CLAT Negative Marking: How Many Questions Should You Attempt?

Written and reviewed by Shubham Jain, BA LL.B., LL.M. · UILS, Panjab University alumnus · founder with 15+ years of teaching · Jury Law Academy, founded in 2016.

Sep 18, 2026

Quick answer: CLAT deducts marks for wrong answers, so the right target is not maximum attempts but maximum justified attempts. Answer every question you can support from the passage, eliminate before guessing, and leave questions where no option can be ruled out.

Why negative marking changes the plan

A penalty for wrong answers converts CLAT from a speed race into a decision-making test. Two candidates can attempt the same number of questions and finish far apart because one guessed and the other selected.

A simple decision rule

For every question, ask one thing: can I point to the line in the passage that makes this option correct?

  • Yes — mark it and move on.
  • No, but I can rule out two options — attempt it.
  • No, and all four options look possible — skip it.

Building the habit in practice

  1. In every mock, mark each attempt as "sure", "eliminated" or "guessed".
  2. After the test, calculate accuracy separately for each category.
  3. If guessed answers are below chance level, stop guessing entirely for two weeks.
  4. Increase attempts only when the "sure" category crosses ninety per cent accuracy.

Section-wise attempt behaviour

Legal Reasoning and English usually reward full attempts because answers are contained in the passage. Current Affairs is where guessing hurts most, since the answer is either known or not. Quantitative Techniques deserves a strict time cap per set.

Time management on exam day

Move through the paper in two passes. In the first pass, answer everything that is clear. In the second pass, revisit flagged questions with the remaining time. This protects easy marks at the end of the paper that many candidates never reach.

Confirm the current marking scheme

Marking details are published for each cycle. Verify them on the official Consortium of NLUs website.

Related reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there negative marking in CLAT?

Yes. CLAT deducts marks for incorrect answers, so blind guessing lowers the final score. Confirm the exact deduction for your exam year on the official Consortium of NLUs notification.

How many questions should I attempt in CLAT?

There is no fixed number. Attempt every question you can justify from the passage and skip questions where you cannot eliminate at least two options.

Is intelligent guessing useful?

Eliminating two options before guessing improves the odds enough to be worth it. Random guessing between four options usually costs more than it gains.

Does accuracy matter more than speed?

Both matter, but accuracy is the constraint. Speed without accuracy simply produces more penalties.