CLAT Exam Pattern 2027: 120 Questions, 120 Marks, Marking Scheme and Section Wise Weightage

CLAT 2027 is a 120-minute offline pen-and-paper exam conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs). The exam has 120 objective questions worth 120 marks, spread across five sections tested entirely through passage-based MCQs. Every wrong answer deducts 0.25 marks; unattempted questions carry no penalty. The Consortium’s governing body confirmed in July 2026 that the pattern and syllabus remain unchanged for 2027 — visit consortiumofnlus.ac.in for the official notification.

• CLAT 2027 is a 120-minute pen-and-paper test with 120 questions for 120 marks — no computer-based mode exists.
• The UG paper has 5 sections: English Language, Current Affairs including GK, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques.
• Every correct answer earns +1 mark; a wrong answer deducts 0.25 marks; skipped questions carry zero penalty.
• All questions are passage-based MCQs — each set of 4–8 questions is drawn from a single comprehension passage of 300–500 words.
• There is no per-section time limit — you can freely move across all five sections within the 120-minute window.
• Legal Reasoning carries the highest weightage with 28–32 questions for up to 32 marks.
• The Consortium confirmed in July 2026 that the CLAT 2027 pattern is unchanged from the 2026 cycle.

CLAT Exam Pattern 2027: Overview

CLAT 2027 is conducted in an offline pen-and-paper format — there is no computer-based mode for either the UG or PG paper. You record answers on a physical OMR sheet. The exam tests English comprehension, current affairs, legal reasoning, logical reasoning, and basic quantitative aptitude through passage-based multiple-choice questions only. You get 120 minutes to attempt 120 questions worth 120 marks.

CLAT 2027 is a 120-minute offline pen-and-paper test with no computer-based option — practise OMR bubbling accuracy during mock tests.

CLAT Exam Pattern 2027: Important Dates

The CLAT 2027 official notification is expected from the Consortium of NLUs. The exam is expected in December 2026; registration may still be open as of October 2026. All dates below are tentative — confirm at consortiumofnlus.ac.in once the official schedule is notified.

Source: Consortium of National Law Universities — consortiumofnlus.ac.in

CLAT 2027: Detailed Exam Pattern

CLAT has two separate papers — UG for 5-year LLB admission and PG for LLM admission. Both follow the same duration and marking scheme but differ in subject coverage. The UG paper has five named sections; the PG paper covers law subjects without a fixed section-wise split.

CLAT UG 2027 Exam Pattern

The UG paper uses a range-based question count — the Consortium specifies a band for each section rather than a fixed number. The actual count may vary slightly within the band across different years. The total always adds up to 120 questions.

Note: There is no sectional time limit in CLAT 2027. You can move freely between sections within the 120-minute window.

CLAT PG 2027 Exam Pattern

The PG paper tests law subjects through passage-based MCQs drawn from cases, statutes, and legal literature. It covers LLB-level legal concepts. The Consortium does not publish a fixed section-wise question split for the PG paper.

PWD students get 40 extra minutes for both UG and PG — their total exam duration is 160 minutes.

CLAT Marking Scheme 2027

CLAT 2027 uses a +1 / −0.25 marking scheme for every MCQ in both the UG and PG papers. All questions are MCQs — there is no numerical or integer type that carries different marking. Unattempted questions carry zero marks: no addition, no deduction.

Negative marking of 0.25 marks applies to every wrong MCQ in CLAT 2027 — four wrong answers cancel one correct answer, so avoid guessing when you cannot rule out at least two options.

Because passages generate clusters of 4–8 linked questions, a single misread passage can cost you several marks. Read each passage carefully before answering any question from it — rereading after every question wastes time.

CLAT Subject-Wise Exam Pattern 2027

The CLAT UG 2027 paper distributes 120 questions across 5 subjects. Legal Reasoning and Current Affairs together account for more than 50% of total marks. Each subject uses the passage-based MCQ format — there are no standalone fact-recall questions in any section.

English Language

English Language carries 22–26 questions based on unseen prose passages. Questions test reading comprehension, vocabulary in context, grammar inference, and the ability to identify tone or the author’s intent. Passages are typically literary, journalistic, or essay-style.

