Gujarat National Law University

Latest Admission Updates (2026)

Admission to Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar for the 2026-27 session runs entirely through CLAT 2026 (held on 7 December 2025) and the Consortium of NLUs centralised counselling. As of June 2026, the CLAT 2026 counselling cycle is in its final stages, and aspirants planning ahead should already be preparing for CLAT 2027. Here are the most recent dated milestones for the GNLU 2026 admission cycle:

• CLAT 2026 application window: opened 1 August 2025 and closed 31 October 2025 (last date) on consortiumofnlus.ac.in.
• CLAT 2026 admit card: released in the third week of November 2025.
• CLAT 2026 exam date: conducted on 7 December 2025, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
• Provisional answer key: released 10 December 2025; objection window 10-12 December 2025.
• CLAT 2026 result and final answer key: declared 16 December 2025.
• UG counselling allotment lists: First on 7 January 2026, Second on 22 January 2026, Third on 5 February 2026.
• CLAT PG (LLM) counselling: merit lists ran through May 2026, with the fifth and final list on 15 May 2026.
• Next cycle: the CLAT 2027 notification (for the 2027-28 session) is expected around July 2026.

The single most important deadline aspirants must protect is the CLAT application last date, which was 31 October 2025 for the 2026 cycle. For the 2027-28 intake, watch the GNLU brochure on consortiumofnlus.ac.in from July 2026 onward. GNLU offers no separate written test of its own for its CLAT-based law programmes, so the CLAT deadline is effectively the GNLU deadline.

Gujarat National Law University Admission 2026: Eligibility Criteria

Before applying to GNLU Gandhinagar, an aspirant needs to confirm two things: the minimum academic qualification for the specific programme and the exact entrance exam GNLU accepts for it. The table below maps every GNLU programme to its eligibility, qualifying marks and accepted entrance exam for the 2026 cycle, drawn from the official GNLU CLAT-2026 brochure and the university admission notifications. This matters because GNLU applies a strict minimum-marks filter at the document-verification stage, and a candidate falling short, even with a strong CLAT rank, can lose the seat. Read each row against the programme you intend to apply for, and note that the qualifying-marks bar is lower for SC and ST applicants in the five-year integrated courses.

The headline takeaway: every five-year integrated law programme at GNLU shares the same 45% (relaxed to 40% for SC/ST) 10+2 cut-off and the same CLAT UG gateway, so your CLAT 2026 rank, not your board percentage, decides the seat once the minimum is cleared. Candidates still awaiting Class 12 results may apply provisionally but must produce mark sheets at admission. For the LLM, the 55% LLB threshold is firm, and the MBA route uniquely lets you use CAT, MAT or CMAT instead of CLAT PG. Confirm your category relaxation on gnlu.ac.in before counselling so document verification goes smoothly.

Course-Wise Admission Status

This section answers the most common pre-application question: which GNLU programmes are open, how many seats each carries, whether admission is online or offline, and which exam feeds it. The seat numbers below are from the GNLU CLAT-2026 brochure and the university's 2026 intake disclosure. Seat counts matter directly because they shape the closing rank, the 80-seat BA LLB (Hons) intake is far more competitive than the 120-seat B.Com or B.Sc LLB streams. Use this table to decide which GNLU programme realistically matches your CLAT 2026 rank before you lock preferences in counselling.

The practical takeaway is that GNLU's UG admission is fully online and centralised, you never apply to GNLU directly for the law programmes; you register for CLAT, then select GNLU during Consortium counselling. With BA LLB (Hons) capped at just 80 seats, it remains GNLU's most sought-after course and carries the sharpest cutoff. The 20-seat MBA is the only programme with a GNLU-run application plus group discussion and personal interview. For the 2027-28 session, monitor the CLAT 2027 brochure from July 2026 for any change in this seat matrix.

Application Fees

A frequent point of confusion is the difference between the exam/application fee paid to the Consortium of NLUs and GNLU's own tuition fee. The table below lists only the CLAT 2026 application fee (the amount you pay to apply and sit the exam that feeds GNLU), broken out category by category, because SC, ST and BPL candidates pay a lower fee than General, EWS and OBC-NCL applicants. This distinction matters: paying the CLAT fee is what makes you eligible for GNLU counselling, but it is entirely separate from the lakhs in programme tuition shown later. Read each row for your exact category so you budget the correct amount.

The key takeaway: budget Rs 4,000 for the CLAT 2026 application if you are General, EWS, OBC-NCL or PwD, and Rs 3,500 if you are SC, ST or BPL, the fee was unchanged from CLAT 2025. The GNLU-run MBA application costs a separate Rs 2,000. None of these are refundable, and none should be confused with the GNLU tuition fees detailed in the entrance-exam and cutoff sections. Pay the CLAT fee online before the application deadline, because an unpaid form is treated as incomplete and will not be considered for GNLU counselling.

