Is there a standard format for a bonafide certificate?

None of the official documents we read prescribes one. The school writes it, in the wording the office asking for it needs.

Can ProEMS issue a bonafide certificate?

Yes. On the Gold plan, ProEMS produces bonafide certificates from your own Word template and gives you back a Word file to check and print.

Glossary

Bonafide certificate

A bonafide certificate is a letter from a school or college confirming that a named person is currently its student, issued for a stated purpose. The National Scholarship Portal's 2019 procedure, for example, says students who don't have an Aadhaar number must upload a bonafide student certificate with their application.^[1]

Last reviewed 21 October 2026
2 sources, each dated
By the ProEMS team

Also called: Bonafide student certificate, Bona fide certificate
Issued by: The school, college or institute where the person studies.^[1]
Confirms: That the person is a student there now. It doesn't end their enrolment.
Used for: Proof of enrolment. One documented use is a National Scholarship Portal application from a student without Aadhaar.^[1]
Format: Written by the school. The NSP procedure doesn't prescribe the wording.^[1]
In ProEMS: Gold plan, from the school's own Word template, as a Word file.

When do you need a bonafide certificate?

Whenever someone outside the school needs proof that a person is a student now. In the government paperwork we read, it appears in the National Scholarship Portal's procedure (version 1.0, 24 July 2019). A student without Aadhaar gives an enrolment ID if available, uploads a scanned bank passbook with photograph, and uploads a bonafide student certificate from the institute or school with the application.^[1] That document is from 2019, so check the portal's current instructions.

Other offices set their own requirements. Ask each one what the letter must say, and for a sample if they have one, before the school writes it.

How is it different from a transfer certificate?

A bonafide certificate says a person is a student now. A transfer certificate is issued when a student leaves for another institution and ends their studies at the school.^[2] A student who gets a bonafide certificate keeps studying at the school, so the two aren't interchangeable.

What should a bonafide certificate say?

The documents we read set no wording for it, so the school decides, with the requesting office's needs in mind. Give the student's name, class or programme and academic year, the admission number if the office asks for it, the purpose, the date of issue, and the principal's signature and stamp. State only what the school's records show, and leave out opinions.

How does ProEMS issue bonafide certificates?

On the Gold plan, ProEMS makes bonafide certificates, ID cards and library cards from the school's own Word templates. The templates carry merge fields that ProEMS fills in for each student, and you get back a Word (.docx) file to check and print. Students can find their certificates in the app, and the student and parents get an app notification on Android phones when one is generated. The wording stays yours, because the template is your own document.

Sources

Every fact on this page about rules, prices or other products comes from one of these. We read each one on the date shown and will update this page when they change.

National Scholarship Portal (NIC, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology). National Scholarship Portal (NSP): Standard Operating Procedures (scholarships.gov.in). Version 1.0, 24 July 2019. Read 21 October 2026.A 2019 document. The portal's current instructions may differ.
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Examination Bye-Laws: Short Title and Definitions (cbse.gov.in). Examination Bye-Laws effective 31 January 1995. Read 21 October 2026.From CBSE's archive folder of Examination Bye-Laws. We could not confirm this is the current text.

FAQ

Questions about Bonafide certificate

Short answers. The sections above have the detail and the sources.

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Is there a standard format for a bonafide certificate?: None of the official documents we read prescribes one. The school writes it, in the wording the office asking for it needs.
Can ProEMS issue a bonafide certificate?: Yes. On the Gold plan, ProEMS produces bonafide certificates from your own Word template and gives you back a Word file to check and print.

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