CLAT 2026 Closing Cutoff for NLSIU Bangalore: Round 5 Category-Wise Final Ranks

The CLAT 2026 closing cutoff for NLSIU Bangalore in Round 5 (the final allotment round) stood at All India Rank 110 for the General category, 3,148 for SC, 1,527 for OBC, 692 for EWS, and 3,365 for ST — confirming NLSIU Bangalore as the most competitive NLU in the country for the seventh consecutive year.

The Consortium of NLUs released the CLAT 2026 Round 5 allotment list in June 2026, marking the conclusion of the five-round centralised counselling process. National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore — India’s top-ranked law school — recorded the tightest closing ranks across all categories. Students who received an allotment in Rounds 1 to 4 could choose to Freeze (retain their seat), Float (move to a higher-preference college if available), or Exit the process. Round 5 offered only Freeze or Exit options and is now final.

• General (Unreserved) All India closing rank in Round 5: AIR 110 — tighter than several recent years.
• SC category closing rank: AIR 3,148; ST closing rank: AIR 3,365.
• OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) closing rank: AIR 1,527; EWS closing rank: AIR 692.
• PWD — General category closing rank: AIR 113.
• NLSIU Bangalore offers approximately 120 seats in BA LLB (Hons) across vertical and horizontal reservation categories.
• CLAT 2026 closing ranks are marginally tighter than CLAT 2025 in some categories, based on the official Round 5 allotment data.

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CLAT 2026 NLSIU Bangalore Round 5 Closing Cutoff — Category-Wise

The table below shows the category-wise closing All India Ranks for NLSIU Bangalore in CLAT 2026 Round 5. These are the final cutoffs — no further allotment will be conducted. Students ranked above (i.e., a higher number than) the closing rank in their category were not allotted NLSIU Bangalore in this cycle.

The closing rank for the General category at NLSIU Bangalore has consistently stayed within the top 100 to 120 band over the past several years. Even a rank of 111 in the General category was not sufficient for NLSIU Bangalore in Round 5 of CLAT 2026 — students in that range were allotted their next-preference NLU instead. Reserved-category students should note that these are All India Ranks, not within-category ranks.

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CLAT 2025 vs 2026 NLSIU Bangalore Cutoff Comparison

Comparing CLAT 2025 and CLAT 2026 final-round closing ranks at NLSIU Bangalore gives a clear picture of how demand for India’s top NLU has evolved. The General category tightened slightly in 2026 (AIR 110 vs AIR 112 in 2025), while OBC and EWS cutoffs also compressed modestly.

The pattern is consistent with NLSIU Bangalore remaining the first-choice NLU for high scorers across categories. The slight tightening in General, OBC, and EWS cutoffs in 2026 reflects a marginal increase in CLAT scores at the top of the distribution, as more students attempted comprehension-based passages in dedicated preparation. The SC category eased fractionally, likely due to a small increase in SC seat intake.

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NLSIU Bangalore Seat Matrix for CLAT 2026

NLSIU Bangalore offers the five-year integrated BA LLB (Hons) programme. The table below shows the approximate vertical and horizontal seat distribution for CLAT 2026 admissions. Horizontal reservation categories (Women, PwD) apply across vertical categories and do not represent additional seats.

With only around 54 General-category seats available, competition at NLSIU Bangalore remains extreme. Students with an All India Rank above 110 in the General category would need to look at the next tier of NLUs, where closing ranks typically range from 150 to 400 for General-category seats.

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Factors Affecting CLAT NLSIU Bangalore Closing Cutoff

Several factors determine whether the NLSIU Bangalore cutoff tightens or eases from one year to the next:

• CLAT difficulty level: An easier paper compresses score differences at the top, pushing more students toward the same rank range and tightening the General cutoff.
• Total applicant pool: CLAT 2026 saw over 75,000 applicants. A larger applicant pool intensifies competition for the same fixed number of seats.
• Freeze and upgrade decisions in Rounds 1 to 4: Students who upgrade to NLSIU in Round 2 or 3 vacate lower-preference seats. Students who freeze at another NLU free up an NLSIU seat for the next rank in their category.
• Seat intake changes: Any revision to NLSIU’s approved intake directly shifts where the closing rank lands. Even a one-seat increase in a reserved category can relax that category’s cutoff by several hundred ranks.
• Category-wise score distribution: If proportionally more high-scorers belong to a particular category in a given year, that category’s cutoff tightens even with the same number of seats.
• NRI and foreign national fill rate: Unfilled NRI seats may be converted to general pool seats in later rounds under consortium rules, which can relax the General cutoff marginally.