December 14, 2025
Overview: CLAT 2026 was conducted on 7th December 2025, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, and this page is for every student who appeared in that slot and wants a clear, no-nonsense breakdown of how the paper actually was.
This year’s paper leaned moderate overall, with a noticeably tougher Logical Reasoning section that forced students to slow down and rethink their strategy midway.
Inside this CLAT 2026 exam analysis, you’ll find everything that actually matters right now—section-wise insights, good attempts, safe score ranges, difficulty trends, expected cut-offs, and quick links to answer keys so you can estimate your rank without second-guessing yourself.
[CLAT 2026 Expected Cut Off Marks: Category-Wise For Top NLUs]
A Breakdown of what the Blog will cover:
[CLAT 2026 Answer Key PDF Download Here: Provisional Answer Key]
| Key Highlights | Details |
|---|---|
| Exam Date & Time | 7th December 2025, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM |
| Overall Difficulty | Moderate, with a tough Logical Reasoning section |
| Good Attempts (Overall) | 110+ |
| Safe Score Range | 95+ |
To understand the paper at a glance, this CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis snapshot helps you compare all five sections on one screen. Use this table to quickly capture difficulty, attempts, and scoring potential across the paper.
| Section | CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis |
| English Language |
|
| Logical Reasoning |
|
| Legal Reasoning |
|
| General Knowledge |
|
| Quantitative techniques |
|
| Ideal Good Attempts |
|
The English section is often a confidence booster, so your CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis should clearly highlight how scoring or tricky this part actually was. Use this table to log the feel of the passages, question types, and ideal attempts.
|
Parameter |
CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis |
|
Overall Difficulty Level |
Easy to Moderate |
|
Nature of Questions |
Mostly contextual, with a noticeable push toward vocabulary-based and meaning-focused questions |
|
Type of Passages |
Largely narrative and literature-driven, with themes drawn from well-known books like Sapiens and Animal Farm |
|
Average Passage Length |
Medium |
|
Number of Passages |
4–5 passages (based on typical CLAT structure and student experience) |
|
Total Questions in Section |
Around 24 questions |
|
Time Required (on Avg.) |
22–25 minutes |
|
Dominant Skill Tested |
Vocabulary and understanding of tone/theme in literary writing |
|
Vocabulary Difficulty |
Moderate |
|
Grammar / Usage Presence |
No standalone grammar questions; vocabulary was woven into context-based RC questions |
|
Notable Themes / Authors |
Extracts from Sapiens and Animal Farm: passages with strong thematic and literary depth |
|
Trickiness / Ambiguity in Questions |
Low to Moderate |
|
Ideal Attempt Range (Good Attempt) |
18–21 questions |
|
Expected Safe Score Range |
16–19 marks |
|
Was the section Time-Consuming? |
No — manageable if reading speed was decent |
|
Surprise Elements (If Any) |
Unexpected shift toward literature-heavy passages and higher emphasis on vocabulary |
|
Overall Verdict |
Scoring for well-prepared students, moderate for those not used to literary texts |
Legal is the make-or-break area in every CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis, so this table helps you record how conceptual, lengthy, or application-heavy the section felt. Fill it in right after the exam while the passages are still fresh in your mind.
