CLAT Exam Pattern 2027: UG and PG Paper Guide

The CLAT exam pattern 2027 decides how you spend every minute of a two-hour paper. CLAT 2027 is conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities on Sunday, 6 December 2026, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, in offline pen-and-paper mode. Both the UG paper (for five-year integrated LLB) and the PG paper (for one-year LLM) have 120 multiple-choice questions of one mark each, with 0.25 mark deducted for every wrong answer.

This page explains the UG and PG paper structure, section-wise weightage, the marking scheme with worked examples, a realistic time plan, rules for PwD candidates and how ties are broken. The Consortium has kept the CLAT 2027 syllabus and pattern unchanged from CLAT 2026, so the structure below is the one you will face in December.

Table of Contents

• CLAT Exam Pattern 2027 at a Glance

• Key Changes to Know

• CLAT UG Exam Pattern

• CLAT PG Exam Pattern

• UG and PG Papers Compared

• Marking Scheme and Negative Marking

• What the Pattern Means for You

• Section-Wise Time Plan

• Rules for PwD Candidates

• How Merit and Ties Are Decided

• Preparing for the Current Pattern

CLAT Exam Pattern 2027 at a Glance

Key Changes to Know

• No change for 2027: The Consortium has confirmed that the UG and PG syllabus and pattern stay the same as CLAT 2026. An expert committee reviewed question quality, but its work does not change the structure of the 2027 paper.

• 120 questions, not 150: The paper was cut from 150 to 120 questions from CLAT 2024 onwards, while the duration stayed at two hours. You now get about one minute per question instead of about 48 seconds.

• Offline, not computer-based: CLAT 2027 is a pen-and-paper exam. Some news reports describe it as a computer-based test, but the Consortium's CLAT 2027 instructions state that the test is offline.

• No descriptive section in PG: The PG paper is fully objective. Older pages that mention essay questions describe an earlier format.

Older pages may still show 150 questions, section ranges such as 35 to 39 questions for Current Affairs, or an online mode. Follow the current structure on this page and the official Consortium website.

CLAT UG Exam Pattern

The UG paper tests reading, reasoning and aptitude rather than memorised facts. Four of the five sections are built on passages of about 450 words, each followed by a set of questions. Quantitative Techniques uses short sets of facts, graphs or tables instead.

The Consortium's current syllabus page fixes the total at 120 questions but does not print a section-wise count. The ranges above follow the Consortium's earlier published weightage and the distribution seen in recent papers, so the exact number in each section can vary slightly from year to year.

What Each UG Section Tests

• English Language: You read a passage and answer questions on its main idea, inferences, summary, comparison of viewpoints and the meaning of words in context. The level is Class 12, but the passages are dense.

• Current Affairs and GK: Passages are drawn from news and journalistic writing. Questions test awareness of the event or issue in the passage and related facts, covering national and international affairs, arts and culture, and historical events of continuing significance.

• Legal Reasoning: You identify the rule or principle in a passage and apply it to a fact situation. No prior knowledge of law is required, although general awareness of legal issues helps you read faster.

• Logical Reasoning: Questions ask you to find the conclusion, spot assumptions, strengthen or weaken an argument, draw analogies and find contradictions within a short argument.

• Quantitative Techniques: You apply Class 10 mathematics, such as ratios and proportions, basic algebra, mensuration and statistical estimation, to data in a set, graph or table.

CLAT PG Exam Pattern 2027

The PG paper has a single section of 120 objective questions to be answered in 120 minutes. Questions are framed on extracts from primary legal material: important court decisions, statutes and regulations. Each passage is followed by questions that check whether you can understand the issues and arguments, recall related legal facts, summarise the extract and apply your knowledge of that area of law.

The Consortium does not publish a subject-wise question count for PG. In recent papers, Constitutional Law has carried the largest share, followed by Jurisprudence and core subjects such as Contract, Torts and Criminal Law. Treat this as a trend from past papers, not a fixed weightage.

