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Compliance and data

UDISE+ and APAAR ID for schools: what you file and what parents agree to.

UDISE+ is the Ministry of Education's national school database, which every recognised school updates each year, and an APAAR ID is a permanent 12-digit student ID that the school generates once a parent agrees.[1, 2, 3] Your school files its profile, its teachers and its students on UDISE+ and holds an 11-digit UDISE code.[1]

APAAR is a separate step, and as of October 2026 it's optional. On 20 July 2026 the Supreme Court extended across India a High Court direction to give the consent form a refuse option, and CBSE's circular of 17 September 2026 makes the APAAR ID optional in its Class X and XII candidate lists.[4, 5]

On this page

What is UDISE+?

UDISE+ stands for Unified District Information System for Education Plus. It's the Ministry of Education's central online system where recognised schools record their profile and facilities, their teachers and their individual students.[1] The Department of School Education and Literacy runs it, and every recognised school from pre-primary to higher secondary reports into it each academic year.[1]

It's big. The 2025-26 report counts about 14.67 lakh schools, 1.03 crore teachers and 24.72 crore students.[6] Schools report whichever board they follow: the portal names CBSE, ICSE and Cambridge schools among them.[1]

Block, district and state officials check what a school enters, and the data is monitored at four levels, up to the national one.[1] The Ministry uses it for planning, and to identify who's eligible for schemes such as Samagra Shiksha, PM POSHAN and national scholarships.[6]

UDISE+ is not a school management system

It's a government reporting system. It doesn't run your fees, attendance or timetable, and it holds only the fields the Ministry's format asks for.[7]

What is a UDISE code, and how does a school get one?

A UDISE code is the 11-digit number that identifies your school in UDISE+. It's unique to the school and meant to be permanent. The portal says it can't be changed once assigned, apart from a Ministry-only modification if the school's district or state changes.[1]

Recognised schools get one, and so do schools that have been sanctioned permission to open. A school that closes keeps its code, which is archived.[1] You can look a school up on the portal by name or by code.[1]

A new school doesn't raise the request on the portal itself. The District authority does. The portal sets out the steps, which we've condensed below, and says the process takes about a week.[1]

  1. Recognition comes first

    The school approaches the District authority with its documents, mainly the recognition letter or certificate.

  2. The District raises the request

    The District authority checks the documents and raises the request through the School Directory in UDISE+.

  3. The State reviews it

    The State authority reviews the school details and documents. It can approve the request or send it back for clarification.

  4. The Ministry generates the code

    The Ministry of Education reviews the request and alone has the authority to generate the code.

The State or the Ministry can reject a request if the documents are incorrect or incomplete.[1]

What are the school, teacher and student modules?

UDISE+ collects data in three linked parts, plus a directory that sets schools up. The table shows what each holds.

Part of UDISE+What it holdsIdentifier
School directory and profileBasic details such as school type, management and location, then infrastructure, classrooms, laboratories and digital facilities.[1] The core profile fields are locked for the school. Changes go through the Block, District or State MIS on a request.[7]UDISE code, 11 digits
Teacher moduleGeneral, academic and appointment details of teaching and non-teaching staff, plus classes and subjects taught and training received.[1, 7]National Teacher Code
Student moduleGeneral profile, enrolment details and, at the end of the year, result and days attended.[1, 7]PEN, 11 digits
Our summary of the UDISE+ portal and the 2025-26 Data Capture Format.

In the teacher module, each teacher is entered in one school only. If a teacher also teaches elsewhere as guest or contract staff, enter them in the school where they teach more days. Aadhaar is optional for teachers too: enter 9999 9999 9999 if there isn't one.[7] Teachers also get a National Teacher Code, so they can be tracked and transferred between schools across the country.[1]

Who enters UDISE+ data, and when?

