The Consortium of National Law Universities has set 24 April 2026 as the firm deadline for CLAT 2026 candidates who chose the "Freeze" option in any of the first three counselling rounds to pay their balance university fees. Payment is mandatory to retain the allotted seat; defaulters will be treated as having vacated. The fourth allotment list will be published on 2 May 2026 at consortiumofnlus.ac.in.
Key details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Exam | Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026 |
| Conducting body | Consortium of National Law Universities |
| Counselling stage | Post-Round 3 fee payment deadline |
| Applicable candidates | Those who froze seats in Rounds 1, 2, or 3 |
| Payment deadline | 24 April 2026 |
| Fourth merit list | 2 May 2026 |
| Remaining rounds | Round 4: 20 May 2026; Round 5: 29 May 2026 |
| Total CLAT UG seats | ~3,300 across 24 participating NLUs |
| Total CLAT PG seats | 1,378 |
| Official portal | consortiumofnlus.ac.in |
Who is affected
- Candidates who received a seat allotment in CLAT UG Rounds 1, 2, or 3 and selected the "Freeze" option — meaning they accepted the allotted seat and withdrew from further counselling
- CLAT PG candidates in the same Freeze category must similarly complete fee payment by the deadline
- Candidates who selected "Float" (continue in counselling) or "Slide" (accept but await improvement) have separate obligations and should check the counselling portal for post-Round 3 instructions
- Defaulters on the 24 April deadline will lose the allotted seat; the seat returns to the common pool for the 2 May fourth allotment
How to complete fee payment
- Log in to the CLAT counselling dashboard at consortiumofnlus.ac.in using your application ID and password
- Navigate to the "Fee Payment" section of your allotted NLU
- Verify the exact balance university fee amount (varies by NLU — check individual fee structures)
- Pay the fee online through net banking, debit/credit card, or UPI
- Complete the transaction at least 48 hours before the 24 April deadline to avoid payment gateway congestion
- Download and print the payment receipt; retain for admission formalities at the NLU
Important notes
- High traffic on the portal near deadline commonly causes payment failures — the Consortium advises candidates to complete transactions by 22 April 2026
- The fourth allotment list on 2 May will redistribute seats vacated by defaulters and upgrade candidates who chose Float or Slide
- Candidates allotted in Round 4 must complete their fee formalities quickly as Round 5 is scheduled for 29 May
- Physical reporting and document verification dates will be notified separately by each NLU; counselling completion does not substitute NLU-level admission formalities