A new organic nonlinear optical crystal 2-amino-5-chloropyridinium-L-tartarate [2A5CPLTA] has been synthesized and the crystals were grown by slow evaporation solution technique at room temperature using methanol as solvent. The crystal structure of the title compound has been determined by the single crystal X-ray diffraction study and it belongs to the monoclinic system with noncentrosymmetric space group P2(1). The presence of functional groups was ascertained by Fourier transform infrared analysis. The transmittance and lower cut off of the grown crystal was ascertained by the UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. Thermal studies reveled that 2A5CPLTA crystal is thermally stable up to 144 degrees C. The dielectric measurements of the grown crystal were carried out with different frequencies and temperatures. Vickers micro hardness measurement was carried out to study the mechanical behavior of the grown crystal. The second harmonic generation of the title crystal was confirmed by the Kurtz-Perry powder test employing the Nd: YAG laser as the source. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.