Checked 29 September 2026. Rules from the CLAT 2027 NLU e-brochures; cut-offs from the CLAT 2026 list-5 Cut-Off Rank Tables. State quotas change by state law and are re-read each year.
Most of the 26 National Law Universities in CLAT 2027 (the participating list shows GNLU's Silvassa campus as a separate entry) keep some seats for students of their own state. A candidate who qualifies for one of those seats is considered twice: first on the all-India list, then on the home-state list. In CLAT 2026 that second chance was worth a lot. At GNLU Gandhinagar the last all-India General seat went to AIR 398, while the Gujarat Domicile row went down to AIR 3,940. This guide lists each NLU's home-state rule from its CLAT 2027 brochure, shows how far each domicile row reached in 2026 from the Consortium's own Cut-Off Rank Tables, and ends with a finder for your state.
Consortium of NLUs, CLAT 2026 fifth-list Cut-Off Rank Tables; CLAT 2027 participating-universities page.
What a domicile seat is, and what it is not
Every CLAT allotment PDF ends with a Cut-Off Rank Table: one row per seat category, with the number of seats, the AIR cut-off (the All India Rank of the last candidate admitted in that row) and the category rank cut-off. Domicile rows carry a state code — GC-KA for the General Category of Karnataka, GC-GJ for Gujarat Domicile, and so on. Three points follow from how the rows are filled:
How home-state rows work
- You do not need a better rank to use a domicile seat. The home-state rows are filled after the all-India rows, from candidates who did not make it on all-India merit.
- You are not locked into your state. If your rank is inside the all-India General cut-off, you get the all-India seat and the domicile seat passes to the next home-state candidate.
- Proof is checked by the NLU, not by the Consortium. The counselling instructions list the "Domicile/Residence Certificate" as a mandatory upload for anyone allotted a domicile seat, and each NLU sets its own study-year or residence rule.
Home-state rules in the CLAT 2027 brochures
| NLU | Home-state rule (2027 brochure) | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| NLSIU Bengaluru | 25% of the intake (75 seats) reserved horizontally, compartmentalised, for Karnataka students, plus 10 additional Karnataka seats on merit (total intake 310) | At least 7 years of study in a recognised institution in Karnataka; the brochure also lets in, with fewer years, children of specified parents who served outside Karnataka (defence personnel and ex-servicemen with a Karnataka hometown, Karnataka Government employees, Karnataka-cadre All India Services officers and others listed) |
| NALSAR Hyderabad | Resident Student of Telangana category; the seat table heading reads Telangana (25%) | Either four consecutive years of study in Telangana and appearing for the qualifying exam in Telangana, or residence in Telangana for at least four of the previous seven years and 10+2 (or equivalent) from an institution in Telangana |
| WBNUJS Kolkata | 30 of 120 BA LLB seats and 18 of 60 B.Sc LLB seats for West Bengal domicile | At least 10 years of study in West Bengal, or a parent who is a permanent resident (conditions in the brochure) |
| NLU Jodhpur | Rajasthan State Domicile — 25% horizontal | Rajasthan domicile, as defined in the brochure |
| GNLU Silvassa campus | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Domicile — 25%: 15 UG seats (8 in the LL.M.), compartmentalised across the vertical categories except EWS | DNH and DD domicile, as defined in the brochure |
| GNLU Gandhinagar | Gujarat Domicile — 25%: 40 horizontal seats in the combined UG allocation (all integrated UG programmes together), cutting across categories except EWS | Gujarat domicile certificate |
| NLIU Bhopal | 50% of seats horizontally reserved for Madhya Pradesh domicile certificate holders, in the respective category | MP domicile certificate |
| HNLU Raipur | 85 All India seats and 85 Chhattisgarh Domicile seats | Chhattisgarh domicile, under the Chhattisgarh Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2012; a domicile candidate who makes all-India merit takes an all-India seat |
| NLU Odisha | 25% of seats reserved horizontally for General, SC and ST applicants under state domicile reservation | Class 12 passed in Odisha with at least 60%, plus a domicile certificate from the state authority |
| NUSRL Ranchi | 50% of seats, horizontally reserved in each category, under the NUSRL Act, 2010 | The brochure asks for a Jharkhand domicile certificate, and also quotes the Act, which covers residents of Jharkhand, candidates who passed the qualifying exam from an institution in Jharkhand, and wards of government, university and public-sector employees working in Jharkhand. Follow the proof NUSRL asks for at counselling |
