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If your school has sent home a form about an "APAAR ID", or an application asks for one, here is what it is, how to get it, and where it is used.
What is an APAAR ID?
APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry. According to a Press Information Bureau factsheet of 4 July 2026, APAAR ID is a unique 12-digit student identification number linked to the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), introduced under the "One Nation, One Student ID" initiative. The same factsheet says it is accessible through DigiLocker and the ABC platform. It also says that, as of 2 July 2026, 26.35 crore verified APAAR IDs had been generated across India.
The NCERT brochure on APAAR says the ID was launched on 13 February 2024 and is meant to follow a student from pre-primary school to higher education. Think of it as the label on a folder: your marksheets and certificates sit in DigiLocker, and the ID tells institutions which folder is yours.
For college students, the PIB factsheet adds that ABC stores the credits you earn, valid for up to 7 years or the period your subject sets.
How do school students get an APAAR ID?
School students usually get the ID through their school. The NCERT brochure sets out four steps:
Awareness: the school explains APAAR, usually at a parent-teacher meeting.
Parental consent: a parent or guardian signs a consent form at school, because the student is a minor.
Verification: the school checks the student's details against Aadhaar.
ID generation: the ID is created and shows up in the student's DigiLocker.
The brochure names UDISE+, the national school database, as the portal for generating the IDs. If you want to know what else UDISE+ tracks, see our explainer on what UDISE+ 2025-26 data shows about India's schools.
Read the consent form before you sign it. In a sample of the parent consent form published on a government website, the parent "voluntarily" agrees to share the child's Aadhaar number and demographic details with the Ministry of Education to create the APAAR ID and a DigiLocker account. It says details such as name, date of birth and photograph may be made available to the UDISE+ database, scholarships, educational institutions and recruitment agencies. A parent can withdraw consent at any time; processing then stops, but data already processed is not affected.
How do you create an APAAR ID yourself on DigiLocker?
You can also create the ID yourself on DigiLocker. A step-by-step guide from Maharashtra's State CET Cell, dated 9 December 2025, written for students registering for its 2026 entrance exams, describes the process:
Go to digilocker.gov.in and log in or register with your mobile number or Aadhaar number.
Click "Get Now" on the APAAR prompt, or search for "APAAR" and choose "Academic Bank of Credits".
Choose APAAR ID. Your name, date of birth and gender fill in automatically.
Enter an identity value, such as your roll, registration or enrolment number, and pick its type. Students without one, or newly admitted students, can choose "None".
Select your admission year and your college or school.
Tick the consent box and click "Get Document". The ID is generated.
In remote and underserved areas, the PIB factsheet says APAAR IDs can also be generated at the nearest Common Service Centre (CSC). For questions, the NCERT brochure lists the APAAR helpline: 1800-889-3511.
Is APAAR ID mandatory, and where is it used?
It depends on the form. For CUET (UG) 2026, the NTA's official FAQ answers "Is APAAR ID mandatory?" with a plain "No". The same FAQ says documents available in DigiLocker can be uploaded in the online application form. Our guide to CUET for science students covers the rest of that application.
Where the ID helps, according to the NCERT brochure:
Moving schools, boards or states: your records follow you, so you do not have to carry a file of physical documents.
Admissions and verification: colleges and skill institutes can access and verify your academic records.
College credits: credits from different institutions build up against one ID through ABC.
The consent form above also names scholarships among the purposes the ID's details may be shared for. Our guide to scholarships for science students lists the main ones.
What should you say to your school?
Not sure whether your child has an APAAR ID? Send the class teacher this:
"Has an APAAR ID been created for [name], Class [X]? If yes, how do we see it in DigiLocker? If not, which form do we fill in, and can we first check the name and date of birth on record against Aadhaar?"
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