Documents required for caste certificate (SC/ST/OBC) — 2026 checklist

• Application form — State-specific; downloadable from your state e-District portal
• Father's caste certificate — Primary lineage proof; if your father is deceased, your grandfather's
• Self and family identity proof — Aadhaar + Voter ID + ration card
• Residence proof — Aadhaar / electricity bill / voter ID / property tax receipt
• Birth certificate — For DOB and parent identification
• Affidavit — Self-declaration of caste and lineage, on stamp paper, notarised (denomination fixed by your state)
• Two passport-size photos — White background, recent

• Migration certificate — For families that moved from one state to another (caste certificate of the state of origin)
• School TC + Class 10 marksheet — Where caste is recorded, as supporting proof
• Mother's caste certificate — For cross-verification, or where the claim runs through the mother
• Adoption deed — For adopted children claiming the biological parent's caste (state-dependent)
• Tribal welfare officer's certificate — For ST in scheduled areas

• SC certificate — Only for persons listed against your state in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 (issued under Article 341).
• ST certificate — Only for persons listed against your state in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950 (Article 342). Some tribes are scheduled in some states only.
• OBC certificate has two types: Central (Non-Creamy-Layer, based on the Rs. 8 lakh income/wealth limit laid down by DoPT Office Memoranda) and State (state OBC list, with separate income criteria fixed by the state).
• Validity — SC/ST: lifetime. OBC-NCL: requires periodic recertification (central validity per DoPT OMs; state NCL per state rules).
• Inter-state migration — An SC/ST certificate of one state is not automatically valid in another; apply fresh at the new state with a migration certificate.
• Field verification — Revenue officials (Patwari / Lekhpal / Village Officer) may conduct field verification, especially for ST claims in scheduled areas.

Tehsildar or SDM office, or online via your state e-District portal (e.g. e-District UP, MeeSeva AP, e-Sevana TN).

→ Official source: services.india.gov.in

If your caste claim is rejected, file an RTI asking for the specific reason under §4(1)(d) of the RTI Act 2005, and appeal to the District Magistrate. Caste claims are scrutinised on the principles laid down in Kum. Madhuri Patil v. Addl. Commissioner, Tribal Development, 1994 SCC (6) 241.

→ Use the AI RTI Drafter to draft a §6(1) application asking for the rejection reason.

The presumption under the Supreme Court's decision in Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika v. State of Gujarat (2012) 5 SCC 475 is that the child takes the father's caste. It is a rebuttable presumption, examined on the facts of the case. In matriarchal communities (e.g. Khasi, Garo), maternal lineage prevails.

SC/ST: lifetime. OBC-NCL: requires periodic recertification — central validity per DoPT OMs, state validity per state rules.

Yes. Under Articles 341/342 the SC/ST lists are state-specific, so a certificate of one state is not valid in another. Apply at the new state with a migration certificate.

Apply for a duplicate of your father's certificate, or submit your grandfather's certificate plus a sworn affidavit of lineage.

• State-by-state: Caste certificate across all states and UTs
• If rejected, file RTI: Full RTI guide for caste-certificate delay
• Citizen RTI playbook: 100+ citizen scenarios
• All documents checklists: Documents checklist hub

• Constitution of India, Articles 341 (Scheduled Castes) and 342 (Scheduled Tribes)
• Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950; Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order 1950
• DoPT Office Memoranda on the OBC Non-Creamy Layer (Rs. 8 lakh income/wealth test, in force since 2017)
• Kum. Madhuri Patil v. Addl. Commissioner, Tribal Development, 1994 SCC (6) 241
• Rameshbhai Dabhai Naika v. State of Gujarat, (2012) 5 SCC 475
• Right to Information Act 2005, §§4(1)(d), 6, 7, 19
• Official portal: services.india.gov.in (linked above)

Last reviewed: 17 July 2026.