CLAT UG and PG Papers Compared

CLAT Marking Scheme and Negative Marking

Four wrong answers cancel one correct answer. Mark only one bubble per question and follow the OMR instructions printed in the test booklet. The scheme is the same for UG and PG, and there is no separate sectional cut-off in the written test. Your all-India rank comes from your total score.

Worked Example: How Negative Marking Changes Your Score

Candidate B attempted 12 more questions than A and got 2 more right, yet finished lower because the extra attempts were mostly guesses. Candidate C was the most accurate but left too many questions unattempted. The lesson is to attempt widely but only where you have a real basis for the answer.

What the CLAT Pattern Means for You

• Reading speed is the real test: You get roughly one minute per question, and that minute includes reading the passage. Building a daily reading habit of 45 to 60 minutes matters more than memorising facts.

• Half the marks sit in two sections: Legal Reasoning and Current Affairs together carry about 50% of the UG paper. They deserve the largest share of your study time, without neglecting English and Logical Reasoning.

• Guess only after elimination: A blind guess among four options is close to neutral on average and adds risk. Once you have ruled out two options, a guess becomes a sensible bet.

• Quant is small but quick: At about 10% of the paper, Quantitative Techniques rewards students who are fast with Class 10 arithmetic. A few minutes saved here buys time for long legal passages.

• Ranks are close at the top: Because seats at top NLUs fill within a few hundred ranks, a difference of one or two marks can move you many places. Accuracy is worth protecting.

Section-Wise Time Plan for CLAT UG

There are no sectional time limits, so you can attempt sections in any order. The plan below is a starting point that you should adjust after a few full-length mocks.

Many students start with Current Affairs because it is quick and builds momentum. Others prefer Legal Reasoning first while the mind is fresh. Test both orders in mocks and keep the one that gives you the higher accuracy.

Because the test is offline, mark answers on the OMR sheet as you finish each passage rather than at the end. Leaving all the bubbling for the last ten minutes is a common cause of unmarked or misaligned answers.

CLAT Exam Pattern Rules for PwD Candidates

• Compensatory time: Eligible PwD candidates get an extra 40 minutes, which is 20 minutes per hour of the exam. For CLAT 2027, their paper runs from 2:00 PM to 4:40 PM.

• Scribe facility: Candidates with benchmark disabilities of 40% or more under the RPwD Act, 2016, and those with a certified limitation in writing, can request a scribe under the Consortium's PwD notification.

• Same paper, same marking: The questions, total marks and negative marking do not change for PwD candidates.

Scribe eligibility rules were changed and then restored during the CLAT 2026 cycle. Read the CLAT 2027 PwD notification on the Consortium website before you apply for a scribe.

How Merit and Ties Are Decided

The Consortium prepares an all-India merit list and category ranks from the total marks. When two or more candidates have the same score, the tie is broken in this order:

1. CLAT UG: Higher marks in the Legal Aptitude (Legal Reasoning) section, then higher age, then a computerised draw of lots.

2. CLAT PG: Higher age, then a computerised draw of lots.

The UG rule gives Legal Reasoning an extra role beyond its 25% weight. A strong score in that section can lift you above candidates with the same total. Seat allotment at NLUs then depends on rank, category and preference order during counselling; the CLAT cut-off page shows recent closing ranks.

Preparing for the Current CLAT Pattern

1. Start with an official paper: Solve one previous CLAT paper under exam conditions to see which section costs you the most time and marks.

2. Build reading stamina: Read editorials and long-form articles daily, and summarise one passage in three lines to train comprehension.

3. Practise by section: Take timed sectional tests in Legal and Logical Reasoning, and track accuracy as well as attempts.

4. Move to full mocks: In the last six to eight weeks, take two to three full-length mocks a week in the 120-question pattern, analyse each on the same day and keep an error log.

The official syllabus and exam instructions are on the Consortium's CLAT 2027 UG syllabus page and the Consortium of NLUs website.