| NUALS Kochi | State Merit (Kerala) — 9% of the intake of 60, i.e. 5 seats, besides Kerala SC, ST and SEBC seats | Kerala Nativity Certificate |
| NLUJA Assam | Assam General — 8 horizontal seats "within the All India/Assam General Category", plus SC, ST and OBC/MOBC of Assam rows | As defined in the brochure |
| DBRANLU Sonepat | Haryana General — 13 BA LLB seats, plus Haryana EWS, SC, DSC and BC rows (the brochure's seat table is headed "CLAT 2026") | Haryana domicile, as defined in the brochure |
| TNNLU Tiruchirappalli | 54 seats under the Tamil Nadu category (45% of 120) | Tamil Nadu candidates as defined in the brochure |
| RGNUL Patiala | 10% of 180 seats (18: 16 plus 2) for Punjab residents and Punjab BC | Punjab residents |
| HPNLU Shimla | HP Bonafide — horizontal, 25% under the HPNLU Act, 2016 (30 seats in the BA LLB table) | HP Bonafide certificate |
| NLU Tripura | Tripura domicile: 9 of the 31 unreserved BA LLB seats | Tripura domicile |
| IIULER Goa | 20 percent reservation of seats for students from Goa | Students from Goa |
| NLU Meghalaya | 50% of total seats for Meghalaya domicile candidates | Meghalaya domicile |
| DSNLU Visakhapatnam | 50% of seats filled under Andhra Pradesh state rules, 40% on an all-India basis, 10% foreign citizens and NRI | As per Andhra Pradesh state rules (see the brochure) |
Read from each NLU's CLAT 2027 e-brochure on the Consortium site. NLIU's text extract prints "150%"; the "1" is a footnote marker and the rule is 50%. DNLU Jabalpur's brochure is a scanned image and was not read; its 2026 table has a Madhya Pradesh General row (below). CNLU, RMLNLU, RPNLU and the three MNLUs keep only reserved-category state rows (see further down). Proof rules are summarised; the brochure is the authority.
How far each home-state row reached in 2026
| State | Programme and row | Seats | Domicile AIR cut-off (list 5) | All-India General AIR cut-off (list 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karnataka | NLSIU Bengaluru — General, Karnataka (GC-KA) | 30 | 336 | 120 |
| Karnataka | NLSIU Bengaluru — additional Karnataka seats | 10 | 427 | 120 |
| Telangana | NALSAR Hyderabad — General, Telangana (GC-TL) | 15 | 565 | 168 |
| Rajasthan | NLU Jodhpur BA LLB — General, Rajasthan (GC-RJ) | 17 | 600 | 364 |
| Rajasthan | NLU Jodhpur BBA LLB — General, Rajasthan (GC-RJ) | 7 | 654 | 406 |
| West Bengal | WBNUJS BA LLB — General, West Bengal (GC-WB) | 15 | 746 | 343 |
| West Bengal | WBNUJS B.Sc LLB — General, West Bengal (GC-WB) | 9 | 985 | 598 |
| Madhya Pradesh | NLIU Bhopal BA LLB — General, Madhya Pradesh (GC-MP) | 26 | 759 | 459 |
| Madhya Pradesh | NLIU Bhopal B.Sc LLB (Cyber) — General, Madhya Pradesh (GC-MP) | 13 | 2,278 | 698 |
| Madhya Pradesh | DNLU Jabalpur — General, Madhya Pradesh (GC-MP) | 30 | 2,480 | 2,045 |
| Punjab | RGNUL Patiala — Punjab residents (RES-PB) | 16 | 1,161 | 1,141 |
| Kerala | NUALS Kochi — General, Kerala (GC-KL) | 5 | 1,286 | 1,158 |
| Haryana | DBRANLU Sonepat — General, Haryana (GC-HR) | 13 | 2,493 | 1,810 |
| Tamil Nadu | TNNLU BA LLB — General, Tamil Nadu (GC-TN) | 8 | 2,992 | 1,552 |
| Tamil Nadu | TNNLU B.Com LLB — General, Tamil Nadu (GC-TN) | 8 | 6,530 | 1,734 |
| Odisha | NLU Odisha BA LLB — Odisha domicile (DOM-OD) | 11 | 3,177 | 848 |
| Odisha | NLU Odisha BBA LLB — Odisha domicile (DOM-OD) | 5 | 3,157 | 892 |
| Assam | NLUJA Assam — General, Assam (GC-AS) | 8 | 3,519 | 2,049 |
| Gujarat | GNLU Gandhinagar — General, Gujarat (GC-GJ) | 40 | 3,940 | 398 |
| Chhattisgarh | HNLU Raipur — General, Chhattisgarh (GC-CHT) | 36 | 3,942 | 806 |
| Jharkhand | NUSRL Ranchi BA LLB — General, Jharkhand (GC-JD) | 30 | 5,339 | 1,440 |
| Jharkhand | NUSRL Ranchi BBA LLB — General, Jharkhand (GC-JD) | 15 | 7,308 | 1,543 |
| Andhra Pradesh | DSNLU Visakhapatnam — General, Andhra Pradesh (GC-AP) | 30 | 6,187 | 1,400 |
| Himachal Pradesh | HPNLU Shimla BA LLB — General, Himachal Pradesh (GC-HP) | 23 | 12,336 | 2,108 |
| Himachal Pradesh | HPNLU Shimla BBA LLB — General, Himachal Pradesh (GC-HP) | 12 | 16,712 | 2,275 |
| Tripura | NLU Tripura — General, Tripura (GC-TR) | 9 | 27,203 | 2,410 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | GNLU Silvassa — General, DNH and DD | 8 | 31,242 | 1,513 |
| Goa | IIULER Goa BA LLB — General, Goa (GC-GA) | 12 | 72,430 | 2,671 |
| Goa | IIULER Goa BBA LLB — General, Goa (GC-GA) | 3 | 66,116 | 2,802 |
From the Cut-Off Rank Table at the foot of each programme's fifth and final allotment PDF, CLAT 2026. AIR cut-off = the All India Rank of the last candidate admitted in that row.