Your school does. Each onboarded school gets a login with its UDISE code, and its users enter and change data in real time. Block, district and state officials then verify it.[1]

The Ministry sets the data-entry window each year, and it can differ by state. For 2026-27, one explainer reports a Ministry letter dated 14 July 2026 asking schools to finish data entry by 30 September 2026.[8] We couldn't open that letter, so treat the date as unconfirmed and ask your Block or District office which date applies to you.

Some fields wait until the year ends. Each student's result, percentage marks and days attended are entered during progression, and the school then finalises the class to freeze its data. A Correction button lets you edit afterwards.[3, 7]

At a national UDISE+ conference in February 2026, a Ministry official stressed connecting other portals to UDISE+ through APIs, to ease the reporting burden on schools.[9] Until that reaches your school, you'll key the data in yourself.

Plan for the lock

One explainer says that once data is submitted and verified it locks, and later changes usually need the District Education Officer or the State MIS unit.[8] Check every student's details before you submit, not after.

We read the 2025-26 Data Capture Format.[7] The 2026-27 format may differ, so open the current one on the portal before you start.

How does the UDISE+ student module work, and what is a PEN?

UDISE+ has collected individual student-wise data since 2022-23. It records more than 60 fields for each student.[6] Schools keep the students in the Student Database Management System (SDMS), which feeds UDISE+.[1]

Each child gets a PEN, a Permanent Education Number. It's an 11-digit number assigned to each student on UDISE+, and it follows the child through promotion and school transfers.[1] School users can add new students only up to Class 1. For higher classes, the school can contact the MIS user.[3]

When a child leaves, the old school marks them as left, with or without a transfer certificate, and the record goes to a Dropbox. The new school imports the student using the 11-digit PEN and date of birth. If the family doesn't have the PEN, the school can look it up with the student's Aadhaar number and year of birth.[3] One explainer says that entering a transferring child as a new student creates a duplicate record and often a PEN conflict.[8] SDMS lists duplicate records for the current year so schools can fix them.[3]

What is an APAAR ID, and how is it generated for school students?

APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry.[10] The APAAR ID is a unique, permanent 12-digit number for each student, under the idea of “One Nation, One Student ID”.[2, 11] It links to the Academic Bank of Credits and to the student's DigiLocker, so academic records can sit in one place.[2] The Press Information Bureau reported 26.30 crore verified IDs by June 2026.[2]

For a school student, the school generates the ID from its SDMS login. The manual describes these steps.

  1. Open the APAAR module

    Choose the class and section to see the student list. Click Generate against the student.[3]

  2. Fill in the consent details

    Enter the student's name and pick whether the father, mother or legal guardian is consenting. Choose their ID type (Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, driving licence or passport) and enter the number.[3]

  3. Record the physical consent

    Enter the place and date of the signed consent. Then enter the name of the head of school or an authorised teacher or staff member who makes the declaration.[3]

  4. Submit and confirm

    Click Submit, then Confirm. The system shows a success message when the ID is created.[3]

A student under 16 can't create their own APAAR ID through DigiLocker, and the app tells them to contact the school. DigiLocker says there's no charge for creating an APAAR ID.[12] Common Service Centres can also generate APAAR IDs.[2]

We couldn't open the APAAR portal itself. The steps above come from the SDMS manual of December 2024, so check the current screens in your SDMS login.

Yes, parents can refuse. On 20 July 2026 the Supreme Court directed that an Orissa High Court direction, to consider amending the model consent form so it expressly lets parents or guardians withhold or refuse consent, be given effect across India. It called that safeguard essential for consent to be meaningful.[4] The Court passed the order without hearing the Government, and left it free to seek clarification.[4]

The original form had no way to say no. The petitioners' counsel told the Court that a Ministry circular of 11 October 2023 made parental consent a prerequisite, yet the form gave no option to decline.[4] On 12 December 2025 the Odisha High Court found that the form gave no way to refuse, which didn't fit a voluntary scheme.[13] The authorities were directed to consider amending it.[4]

The revised form we read has two options.

