There are various ways to take admission in law colleges in India. The candidates are usually required to have a valid score or rank in a common entrance test. However, they can take admission without giving a national level law entrance exam.
- Direct Law Admission 2023
- Eligibility Criteria for Law Admission without National-level Entrance Exam
- Documents Required for Law Admission without National-level Entrance Exam
- Pathways to Law Admission without National-level Entrance Exam
- Law Colleges Accepting State-Level Entrance Exams
- Law Colleges Accepting University-Level Entrance Exams
- Merit-based Law Admission
- Direct Law Admission via Management Quota
- Faqs

The demand for legal experts in the workforce is constantly growing, prompting students to inquire about the top law schools in India that don't require national-level law entrance exams like CLAT, AILET, LSAT India, etc. There is fierce competition among law aspirants to gain admission to India's top law schools as a result of the large annual growth in the number of law aspirants taking law entrance exams like the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), Law School Admission Test India (LSAT India), and All India Bar Exam (AIBE).
The state-level common law entrance exams are an option for those candidates who are not interested in competing at the national level. State-level law entrance exams are not conducted in all the states in India, however, certain states where law exams take place are Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Then there are the entrance exams for law at the university level, which are only offered by a select few universities that offer both law and other programmes. However, there are more ways for students to enroll in a legal degree where candidates are chosen based on their merit. The merit can be determined using a variety of other techniques that those specific colleges or universities have established. To know more about law school admissions in India without taking a national entrance exam, check out this article.

Direct Law Admission 2023
The top-ranked law schools/ universities have raised their requirements for admission to law courses due to the increased level of competition. In India, there are quite a lot of law schools that accept candidates based on merit or other law entrance exams rather than national-level law entrance exams. So law aspirants should keep in mind that even if they are not prepared for popular law entrance exams like CLAT, AILET, LSAT India, etc they can also appear for other law entrance tests.
These aspirants can also get admission to the law programmes based on other state-level law entrance exams, university-level law entrance exams or on their merit in the last qualifying exam. Those who are not prepared for appearing in law entrance exams can look for law colleges/ institutions that offer admission based on merit or a management quota system.
Eligibility Criteria for Law Admission without National-level Entrance Exam
A candidate must be qualified to apply for a law course before applying to an institute. If an applicant does not meet the requirements before asking for admission, their application will likely be refused. Basic requirements for enrollment in a legal course are:
Candidates must get the cumulative Class 12 exam percentage necessary by the college, which varies for each college but is often a minimum of 50%.
For a legal programme like a five-year LLB, applicants are welcome from any stream of discipline whether science, commerce, or arts.
Candidates must make sure to maintain an overall percentage in their undergraduate law degree of at least 50–60%.
Candidates must have received their class 12th pass certificate from an accredited educational institution in India.
Note: Candidates must note that the above-mentioned eligibility criteria is general in nature and that candidates must visit the official website of the law college or university for which they are applying to get to know the elaborate and precise eligibility criteria.
Also Read: Top 10 Private Law Colleges in India: Entrance Exams, Affiliation & Fees
Documents Required for Law Admission without National-level Entrance Exam
Before taking admission to a law programme, every college or university demands verification and validation of a student's credentials, qualifications, achievements, and accolades, among other things, and some documents are required for that. Prior to taking admission to the college, a candidate must have valid papers on hand. Before submitting an application for admission to a law programme, applicants must have the following documents on hand:
- Government issued Identity Proof like Aadhar Card, Passport, PAN Card, etc.
- Certificates for accomplishments, experiences, and other activities
- School Leaving Certificate
- Class 10th Marksheet/Certificates
- Class 12th Marksheet/Certificates
- Recent Photographs (Passport-sized)
- Caste Certificate (if applicable)
Candidates must take a note that the documents required are based on the requirements of the law college/ university. Some colleges might need other documents for submission.
Pathways to Law Admission without National-level Entrance Exam
Students who want to pursue a legal career have other options besides national-level law exams like CLAT, LSAT India, AILET, AIBE, etc. There are numerous options for a student to apply for admission to a legal programme at an established law school in India. The following options are available to applicants to law colleges who do not desire to take the national-level law entrance exams:
State-level Law Entrance Exam - Students may also take state-level entrance tests for law, if they are offered by their state or any other state where they choose to pursue their studies. There are many reputed law schools in various states that offer admission to their law programmes based on state-level entrance test scores. A few of the popular state-level law entrance exams are: MH CET Law, AP LAWCET, KLEE, and TS LAWCET.
