Step-by-Step Guide to Apply for the CLAT 2023 Law Examination

CLAT at a Glance

Step-by-Step Guide to Apply for the CLAT 2023 Law Examination

Whenever the thought of getting admitted to a law college comes into the picture, the first thing which strikes the mind of people is the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Today while filtering the law colleges option for my daughter I realized how much the whole system has changed. In 1999 when I got admitted to NALSAR, things were very different. We had to give separate entrance exams for every NLU which was quite a herculean task. But fortunately, in the year 2008, the consortium of 7 NLU organized the first-ever Common Law Aptitude Test (CLAT) and over the years it has grown to 22 members NLU which only recognize CLAT for their respective institutional enrolment. CLAT is a national-level entrance test that offers over 2600 seats in Under-Graduate and around 800 seats for Post Graduate various courses, which became a standardized way for law schools to assess applicants. The test is an integral part of getting into any NLU except NLU Delhi which has its own entrance exam. Now my daughter can get a chance to admission to all NLUs through one examination.

CLAT is an online examination that used to be conducted once a year in the month of May or June every year but now after the pandemic, it’s going to be conducted offline again for the first time in the month of December(18th). There are 2 types of CLAT exams, one is a UG CLAT exam and the other is a PG CLAT exam for people pursuing Law after a bachelor's degree. It is a multiple-choice question that contains 150 questions of 1 mark each and a negative marking of 0.25 for every wrong answer. Applications for CLAT 2023 are open from 8th August 2022. The exam is scheduled to be held on 18th December this year. One can apply for it online by paying the registration fees of Rs.4000 for General/OBC/PWD/NRI and Rs. 3500 for SC/ST. There are five sections in the question paper, details for them are given below:

How to Apply for CLAT 2023?

While going through the whole application process I realized it is a systematic procedure and anyone can fill it with the right guidance. The application form for CLAT is filled online by visiting the official website link which is provided below. Here is detailed guidance for the steps to be followed while applying for CLAT 2023:

STEP 1: Online Registration

1. Applicants have to visit the official website of CLAT https://consortiumofnlus.ac.in/clat-2023/ 

2. The applicant needs to fill in all the personal details like him/her name, email id, and phone number, and click on the register button.

3. They will receive an OTP for verification after entering the OTP

4. After clicking the activate button, registration is completed.

STEP 2: Filling of Application Form

1. After registration, the applicant needs to select the course applying for whether UG or PG

2. After selection, click on Apply button, and the application form will be opened for you

3. Fill in all the personal and communicational details mentioned below correctly in the form:

• Name

• Date of Birth

• Nationality

• Reserved Category or not

• Email id

• Correspondence Address

• Mobile Number

• Qualified Exam

• Month and Year of Passing

• Exam Centre Preference

• Fill in all the required details correctly as they will be verified and any discrepancy found would lead to rejection of the application.

STEP 3: Upload Images

1. After filling in all personal, communicational, and educational details, applicants are required to upload a scanned copy of the photograph and signature format for Photograph:

• The photo should be of recent time

• There should be white background on the photo

• A scanned copy of the image should be in jpg or jpeg format

• Dimensions should be 200*230 pixels

• File size should be between 20-50kb only

2. Format for Signature:

• Signature should be done by the candidate only

• The sign should be on white paper with a black ink pen

• Dimensions should be 140*160 pixels

• A scanned copy of the image should be in jpg or jpeg format

• File size should be between 10-20kb only

STEP 4: Pay Application Amount

1. After uploading the documents, click on the make payment link

2. Check the application fees and click on confirm payment

3. Payment can be made online through any online mode of payment like debit card, credit card, net banking, UPI, etc

4. For Offline payment, bank challan needs to be withdrawn

5. Once the fee is paid your application is successfully submitted

Fees for different categories are provided below:

STEP 5: Take the print of the application

1. You will be directed to the page where you can see your application form and you can take a print of it by clicking the “click here to take the printout of confirmation page”

2. The applicant can take the print of the application for future use.

Following these 5 steps, one can successfully submit their application form and then download the admit card whenever it is available on the website by logging into their account.

Suitable Job Fields after CLAT

1. Litigation

2. Judicial or Civil or Military Services

3. Corporate Firms

4. Teaching job as a law professor

5. Judicial Clerkship

6. Researcher

7. Political Science