Caste Certificate in Assam (SC, ST and OBC/MOBC)

What is a caste certificate in Assam?

A caste certificate in Assam is the official document confirming that you belong to a Scheduled Caste, a Scheduled Tribe, or a state-listed backward class, and it is what colleges, the Assam Public Service Commission, state recruitment boards, banks operating reserved-category loan schemes and welfare departments ask for before a reserved claim is accepted.

Assam's arrangement has two features worth knowing before you start.

First, the service lives on Sewa Setu, the Government of Assam's consolidated services portal at sewasetu.assam.gov.in. Sewa Setu is now the citizen entry point for what used to be handled through the older Assam e-District and ARTPS interfaces, and it lists the caste certificate services under the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, with the Deputy Commissioner's office or the Circle Office as the designated officer.

Second, the service is time-bound by statute. Assam passed the Right to Public Services Act in 2012, which requires notified services to be delivered within a stated period. For the caste certificate, Sewa Setu publishes a limit of 30 working days, and the Act provides a formal appeal where that limit is missed.

Assam also distinguishes Scheduled Tribes (Hills) and Scheduled Tribes (Plains) in its lists, alongside SC and the state's OBC/MOBC categories. Check which list your community is on before you choose the service.

Who can and cannot apply for an Assam caste certificate?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Assam and your family ordinarily resides within the revenue circle where you are applying.
• Your community is on the Assam SC list, the ST (Hills) or ST (Plains) list, or the state OBC/MOBC list. Caste lists are state-specific and are not portable from a neighbouring state.
• You can produce your father's caste certificate, which Sewa Setu marks as a mandatory document, or a recommendation from a recognised community organisation where the father's certificate genuinely does not exist.
• You need the certificate for admission, a government recruitment, a scholarship or a category-linked welfare scheme.

You cannot apply if:

• