One number can change everything in CLAT: the cut-off. It’s the thin line between NLSIU Bangalore and settling for a lower-ranked NLU. Even a single mark can flip your chances.
In this blog, we break down the CLAT 2026 cut-off, expected scores, NLU-wise predictions, and past trends, so you know exactly what it takes to land your dream law school.
The CLAT cut-off refers to the minimum score or rank required for admission to various NLUs. It varies based on factors such as:
The cut-off is typically expressed as the rank of the last candidate admitted during a particular round of counselling. Candidates who meet or exceed the cut-off are eligible for admission.
Fee Structure Comparison of NLUs:
| NLU Prayagraj Fee Structure | NLU Goa Fee Structure |
| NLU Jodhpur Fee Structure | NLU Bhopal Fee Structure |
| NLSIU Bangalore Fee Structure | NALSAR Hyderabad Fees |
While the official CLAT 2026 cut-off will be released by the Consortium of National Law Universities post-examination, preliminary analyses suggest the following expected ranges:
| Category | CLAT Cut-off Marks |
| General | 85–100+ |
| OBC | 78–95 |
| SC | 70–88 |
| ST | 65–85 |
| EWS | 82–96 |
Note:
These estimates are based on previous trends and the competitive nature of these institutions.
Browse: CLAT Marking Scheme
For aspirants of NLSIU Bangalore, NALSAR, or WBNUJS Kolkata, the expected CLAT 2026 cut-off will be following:
| Category | Expected CLAT Cut-off Marks |
| General | 95-98 |
| OBC | 92-95 |
| SC | 86-90 |
| ST | 82-86 |
| EWS | 94-96 |
| PwD | 78-80 |
Read more about CLAT Subjects here.
The following table lists the expected NLUs cut-off for CLAT 2026:
| NLU Cut-Off 2026 | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
| NLSIU Bangalore Cut-Off | 1 | 112 |
| NALSAR Hyderabad Cut-Off | 17 | 159 |
| WBNUJS Kolkata Cut-Off | 57 | 327 |
| NLIU Bhopal Cut-Off | 257 | 480 |
| NLU Jodhpur Cut-Off | 159 | 367 |
| GNLU Gandhinagar Cut-Off | 236 | 444 |
| GNLU Silvassa Cut-Off | 755 | 1461 |
| HNLU Raipur Cut-Off | 480 | 807 |
| RMLNLU Lucknow Cut-Off | 461 | 780 |
| RGNUL Patiala Cut-Off | 565 | 1279 |
| NUALS Kochi Cut-Off | 350 | 1346 |
| NLU Odisha Cut-Off | 469 | 1013 |
| MNLU Mumbai Cut-Off | 443 | 1473 |
| MNLU Nagpur Cut-Off | 722 | 1529 |
| MNLU Aurangabad Cut-Off | 1023 | 1949 |
| CNLU Patna Cut-Off | 882 | 1398 |
| NUSRL Ranchi Cut-Off | 864 | 1667 |
| DSNLU Visakhapatnam Cut-Off | 957 | 1682 |
| TNNLU Tiruchirappalli Cut-Off | 1231 | 1763 |
| HPNLU Shimla Cut-Off | 949 | 2555 |
| DBRANLU Sonipat Cut-Off | 626 | 1930 |
| MPDNLU Jabalpur Cut-Off | 1371 | 2243 |
| RPNLU Prayagraj Cut-Off | 1446 | 2469 |
| NLUJA Assam Cut-Off | 1163 | 2141 |
| NLUT Agartala Cut-Off | 1964 | 2855 |
| IIULER Goa Cut-Off | 1314 | 2784 |
Seats & College Overview – NLUs:
| NLU Prayagraj | NLU Jodhpur Seats |
| NLU Goa Seats | NLU Goa |
| NLSIU Bangalore Seats |
Check out the previous year’s CLAT cut-off scores mentioned below:
| CLAT 2025 Participating NLUs | Opening Rank | Closing Ranks |
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore | 460 | 7286 |
| NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad | 3273 | 7676 |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata | 1119 | 11938 |
| National Law Institute University, Bhopal | 453 | 18889 |
| 9010 | – | |
| National Law University, Jodhpur | 581 | 9292 |
| Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar | 444 | 15863 |
| Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow | 780 | 51995 |
| Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala | 1264 | 43286 |
| Chanakya National Law University, Patna | 12662 | 40194 |
| 1550 | 49876 | |
| National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi | 1346 | 45914 |
| National Law University Odisha, Cuttack | 1012 | 12967 |
| National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi | 1649 | 53778 |
| National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam | 2052 | 57634 |
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Visakhapatnam | 1639 | 17399 |
| The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli | 1748 | 28493 |
| 1871 | 31197 | |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai | 8067 | 31295 |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur |
1508 | 32360 |
| 1577 | 42733 | |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad | 1949 | 57691 |
| 2197 | 55824 | |
| Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla | 2323 | 57089 |
| 2418 | 58003 | |
| Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur | 2224 | 52977 |
| Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat, Haryana | 1916 | 59115 |
| Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur | 2594 | 56624 |
| NLU Tripura | 1866 | 5326 |
| CLAT 2025 Participating NLUs | Opening Rank | Closing Ranks |
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore | 106 | 25525 |
| NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad | 157 | 6981 |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata | 289 | 18509 |
| National Law Institute University, Bhopal | 456 | 17523 |
| 874 | 39468 | |
| National Law University, Jodhpur | 358 | 14081 |
| Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar | 404 | 14278 |
| Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow | 578 | 31066 |
| Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala | 954 | 36722 |
| Chanakya National Law University, Patna | 1282 | 33759 |
| 1428 | 46880 | |
| National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi | 1211 | 44199 |
| National Law University Odisha, Cuttack | 946 | 55316 |
| National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi | 1494 | 41897 |
| National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam | 1652 | 53778 |
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Visakhapatnam | 1502 | 47102 |
| The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli | 1602 | 21638 |
| 1701 | 45591 | |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai | 538 | 40504 |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur |
1360 | 57657 |
| 1410 | 59008 | |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad | 1672 | 58448 |
| 1882 | 59056 | |
| Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla | 1945 | 55135 |
| 2150 | 51680 | |
| Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur | 1785 | 52212 |
| Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat, Haryana | 1635 | 60436 |
| Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur | 780 | 52295 |
| NLU Tripura | 2222 | 52977 |
| GNLU Silvassa | 1189 | 54202 |
| CLAT 2025 Participating NLUs | Opening Rank | Closing Ranks |
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore | 1 | 16544 |
| NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad | 17 | 7713 |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata | 57 | 29717 |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata | 299 | 18509 |
| National Law Institute University, Bhopal |
257 | 16572 |
| 438 | 24911 | |
| National Law University, Jodhpur | 159 | 39868 |
| Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar | 164 | 14022 |
| Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow | 460 | 21506 |
| Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala | 95 | 29588 |
| Chanakya National Law University, Patna |
882 | 30737 |
| 1215 | 44258 | |
| National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi | 350 | 56347 |
| National Law University Odisha, Cuttack | 382 | 50544 |
| National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi | 864 | 36722 |
| National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam | 1163 | 45940 |
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU), Visakhapatnam | 957 | 42139 |
| The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli | 1231 | 44669 |
| 1259 | 44760 | |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai | 418 | 31018 |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur |
680 | 54410 |
| 681 | 51639 | |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad | 1023 | 59856 |
| 1361 | 56843 | |
| Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla | 949 | 43876 |
| 1135 | 44095 | |
| Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur | 1060 | 51352 |
| Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University Sonipat, Haryana | 626 | 53778 |
| Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur | 463 | 47261 |
| National Law University, Tripura | 31168 | 57038 |
| GNLU Silvassa Campus | 755 | 52920 |
| Dr. Rajendra Prasad National Law University (RPNLUP), Prayagraj | 1102 | 45273 |
| India International University of Legal Education and Research, Goa – B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) | 1314 | 48454 |
| India International University of Legal Education and Research, Goa – B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) | 1198 | 4960 |
| CLAT 2023 Participating NLUs | Opening Rank | Closing Ranks |
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore | 1 | 13869 |
| NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad | 8 | 16269 |
| The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata | 117 | 12809 |
