How to Register for the HEC LAT Law Admission Test in Pakistan

The HEC LAT, the Law Admission Test, is the entry test every student needs before admission to a five year LLB in Pakistan. It is run by HEC's Education Testing Council, sits five times a year, and is registered for online at etc.hec.gov.pk. The last sitting of 2026 is on Sunday 15 November, and registration for it closes on Tuesday 20 October 2026.

Law colleges do not run their own entry tests any more. A student who wants to read law after intermediate or A Levels has to sit one national paper, and the calendar for that paper is the thing to plan around. Miss the October window and the next chance is in the new year, after most admission lists have closed.

We read HEC's own test calendar and its LAT content document on 17 September 2026. The calendar, revised by the Education Testing Council on 25 August 2026, lists five LAT sittings for the year, four of which have already happened. Everything below comes from HEC's documents unless we say it is reported.

What is the HEC LAT, and who needs it?

A standard admission test for the five year LLB, run by the Higher Education Commission through its Education Testing Council. HEC's ETC page says the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed HEC in August 2018 to conduct assessment tests for admission into LLB programmes, and the LAT is that test.

Who needs it is simple. HEC's content document gives the eligibility as 12 years or equivalent education in any discipline. So FSc, FA, ICom, ICS and A Level students all qualify, and there is no subject requirement. Students still waiting for their intermediate result are reported by Eduvision to be able to register, with the result to follow.

Where it applies is every HEC and Pakistan Bar Council recognised university and affiliated law college in the country. The universities set their own merit lists and fees. The LAT is the gate before all of them.

The LAT is not the same as the graduate tests. The GRE and HAT requirement for MS, MPhil and PhD admission was deferred to Fall 2027, and that decision does not touch the LAT, which is an undergraduate test and continues on its calendar.

When is the next HEC LAT in 2026?

Sunday 15 November 2026, the fifth and last sitting of the year. The announcement is due on Sunday 4 October, the last date for online registration is Tuesday 20 October, roll number slips are issued on Friday 6 November, and the result is due on Thursday 24 December.

Two things about this table. First, HEC published the whole year in advance, and the LAT rows did not move when the calendar was revised in August, so the November dates have held for nine months. Second, the gap between announcement and closing is 16 days. That is short. Students who wait for the announcement to appear in the news lose a week of it.

LAT 4 was held on 6 September 2026, and HEC has already posted its answer keys, in five colour coded versions, on its announcements page. Its result is due on 16 October, four days before LAT 5 registration closes. So a student who sat in September and fears a low score can see the result and still register for November.

Eduvision reported that the LAT 4 registration date was extended to 12 August, two days past the calendar. Extensions happen, but nobody should plan on one.

How do you register for the LAT on etc.hec.gov.pk?

Online only, on the Education Testing Council portal, once the sitting has been announced. The portal is a browser application, so it needs a laptop or a phone browser rather than a text link, and a working email and mobile number for the confirmation messages.

1. Open etc.hec.gov.pk and create an account with your CNIC or B Form number, email and mobile number.
2. Complete the profile: personal details, education record and a photograph, with scanned copies of the CNIC and the intermediate certificate or result card.
3. Choose the Law Admission Test from the list of open tests and select a test city.
4. Generate the fee challan and pay it before the closing date.
5. Return to the portal on the roll number slip date and download the slip. It carries the centre and the reporting time.
6. Take the slip and original CNIC to the centre on the Sunday.

One honest note. The portal shows nothing without a browser, and when we requested it the page title read HEC Ehsaas Scholarship Pakistan, a leftover from another HEC service that runs on the same system. Do not let that put you off. The steps above are the sequence HEC's calendar and the reports describe, not screens we clicked through, so if a field on the live form differs, the form wins.

A Level students have one extra step before any of this matters. Universities ask for an equivalence certificate for a foreign qualification, and the IBCC equivalence certificate takes time to obtain, so start it alongside the LAT registration rather than after the result.

How much is the HEC LAT fee?

Rs 1,800, as reported. Eduvision, citing the Education Testing Council, gave the fee as Rs 1,800 for the September 2026 sitting, paid through a 1Link 1Bill invoice at a bank, an ATM, a banking app, Easypaisa or JazzCash. Ilmkidunya gives the same figure and says it is fixed by HEC.

We could not read the fee on an HEC page, and the honest position is that the figure is reported. The test announcement that goes up on 4 October will state it. Check that document before paying anything, and pay only against the challan the portal generates. The fee is reported to be non refundable, so register for a sitting you can actually attend.

