Caste Certificate Status Check 2026 — e-District

If you only have 2 minutes: open the portal for your state in the table below, click Track Application, and enter the reference number from the SMS or receipt. Download only the digitally signed PDF. If the file is stuck past the printed deadline, draft RTI with the AI RTI Drafter or read The RTI Playbook.

A caste certificate is official proof that you belong to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Class as listed for your state. You need it for reserved seats in college, reserved posts in government jobs, many scholarships, and fee or age relaxations.

It is not an Aadhaar, income or domicile paper. Those are separate certificates on the same e-District stack. For OBC reservation in central jobs and colleges you usually also need an OBC Non-Creamy Layer certificate, which has a limited validity and must be renewed.

• Who issues it: the Tehsildar / SDM / revenue officer of your district under state rules. The centre does not run a national caste-certificate portal.
• SC and ST lists are notified by Presidential Order under Constitution Articles 341 and 342. A community is scheduled for a state and area. A certificate from another state does not automatically work for a reserved post in your state.
• Reservation sits on Articles 15(4) and 16(4). OBC “creamy layer” exclusion for central lists follows DoPT instructions. The income ceiling was raised to ₹8 lakh a year by the 13 September 2017 DoPT OM. Confirm the figure printed on your current form: a state OBC / BC list can use a different ceiling.
• Right to Service: most states fix a delivery clock for caste certificates. Odisha publishes 15 working days for SC, ST and OBC certificates under the Odisha Right to Public Services Act on edistrict.odisha.gov.in. Other states print their own clock on the acknowledgement. Do not assume 15 days everywhere.
• RTI: the application file, noting sheet, field report and officer name are public information. File under RTI Act 2005 §6(1) to the Tehsildar / SDM. Reply is due in 30 days under §7(1). Silence is deemed refusal; file a first appeal under §19(1).

1. Use the table below. Many states sit on NIC ServicePlus at serviceonline.gov.in. Large states run their own e-District / MeeSeva / eSevai / Aaple Sarkar site.
2. Confirm you are on a .gov.in or .nic.in host. Lookalikes that add extra words before gov.in are phishing.
3. Open Citizen, Track Application or Check Application Status. Login is often not required if you have the reference number.

1. On ServicePlus, the official steps are: click Track Application on the home page, then enter the Application Reference Number and application submission date. Or log in and open View Status of Application > Track Application Status.
2. Some portals also ask for an OTP on the mobile used in the form.
3. Note the stage: submitted, under verification, forwarded, query, approved or rejected.

1. When status is Approved / Digitally Signed / Delivered, use Download Certificate.
2. Open the PDF and check the digital signature, QR code or certificate number before you upload it to a college or exam portal.
3. Many states also push a copy to DigiLocker. Prefer the portal PDF if DigiLocker is empty.

Always re-check the live .gov.in URL before you type Aadhaar or an OTP. If a bookmark fails, start from services.india.gov.in or serviceonline.gov.in.

Exact lists vary by state. Keep copies of:

• Applicant Aadhaar / voter ID and a passport photo
• Proof of residence in the tehsil
• Parent or sibling caste certificate, if one exists
• Land / Record of Rights extract where the state asks for it
• School or municipal record that shows caste, if required
• Self-declaration in the format on the portal

Odisha's published SC/ST checklist on the e-District portal includes a settlement Record of Rights, self-declaration, identity proof, and a parent or sibling certificate if available. Other states differ — follow the form you are filling, not a WhatsApp list.

1. Read the Right to Service deadline on the acknowledgement or portal.
2. Answer any query the same day. A silent query is treated as abandonment.
3. Visit the Tehsil / SDM with the acknowledgement if the file is not moving.
4. File a Right to Service appeal if the state Act gives one.
5. Then file RTI for the file movement, the inspector's report and the name of the pending officer.

For the wording and PIO, see RTI for a delayed caste certificate and RTI for a caste certificate.

File this under §6(1) to the Public Information Officer, office of the Tehsildar / SDM of your tehsil. Enclose the application-number screenshot. Fee is the amount in your state RTI fee table.

To
The Public Information Officer
Office of the Tehsildar / Sub-Divisional Magistrate
[Tehsil, District, State]

Subject: Information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 — caste certificate application [NUMBER]

1. Current status of caste certificate application number [NUMBER] dated [DATE], including the file-movement register from receipt to today.
2. Name, designation and sitting of the official with whom the file is pending, and from which date.
3. Copy of the field verification / revenue inspector report, if any, and the date it was submitted.
4. The Right to Service / Public Service Guarantee timeline notified for this service in this district, and whether that timeline has been exceeded.
5. If rejected or queried: copy of the rejection / query note and the documents still treated as deficient.

I am a citizen of India. Please provide the information within 30 days under Section 7(1). If the information is held by another officer, transfer this request under Section 6(3) and inform me.

[Name, address, mobile]

Generate a filled version with the AI RTI Drafter. Track the 30-day clock with the Timeline Tracker. If the PIO is silent, use the First Appeal Builder.

• The government does not charge an agent fee to “approve” a caste certificate faster.
• Never share an OTP. Anyone who asks for it is not the portal.
• Use only the digitally signed PDF from the official site. Printed copies sold by agents are a common source of fake certificates.
• Giving false caste particulars is a criminal offence. The certificate can be cancelled, and later admissions or jobs that used it can be withdrawn.
• Conversion and Scheduled Caste status is a separate legal question. See Does conversion to Christianity end your SC status?.

There is no all-India number. Your state Right to Service Act sets the clock, and it is printed on the acknowledgement or portal. Odisha publishes 15 working days for SC, ST and OBC certificates. If your state's clock has run out, file a Right to Service appeal, then RTI.

Usually no. ServicePlus tracking needs the reference number and the application date. If you lost both, log in with the account you used, or take identity proof to the Tehsil and ask for the number from the inward register.

A caste certificate names the community. An OBC NCL certificate additionally says the family is below the creamy-layer limit. Central OBC reservation in jobs and colleges needs the NCL paper, and it expires — renew it before you apply. Confirm the current income ceiling on the form you are filling.

Read the reason on the portal. Common causes are a name mismatch with the parent certificate, missing residence proof, or a community that is not scheduled for that district. Fix the record and re-apply, or appeal under the state Right to Service Act. RTI can reveal the exact document the officer relied on.

Yes. A digitally signed certificate from the official state portal is valid. Colleges and employers verify it with the QR code or certificate number. You do not need a wet-ink stamp from an agent.

There is none. Ignore ads that sell a “central caste certificate”. Start at serviceonline.gov.in or the state row in the table above.

1. Find the application number on the SMS or receipt.
2. Open your state portal from the table and run Track Application.
3. If Approved, download the signed PDF and open it once.
4. If pending past the printed deadline, photograph the acknowledgement and draft the RTI above.

• RTI for a delayed caste certificate
• RTI for a caste certificate
• Income certificate status check
• RTI for a domicile certificate
• Ration card status check
• National Scholarship Portal guide
• AI RTI Drafter
• The RTI Playbook
• RTI Act, 2005

• NIC ServicePlus — serviceonline.gov.in (Track Application steps on the home-page FAQ)
• National Government Services Portal — services.india.gov.in
• Odisha e-District, SC/ST/OBC service pages — edistrict.odisha.gov.in
• Constitution of India, Articles 15, 16, 341 and 342
• RTI Act, 2005 — §6(1), §6(3), §7(1), §19(1)
• DoPT Office Memorandum on creamy layer, 13 September 2017

Reviewed on 20 August 2026 by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak. Always confirm the live status on your official state portal.