APAAR ID: What It Is, Registration, Login and Card Download
An APAAR ID is a 12-digit student ID issued under the Ministry of Education’s “One Nation, One Student ID” programme. APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry. The ID is meant to hold a student’s marksheets, certificates, degrees and academic credits in one place, and the card itself lives in the student’s DigiLocker account. School students get it through their school, with a parent’s consent. College and skill learners can create it themselves on DigiLocker.
The official APAAR portal showed 33.74 crore APAAR IDs registered when we checked it on 15 November 2026. That is up from the 25 crore that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced at the national APAAR conference in February 2024, according to a PIB release of 13 February 2024.
What is APAAR ID?
APAAR ID is a permanent digital academic identity for every student in India, from school to higher and skill education. It was set up in line with the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Credit and Qualifications Framework.
The portal says the ID lets students store and access their score cards, marksheets, grade sheets, degrees, diplomas, certificates and co-curricular achievements digitally. The idea is that a school transfer, an entrance exam, an admission or a job application needs the ID rather than a folder of photocopies. A Ministry of Education note on common misconceptions adds that APAAR covers all school management types, not only elite schools, and that it is not a tool for punishing poor performance.
APAAR ID at a glance
| Point | What the official sources say |
|---|---|
| Full form | Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry |
| Number | 12 digits, permanent |
| Who issues it (schools) | Generated in the UDISE+ system against the student’s PEN, after parental consent |
| Where the card is kept | DigiLocker, under Issued Documents |
| Linked to | Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) |
| Cost | No fee is mentioned on the official portal |
| Voluntary? | Yes. The current consent form has an opt-out option |
| Helpline | 1800-889-3511 |
APAAR ID registration through school (UDISE+)
For a school student, APAAR ID registration is done by the school, not by the family online. The portal sets out four stages:
- Parents are informed: the school explains APAAR, usually at a parent-teacher meeting.
- Consent: a parent or guardian fills in the consent form. A minor cannot consent alone.
- Generation: the UDISE+ system generates the APAAR ID against the student’s PEN (Permanent Education Number).
- DigiLocker: the ID is pushed into the student’s DigiLocker account. The ministry’s note says a confirmation SMS is also sent to the registered mobile.
The school needs these details: the UDISE+ PEN, the student’s name, date of birth, gender, mobile number, mother’s and father’s names, the name as per Aadhaar and the Aadhaar number. The name in the school’s UDISE+ records must match the name on Aadhaar. A spelling mismatch is the usual reason an ID gets stuck, so fix Aadhaar first if needed. Our guide to the Aadhaar PVC card covers ordering a fresh copy.
APAAR ID kaise banaye if you are in college?
College and skill learners can create it themselves on DigiLocker. The Academic Bank of Credits portal gives the steps:
- Create or sign in to an authenticated DigiLocker account.
- Select the education category and open the APAAR ID creation service.
- Choose your institution, admission year and roll number, then submit.
- Access or download your APAAR card from DigiLocker.
APAAR ID login and card download
There is no separate APAAR ID login for students. You sign in to DigiLocker, where the card sits. The ministry’s general advisory gives the APAAR ID card download steps:
- Go to digilocker.gov.in and click Sign In.
- Enter the child’s Aadhaar number and the OTP sent to the Aadhaar-linked mobile (often the parent’s).
- Enter your security PIN, or create one, and verify.
- Open Issued Documents. If the APAAR ID is linked, it appears there.
- Click Download to save the card as a PDF, and print it if needed.
If it is not in Issued Documents, search “APAAR” in DigiLocker, pick “APAAR ID (Academic Bank of Credits)” and complete eKYC with the child’s Aadhaar. The same route refreshes the card after Aadhaar details change. If the child has changed school, the new school’s UDISE+ coordinator must update the record first. Each card is digitally signed, timestamped and carries a QR code that the DigiLocker app can scan. The status of generation can also be checked by the school in the APAAR module of UDISE+.
Students who sit national exams will already know DigiLocker. NTA asks candidates to complete DigiLocker Re-KYC, as our JEE Main 2027 registration guide explains.
How does APAAR ID link to the Academic Bank of Credits?
APAAR ID is the key that the Academic Bank of Credits uses to store credits. When a university or skill body uploads your credit data, it is mapped to your APAAR ID, so credits can move with you if you change institution. The ABC portal listed more than 1,200 registered awarding institutions and 1.90 crore students with credit awards seeded to an APAAR ID when we checked it. It also showed 6.71 crore verified APAAR IDs, far fewer than the total created.
Is APAAR ID mandatory?
No. Officially, APAAR is voluntary and parents can refuse. The current parental consent / refusal form on the portal has two options. Option A gives consent. Option B, “I do not consent (opt-out)”, states that refusing will not affect the child’s admission, promotion or access to government benefits. Consent can be withdrawn or changed later through the school. Third-party use, such as scholarship portals or recruitment agencies, is a separate optional tick box. The ministry’s misconceptions note also says APAAR is not mandatory for any government scheme.
The opt-out exists because of court orders. In July 2026, the Supreme Court directed that an Orissa High Court order requiring a refusal option be applied across India, LiveLaw reported on 25 July 2026. The bench said APAAR data must be handled under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and cannot be shared with private entities except as the law allows. The petitioners had argued that CBSE circulars of August 2025 made APAAR a precondition for Class 9 to 12 board registration. If your child’s school still treats it as compulsory, ask for the refusal form in writing. Class 10 and 12 families can see the exam calendar in our CBSE date sheet 2027 guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the full form of APAAR?
Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry. It is part of the “One Nation, One Student ID” programme.
Can I make an APAAR ID online myself?
Only if you are in higher or skill education, through DigiLocker. School students get it through their school after a parent signs the consent form.
Is APAAR ID the same as Aadhaar?
No. Aadhaar is an identity number. APAAR is an academic record ID, although Aadhaar is used to verify the student when it is created.
Where do I get help?
Call the APAAR helpline on 1800-889-3511 or raise a ticket on the APAAR portal or DigiLocker support. Families looking at other student services can also read our NSP scholarship guide.
Sources: Ministry of Education, APAAR portal and resources page (consent form, general advisory, misconceptions note); Academic Bank of Credits; PIB, 13 February 2024; LiveLaw, 25 July 2026. Figures checked on 15 November 2026.
Featured image: Ambuj Saxena (cropped by Hidro) / Wikimedia Commons, public domain (resized). A classroom on the outskirts of Bangalore; illustrative.