The 12 lowest (most competitive) home-state General cut-offs. Same source as the table above.
Three groups stand out. At NLSIU, NALSAR, NLU Jodhpur, WBNUJS and NLIU the home-state row still closed inside the top 800 ranks — valuable, but you need a strong paper either way. At GNLU, HNLU, NLU Odisha, DSNLU and NUSRL the gap was large: GNLU's all-India General row closed at 398 and its Gujarat row at 3,940; HNLU's at 806 and 3,942. At the smaller or newer universities — HPNLU, NLU Tripura, GNLU Silvassa and IIULER Goa — the home-state rows went beyond AIR 12,000. The tables show how far down those rows reached; they do not say why, and the number of eligible applicants from each state is not published.
States with reserved-category rows only
| State | NLUs | What the 2026 tables show |
|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | MNLU Mumbai, MNLU Nagpur, MNLU Chh. Sambhajinagar | SC, ST, OBC, EWS, SEBC, SBC, denotified and nomadic tribe (DT-A, NT-B, NT-C, NT-D) rows marked MH; no Maharashtra General row |
| Bihar | CNLU Patna | EWS, SC, ST, BC and EBC rows of Bihar, plus women of BC of Bihar; General seats all-India |
| Uttar Pradesh | RMLNLU Lucknow, RPNLU Prayagraj | SC, ST, OBC and EWS rows of UP, plus dependents-of-freedom-fighters and defence-personnel rows; General seats all-India |
| Meghalaya | NLU Meghalaya | Not in the CLAT 2026 allotment lists; the 2027 brochure reserves 50% for domicile candidates |
From the CLAT 2026 list-5 Cut-Off Rank Tables and the 2027 NLU Meghalaya brochure.
For a General-category candidate from Maharashtra, Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, the home-state NLUs offer no extra General seat — you compete on the all-India General row like everyone else. For reserved-category candidates from those states, the state rows are the main route in: for example, MNLU Mumbai had 19 OBC of Maharashtra seats and 10 EWS of Maharashtra seats in 2026, and CNLU Patna's BA LLB table had 8 BC of Bihar and 12 EBC of Bihar seats.
| Programme | Row | Seats | AIR cut-off (list 5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNLU Mumbai | OBC of Maharashtra | 19 | 6,085 |
| MNLU Mumbai | EWS of Maharashtra | 10 | 6,554 |
| CNLU Patna — BA LLB | BC of Bihar | 8 | 2,980 |
| CNLU Patna — BA LLB | EBC of Bihar | 12 | 4,907 |
| RMLNLU Lucknow | OBC of Uttar Pradesh | 43 | 3,152 |
| RMLNLU Lucknow | SC of Uttar Pradesh | 34 | 11,273 |
Examples from the CLAT 2026 list-5 Cut-Off Rank Tables.
What changed for 2027
Two September 2026 notifications from the Consortium change state categories for this cycle. WBNUJS removed the separate OBC-A and OBC-B (West Bengal) categories and replaced them with a single OBC (West Bengal) category. NLU Meghalaya added Khasi and Jaintia, Garo and "Other SC/ST of Meghalaya" categories. Both apply to UG and PG. If your category on the application no longer matches, read the notification: the CLAT instructions say the programme, category and BPL field cannot be changed after the application is paid.
| Change (Sep 2026) | Before | CLAT 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| WBNUJS — West Bengal OBC | OBC-A (WB) and OBC-B (WB) | One OBC (WB) category |
| NLU Meghalaya — state categories | Not listed | Khasi and Jaintia; Garo; Other SC/ST of Meghalaya |
Before you claim a home-state seat
Checklist
- Read your state NLU's 2027 brochure for the exact test: years of study (Karnataka 7, West Bengal 10, Telangana 4 consecutive), residence, or a certificate.