Current Affairs including General Knowledge

This section carries 28–32 questions from passages about current events, Indian polity, and international affairs from the preceding year. The Consortium includes arts, culture, and sports alongside political and economic events. Passages present a news context; questions ask you to interpret or draw inferences from what the passage says.

Legal Reasoning

Legal Reasoning is the highest-weightage section, carrying 28–32 questions. Each passage describes a legal principle or rule; questions ask you to apply it to new fact situations. No prior knowledge of law is required — the Consortium explicitly states this. The skill tested is reasoning from the passage, not legal memory. Recent papers have included passages involving new statutes such as BNS and BNSS.

Logical Reasoning

Logical Reasoning carries 22–26 questions from short argumentative or analytical passages. Questions test your ability to identify the main argument, spot logical flaws, strengthen or weaken a conclusion, complete analogies, and draw inferences from the text provided.

Quantitative Techniques

Quantitative Techniques is the smallest section, carrying only 10–14 questions. Passages present data, graphs, or tables; questions test arithmetic, ratios, percentages, and data interpretation up to Class X level. This section is time-efficient and reliably scorable with basic numeracy revision.

CLAT Question Types 2027

Every question in CLAT 2027 — across all five UG sections and the PG paper — is a passage-based MCQ. This is the defining structural feature of CLAT and sets it apart from most other national entrance exams that use standalone fact-recall MCQs.

CLAT 2027 has no standalone MCQs, no numerical/integer type, and no essay or subjective answers — every question is anchored to a passage in the paper.

• Each passage generates 4–8 linked questions.
• You will encounter approximately 30–40 passages in 120 minutes — reading speed is a core exam skill.
• All four answer options are present for every MCQ; there is no partial marking.
• Passage difficulty and density tend to be higher for Legal Reasoning and Current Affairs than for English.

CLAT Exam Pattern: Changes in 2027 vs Previous Year

The Consortium of NLUs’ governing body met on July 18, 2026 and confirmed that the CLAT 2027 exam pattern, sections, and syllabus remain unchanged from 2026 for both UG and PG papers. The 2026 pattern was itself stable after the move to a 120-question format in an earlier cycle.

The CLAT 2027 pattern has no structural changes from 2026 — your preparation strategy, section sequencing, and time budget from the 2026 cycle apply directly to 2027.

Source: Consortium of National Law Universities — Governing Body Decision, July 18, 2026

How to Prepare Based on CLAT Exam Pattern

The CLAT 2027 pattern — 120 passage-based MCQs in 120 minutes — demands a preparation strategy built on reading speed and analytical reasoning. Every section rewards the ability to extract meaning from dense text rather than recalling facts from memory.

1. Build passage reading speed first: You face 30–40 passages in 120 minutes, meaning under 3 minutes per passage. Daily timed reading practice — targeting a 450-word passage with 5 linked answers in under 3 minutes — should start at least 6 months before the exam.
2. Prioritise Legal Reasoning (28–32 marks): This section has the highest weightage and is entirely self-contained. Practise applying legal principles from passages to new fact situations. No prior law knowledge helps or hurts — pure reasoning from text is the skill.
3. Use the no-time-limit structure strategically: Many top-scorers start with Quantitative Techniques and English (shorter, faster passages) before moving to Legal and Current Affairs. Sequence your sections in order of personal speed — there is no rule locking you to a fixed order.
4. Protect your score against negative marking: Four wrong answers cost 1 mark net. If you cannot eliminate at least 2 of the 4 options confidently, skipping is always the safer call — unattempted questions carry zero penalty.
5. Build Current Affairs through newspaper reading, not rote: Current Affairs passages (28–32 marks) draw from national and international news of the preceding year. Reading a quality English newspaper daily from July 2026 onwards builds the contextual comprehension the passages require.
6. Practise OMR discipline in every mock test: CLAT uses a physical OMR sheet. Bubbling the wrong circle, or marking outside the circle, costs marks on questions you answered correctly. Treat OMR accuracy as a scoreable skill and time it in every practice session.
7. Lock in Quantitative Techniques (10–14 marks) as easy marks: The difficulty cap is Class X. Revise arithmetic, percentages, ratios, and basic data tables in 2–3 weeks. This section takes the least study time per mark gained.