Ultimate Guide to CLAT UG and PG: Syllabus, Pattern, and Strategy
A comprehensive guide to the CLAT UG and PG exams, covering syllabus breakdowns, marking schemes, fees, and preparation strategies for law aspirants.
The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is administered annually by the Consortium of NLUs and is divided into two separate national-level examinations held on the exact same day: CLAT UG for high school graduates seeking five-year integrated law degrees (BA LLB, BBA LLB, etc.), and CLAT PG for law graduates seeking one-year postgraduate (LLM) programs.
Understanding the structural divergence between these two tests is critical for aspirants planning their preparation timeline.
CLAT UG Exam Structure and Syllabus
The undergraduate examination evaluates comprehension and reasoning skills rather than rote memorization. The test duration is 2 hours (120 minutes) and contains 120 multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Each correct answer awards 1 mark, while each incorrect answer attracts a negative marking of 0.25 marks.
The syllabus is divided into five distinct sections:
| Section | Approximate Weightage | Key Focus Areas |
|---|---|---|
| English Language | 20% (22-26 questions) | Reading comprehension, vocabulary, inference-based questions |
| Current Affairs & GK | 25% (28-32 questions) | Contemporary events, national/international affairs, arts and culture |
| Legal Reasoning | 25% (28-32 questions) | Application of legal principles to factual scenarios, legal propositions |
| Logical Reasoning | 20% (22-26 questions) | Identifying arguments, premises, conclusions, analogies, syllogisms |
| Quantitative Techniques | 10% (10-14 questions) | 10th-standard mathematical concepts, data interpretation, graphs |
CLAT PG Exam Structure and Syllabus
The postgraduate examination is designed for law graduates and focuses heavily on core legal subjects. Like the UG exam, the PG paper consists of 120 MCQs to be solved in 2 hours with a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer.
The questions are passage-based, requiring candidates to read extracts from landmark judgments, legislative statutes, or academic articles before answering.
Key subjects tested in CLAT PG include:
- Constitutional Law (highest weightage)
- Jurisprudence
- Law of Torts
- Family Law
- Criminal Law (Indian Penal Code / Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, CrPC / BNSS, Indian Evidence Act / BSA)
- International Law and Human Rights
- Property Law, Company Law, and Intellectual Property Rights
Registration Fees and Eligibility Criteria
Candidates must meet specific academic thresholds and pay the prescribed registration fees to secure their seat in the examination halls.
| Parameter | CLAT UG | CLAT PG |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Marks | 45% in 10+2 (Gen/OBC); 40% (SC/ST) | 50% in LLB (Gen/OBC); 45% (SC/ST) |
| Age Limit | No upper age limit | No upper age limit |
| General Fee | ₹4,000 | ₹4,000 |
| SC/ST Fee | ₹3,500 | ₹3,500 |
Key takeaway
For law aspirants: CLAT is a test of speed and comprehension rather than memory. Success in both UG and PG depends on mastering passage-based reasoning and tracking landmark Supreme Court judgments.
Source: consortiumofnlus.ac.in