|
Parameter |
CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis |
|
Overall Difficulty Level |
Easy to Moderate |
|
Nature of Questions |
Mostly principle-based and case-style questions with a few Current legal knowledge-based ones |
|
Type of Passages |
Mixed themes — governance-related issues, social-legal topics, and current constitutional discussions (e.g., same-sex marriage) |
|
Emphasis Areas |
General principles + current legal developments woven into passages |
|
Average Passage Length |
Medium |
|
Total Questions in Section |
Around 28–30 questions |
|
Time Required (on Avg.) |
25–28 minutes |
|
Dominant Skill Tested |
Application of legal principles with quick reading and basic comprehension |
|
Prior Legal Knowledge Required? |
Yes, but only to a small extent; basic awareness of topics like same-sex marriage helped |
|
Tricky / Confusing Questions |
Low to Moderate |
|
Ideal Attempt Range (Good Attempt) |
20–23 questions |
|
Expected Safe Score Range |
18–21 marks |
|
Was the section Time-Consuming? (Yes/No) |
No — steady and predictable in flow |
|
Surprise Elements (If Any) |
Slight increase in direct legal knowledge questions compared to previous years |
|
Overall Verdict |
Scoring for consistent preparers; conceptual but not difficult |
Logical Reasoning often decides how deeply a student’s thinking skills are tested, and a good CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis cannot ignore this. Use this table to capture how demanding the arguments, assumptions, and inference-based questions actually were.
|
Parameter |
CLAT Exam Analysis 2026 [Logical Reasoning] |
|
Overall Difficulty Level |
Moderate to Difficult |
|
Type of Sets / Passages |
Pure Analytical Reasoning sets — blood relations, sequences, caselets, data arrangements, coding-decoding |
|
Main Question Types |
Rule-based logic, arrangement puzzles, family trees, pattern-based reasoning, and classic AR problem-solving |
|
Average Passage Length |
Short (more puzzle-style sets than long CR passages) |
|
Total Questions in Section |
Around 28–30 questions |
|
Time Required (on Avg.) |
30–35 minutes (students spent longer due to puzzle-heavy nature) |
|
Dominant Skill Tested |
Logical processing speed, puzzle-solving ability, handling multiple rules simultaneously |
|
Logical Puzzles / Analytical Questions |
Yes — the section was almost entirely Analytical Reasoning |
|
Tricky / Trap Questions |
Moderate — not ambiguous, but required multiple steps and careful rule application |
|
Ideal Attempt Range (Good Attempt) |
16–19 questions |
|
Expected Safe Score Range |
14–17 marks |
|
Section was Time-Consuming? (Yes/No) |
Yes — especially for students expecting Critical Reasoning instead of Analytical Reasoning |
|
Surprise Elements (If Any) |
The complete shift from expected Critical Reasoning to full Analytical Reasoning; heavily AILET-style |
|
Overall Verdict |
Challenging and the biggest differentiator of CLAT 2026 — high-thinking, puzzle-heavy section |
Quant often feels unpredictable, so logging it properly strengthens your CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis for future batches. This table helps you track how calculation-heavy, DI-driven, or arithmetic-focused the section turned out to be.
|
Parameter |
CLAT Exam Analysis 2026 [QT] |
|
Overall Difficulty Level |
Easy to Moderate |
|
Nature of Questions |
Mostly arithmetic-based word problems with a few data-driven questions |
|
Dominant Topics |
Percentage, Ratio, Proportion — these formed the core of the section |
|
Type of Sets |
Small caselets and basic data sets; no heavy graph-based DI |
|
Calculation Intensity |
Moderate — numbers weren’t tough but required steady computation |
|
Total Questions in Section |
Around 12–15 questions |
|
Time Required (on Avg.) |
12–15 minutes |
|
Requirement of Approximation Techniques |
Medium — helpful for speeding through calculative steps |
|
Tricky Data or Language |
No — wording was straightforward, the real challenge was the calculation load |
|
Ideal Attempt Range (Good Attempt) |
8–11 questions |
|
Expected Safe Score Range |
7–10 marks |
|
Was the section Time-Consuming? (Yes/No) |
Slightly, mainly because of the calculation-heavy nature |
|
Surprise Elements (If Any) |
No major, except a more calculative orientation than expected |
|
Overall Verdict |
Scoring for students who are comfortable with arithmetic; slightly time-consuming but very doable |
Current Affairs shapes students’ perception of difficulty the most, so this part of your CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis must highlight the month range, themes, and depth of questions. Use this table to map how close the paper was to your curated CA prep.
|
Parameter |
CLAT Exam Analysis 2026 [GK & CA] |
|
Overall Difficulty Level |
Easy to Moderate |
|
Nature of Questions |
Primarily Current Affairs with a light touch of conceptual understanding |
|
Month/Year Range of Current Affairs |
Mostly mid-2024 to late-2025 (based on topics like SCO, American taxation, Air India developments, etc.) |
|
Dominant Areas |
International Affairs, Economy, Government Policies, Geography-related updates (e.g., Pahalgam) |
|
Depth of Questions |
Surface-level — students who did monthly CA revisions found them very straightforward |
|
Static GK vs CA Ratio |
Heavily CA-driven with very little Static |
|
Total Questions in Section |
Around 28–30 questions |
|
Time Required (on Avg.) |
8–10 minutes |
|
Expectedness (from typical prep sources) |
|
|
Ideal Attempt Range (Good Attempt) |
22–25 questions |
|
Expected Safe Score Range |
18–21 marks |
|
Was the section Time-Consuming? (Yes/No) |
No — quick and direct questions |
|
Surprise Elements (If Any) |
None — the section stuck closely to expected themes and well-known events |
|
Overall Verdict |
Scoring, straightforward, and very manageable for well-prepared students |
| CLAT Exam Analysis 2026 [Section-Wise] | Good Attempts | Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| English | 18–21 | Easy to Moderate |
| Current Affairs, including General Knowledge | 22–25 | Easy to Moderate |
| Legal Reasoning | 20–23 | Easy to Moderate |
| Logical Reasoning | 16–19 | Moderate to Difficult |
| Quantitative Techniques | 8–11 | Easy to Moderate (Calculative) |
| Total | 110+ (approx.) | Overall Moderate with a tough LR section |
| NLU / Cluster | Safe Score Range | Approx. Safe Rank Range | Why this range? |
|---|---|---|---|
| NLSIU Bengaluru | 100–105+ | ~AIR 1–120 | 2024 closing marks around 103.5 for Gen; top NLU, closes early |
| NALSAR Hyderabad | 97–102+ | ~AIR 50–250 | Historically closes under ~200–250 for Gen |
| WBNUJS Kolkata | 94–99+ | ~AIR 150–350 | Often 3rd–4th preference NLU, still very competitive |
| NLU Jodhpur / GNLU Gandhinagar | 92–96+ | ~AIR 250–450 | Usually close under AIR 400–450 |
| NLIU Bhopal / MNLU Mumbai / RMLNLU Lucknow | 89–94+ | ~AIR 400–800 | Good mid–top NLUs; closing ranks generally in this band |
| Other older NLUs (HNLU, RGNLU, NLUO, NUALS, CNLU, etc.) | 83–90+ | ~AIR 800–1500 | Based on 2023–24 closing rank trends |
| Newer NLUs | 78–85+ | ~AIR 1500–2500+ | Depends a lot on preference and domicile |
| Aspect | CLAT 2026 Exam Analysis | CLAT 2025 Exam Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Paper Overview | Mixed paper — 4 sections easy to moderate; Logical Reasoning became the surprise differentiator with a heavy AR shift. | Very easy paper overall, close to CLAT 2024; straightforward passages and high expected cut-off. |
| English | Easy to moderate; vocabulary-focused; literature-driven passages from Sapiens & Animal Farm. | Very easy; short, direct passages, including a George Orwell narration; purely comprehension-based. |
| Logical Reasoning | Biggest shock — dominated by Analytical Reasoning (AR), including blood relations, sequences, caselets, and data arrangement. Moderate to difficult. | Mostly contextual reasoning with a few seating arrangements; only one AR question; overall easy to moderate and manageable. |
| Legal Reasoning | Easy to moderate; a mix of principle-based and a few direct legal knowledge questions, like same-sex marriage & governance topics. | Easy; focused on core basics — contracts, privacy, 42nd Amendment; required light extra knowledge. |
| General Knowledge (GK) | Easy to moderate; predictable CA topics — American taxation, SCO, Air India, Pahalgam. | Easy; direct questions — Article 370, Civil Disobedience, Shakti Scheme, Olympics; similar to CLAT 2024 GK. |
| Quantitative Techniques (QT) | Easy to moderate but calculative; dominated by percentages, ratios, proportions; steady arithmetic. | Time-consuming; a few tricky questions like the Dearness Allowance problem; rest were easy to moderate. |
| Cut-Off Prediction | Expected to vary section-wise; LR may keep the cut-off slightly balanced despite the ease of other sections. | High cut-off expected due to an overall easy paper and straightforward questions. |
| Good Attempts | 84–99 (approx.) | 105+ attempts (as per Live LegalEdge CLAT 2026 analysis) |

The biggest twist of CLAT 2026 was the complete shift toward Analytical Reasoning. Instead of Critical Reasoning, students faced AR-heavy sets like blood relations, sequences, data arrangements, coding-decoding, and caselets — making this the toughest and most decisive section of the exam.
English, Legal, GK, and QT followed the expected pattern and were mostly rated Easy to Moderate. Anyone who was consistent in these areas walked out confident.
Passages from Sapiens and Animal Farm showed that the Consortium is moving toward literature-rich RCs. Vocabulary played a bigger role than usual, though the passages were manageable.
Topics like SCO, American taxation, Air India, and Pahalgam matched typical prep sources. Students who revised the monthly CA found this section extremely scoring.
Legal reasoning continued its usual mix of principle-based questions with a few direct legal knowledge ones (e.g., same-sex marriage). The level was steady and doable.
Since four sections were simple, performance in Logical Reasoning becomes the biggest differentiator this year. Students who prepared for AILET-style puzzles had a clear advantage.
As a whole, CLAT 2026 was balanced — but the sudden AR-heavy LR section pushed the difficulty up a notch.
Unlike CLAT 2025’s 105+ good attempts (due to an easy paper), CLAT 2026 sees a good attempt range of 84–99, mainly because LR slowed many students down.
The CLAT 2026 paper delivered a very clear message: clarity beats cramming, and consistency beats intensity. If you're preparing for CLAT 2027 or CLAT 2028, here are the exact learnings you should carry forward from the trends, surprises, and shifts observed in the 2026 exam:
CLAT 2026 once again proved that:
What to do for 2027 & 2028:
CLAT 2026 English leaned more into:
Your takeaway:
Instead of complicated legal jargon, CLAT 2026 focused on:
For future aspirants:
CLAT is moving towards:
Learnings:
CLAT 2026 QT remained:
But the challenge:
Learnings:
2026 again proved:
Aspirant lesson:
CLAT 2026 saw many students attempt aggressively and regret it.
Learnings:
The best strategy is:
“Attempt more only when you understand more.”
The 2026 Exam analysis reinforced:
For you:
2026 had moments where:
Those who did not panic came out with a clear advantage.
Your takeaway:
2026 toppers showed:
For 2027/28 aspirants:
Because CLAT 2026 exam analysis is not just a post-exam formality – it’s your report card, roadmap, and reality check in one. Here’s why it should be studied after the exam:
Here is the Comprehensive CLAT exam Analysis, including insights into CLAT 2025 difficulty level and projections for the expected cut-offs.
Access: CLAT 2026 Answer Key
4. General Knowledge (GK):
Read More: CLAT 2026 Participating Colleges
5. Quantitative Techniques (QT):
Good Number of Attempts: 105+ attempts in CLAT 2025 can significantly increase your chances of cracking CLAT 2025, given the exam's high cutoff and competitive nature this year.