University-level Law Entrance Exam - If a student desires admission into a certain law college/university that offers university-level or college-level law entrance exam then students can write such exams and pass them to get admission to various law programmes offered by that particular university/college. This option is particularly beneficial for students who have a good budget for their law studies and want to avoid higher competition as far as the national-level and state level law entrance exams are concerned.
A few of the popular university level law entrance exams are: Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Entrance Examination (KIITEE), Christ University Law Entrance Test (CULET), Lovely Professional University National Eligibility and Scholarship Test (LPUNEST), etc.
Merit-based Admission - Merit-based law admissions are also available at several prestigious law universities/colleges for students who don't want to take a law entrance exam and instead want to apply based only on their 10+2 grades and credentials.
Management Quota - A certain portion of seats are set aside under the management quota system for applicants to private, independent colleges that permit such admissions. Students must pay a "donation" amount in addition to their educational tuition as part of a management quota admission process.
Law Colleges Accepting State-Level Entrance Exams
For admission to law colleges specific to that state only, certain states hold state-level entrance tests. The colleges that accept these law entrance tests for admission to undergraduate and graduate legal programmes in India are listed below along with a list of state-level law entrance exams:
Entrance Exam | Institutes Accepting the Law Entrance Exam Score | Popular Course(s) Offered |
Kerala Law Entrance Examination (KLEE) | MCT College of Legal Studies, Malappuram | 3-year LLB |
CSI Institute Of Legal Studies, Cheruvarakonam, Trivandrum | 3-year LLB | |
Govt. Law College, Kozhikode | 3-year LLB | |
Govt. Law College, Thrissur | 3-year LLB | |
Al-Ameen Law College, Shornur, Palakkad | 3-year LLB | |
Co-Operative School of Law, Thodupuzha, Idukki | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
CSI College for Legal Studies, Ettumanoor, Kottayam | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
CSI Institute Of Legal Studies, Cheruvarakonam, Trivandrum | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
KMCT Law College, Malappuram | 3-year LLB | |
KMCT Law College, Malappuram | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Mar Gregorios College Of Law, Nalanchira, Trivandrum | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Andhra Pradesh Law Common Entrance Test (AP LAWCET) | Veeravalli College of Law, Rajahmundry, | 3-year LLB |
Andhra University, Waltair | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
DN Raju Law College, Bhimavaram (AU) | ||
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Law, Kakinada (AU) | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
NBM Law College, Visakhapatnam (AU) | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
PS Raju Law college, Kakinada (AU) | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
MPR Law College, Srikakulam (AU) | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
GSK Memorial Law College, Rajahmundry (AU) | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
NVP Law College, Visakhapatnam (AU) | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Visakha Law College, Visakhapatnam (AU) | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Shri Shirdi Sai Law College, Anakapalli (AU) | 3-year LLB | |
Smt VD Siddhartha Law College, Vijayawada | 3-year LLB | |
Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Maharashtra Common Entrance Test for Law (MH CET Law) | University of Mumbai | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB |
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University Aurangabad | LLM, PhD (Law) | |
Savitribai Phule Pune University Pune | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Shivaji University Kolhapur | 3-year LLB | |
Manjara Charitable Trust’s Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Mumbai | 3-year LLB | |
Gondwana University | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Rastrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Telangana State Law Common Entrance Test (TS LAWCET) | Anantha Law College, Hyderabad | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB |
Aurora's Legal Sciences Academy | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Bhaskar Law College, Ranga Reddy | 3-year LLB | |
College of Law for Women, Hyderabad | 3-year LLB | |
Dr. Ambedkar Law College, Hyderabad | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
University College of Law, Osmania University, Hyderabad | 3-year LLB | |
University College of Law, Kakatiya University, Warangal | 3-year LLB | |
University College of Law, Telangana University, Warangal | 3-year LLB | |
Adarsh Law College, Warangal | 3-year LLB | |
Justice Kumarayya College of Law, Karimnagar | 3-year LLB | |
K V Rangareddy Institute of Law, Hyderabad | 3-year LLB 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Keshav Memorial College of Law, Hyderabad | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Mahatma Gandhi Law College, Hyderabad | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Padala Rama Reddy Law College, Hyderabad | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Pendekanti Law College, Hyderabad | 5-year Integrated LLB | |
