CLAT Eligibility Criteria: Important Details

Each competitive exam has guidelines for who can and cannot participate in the exam. The candidates need to know about exam eligibility criteria. Candidates can complete the registration process through eligibility criteria; however, admissions are only given if they clear the University’s requirements during the admissions process.

This article will discuss all the requisites of CLAT eligibility criteria.

CLAT 2023

CLAT Eligibility is announced by the Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) on the official website. As, CLAT 2023 is scheduled for Dec 18, 2022. Candidates must satisfy all the eligibility criteria before applying for the application form.

A minimum of 45% marks for intermediate students & 55% marks for graduate students are required to apply for the CLAT exam 2023. Failing to comply with CLAT Eligibility Criteria at any stage of the selection process will cancel your candidature.

Age Limit

Earlier, the age limit for appearing in CLAT was:

• Unreserved categories – Twenty (20) years of age as of 1 July 2022.
• SC/ST/OBC/Specially-abled Persons/Persons with disabilities (SAP/PWD) categories – Twenty-Two (22) years of age as of 1 July 2022. 

The same age limit will continue until the Honorable Supreme Court of India reviews the same. However, there will be no upper age limit for the UG Program in CLAT 2023.

CLAT Eligibility: Marks Distribution

CLAT Eligibility: UG Programs

Below are the detailed CLAT eligibility criteria for undergraduate programs: 

Educational Qualification

• Candidates must have secured 45% marks belonging to Unreserved /OBC /Specially abled Persons (SAP) and other categories.
• 40% marks for SC/ST category.
• Candidates appearing in the 10+2 examination can also appear for this examination. However, they should be able to provide sufficient evidence to prove that they have passed 10+2 at the time of admission.

Important Points:

• Final year candidates must show proof of passing the qualifying examination at admission, or the NLUs will forfeit their right to be considered.
• Candidates need to submit marksheet/ certificates of their passing with the required marks for admissions.
• Age relaxation of 5% is given to SC/ST category.

CLAT Eligibility: PG Programs

Below are the detailed CLAT eligibility criteria for postgraduate programs: 

• LLB or equivalent degree in law examination with a minimum of 55% marks in General/OBC/SAP categories and 50% in the SC/ST category.
• Candidates appearing in the qualifying examination in April/May 2022 will also be eligible for the CLAT 2023 examination. However, they will be required to prove their passing of the qualifying examination at the allotted National Law Universities.
• The candidate must have passed or appeared in the final semester/final year examination on the admission date.

CLAT Eligibility: NRI 

The admissions for NRI aspirants are carried out based on their CLAT merit, and the concerned university will allocate the seats under NRI Quota. Proof of qualifying for the final examination and completing a graduate degree is required.

The foreign aspirants can contact the concerned University for further details or clarify any confusion.

Suppose the candidates have no parents or relatives or are taken as a ward by another nearest relative. Such students may also be considered for admission per the official CLAT Eligibility Criteria.

Documents Required

• Copy of Valid Indian Passport of the Student.
• Visas acquired in the last 12 months.
• Certificate from the local embassy stating that the person is an NRI/OCI or PIO Card
• For NRI-sponsored candidates, sponsor’s copy of Valid Indian Passport.
• An affidavit by the sponsor indicating the interest shown in the education affairs of the student and willingness to fund the student’s education over the next 5 years.

CLAT Eligibility: Application Form

Eligible candidates can register and fill out the online application form at consortiumofnlus.ac.in. Ensure all the details are entered correctly, as no other chance will be received to edit the application form. While filling out the application form, you must follow the following guidelines:

• To access CLAT Application Form, candidates must register and create their login. To register, candidates must provide details like –name, email id, contact number, and password.
• After registering, the candidate can proceed to fill out the form. The aspirant will upload a passport-size photograph, signature, personal information, communication details, and educational qualifications.
• Further, three exam centres and NLUs will be selected based on your preference.
• The candidate must provide reservation details, if applicable, and submit your CLAT Application Form.
• After submitting the form, online payment can be made via Credit/ debit/ UPI or Net Banking to submit the registration fees.

Registration Fee

CLAT Eligibility: Documents

While filling out the application form, candidates must upload documents and provide information related to their educational qualifications. Therefore, candidates must prepare the following documents before filling out the application form.

1. Class 10th and 12th mark sheets and certificates
2. Email Id and mobile number
3. Caste certificate (if applicable)
4. Domicile certificate (if applicable)
5. Photo and signature (scanned in prescribed format)
6. BPL certificate (If applicable)

Document specifications

CLAT Score Tie Breaker

In case of a score tie between candidates, The following procedure and order are used by NLUs to break it. 

CLAT 2023: UG Score Tie-breaker

The following procedure should be follow to break the tie-breaker

• Higher scores in legal aptitude subject 
• Older age
• Computerized lotteries

CLAT 2023: PG Score Tie-breaker

In the event of a tie in PG CLAT 2023, the following procedure and sequence will be used to break the tie:

• Older age
• Computerized lotteries

Conclusion

Students must research thoroughly before applying to any competitive exam. Hope this article helped you in providing information about the CLAT eligibility criteria. Keep track of the changes made in the eligibility criteria to avoid any last-minute hustle.

This article will help you with all the information required to crack your desired exam. Keep on working hard. All the best!