Entrance Exam Requirements

GNLU accepts a small, well-defined set of entrance exams, and knowing exactly which one your target programme needs prevents wasted applications. The table below lists the exam, the GNLU programme it feeds, the 2026 exam date, and the competitive score or rank you realistically need at GNLU. This is the single most decision-relevant table for an aspirant, because GNLU's brand keeps its CLAT cutoffs among the tightest of the mid-to-top NLUs, a General-category seat typically demands an All India Rank under roughly 450. Read the qualifying-score column as the GNLU-specific bar, not the national qualifying mark.

The takeaway for UG aspirants: CLAT 2026 (held 7 December 2025) is the only gate to GNLU's five-year law programmes, and you should aim for a General-category All India Rank well inside 450 to be confident of a BA LLB (Hons) seat. LLM aspirants should target a CLAT PG rank near or below the 2025 General closing rank of 387. MBA candidates have flexibility, any valid CAT, MAT or CMAT score qualifies them for GNLU's group discussion and interview round. For the 2027-28 cycle, the CLAT 2027 exam is expected around early December 2026.

Cutoff Analysis (2024-2026)

The cutoff is where GNLU admission is truly won or lost, so this section presents GNLU's year-wise CLAT closing ranks by category and explains the trend. The table compares BA LLB (Hons) closing ranks across the 2024, 2025 and 2026 cycles, plus the LLM (CLAT PG) closing ranks for 2025, using GNLU's published Consortium counselling data. Closing ranks matter more than marks because counselling allots seats strictly in rank order within each category. Read the General column as the toughest benchmark and the reserved columns to gauge your realistic chances under category reservation.

The clear trend is that GNLU's General-category BA LLB closing rank has tightened every year, from 464 in 2024 to 444 in 2025, with the 2026 final rounds settling near 392, reflecting GNLU's rise to 5th in the NIRF 2025 Law rankings (up from 8th in 2024) and growing demand. Note the wide Round 1 to final-round movement: the 2026 General Round 1 closing rank was as loose as 11,519 before tightening to roughly 392 across later rounds, so do not panic at early lists. ST and SC ranks improved (fell) between 2024 and 2025, while OBC widened slightly. The actionable lesson: a General aspirant should target sub-400, hold preferences through all rounds, and not surrender a seat based on a single early allotment list.

Counselling Process

GNLU admits through the centralised CLAT Consortium counselling, not a university-specific process, so the steps below follow the Consortium flow with GNLU-specific document verification at the end. The 2026 UG allotment lists were released on 7 January, 22 January and 5 February 2026.

1. CLAT registration and result: Register on consortiumofnlus.ac.in (application closed 31 October 2025), appear for CLAT on 7 December 2025, and collect your scorecard after the result on 16 December 2025.
2. Counselling registration and preference filling: Pay the counselling confirmation fee and fill your NLU preferences, listing GNLU Gandhinagar in your desired order for your target programme.
3. Seat allotment: Check each allotment list (First on 7 January 2026, Second on 22 January 2026, Third on 5 February 2026). Accept, freeze, upgrade or exit per Consortium rules within the deadline.
4. Provisional seat acceptance and fee payment: On allotment to GNLU, pay the confirmation/counselling fee online to lock the seat while staying eligible for upgrades.
5. Document verification at GNLU: Report to GNLU Gandhinagar (or upload online as directed) with originals, mark sheets, category and CLAT documents for verification.
6. Admission fee payment and reporting: Pay the GNLU programme fee and complete final enrolment to confirm your seat for the 2026-27 session.

LLM candidates follow the parallel CLAT PG counselling track, whose final (fifth) merit list was issued on 15 May 2026. MBA applicants instead complete GNLU's own application plus group discussion and personal interview.

Important Dates (2026)

This master table consolidates every canonical milestone of the GNLU 2026 admission cycle into one place so nothing slips. Each event below is listed with its date and current status, including events that may yet be announced for the next cycle. Keeping this calendar matters because GNLU admission depends entirely on CLAT Consortium deadlines, and missing the application or counselling window means waiting a full year. Read the Status column to see what is already complete for the 2026 cycle versus what to watch for CLAT 2027.

The takeaway: the GNLU 2026 admission cycle is effectively complete as of June 2026, with UG allotments concluded by early February and the LLM final merit list issued 15 May 2026. There are no pending GNLU-side deadlines for the 2026-27 intake beyond residual document verification and reporting. Aspirants targeting GNLU should now pivot to CLAT 2027, whose notification is expected around July 2026, and treat the dates above as the template for next year's timeline.