Have you checked? CLAT 2026 Results
| Aspect | CLAT 2024 Analysis | CLAT 2025 Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Paper Overview | Easy to moderate. High cut-off due to approachable questions. | Easy overall. Higher cut-off expected due to the paper’s simplicity. |
| English | Easy with straightforward questions and moderate-length passages. | Very easy with short, direct passages, including a George Orwell narration. |
| Logical Reasoning | Easy to moderate, diverse questions, no complex reasoning required. | Easy to moderate, included contextual reasoning and seating arrangement questions. Time-consuming. |
| Legal Reasoning | Easy, focused on recent legislative topics like the Data Protection Bill and the Juvenile Justice Act. | Easy, covered basic legal concepts like contracts, privacy rights, and recent legal updates. |
| General Knowledge (GK) | Easy, focused on international events like the Gaza Strip and the G20 Summit. | Easy, included topics like Article 370, Civil Disobedience, Shakti Scheme, and the Olympics. |
| Quantitative Techniques (QT) | Easy to moderate; caselets on percentages and ratios were manageable. | Time-consuming; tricky questions like the Dearness Allowance problem, but mostly easy to moderate. |
| Cut-Off Prediction | High cut-off, with scores exceeding 100 for top NLUs. | A higher cut-off is expected due to the ease of the paper. |
| Good Attempts | 105+ good attempts for a strong chance of admission. | 105+ good attempts likely due to high competition and easier paper. |
The CLAT 2025 exam analysis will be available after the exam on December 1st. Key insights will cover:
Our expert team from LegalEdge has shared a detailed CLAT paper analysis 2024, which is as follows:
Check out the table below to know the overall difficulty level of the exam, section-wise CLAT exam analysis 2024, and more:
| Section | Good Attempts | Difficulty Level |
| English | 20+ | Easy |
| Current Affairs, including General Knowledge | 25+ | Easy |
| Legal Reasoning | 25+ | Easy |
| Logical Reasoning | 20+ | Easy to Moderate |
| Quantitative Techniques | 7+ | Easy to Moderate |
| Total | 105+ | Easy to Moderate |
Have you checked? CLAT Marks vs Rank
Check the following points for the overall CLAT 2024 analysis of the Current Affairs section:
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| Year | Level |
| 2024 | Easy |
| 2023 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2022 | Easy to Moderate |
| 2021 | Easy |
Check the following points for the overall CLAT 2024 analysis of the Legal Reasoning section:
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| Year | Level |
| 2024 | Easy |
| 2023 | Easy to Moderate |
| 2022 | Easy to Moderate |
| 2021 | Easy |
Here is the overall CLAT 2024 analysis of the Reasoning section:
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| Year | Level |
| 2024 | Easy to Moderate |
| 2023 | Moderate |
| 2022 | Easy |
| 2021 | Easy to Moderate |
Check the following points for the overall CLAT 2024 analysis of the English section:
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| Year | Level |
| 2024 | Easy |
| 2023 | Easy to Moderate |
| 2022 | Easy (but lengthy) |
| 2021 | Easy |
Here is the overall CLAT 2024 analysis of the QT section:
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| Year | Level |
| 2024 | Easy to Moderate |
| 2023 | Difficult |
| 2022 | Easy |
| 2021 | Easy |
The analysis was provided based on feedback from students who had appeared for the exam.
The following are some key highlights of the CLAT Entrance Exam 2023:
Check out the table below to know the overall difficulty level of the exam, section-wise CLAT 2023 exam analysis, and more:
| Section | No. of Questions | Number of Passages | Good Attempts | Difficulty Level |
| English | 30 | 6 | 28-30 | Easy to Moderate |
| Current Affairs, including General Knowledge | 35 | 7 | 30-35 | Moderate to Difficult |
| Legal Reasoning | 40 | 8 | 32-34 | Easy to Moderate |
| Logical Reasoning | 30 | 6 | 25-27 | Moderate |
| Quantitative Techniques | 15 | 3 | 8-9 | Difficult |
| Total | 150 | 30 | 110+ | Moderate-Difficult |
Though there were a few irrelevant questions, the overall difficulty level of the CLAT current affairs section was easy.
