CLAT 2025: New counselling guidelines, how to fill preference lists, and official category-wise CUTOFFS for the past years.

 

CLAT 2025: Comprehensive Guide to Revised Results and Counselling Process

The Supreme Court’s judgment on May 16, 2025, has significantly impacted the CLAT 2025 admission process. The Court directed the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) to revise the CLAT 2025 results due to identified discrepancies in the answer key. The Consortium committed to publishing the revised results within two hours of the Court’s final order being uploaded.

This decision followed the apex court’s 7th May, order, which identified errors in several questions of the CLAT UG 2025 examination. The Court directed the Consortium to correct these errors and release a revised merit list within two weeks.

 

Revised CLAT 2025 Timeline

 

CLAT 2025 Counselling Process: Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Counselling Registration
    • Dates: To be announced post revised results.
    • Process:
      • Eligible candidates will receive invitations via SMS and email.
      • Upon receiving the invitation, candidates must:
        • Log in to the official CLAT portal.
        • Pay the counselling fee: ₹30,000 for General category and ₹20,000 for SC/ST candidates.
        • Update NLU preferences.
  2. Seat Allotment Rounds

     The counselling process will consist of five rounds. In each round, candidates will be allotted seats based on their rank and preferences.
  3. Options Post Allotment

     After each allotment, candidates have three choices:

    • Freeze: Accept the allotted seat and exit the counselling process.
    • Float: Accept the seat but remain open to higher preferences in subsequent rounds.
    • Exit: Withdraw from the counselling process.

(a) Locking the seat

By selecting this option, you agree to accept the allotted seat. No further changes will be considered. Candidate will not be upgraded to his/her higher option, even if vacancy arises at a later stage. Candidate has to upload all the required documents and make payment of requisite fee to the allotted NLU.

(b) Applying for Upgrade

Candidates opting for upgrade are also required to make the payment of the requisite fee to the allotted University and upload documents as per the schedule. Only candidates who have taken admission, paid the requisite fee, and uploaded the documents with the allotted NLU will be considered for upgrade. For candidates who have chosen to upgrade, the current allotted seat will be locked and he/she will be considered for allocation in any of the higher preferred NLUs, in case vacancy arises.

(c) Exit from CLAT admission process

If you choose this option, you forfeit your claim for any seat allotment from the CLAT consortium. You will lose your current allotted seat and you will not be considered for allotment in the subsequent lists also.

Note: If you do not exercise any of the options above, i.e., (a), (b) or (c) within the specified time, it shall be deemed that you are not interested in the admission process and your candidature will not be considered for admission. You will lose your current allotted seat and your name will be removed from the counselling process and will not be considered in subsequent lists. Candidates who did not get allotment in the First List will have to wait for the Second List and Third List.

  1. Fee Payment and Document Submission
    • Confirmation Fee: Payable after each allotment to confirm the seat.
    • University Fee: After adjusting the confirmation and counselling fees, the remaining amount must be paid to the allotted NLU.
    • Document Upload: Candidates must upload necessary documents as per the NLU’s requirements.

NLU Preference List: How to Choose

When filling out your NLU preferences, consider the following factors:

  1. Academic Reputation: Institutions like NLSIU Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, and WBNUJS Kolkata are renowned for their academic excellence.
  2. Placement Records: Review the placement statistics of each NLU.
  3. Faculty and Infrastructure: Consider the quality of faculty and campus facilities.
  4. Location: Proximity to home or preference for a particular city can influence your choice.
  5. Specializations Offered: Some NLUs offer unique courses or specializations.

Suggested Preference Order (if no specific constraints):

  1. NLSIU, Bangalore
  2. NALSAR, Hyderabad
  3. WBNUJS, Kolkata

      4-6 NLIU, Bhopal/ NLU, Jodhpur/ GNLU, Gandhinagar/

      7-10 RGNLU, Patiala/  .HNLU, Raipur/  RMLNLU, Lucknow/ NLU, Odisha 

     11 MNLU, Mumbai

     12.NUALS, Kochi

     13.. NUSRL, Ranchi

      14.CNLU, Patna

Note: If you have specific reasons (e.g., domicile, financial constraints), adjust your preferences accordingly.

