Why CLAT 2025 cut-off Matter More Than Ever
The first round of seat-allotment landed on 26 May 2025, and it confirmed what many test-takers felt in their gut: the paper was friendlier than 2024, but the competition was fiercer. Because scores crept up, CLAT 2025 cut-off ranks tightened at the top NLUs while mid-tier schools stretched further down the merit list. If you’re juggling freeze/float decisions or just sizing up your odds for Rounds 2 & 3, the tables below give you the hard numbers—pulled straight from the Consortium’s Round-1 PDF.
(Bookmark this page; you’ll need it each time the Consortium drops a fresh allotment list.)
Table 1 – Round-1 General Category Closing Ranks (Main BA LL.B. programmes)
| Sl. No. | NLU | Gen. Closing Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NLSIU Bengaluru | 100 |
| 2 | NALSAR Hyderabad | 150 |
| 3 | WBNUJS Kolkata | 285 |
| 4 | NLU Jodhpur | 357 |
| 5 | GNLU Gandhinagar | 402 |
| 6 | NLIU Bhopal | 458 |
| 7 | MNLU Mumbai | 536 |
| 8 | RMLNLU Lucknow | 721 |
| 9 | HNLU Raipur | 765 |
| 10 | NLU Odisha | 943 |
| 11 | GNLU Silvassa (new campus) | 1 252 |
| 12 | RGNUL Patiala | 1 146 |
| 13 | NUALS Kochi | 1 175 |
| 14 | CNLU Patna | 1 278 |
| 15 | NUSRL Ranchi | 1 476 |
| 16 | DSNLU Visakhapatnam | 1 489 |
| 17 | TNNLU Tiruchirappalli | 1 516 |
| 18 | DNLU Jabalpur | 1 762 |
| 19 | HPNLU Shimla | 1 951 |
| 20 | NLUJAA Assam | 1 643 |
| 21 | DBRANLU Sonepat | 1 621 |
| 22 | MNLU Nagpur | 1 353 |
| 23 | MNLU Aurangabad | 1 580 |
| 24 | RPNLU Prayagraj | 1 987 |
| 25 | IIURL Goa | 2 096 |
| 26 | NLUT Agartala | 2 098 |
Figures compiled from the Consortium’s official Round-1 list reproduced by Careers360.
Reading the Numbers
- A lower rank means a tougher gate. Landing inside Rank 100 practically locks NLSIU unless later rounds shuffle you upward.
- Mid-table squeeze: The 500-to-900 band is where most “border” candidates live this year. If you sit here, keep all mid-tier NLUs in your preference list—you’ll thank yourself in Round 3.
- Newer campuses (HPNLU, NLUT, IIURL) are still accessible past Rank 1900, offering a solid safety net without a huge fee spike.
Table 2 – Opening & Closing Ranks by Category (Top-10 NLUs)
| NLU | OBC Range | EWS Range | SC Range | ST Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLSIU | 209 – 1 324 | 119 – 694 | 182 – 3 014 | 228 – 3 396 |
| NALSAR | 333 – 1 219 | 218 – 843 | 816 – 3 177 | 1 311 – 3 433 |
| WBNUJS | WB-domicile quota | 299 – 652 | 3 048 – 3 952 | 4 824 – 6 343 |
| NLU Jodhpur | 583 – 1 699 | 347 – 876 | 3 158 – 4 659 | 2 838 – 5 232 |
| GNLU | 715 – 2 138 | 475 – 995 | 974 – 5 791 | 4 457 – 7 639 |
| NLIU Bhopal | 1 086 – 1 757 | 438 – 856 | 4 682 – 5 763 | 5 456 – 8 243 |
| MNLU Mumbai | 322 – 1 183 | 257 – 617 | 1 627 – 3 967 | 2 497 – 5 928 |
| HNLU Raipur | 2 144 – 2 385 | 1 005 – 1 254 | 6 232 – 7 350 | 8 711 – 9 973 |
| RMLNLU (UP dom.) | — | 137 – 1 370 | 4 612 – 11 064 | 5 929 – 19 305 |
| RGNUL Patiala | — | 462 – 1 103 | 2 067 – 8 126 | 7 540 – 11 761 |
Data mirrored from TopRankers’ roundup of the Consortium PDF and matched against Legal Edge/Career Launcher live trackers.
Why CLAT 2025 cut-off Shift Between Rounds
- Freeze vs Float Decisions – High scorers lock seats, freeing others only when they upgrade.
- Revised Scorecards – The Delhi HC-mandated re-evaluation nudged some scores ±4 marks this year, shaking up ranks. Careers360 Law
- Domicile/Diversity Quotas – State-specific lists open and close independently, so monitor your home-state NLU even if the All-India rank looks scary.
- Fee & Location Factors – Students routinely slide from costlier metros to hometown NLUs in later rounds, lowering closing ranks at premium campuses.
How to Use This Sheet Before Round 2
- Mark Your Band: Drop your AIR onto the general table; colour-code three clusters—Safe, Stretch, and Dream.
- Reorder Preferences Intelligently: Career Launcher’s counsellors suggest keeping at least 15 choices, stacking your Dream NLUs first, followed by realistic safeties.
- Have Documents Ready: Verification queues move brutally fast; one missing affidavit can boot you to the next list.
- Stay Agile: Keep an eye on Legal Edge’s real-time spreadsheet—they update seat vacates within hours of each payment deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions of CLAT 2025 cut-off
Q. Is the first-round CLAT 2025 cut-off final?
No. Two more rounds (4 Jun & 20 Jun) plus possible mop-ups will push closing ranks down, especially in reserved categories.
Q. My rank is 820 (General). Which NLUs are realistic?
GNLU Silvassa, RGNUL, NUALS, and CNLU were still open past 1 100 in Round 1. With strategic float, you’re very much alive for a Tier-2 NLU seat.
Q. Should I drop out and retake?
If your heart is set on the Big-3 (NLS, NALSAR, NUJS) and you’re outside Rank 350, repeating might be sensible. Everyone else should ride the counselling carousel—you’d be surprised how many top-500 ranks abandon seats for AILET or private scholarships.
Final Word
The CLAT 2025 cut-off story is still unfolding. Use the numbers above as a compass, not a verdict. Keep documents handy, keep refreshing the Consortium portal, and remember: at the end of the counselling frenzy, every NLU tag opens the same courtroom doors. May your rank move in the right direction—good luck!
