CLAT Exam Answer Key 2026: Release Date & How to Challenge

The CLAT exam answer key for CLAT 2026 could be challenged only on the Consortium's objection portal. Each objection needed a ₹500 fee. An objection sent by email, support ticket or phone call was not entertained. A candidate who missed the portal window lost the chance to object to the provisional key.

The Consortium of NLUs has scheduled CLAT 2027 for Sunday, 6 December 2026. The CLAT answer key 2027 schedule: Not officially announced as of 13 October 2026. The dates and rules below come from CLAT 2026, held on 7 December 2025. They are the last cycle on record, not a forecast for the CLAT exam answer key of 2027.

The CLAT 2027 answer key does not exist yet because the test is on 6 December 2026. The Consortium has published no key date, objection window or fee for CLAT 2027. The timeline below shows the CLAT exam answer key 2026 from the test to the final key.

Keep your booklet and OMR copy after the test. Read the key for your set as soon as it appears. File objections before the portal closes. A candidate who missed the closing time in CLAT 2026 lost the chance to challenge the CLAT exam answer key.

What are the three stages of the CLAT exam answer key?

The CLAT exam answer key has three stages: a provisional key, an objection window and a final key. The CLAT 2026 answer key began with the CLAT provisional answer key, published on 10 December 2025. Candidates could object until 12 December 2025, 5:00 PM.

Two Subject Expert Committees, one for UG and one for PG, reviewed the objections. An Oversight Committee considered their recommendations. The Governing Body of the Consortium approved the changes. The CLAT final answer key came on 16 December 2025.

What happens if a CLAT question is withdrawn?

A withdrawn question is left out of the evaluation, and the paper is marked out of fewer marks. The CLAT provisional answer key of 2026 withdrew one UG question in each of the four booklet sets. The withdrawn question was Question 100 in Set A and Question 46 in Set B. It was Question 18 in Set C and Question 60 in Set D.

The PG paper also had one withdrawn question in each set. The Consortium evaluated both papers out of 119 marks. Leave the withdrawn question out of your own count when you check the CLAT exam answer key.

The CLAT 2027 answer key release date: Not officially announced as of 13 October 2026. The press release of 22 July 2026 gives only the test date and the application dates. The Notifications list on the official CLAT 2027 page has five items. None of them covers the CLAT exam answer key or its schedule.

When will the CLAT 2027 answer key be released?

The Consortium has not published a release date for the CLAT exam answer key of 2027. In CLAT 2026, the key time was announced in the test-day press release dated 7 December 2025. That release named the time of the CLAT provisional answer key and the objection window. Read any press release issued on or after 6 December 2026 before you look elsewhere.

How many days after the test did the CLAT 2026 answer key come?

The CLAT exam answer key 2026 came in two steps. The provisional key came three days after the test. The final key came nine days after it.

The CLAT answer key objection window lasted two days, from 10 December 2025 to 12 December 2025. The CLAT final answer key followed four days after the window closed. These gaps are CLAT 2026 facts. The Consortium has not said that CLAT 2027 will follow them. Keep your OMR copy and booklet within reach until the final CLAT 2027 answer key appears. The CLAT 2027 exam dates page lists the dates that are announced.

Is the CLAT final answer key released before the result?

No, the CLAT final answer key and the result came on the same day in CLAT 2026, 16 December 2025. The result notification of that date scored the UG paper out of 119 marks. It used the provisional key, which stood as final. The result therefore reflected the final key from its first day.

In CLAT 2026, candidates downloaded the CLAT answer key PDF from the Consortium's own website. The CLAT 2027 page on the same website is the place to look. The Consortium has announced no other host for the CLAT 2027 answer key. The steps below follow the CLAT exam answer key 2026 route.

How do I download the CLAT answer key PDF?

Download the CLAT answer key PDF from the Notifications list on the official CLAT page.

1. Open the official CLAT 2027 page on the Consortium's website.
2. Go to the Notifications list.
3. Open the notice on objections and the CLAT provisional answer key. The CLAT 2026 notice was titled "Objections to Question Paper and Provisional Answer Key, CLAT 2026".
4. Find the appendix for your programme and booklet set. In CLAT 2026, Appendix II held the UG keys and Appendix IV held the PG keys.
5. Save the file before the objection window closes.

Do I need a login to download the CLAT answer key?

The CLAT 2026 answer key files open directly on the Consortium's site without a login, as checked on 13 October 2026. The objection portal was different, because a candidate had to log in to the CLAT account to submit an objection.

No CLAT answer key 2027 link exists as of 13 October 2026. The official CLAT 2027 page is the one to bookmark, because the Consortium lists its notices there. Download the CLAT answer key 2027 on the day it appears. The window to object to the CLAT 2026 answer key lasted only two days.

Does the CLAT answer key come with explanations?

The CLAT exam answer key 2026 lists only the correct option against each question number. The CLAT answer key PDF carries no reasons or solutions. Use your notes and the question booklet to judge whether the CLAT exam answer key looks wrong.

What are the set codes A, B, C and D in the CLAT answer key?