OptionWhat the parent agrees to
A: I consentShares the child's Aadhaar number, or an alternate government-issued ID number, with the Ministry to create the APAAR ID and open a DigiLocker account. It also authorises the Ministry to use the Aadhaar number to authenticate with UIDAI.[14] A separate optional tick lets academic data be used for services such as scholarship portals and talent or skill identification agencies (recruitment).[14]
B: I do not consentAn opt-out. The form says refusing won't affect the child's admission, promotion or access to government benefits.[14]
Our summary of the revised parental consent or refusal form. Read the form itself before you use it.

The form says a parent can withdraw or modify consent later by writing to the school or to the Data Protection Officer email on the form. A school-use box asks you to tick Consent Given or Consent Refused, and to mark a refusal as Denied in the system and not process it.[14]

The Court also said APAAR data can't be shared with any private entity or third party, except as the law allows and for authorised purposes.[4] Keep the signed form for every child, whichever box the parent ticks.

Is Aadhaar needed for UDISE+ and APAAR?

Not for UDISE+, but largely yes for APAAR. In UDISE+, Aadhaar is voluntary. The Data Capture Format makes the Aadhaar number a non-mandatory field and tells schools to enter 9999 9999 9999 for a student who doesn't have one.[7] In 2025-26, 22.3 crore students, about 90.2%, provided it.[6]

APAAR is different. The Supreme Court order calls it an Aadhaar-linked, lifelong digital academic identifier.[4] The school education secretary said in February 2024 that provisional IDs should be authenticated with Aadhaar and linked to DigiLocker.[10] DigiLocker says the details tied to an APAAR ID are fetched from Aadhaar.[12]

The petitioners challenged the Aadhaar requirement. The order we read doesn't remove the Aadhaar link. It adds the opt-out and says the data is governed by the DPDP Act.[4] Our guide to the DPDP Act for schools covers what that means.

A child with no Aadhaar

We couldn't find a published official route to an APAAR ID for a child who has no Aadhaar. The revised form mentions an alternate government-issued ID, but we couldn't confirm how the portal then generates the ID.[14] In October 2024 DigiLocker said it was still working out a procedure for foreign students without Aadhaar.[12] Ask your District or State MIS officer, in writing.

Is APAAR ID mandatory for school students?

No. As of October 2026, APAAR is voluntary for school students. The revised consent form calls APAAR a voluntary facility,[14] the Supreme Court's order speaks of those who “voluntarily opt to enrol”,[4] and CBSE's circular of 17 September 2026 says filling in the APAAR ID is optional in its Class X and XII candidate lists.[5] Here's how the position moved.

DateWhat happenedWhat it means
5 and 27 August 2025Petitioners told the Supreme Court that two CBSE circulars made an APAAR ID a precondition for registering Class IX-XII students for board exams.[4]That's the petitioners' account. We haven't read the circulars.
10 September 2025CBSE partly relaxed the APAAR requirement for its 2025-26 Class 10 and 12 candidate lists. Schools could list candidates without an ID, marked REFUSED (with a copy of the denial form) or NOGEN (the school couldn't generate one).[15]Refusal was already being recorded.
12 December 2025The Odisha High Court directed the authorities to amend the consent form so parents can refuse. The Supreme Court later described it as a direction to consider amending the form.[4, 13]The form needed a refuse option.
19 April 2026NCERT said, “a child can still get admission without an APAAR ID. It's not a requirement.”[13]NCERT's position: not a requirement for admission.
20 July 2026The Supreme Court directed that the High Court's direction be given effect across India.[4]Parents can refuse on the form.
17 September 2026CBSE's List of Candidates circular for Class X and XII 2027 says, “Filling of APAAR is optional.” Schools can choose an option when an ID isn't available or isn't to be provided. If an ID is entered, the candidate's name must match it.[5]No ID is needed to submit the list.
Dates as reported in the sources shown. The first row is the petitioners' account, not a finding by the Court.

