same test. What changes is the eligibility rule you must meet and the counselling process after results, not the question paper itself.

How the paper is structured

The paper has 120 questions and runs for two hours. It is held once a year and is taken offline, with pen and paper, at your allotted centre. The next scheduled exam date mentioned in the sources is 6 December 2026, and you should confirm it in the official notification before you plan around it.

Two hours for 120 questions works out to about one minute per question if you spread your time evenly. In practice, that average hides big differences. Some questions take thirty seconds and others need several minutes of reading and working. Your practice should reflect this real pacing, not just the total.

For example, suppose you spend 20 minutes on a long reading passage with several questions attached. You then have about 100 minutes for the remaining questions. Decide in advance how many minutes each question block gets, and move on when your time limit runs out, even if you feel close to the answer. Practise this under timed conditions at least a few times a week so the pattern feels normal on exam day. You can find preparation guides and updates collected at CLAT Coaching Delhi, which is a useful place to track changes as they are published.

CLAT exam paper total marks: what to confirm before you plan

This is the question most candidates ask first, and it needs a careful answer. The sources used for this guide do not give a CLAT total marks figure. Because of that, you should not take a number from a coaching blog, a forum post or last year's paper and treat it as final.

The total marks, the marks awarded for each correct answer, the penalty for wrong answers and the split across sections must all come from the official CLAT notification published by the Consortium of National Law Universities. Read that document yourself or with a parent or teacher. If a figure you see elsewhere does not match the notification, the notification wins.

Be especially careful with AILET. The All India Law Entrance Test for NLU Delhi uses a different paper. Its BA LLB paper has 150 questions for 150 marks, with 1 mark for each correct answer and 0.25 marks deducted for each wrong answer, and it is taken in 120 minutes. Some students see those numbers and assume CLAT works the same way. Do not copy AILET figures onto CLAT. You can read the full AILET breakdown in the AILET Exam Marks 2027: Marking Scheme and Cut-Offs guide, but treat it as a comparison only.

Once you have confirmed the official figures, use this checklist:

• Total marks for the paper, as stated in the notification
• Marks awarded for each correct answer
• Penalty for each wrong answer, or confirmation that there is none
• Section-wise split of questions and marks
• Whether any questions are unattempted by default, and how unanswered questions are scored

Only after you have these five items should you set a score target. Write the target as a number of correct answers you aim for in each section, adjusted for any penalty. Without confirmed figures, a score target is just a guess.

Who the CLAT paper suits and who it does not

The CLAT paper suits Class 12 students and graduates who want a national pathway into law at NLUs. It is a good fit if you enjoy reading dense passages, can reason through arguments quickly, and are comfortable with general knowledge and current affairs. Because the paper is offline and held once a year, it also suits students who can commit to one fixed exam date and plan their preparation around it.

It is not the right choice for everyone. If you want a law degree only from a non-NLU college and do not plan to apply to NLUs, CLAT may not be the most useful exam for your goals. If you cannot sit an offline exam on the scheduled date, the single-date format will be a problem.

The honest trade-off is this. One paper opens doors to many NLUs, which saves effort and money on separate tests. But because everything depends on one sitting, a single poor day can affect all your options that year. If that worries you, look at other law entrance exams as well and compare their formats before you commit.

Eligibility and dates to check

Before you prepare, check that you meet the eligibility rules. The rules for Class 12 students, including the percentage requirement and any relaxations, are set out in the CLAT Exam Eligibility 2027: Age, Marks and Criteria guide. Read it as an explainer, then confirm the details in the official notification, since rules can change between years.

For a quicker check, the CLAT 2027 Eligibility | Age Limit, Marks & Attempts page is useful when you want to compare your own marks and category against the criteria. Keep the official document as the final reference.

On dates, the CLAT 2027 Exam Date & Notification | Dates & Timeline page covers the timeline in one place. The sources give 6 December 2026 as the next exam date, but mark it as expected in your planner until the official notification confirms it. Registration, form filling, fee payment and admit card download all happen before the exam, and the timing of each step depends on the notification.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

The first mistake is assuming the total marks from an older year or from a different exam. Avoid it by reading the current notification every time you check, even if a friend tells you the figure is the same as last year.

The second mistake is treating the exam date, fee or registration window as final before the notification is out. Avoid it by writing these items in your planner with the word "expected" beside them. Update them as soon as the official document appears.

The third mistake is ignoring negative marking. If the notification confirms a penalty for wrong answers, you must practise with that penalty in place. Students who practise without it often guess too freely on the real paper and lose marks. If the notification says there is no penalty, you still need a plan for when to guess and when to skip.