If you want to deviate from the normal ranking by a big margin, then you must have a good reason. For example, a student from Bhopal has a very valid reason for deviating from the normal ranking. Say, he has a rank of 23. In this case, he can fill NLIU Bhopal as the first preference (otherwise he will get NLSIU and later this can not be changed) and after this, normal ranking can be followed.

In case you are getting confused about ranking of some of the closely rated NLUs/colleges, then do proper research. Placement data of each college is easily available. Google it.]

 

Tips for a Smooth Counselling Experience

For more detailed information and updates, visit the official CLAT 2025 website.

Admissions Counselling Calendar

S.No. Particulars Schedule
1. Registration for Admissions

Counselling (including payment of

Counselling Registration Fee)

 04:00 P.M., May 17, 2025  to

5:00 P.M., May 21, 2025
2. Publication of First Allotment List (First round of counselling starts) May 26, 2025 at 10:00 A.M
3. Payment of Confirmation Fee to Consortium for Freeze and Float options and Admission by NLUs for the First Allotment List 10:00 A.M. on May 26, 2025 to

1:00 P.M. on May 30, 2025
4. Publication of Second Allotment List (Second round of counselling starts) 10:00 A.M. on June 04, 2025
5. Payment of Confirmation Fee to Consortium for Freeze and Float options and Admission by NLUs for the Second Allotment List 10:00 A.M. on June 04, 2025 to

1:00 P.M. on June 09, 2025
6. Payment of University Fee (after adjusting the Confirmation Fee and Counselling Registration Fee) to NLU concerned for all candidates who have chosen the Freeze Option in the counselling process during First and Second counselling rounds June 14, 2025 by 5.00 PM
7. Publication of Third and Final Allotment List (Third round of counselling starts) 10:00 A.M. on June 20, 2025
8. Payment of Confirmation Fee to

Consortium for Freeze options and Admission by NLUs for the Third and Final Allotment List

  

10:00 A.M. on June 20, 2025 to

1:00 P.M. on June 23, 2025
9. Payment of University Fee (after adjusting the Confirmation Fee and Counselling Registration Fee) to NLU concerned for all candidates who have chosen the Freeze Option in the third and final round of counselling process. June 27, 2025 by 5.00 PM

 
 

 

CLAT Cut-Offs – Official Closing Ranks for 2024 and 2023

Explore the official closing ranks for CLAT 2024 and CLAT 2023 across all participating National Law Universities (NLUs). This page provides a comprehensive, category-wise breakdown of the final cut-off ranks as per the 5th and last list released during the centralised counselling process conducted by the Consortium of NLUs. The data includes General, OBC, SC, ST, and other categories across undergraduate (UG) programs.

Compare year-wise trends, evaluate your admission chances, and make informed choices when shortlisting NLUs. From top-tier institutions like NLSIU Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, and WBNUJS Kolkata, to emerging NLUs, this cut-off analysis gives you a strategic edge.

Disclaimer: The cut-off ranks provided are based on the official 5th (final) counselling list and do not account for any vacant seat lists, spot rounds, or institute-level admissions outside the centralized counselling process.

NLU_Admission_Ranks__Final_Complete_Table_ 2023

Complete_NLU_Admission_Ranks__Final_ 2024

 

CLAT TIE BEAKER   

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) uses a tie-breaker rule to rank candidates who have the same score. The tie-breaker rule is as follows:

Computerized drawings of lots: If the above two parameters are also identical, computerized drawings of lots are used to break the tie.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rajneesh Singh is a distinguished educator and mentor with over 24 years of experience in entrance training and course development for a wide array of competitive exams, including CLAT, CAT, GMAT, IIT JEE, MCA, Bank Exams, CSAT, BBA/IPMAT, Hotel Management, and NIFT.

Academically accomplished, Rajneesh holds a BA and MA in Economics from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, where he was also the university topper. Additionally, he earned an MBA from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Dhanbad, further solidifying his skills.

Rajneesh has co-authored four books on the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) published by Cengage, and two books on the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). These publications are a testament to his expertise and dedication to helping students succeed in competitive examinations.

As the Founder and Chief Mentor at CLAT Essentials and The Do-Zen, he has been instrumental in guiding countless students towards achieving their academic and professional goals. His leadership roles in the past extend to being the National Product Head for IMS Learning, overseeing all undergraduate products and job-related courses, and serving as the City Head at Career Launcher in Kolkata and the Centre Head at Professional Tutorials.