We haven't verified CBSE's rules for Class IX and XI registration, your state board's rules or your state's admission circulars. Check your board's current circular, because this is still moving.

This is about school students. For colleges the Ministry took a firmer line: in February 2024 it said an ABC ID is necessary for admission to any college or university.[10] APAAR and ABC are the same ID, renamed.[12] We haven't checked whether that has changed, so ask the colleges your Class 12 students are applying to.

If a school is told it must push APAAR

The Supreme Court order records the petitioners' allegation that some schools threatened to deny admission and board exam registration.[4] If anyone says a parent must get an APAAR ID, ask for the circular in writing.

Which student details should a school keep accurate?

UDISE+, SDMS and APAAR draw on the same basic student record, so a mistake travels from one to the next. Here are the fields to get right, from the 2025-26 Data Capture Format and the SDMS manual.[3, 7]

  1. Name, twice: as in school records and as on Aadhaar

    SDMS asks for both. A student's name can be changed only once through the name-update module, and if you edit the name, date of birth, gender or Aadhaar number you validate Aadhaar with UIDAI again.[3]

  2. Date of birth and gender

    One explainer says the name, date of birth and gender must match Aadhaar exactly, and that a name or date of birth mismatch is almost always why the Aadhaar check fails and no APAAR ID is generated.[8]

  3. Mother's, father's and guardian's names

    These are in the student profile, and SDMS can search by them.[3, 7] CBSE's candidate list also shows the father's or guardian's name.[5]

  4. Aadhaar number, or 9999 9999 9999 if the family doesn't give one

    Voluntary in UDISE+.[7]

  5. Contact details

    Address and pin code, a parent or student mobile number, an alternate number and an email.[7]

  6. Admission and class details

    Admission number and date, class, section, medium of instruction, language group and, for Classes 11-12, the stream.[7]

  7. Category and entitlement flags

    Social category, minority group, BPL and Antyodaya Anna Yojana status, EWS, children with special needs with the type of impairment, and whether the child was admitted under RTE Section 12C.[7]

  8. Year-end result, marks and days attended

    Entered at progression, then finalised for each class.[3, 7]

  9. The 11-digit PEN

    Keep it on the student's file. A receiving school uses it, with the date of birth, to import a transfer.[3]

Some of these fields are sensitive

Disability, category and BPL details are the kind of data to show only to the staff who need them. Our guide to the DPDP Act for schools explains the rules on children's data. See also UDISE+ and APAAR ID in the glossary.

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.

