UGC NET Law Previous Year Question Papers: Official Sources and Use

UGC NET Law previous year question papers come from two official places: after each NTA cycle, the question paper is released with the provisional answer key and your recorded responses through the candidate login on the UGC NET portal, and the UGC’s NET site (ugcnetonline.in) keeps a “Previous Question Papers” page for the CBSE-era sessions from June 2009 to July 2018. For the December 2026 exam (14 to 18 and 21 December 2026), the papers since December 2018, when NTA moved NET to computer-based testing, match the current pattern best: Paper II Law has 100 questions for 200 marks, with no negative marking.

Where to find UGC NET law previous year question papers officially

1. NTA answer key window (recent papers). After every cycle, NTA opens a window on the UGC NET portal where candidates log in with their application number to see the question paper, their recorded responses and the provisional answer key, and to challenge keys on payment. In the June 2026 cycle the keys came out on 16 August 2026 and challenges were open till 18 August at ₹200 per question. If you appeared, download your paper during that window and keep it.
2. UGC’s NET website (older papers). ugcnetonline.in has a “Previous Question Papers” page listing sessions from June 2009 to July 2018. These were set by CBSE in the older pattern, so use them as topic banks, not as pattern guides.
3. Seniors and your department. Students who sat recent cycles often keep the PDF they downloaded from the NTA window. Ask; a university law department may hold a set too.

Third-party websites also host UGC NET law question paper PDF collections and “solved papers”. Treat any answer you find there as unverified until you check it against the official key or the bare Act.

Which years to solve first

• December 2018 onwards: same two-paper, computer-based structure as today. Solve these first, all of them if you can.
• July 2018: the first session after Paper III was withdrawn. Useful for the shape of a 100-question Law paper.
• 2009 to 2017: older three-paper pattern. Paper II and Paper III questions are still useful for concepts, jurists, cases and conventions, but not for timing or format.

Since 1 July 2024, criminal law questions should be read with the BNS, BNSS and BSA. An old question on “Section 300 IPC” is now a question on Section 101 BNS. Re-answer old criminal law questions with both numbers.

What the UGC NET law PYQ papers show

• Every unit appears. The ten units of the Law syllabus all carry questions. NTA does not publish unit-wise weightage, so count questions per unit across the papers you solve and build your own picture.
• Question formats repeat. Expect direct one-liners, assertion and reason, match List I with List II, arrange in chronological order, and “which of the statements are correct” sets.
• Recognition, not argument. Questions test whether you can identify a jurist’s theory, a leading case, an Article or a convention’s year.
• Bare Act detail matters in units like Commercial Law, Family Law and IPR and IT Law, where definitions and thresholds are asked.
• Current law edges in. Recent amendments and new statutes appear in later papers. Check the syllabus guide for how the units map to current laws.

How to use UGC NET law solved papers properly

1. Solve, then check. Attempt a full paper under time before looking at any key.
2. Tag every question by unit. Keep a tally sheet: Unit I Jurisprudence, Unit II Constitutional and Administrative Law, and so on.
3. Write the rule, not the answer. For each mistake, note the underlying rule in one line (“Hohfeld: the correlative of a right is a duty”).
4. Return to the source. For each wrong answer, read the bare Act section or the textbook page.
5. Do the last six to eight papers twice. The second time, aim for the full paper in under 120 minutes so Paper I gets its share of the 180.

Example: Shalini, an LL.M. student in Varanasi, solves eight recent Law papers in September. Her tally shows her errors bunch in Public International Law and Comparative Public Law. She gives those two units her October revision and takes timed mocks from November.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I get UGC NET law previous year question papers?

Recent papers are released by NTA with the provisional answer key and recorded responses through the candidate login on the UGC NET portal after each exam. Older CBSE-era papers from June 2009 to July 2018 are listed on the UGC’s ugcnetonline.in “Previous Question Papers” page.

Is there negative marking in UGC NET Law?

No. Each question carries 2 marks and there is no negative marking. Attempt all 150 questions across Paper I and Paper II.

Are old UGC NET law papers still useful?

Yes, for concepts, jurists, cases and conventions. But papers before July 2018 followed a three-paper pattern, and criminal law questions before July 2024 use IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act numbers, so re-read them with the BNS, BNSS and BSA.

How many previous papers should I solve for UGC NET Law?

Solve every available paper from December 2018 onwards at least once, and the most recent six to eight twice under time. Use older papers for topic practice.

When is UGC NET December 2026?

NTA has scheduled the December 2026 exam on 14 to 18 December and 21 December 2026, with admit cards from 7 December. The subject-wise date for Law will be on the admit card.

Quick quiz

Sources

• NTA, UGC NET December 2026 public notice (8 October 2026) and revised Information Bulletin (corrigendum of 16 October 2026)
• NTA public notice on provisional answer keys, UGC NET June 2026 (August 2026)
• UGC, ugcnetonline.in, Previous Question Papers page
• UGC NET syllabus, Law (code 58)
• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, ss.101, 103

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 29 October 2026.