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JAMB Cut-Off Mark for Law: What Is Published

There is no single JAMB cut-off for Law. See the 2026/2027 national minimum, UNILAG's published 2025/2026 figures, other reported cut-offs and how to plan.

ExamPadi Editorial · Updated · 7 min read

Law is among the most competitive courses in Nigeria, so "what is the cut-off for Law?" is a fair question that has no single answer. There is a national minimum, a school-level cut-off that is higher, and a ranking on the day that decides who gets in. This page sets out each layer with figures that can be traced to a source, and it marks which figures come from a university and which come only from the press.

Layer one: the JAMB national minimum

Every year JAMB holds a policy meeting with university heads and other stakeholders to fix the lowest UTME score at which an institution may admit. According to Legit.ng's report of the meeting held in Abuja on 11 May 2026, the minimums for the 2026/2027 admission session are:

Type of institutionMinimum UTME score (2026/2027)
Universities150
Colleges of nursing150
Polytechnics100

Nairametrics, previewing the same meeting, reported that the 2025 minimum for universities was also 150. This is a floor for the whole country and says nothing about any one course. Our guide on what JAMB score you need to get admission explains how the floor, the school's own cut-off and the final ranking fit together. Figures for the 2027/2028 session have not been announced, and JAMB publishes its decisions on jamb.gov.ng.

Layer two: each school's cut-off

Individual universities publish their own cut-offs for each programme, and these differ from school to school and from year to year. One official example is the University of Lagos, which published its UTME merit admission cut-off marks for 2025/2026 in October 2025.

UNILAG column (Law)Cut-off, 2025/2026
Merit (general)78.225
Ekiti73.625
Lagos75.9
Ogun76.55
Ondo75.75
Osun76.35
Oyo74.525

UNILAG published its UTME merit admission cut-off marks for 2025/2026 on 3 October 2025. Its page lists Law at 78.225 on the general merit list, followed by separate figures for candidates from Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo. The page does not define the columns, so reading the first as the general figure and the rest as state figures is our interpretation of the layout.

Two points are worth noting. First, the state figures run from 73.625 (Ekiti) to 76.55 (Ogun), all below the general merit figure, which shows that where you come from can affect the threshold at some schools. Second, UNILAG does not say what the scale is. The numbers look like aggregate scores and not raw UTME marks out of 400, so do not compare 78.225 with your UTME score.

Among the twelve engineering, law, commerce and health programmes we compared from that page, Law's merit figure was fourth highest, behind Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. UNILAG's figure for Medicine and Surgery, 85.025, is higher; see our page on the cut-off mark for Medicine.

Other reported figures

The table below collects the other figures we could find for the same programme, with the type of source. Press-only figures are reported, not confirmed by us against the university's own notice.

University, sessionReported figureSource type
University of Lagos, 2025/2026 (merit)78.225University notice
Umaru Musa Yar'adua University, Katsina, 2025/2026190 (reported in JAMB points)Press report of the university notice
Federal University Oye-Ekiti, 2025/202677.75 (scale not stated)Press report
Federal University Otuoke, 2025/2026273 (scale not stated)Press report

The three other entries come from press reports of other universities and use different scales, so they should not be set against UNILAG's. The Katsina report states its figures are in JAMB points, which means 190 is a UTME-mark threshold. The reports for Oye-Ekiti and Otuoke do not state a scale. We repeat them because they show how much figures vary, and not because they are interchangeable. Always confirm against the school's own notice.

Reading these numbers without being misled

Three habits will save you from the most common errors.

  1. Compare within one university only. A figure of 78 at one school and a figure of 190 at another are not on the same scale, so putting them side by side tells you nothing. Several of the notices we cite do not state their scale, and we have not guessed.
  2. Match the programme title exactly. Schools use titles such as Economics and Development Studies or Computer Science and Informatics, and a figure for one title does not carry over to a neighbouring programme.
  3. Note the year and the status. Everything here is for the 2025/2026 session. Cut-offs for the next session are set afresh, and a figure reported by a news outlet can differ from the school's final notice.

Layer three: the ranking on the day

A published cut-off is a threshold, not a guarantee. After the cut-off, many universities screen candidates with a post-UTME and combine the results into an aggregate. The formula differs by school, so use your target school's own notice. Our post-UTME aggregate calculator guide shows how to work one out. If more qualified candidates apply than there are places, meeting the cut-off exactly may not be enough, and nobody can honestly give you a national safe score for a course.

What the numbers mean for your plan

  1. Treat 150 as the entry ticket, not the target. It lets a university consider you; it does not make you competitive for most courses.
  2. Check three or four schools you actually want, on their own websites, for the latest session, and write down their scale.
  3. Prepare for the screening as well. Where a post-UTME is held, it can move your final position, so do not wait for the UTME result to start.
  4. Keep a backup. If your first choice is out of reach, a related course may be possible; read about changing your course, and remember that the subjects you wrote must fit the new course.

Cut-offs for the 2027/2028 session have not been announced. Do not rely on any website that claims to know the 2027 figure.

Make sure you have the right subjects

None of this helps if your UTME subjects do not fit the course. The lists we read agree on Use of English and Literature in English for Law but differ on the other two; read the full explanation in JAMB subject combination for Law.

No guarantees

We cannot promise that any score will win a place. What you control is your preparation: cover the syllabus, practise under time pressure, and work on the topics that cost you marks.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the JAMB cut-off mark for Law?

There is no single figure. JAMB sets a national minimum (150 for universities in 2026/2027), and each university sets its own Law cut-off, usually much higher.

Is 200 enough to study Law?

It clears the national floor, but competitive Law programmes rank candidates, and published cut-offs at some schools are well above it. Check your target school.

Do universities publish a different Law cut-off for each state?

Some do. UNILAG's 2025/2026 page lists a general merit figure and separate figures for six states.

Where do I find a university's Law cut-off?

On the university's official website or admissions portal. Be careful with blogs that give figures without linking to the school's own notice.

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