| National Law Institute University, Bhopal | 217 | 17826 |
| 422 | 27962 | |
| National Law University, Jodhpur | 155 | 7467 |
| Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar | 33 | 10805 |
| Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow | 184 | 20391 |
| Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala | 401 | 25179 |
| Chanakya National Law University, Patna | 932 | 33540 |
| National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi | 413 | 28235 |
| National Law University Odisha, Cuttack | 470 | 34635 |
| National University of Study & Research in Law, Ranchi | 933 | 40538 |
| National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam | 1047 | 48523 |
| Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University (DSNLU) Visakhapatnam | 1002 | 38481 |
| The Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchirapalli | 807 | 44427 |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Mumbai | 64 | 43608 |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur | 796 | 40090 |
| 999 | 46384 | |
| Maharashtra National Law University, Aurangabad | 1390 | 46407 |
| Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla | 1056 | 38853 |
| Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur | 1314 | 48558 |
| Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University, Sonipat, Haryana | 1094 | 25003 |
| Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur | 417 | 170 |
| NLUs | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
| NLSIU Bengaluru | 1 | 85 |
| NALSAR Hyderabad | 08 | 162 |
| WBNUJS Kolkata | 117 | 257 |
| NLU Jodhpur | 155 | 378 |
| NLIU Bhopal | 217 | 451 |
| GNLU, Gandhinagar | 33 | 430 |
| RMLNLU, Lucknow | 377 | 756 |
| HNLU, Raipur | 430 | 837 |
| RGNUL, Patiala | 437 | 1184 |
| NLUO, Odisha | 470 | 1193 |
| NLUs | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
| NLSIU Bengaluru | 1 | 83 |
| NALSAR Hyderabad | 65 | 172 |
| WBNUJS Kolkata | 24 | 241 |
| NLU Jodhpur | 185 | 356 |
| NLIU Bhopal | 176 | 384 |
Check your college through: CLAT College Predictor by Exam Charcha.
Setting a strategic target score is crucial for securing admission to your preferred NLU. Follow these steps to plan effectively:
Analyze CLAT cut-off trends from the past 3–5 years. For top NLUs, general category cut-offs have historically ranged between 85–95 marks, which can guide your target.
Adjust your target based on the expected difficulty of CLAT exam. A tougher paper may lower cut-offs, while an easier one could raise them.
Add 5–10 marks above the expected cut-off to ensure a buffer. For example, if the top-tier cut-off is 85, aim for 90–95 marks.
Use CLAT mock tests to measure your current performance. Compare your scores with your target to identify areas for improvement and adjust your study plan accordingly.
If your current score is below target, set incremental goals. For instance, increase your score by 10 marks monthly until you reach your desired target.
Useful Links for CLAT & NLU Preparation:
| NLU Kolkata Fee Structure | NLU Delhi Cut Off |
| CLAT Exam Date | CLAT Eligibility Criteria |
| CLAT Rank Predictor by Exam Charcha |
The CLAT cut-off 2026 depends on several key factors that determine the minimum marks or rank required for admission to NLUs:
An easier paper usually pushes cut-offs higher, while a tougher exam can lower them. Even small changes in question types or CLAT exam pattern can have a significant impact on overall scores.
Cut-offs are influenced by how well aspirants perform overall. More high scorers increase competition and raise cut-offs, while lower performance can reduce them.
Limited seats in top NLUs result in higher cut-offs, whereas an increase in seats may slightly lower the required marks.
Reserved quotas for SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and PwD result in different cut-offs for each category, with General category aspirants typically facing the highest.
Historical cut-offs provide a benchmark. Top NLUs maintain consistently high cut-offs, while smaller NLUs may see fluctuations.
More candidates increase competition and raise cut-off marks, while fewer applicants can lead to lower admission requirements.
Learn more: CLAT Marks vs Rank
Free Resources for CLAT Preparation:
Use the following free CLAT preparation resources by Examcharcha:
Top CLAT Coaching Programs in India:
Explore CLAT exam guides, preparation tips, and important updates.
Let’s help you figure it out.
Share what you’re trying to decide, and get guidance on exams, colleges, courses and coaching options that fit your goals.