Sultan Ul Uloom Law College, Hyderabad | 5-year Integrated LLB |
Law Colleges Accepting University-Level Entrance Exams
Despite the fact that state- and national-level admission examinations are the most popular options, students also prepare for university-level law entrance exams for the universities of their preference. The following list of colleges and universities provide law admissions based on the results of their own entrance exams:
Institute Name | Law Entrance Exam Name | Location |
Institute of Law, Nirma University (ILNU) Entrance Test | Ahmedabad | |
Christ University | Christ University Law Entrance Test (CULET) | Bangalore |
RCL Entrance Test | Bangalore | |
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Entrance Exam (KIITEE) | Bhubaneswar | |
University of Petroleum & Engineering Studies Law Studies Aptitude Test (ULSAT) | Dehradun | |
Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test (IPU CET). | Delhi | |
Delhi University LLB Entrance Test (DU LLB Entrance Test) | Delhi | |
Symbiosis Law Admission Test (SLAT) | Pune | |
Bharati Vidyapeeth Common Entrance Test Law (BVP CET) | Pune | |
LPU National Entrance and Scholarship Test | Punjab | |
GITAM Admission Test (GAT) | Visakhapatnam |
Also Read: List of 23 NLUs in India - Check Fees, Ranking, Admissions & Eligibility
Merit-based Law Admission
Merit-based law admission is another popular option for students, and it is also available to those who have not been successful in obtaining a good law entrance score or who do not choose to take a law entrance exam at all. Law institutes that accept candidates on merit-basis look for their aggregate percentage achieved in class 12th along with a written test/group discussion/personal interaction. A merit list is prepared based on the aggregate marks obtained in the qualifying exam plus scores obtained in the written test/group discussion/personal interaction round(s). The following is a list of law institutes that provide direct admissions based on merit:
Name of the Institute | Popular Course(s) Offered | Location |
Andhra Pradesh | ||
| Karnataka | |
| Madhya Pradesh | |
| Maharashtra | |
| Punjab | |
Rajasthan | ||
| Rajasthan | |
| Uttar Pradesh | |
Amity University |
| West Bengal, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh |
Direct Law Admission via Management Quota
This is an additional option for getting to a student's desired law school. Many private and autonomous law schools and universities set aside a certain number of seats to give to applicants who agree to be admitted under the management quota.
Only a small number of students are eligible to apply for admission through management quota because they must pay a donation amount in addition to the institute's prescribed fee, and admissions are also granted based on the decisions and criteria of the colleges and universities. The following colleges have management quotas for law admission:
Institute Name | Location |
KIIT School of Law | Bhubaneswar |
Amity Law School | Delhi |
Delhi | |
Haryana | |
Hyderabad | |
Christ University | Karnataka |
M.S. Ramaiah College of Law | Karnataka |
Symbiosis Law School | Maharashtra |
Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University, New Law College | Maharashtra |
Maharashtra | |
Maharashtra | |
Punjab | |
Lovely Professional University | Punjab |
A unifying goal for most of the law students is to take the CLAT examinations when they begin preparing for entrance exams, college admissions processes, and law school applications. Although there are often a lot of candidates taking the CLAT each year, the success percentage is fairly low. This implies that not every CLAT candidate passes the test, and thus only a select group of students can get admission to their ideal law schools.
However, a student shouldn't give up if their national-level law entrance exam score isn't as good as it should be; there are many options available to law aspirants for the start of their legal careers, which begins with admission to law colleges or universities, and CLAT isn't the only national-level law entrance exam accepted by law institutes. State-level law entrance exams and university-level entrance exams are also excellent options for law aspirants, as are colleges that offer direct admissions based on merit or through management quota.
These are a few of the top law entrance exams that are administered as part of the admissions procedures for the majority of law programmes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The candidates who are interested in taking admission through these state-level or university-level entrance examinations, which are less competitive than the national-level CLAT exams, will be able to appear for a law entrance examination that is not a national-level entrance examination, such as the LSAT India, AILET, and CLAT, among others.
If you wish to take admission to the best law college that suits all of your interests, fill our Common Application Form (CAF) and make it an easy and hassle-free process. Through CAF, you can apply to multiple colleges and check the elaborate details of each of them. You will also get personalised counselling from our admission experts who will assist you in finding the ideal college as per your requirements. You can also call on the helpline number 1800-572-9877 and speak to our counsellors directly.
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