  1. Ministry of Education, UDISE+ portal. About UDISE+, UDISE code, FAQs and SDMS (udiseplus.gov.in). Read 21 October 2026.The portal is a script-driven page, so we read the text file its pages load from. Covers the About, UDISE code, FAQs and SDMS pages.
  2. Press Information Bureau (backgrounder). Academic Bank of Credits and APAAR: Building India's Lifelong Learning Ecosystem (static.pib.gov.in). 30 June 2026. Read 21 October 2026.
  3. Ministry of Education, SDMS portal. User Manual for SDMS (School User) (sdms.udiseplus.gov.in). PDF dated December 2024. Read 21 October 2026.Written before the consent form was revised in 2026, so the APAAR steps may have changed on screen.
  4. Supreme Court of India. Abhishek Baxi & Ors. v. Union of India, W.P.(C) No. 832/2026, record of proceedings (api.sci.gov.in). 20 July 2026. Read 21 October 2026.Paragraphs 4 to 6 record what the petitioners argued. Paragraphs 7 to 9 are the Court's own directions.
  5. Central Board of Secondary Education. Submission of List of Candidates (LOC) for Class X and Class XII Main Examinations 2026-27, circular CBSE/LOC/X-XII/2026-2027 (cbse.gov.in). 17 September 2026. Read 21 October 2026.
  6. Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education. UDISE+ 2025-26: Key Results (report booklet) (dashboard.udiseplus.gov.in). 2025-26 report, file dated July 2026. Read 21 October 2026.
  7. Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education. UDISE+ Data Capture Format for Academic Year 2025-26 (edudel.nic.in). Read 21 October 2026.Copy hosted by the Delhi Directorate of Education. The 2026-27 format may differ in places.
  8. Education for All in India. UDISE+ 2026-27: answers to the questions parents, teachers and school heads are actually asking (educationforallinindia.com). Read 21 October 2026.Secondary source, no author or date shown. It quotes a Ministry letter dated 14 July 2026 that we could not open, so the 30 September 2026 date is unconfirmed.
  9. Press Information Bureau. Department of School Education and Literacy organised National Conference on UDISE+ from 27th February to 28th February, 2026 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha (pib.gov.in). 28 February 2026. Read 21 October 2026.
  10. Press Information Bureau. Academic Bank of Credit launched through CSCs (pib.gov.in). 7 February 2024. Read 21 October 2026.
  11. Press Information Bureau. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates National Conference on APAAR: One Nation One Student ID Card (pib.gov.in). 13 February 2024. Read 21 October 2026.
  12. DigiLocker. Answers to questions asked during the 'Ask our Experts' show on DigiLocker (digilocker.gov.in). 18 October 2024. Read 21 October 2026.
  13. MediaNama. On closer reading: What India's APAAR student ID consent form actually asks parents (medianama.com). 2 September 2026. Read 21 October 2026.News report. It quotes NCERT's statement of 19 April 2026 and describes the Odisha High Court order of 12 December 2025.
  14. Ministry of Education form, copy hosted by Education for All in India. Parental consent / refusal form for APAAR ID generation (Annexure-1) (educationforallinindia.com). Read 21 October 2026.Secondary copy of the revised form: the Ministry's own site was not reachable when we read it. MediaNama's report of 2 September 2026 describes the same two-box form.
  15. MediaNama. CBSE Gives a Partial Relaxation to APAAR ID mandate for 10th and 12th Board exams (medianama.com). 12 September 2025. Read 21 October 2026.News report on a CBSE notice of 10 September 2025.

FAQ

Common questions

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

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What is the full form of APAAR?
APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry. The APAAR ID is a unique, permanent 12-digit number for each student, linked to the Academic Bank of Credits and DigiLocker.
What is a UDISE code?
A UDISE code is the 11-digit unique code that identifies a school in UDISE+. It goes to recognised schools and to schools sanctioned to open. The District authority raises the request, the State reviews it and the Ministry of Education generates the code.
What is a PEN in UDISE+?
PEN stands for Permanent Education Number. It's an 11-digit number assigned to each student on UDISE+, and it follows the child through promotion and school transfers.
Is Aadhaar compulsory for UDISE+?
No. Aadhaar is voluntary in UDISE+. The Data Capture Format says to enter 9999 9999 9999 for a student without an Aadhaar number. APAAR is different: it is an Aadhaar-linked ID.
Is APAAR ID mandatory for school students?
No. As of October 2026 it's voluntary. On 20 July 2026 the Supreme Court extended across India a High Court direction to give the consent form a refuse option, and CBSE's circular of 17 September 2026 says filling in the APAAR ID is optional in its Class X and XII candidate lists. Check your board's latest circular.
Who generates the APAAR ID for a school student?
The school does, from its SDMS login, after a parent gives consent. Common Service Centres can also generate APAAR IDs. A student under 16 can't create it through DigiLocker, and DigiLocker says there's no fee.
Can parents refuse the APAAR consent form?
Yes. The revised consent form has an option to refuse, in line with the Supreme Court's order of 20 July 2026, which extended across India a High Court direction to add one. The form says refusal won't affect admission, promotion or government benefits.

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