The CLAT exam answer key is published for four booklet sets, A to D. Each set numbers its questions differently. A symbol printed at the bottom right of the booklet cover shows your set. In the CLAT 2026 provisional key, the withdrawn UG question was number 100 in Set A. In Set B it was number 46.

Read your set from the cover before you open the CLAT exam answer key. The Consortium did not respond to an objection if the question number did not match the candidate's own set.

An online CLAT response sheet for CLAT 2027: Not officially announced as of 13 October 2026. The CLAT 2026 booklet allowed candidates to keep the question booklet. It also allowed them to keep the candidate's copy of the OMR Response Sheet. The CLAT exam answer key and the OMR copy do different jobs, as the table shows.

Does CLAT release a response sheet?

The official CLAT 2026 and CLAT 2027 pages do not announce an online CLAT response sheet. Without a CLAT response sheet online, the OMR copy is the only record of your marked options. The official pages list no CLAT response sheet download. Keep this record safe.

How do I check my OMR copy against the CLAT exam answer key?

The Consortium has announced no CLAT response sheet, so your OMR copy is the record to check. Check it against the CLAT exam answer key in four steps.

1. Note your set symbol from the booklet cover. The key is published for four booklet sets.
2. Open the key for that set only.
3. Mark each of your answers as right, wrong or blank.
4. Note the question numbers where you doubt the key, since an objection needs the number from your own set.

For the CLAT 2026 answer key, candidates raised a CLAT answer key objection only through the Consortium's portal. The objection rules for the CLAT 2027 answer key: Not officially announced as of 13 October 2026. The figures below are CLAT 2026 facts.

Is there a fee to challenge the CLAT answer key?

Yes, an objection to the CLAT exam answer key cost ₹500 in CLAT 2026. That objection fee applied to each objection. The Consortium refunded the objection fee if it found the objection valid and sustained. It did not entertain an objection without the fee. A candidate who disputed four questions paid for four objections.

How do I raise an objection to the CLAT answer key?

A candidate raised a CLAT answer key objection from the CLAT account, under the ‘Submit Objections’ option.

1. Log in to your CLAT account on the Consortium's website.
2. Click ‘Submit Objections’, then ‘Submit Objection’.
3. Select your question booklet set and the type of objection.
4. Select the question number, enter your objection details and click ‘Submit Objection’.
5. After you submit all objections, click ‘Make Payment’.

Write each CLAT answer key objection with the question number from your own set. Check the CLAT exam answer key for that set once more before you pay. The portal accepted nothing by email, support ticket or phone call.

Who decides on CLAT answer key objections?

In CLAT 2026, three bodies decided on the objections to the CLAT exam answer key in turn. Subject Expert Committees for UG and PG, chaired by Prof. Ishwar Bhat, reviewed the objections. The Oversight Committee, chaired by Justice V. Gopala Gowda, considered their recommendations. The Governing Body of the Consortium then approved the final key.

Can I challenge the CLAT answer key after the window closes?

No, the CLAT exam answer key could not be challenged after 5:00 PM on 12 December 2025. The Consortium deactivated the portal link at that time and entertained no objection after it.

After the final key, the Consortium set up a Grievance Redressal Committee. Justice Mukeshkumar Rasikbhai Shah, a former Supreme Court judge, was its chairman. The Consortium said that a separate notification on the filing process would follow on 17 December 2025.

CLAT Answer Key Objection: Frequently Asked Questions

A CLAT score is the number of right answers minus one-fourth of the number of wrong answers. Count both from the CLAT exam answer key for your set when the CLAT answer key 2027 is out. The UG paper has 120 questions of one mark each, and each wrong answer deducts 0.25 mark. The PG paper also has 120 questions of one mark each, with the same deduction. The CLAT 2027 exam pattern page lists the section-wise split.

How is the CLAT score calculated from the answer key?

Score your paper by checking each answer against the CLAT exam answer key. Add 1 mark for each right answer and deduct 0.25 mark for each wrong answer. Four wrong answers cancel one right answer. The examples below use illustrative numbers, not official results.

The PG paper uses the same method, with its own CLAT exam answer key for each set.

Is there negative marking for unanswered CLAT questions?

No, the CLAT 2026 question booklets for UG and PG state that unanswered questions carry no deduction. The Expert Committee Report 2026 says the same for the UG test. The CLAT 2027 question format pages state the 0.25 deduction for wrong answers. They do not repeat the line on blank answers. The CLAT exam answer key marks answers only as right or wrong, so a blank answer scores zero. A wrong answer costs 0.25 mark.

Does the CLAT answer key tell me my rank?

The CLAT exam answer key gives only your marks and does not give your rank. The Consortium does not publish a marks-to-rank table. Use the CLAT exam answer key to estimate your marks. Rank comes from the CLAT 2027 result and its tie-break rules.

CLAT has no pass mark. The Consortium publishes no minimum qualifying score, and admission follows rank and seat allotment. The CLAT 2027 cutoff is therefore a closing rank for each NLU, not a score.