What is in the LAT paper?

Two parts, 100 marks, 140 minutes in total. This is from HEC's own Content Weightages document for the LAT, and it is the one place where the coaching sites disagree with the source.

English and general knowledge are 40 of the 75 questions, and with the essay and statement the paper is mostly a reading and writing test. Mathematics is 5 questions. A student who has been told to fear the maths section has been told wrong.

HEC publishes a sample essay and a sample personal statement on its announcements pages, and the statement is worth practising, because it is the part most candidates have never written before. It asks why you want to study law, in your own words, in either language.

What is the pass mark, and how long does the result last?

Both are reported, and we say so because a pass mark decides whether a student applies at all. The Pakistan Bar Council's Legal Education Rules 2015 are widely described as requiring a minimum of 50 marks out of 100 in the LAT for LLB admission, and coaching sites and law colleges repeat that figure. We tried to read the rules on the Bar Council's own site on 17 September 2026 and the document returned a Not Found page.

The result is reported to remain valid for two years, so a student who passes in November 2026 can use the score for admission in 2027 or 2028. Universities may set their own higher cut off above the pass mark, and those cut offs are on each university's admission page, which is the only reliable place for them. The lesson from this year's university admission calendars applies here too: check the university, never a list.

What should a student do this month?

Register for LAT 5 the day it opens, and treat the September result as information rather than a decision.

• Set a reminder for Sunday 4 October, the announcement date, and register that week. The window closes on 20 October.
• Get the intermediate result card or A Level statement scanned now. The board result checks show where to download an official copy if the paper one is missing.
• Practise the essay and the personal statement in the language you write better in. Either is allowed.
• Do not pay anyone for guaranteed registration or a leaked paper. The fee is paid to HEC's challan only.
• If you sat on 6 September, download the answer key from HEC's announcements page and score yourself, so you know before 16 October whether to sit again.

Common questions about the HEC LAT

What is the HEC LAT?

The Law Admission Test, run by HEC's Education Testing Council, required for admission to the five year LLB at every recognised university and law college in Pakistan.

When is the next LAT test in 2026?

Sunday 15 November 2026. The announcement is due on 4 October and online registration closes on 20 October, according to HEC's 2026 test calendar.

How do I register for the LAT?

Create an account on etc.hec.gov.pk, complete the profile, choose the LAT and a city, pay the challan and download the roll number slip on 6 November.

What is the LAT fee?

Rs 1,800, as reported by Eduvision citing the Education Testing Council. We could not read it on an HEC page, so confirm it in the 4 October announcement.

What is the LAT syllabus?

75 MCQs in 100 minutes across English, general knowledge, Pakistan studies, Islamiat, Urdu and mathematics, then 40 minutes for an essay and a personal statement, per HEC's content weightages.

What is the LAT pass mark?

50 out of 100, as reported under the Pakistan Bar Council's rules. Universities can set a higher cut off for their own merit lists.

Can I sit the LAT more than once?

Yes. It sits five times a year and nothing in HEC's calendar limits attempts. A student who sat on 6 September can register again for 15 November.

Last checked and sources

Last checked 17 September 2026. We read the Education Testing Council's Test Calendar for Year 2026, revised on 25 August 2026, on hec.gov.pk, which gives the announcement, registration, roll number slip, test and result dates for all five LAT sittings, with the November sitting unchanged from the original calendar; HEC's Content Weightages for the Law Admission Test, which gives the eligibility of 12 years of education in any discipline, the 75 question Part I in 100 minutes and its subject split, and the 40 minute Part II with a 15 mark essay and a 10 mark personal statement; HEC's Education Testing Council page, which records the Supreme Court's August 2018 direction and names etc.hec.gov.pk as the portal; and HEC's announcements page, which lists answer keys for the LAT held on 6 September 2026. The portal itself is a browser application that showed us only a page title, so the registration steps describe the published sequence rather than screens we completed. The fee of Rs 1,800 and its payment channels are reported by Eduvision on 11 August 2026, citing the Education Testing Council, and by ilmkidunya. The 50 mark pass rule and the two year validity are reported by coaching sites and law colleges; the Pakistan Bar Council's Legal Education Rules 2015 could not be opened on the Council's website when we tried. The extension of LAT 4 registration to 12 August 2026 is reported by Eduvision. Dates can be revised by the Council, so the calendar on hec.gov.pk and the announcement of 4 October are the final word.