- Get the certificate in the format the NLU asks for, issued by the competent authority, before counselling registration.
- Put the home-state NLU in your preference list — the counselling instructions say you are considered only for NLUs you list.
- Remember that the domicile row is filled after the all-India rows: a strong rank still takes an all-India seat first.
Which NLUs keep seats for your state?
Pick the state you can prove domicile or residence in. The finder lists every CLAT 2026 programme with a home-state General row in its official Cut-Off Rank Table, the seats in that row, and how far down the merit list it reached in the fifth and final list compared with the all-India General seats of the same programme.
CLAT 2026 list-5 Cut-Off Rank Tables. A domicile seat is an extra chance, not a separate exam: you are considered for all-India seats first. Each NLU sets its own proof rules (study years, residence, certificate dates) — see the table above and the 2027 brochure.
Practise it, don't just read it
A home-state seat still needs a rank. Practise the passage-based sections that decide it.
The ProSyllabus CLAT library has three quizzes today: reading-comprehension inference (English), international treaties and summits (current affairs) and constitutional-law principle application (legal reasoning).
Which NLUs have a domicile quota in CLAT 2027?
Most of them. The 2026 Cut-Off Rank Tables show home-state General rows at NLSIU, NALSAR, NLU Jodhpur, WBNUJS, NLIU, DNLU, RGNUL, NUALS, DBRANLU, TNNLU, NLU Odisha, NLUJA, GNLU, HNLU, NUSRL, DSNLU, HPNLU, NLU Tripura, GNLU Silvassa and IIULER Goa; the MNLUs, CNLU, RMLNLU and RPNLU reserve only state reserved-category seats.
Is there a Karnataka quota at NLSIU?
Yes. The 2027 brochure reserves 75 seats (25%) horizontally for Karnataka students — at least 7 years of study in Karnataka, or one of the brochure's exceptions for children of specified parents serving outside the state — plus 10 additional Karnataka seats on merit.
Does a domicile candidate need a lower rank than all-India candidates?
No. You are considered on the all-India list first. In 2026 every domicile General row closed further down the merit list than the all-India General row of the same programme.
What was the Gujarat domicile cut-off at GNLU in CLAT 2026?
AIR 3,940 in the final list, for 40 Gujarat Domicile seats, against AIR 398 for all-India General.
Is there a Delhi quota in CLAT?
No. NLU Delhi is not part of CLAT; it admits B.A.LL.B. students through its own AILET.
Is there a Maharashtra General quota at MNLU?
Not in the 2026 tables. The MNLUs reserve their state reserved-category seats for Maharashtra candidates; General seats are all-India.
Where do I find my NLU's domicile rules?
In its CLAT 2027 e-brochure, linked from the participating-universities page of the Consortium website.
Can I change my category after applying for CLAT 2027?
The instructions say programme, category and BPL status cannot be changed once the application is submitted and paid.
Sources
- official — Consortium of NLUs — CLAT 2026 fifth and final allotment list, per-programme PDFs with Cut-Off Rank Tables
- official — Consortium of NLUs — CLAT 2026 first provisional allotment list, per-programme PDFs with Cut-Off Rank Tables
- official — Consortium of NLUs — CLAT 2027 participating universities and e-brochures
- official — NLSIU Bengaluru — CLAT 2027 e-brochure
- official — NALSAR Hyderabad — CLAT 2027 e-brochure
- official — WBNUJS Kolkata — CLAT 2027 e-brochure
- official — NLU Jodhpur — CLAT 2027 e-brochure
- official — GNLU Gandhinagar — CLAT 2027 e-brochure
- official — NLIU Bhopal — CLAT 2027 e-brochure
- official — HNLU Raipur — CLAT 2027 e-brochure
- official — NLUO, NLUT, NUSRL, TNNLU, RGNUL, HPNLU, IIULER, NLU Meghalaya and DSNLU — CLAT 2027 e-brochures
- official — Consortium of NLUs — September 2026 notifications (test cities, WBNUJS OBC, NLU Meghalaya categories)
- official — Consortium of NLUs — CLAT 2027 UG instructions
- official — Consortium of NLUs — Instructions for the Admissions Counselling Process, CLAT 2026 (17 Dec 2025)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