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Moderate to Difficult | Easy to Moderate | Easy |
To know the overall CLAT 2023 analysis of the Current Affairs section, read the following points:
Compared to the previous year's question papers, the difficulty level of CLAT's legal section was easy to moderate.
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Easy to Moderate | Easy | Easy |
Refer to the exam analysis of the CLAT legal reasoning section from the following:
Read more: CLAT Cut off
The logical reasoning was challenging compared to last year's CLAT question paper, and the level was moderate to difficult.
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Moderate | Easy to Moderate | Easy |
Refer to the following points for a detailed CLAT exam analysis:
The English section of CLAT was easy to moderate compared to the previous year, and most of the questions were challenging to understand as the passages were quite long.
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Easy to Moderate | Easy (but lengthy) | Easy |
Refer to the following points for the analysis of English for CLAT:
As per our experts from LegalEdge, the Quantitative Techniques section was the most difficult for the students.
Refer to the comparative year-wise CLAT exam analysis below:
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Difficult | Moderate | Easy |
Go through the points mentioned below for a complete exam analysis of the Quant section of CLAT:
As per CLAT 2023 paper analysis, an excellent ideal score will fall between 100-110.
Candidates who score 95-100 can secure a spot in one of the top three NLUs.
Check out the table below to know the last rank of CLAT colleges:
| CLAT Participating Institutes | Closing Rank for CLAT 2023 |
| National Law School of India University, Bangalore | 58 |
| National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad | 128 |
| West Bengal National University of Judicial Sciences, Kolkata | 226 |
| National Law University, Jodhpur | 354 |
| Gujarat National Law University | 468 |
| Rajiv Gandhi National Law University, Patiala | 926 |
| National Law Institute University | 376 |
| National Institute of Advanced Legal Science | 983 |
Overall, the CLAT 2022 exam was easy compared to previous years.
A total of 120 MCQs had to be answered in 150 minutes. Last year, the CLAT question paper was neither controversial nor fair.
Last year, there were so many unexpected questions, but this year, the questions were predictable and doable.
You can scroll down to learn subject-wise analysis by our mentors from LegalEdge:
Get an in-depth review of each subject of CLAT 2022 here.
Know each CLAT subject's difficulty level, reasonable attempts, and questions.
| Section | No. of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
| English | 30 | Easy |
| Current Affairs, including General Knowledge | 35 | Easy |
| Legal Reasoning | 40 | Moderate but lengthy |
| Logical Reasoning | 30 | Moderate |
| Quantitative Techniques | 15 | Easy |
| Total | 150 | Easy to Moderate |
The quantitative aptitude section might be a cakewalk if you thoroughly practise all the basic concepts.
Refer to the following points for the detailed analysis:
Refer to the following points for the detailed analysis:
Overall, the English section was quite accessible and scoring, if you have done 80% preparation of the English section for CLAT.
Refer to the following points for the detailed analysis:
Explore More: CLAT English Preparation Tips
Legal reasoning was a bit tricky and required innovative elimination of options.
Refer to the following points for the detailed analysis:
Read More: CLAT GK Preparation Tips
Refer to the following points for the detailed analysis:
In conclusion, this blog offers valuable insights into the CLAT 2026 Exam analysis, a critical resource for aspiring law students.
Key takeaways include:
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the overall difficulty level of the CLAT 2026 exam?

What are the key highlights of the CLAT 2025 exam compared to CLAT 2026?

Which section was the most challenging in CLAT 2026?

How does the CLAT analysis help in preparing for CLAT 2027?

Where can I download the CLAT 2026/27 study material or CLAT 2026 answer key?

Why CLAT 2026 exam analysis is important for CLAT 2027 Aspirants?

What experts say about CLAT 2026 Expected question paper?

When LegalEdge CLAT 2026 Exam Paper analysis will be live?

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