CLAT 2027: Marks and Rank Needed for the Top NLUs
Updated 2 November 2026 by the faculty of Mentors Law Entrance Coaching Centre, Ernakulam. Rules can change every year – confirm in the official notification at consortiumofnlus.ac.in.
CLAT has 120 questions, +1 for a correct answer and −0.25 for a wrong answer. Seats are allotted by rank, but students think in marks – so here are last year's closing ranks with the approximate marks they took.
Top NLUs – general category (CLAT 2026, final round)
| NLU | All-India closing rank | Approx. marks (out of 120) |
|---|---|---|
| NLSIU Bengaluru | 120 | about 102 |
| NALSAR Hyderabad | 168 | about 100.5 |
| WBNUJS Kolkata (BA LLB) | 343 | about 97.5–98 |
The top three NLUs need roughly 98–102 marks – around 85% after negative marking. A difference of one or two marks moves you dozens of ranks at this level.
NUALS Kochi
For NUALS, the all-India general seats closed at rank 1,076 in round 1 and 1,154 in rounds 2–3 of CLAT 2026. Kerala domicile candidates have 29 home-state seats that close later – see NUALS admission for Kerala students.
Domicile helps elsewhere too
Many NLUs reserve seats for their own state. In CLAT 2026, for example, NLSIU's Karnataka seats closed at around AIR 336 against AIR 108 for all-India general, and NALSAR's Telangana seats at AIR 565. For a Kerala student, the home-state advantage is at NUALS.
What should you target in CLAT 2027?
| Goal | Target |
|---|---|
| NLSIU / NALSAR | 100+ marks (top ~170 ranks) |
| Top 5 NLUs | 95+ marks (top ~400–500) |
| NUALS Kochi (all-India general) | rank within ~1,100–1,200 |
Marks-to-rank figures are approximations from Careers360's analysis of CLAT 2026 data; they shift every year with the difficulty of the paper.
With the exam on 6 December 2026, the best use of the remaining weeks is accuracy – see the last-month plan.
Frequently asked questions
How many marks are needed for NLSIU in CLAT?
In CLAT 2026 the general-category closing rank for NLSIU Bengaluru was AIR 120, which corresponded to about 102 marks out of 120.
What is a good score in CLAT 2027?
Around 95+ marks puts you in range of the top five NLUs, and 100+ for NLSIU and NALSAR, based on CLAT 2026 data.
What CLAT rank is needed for NUALS Kochi?
The all-India general closing rank was 1,076 in round 1 and 1,154 in rounds 2–3 of CLAT 2026; Kerala home-state seats close later.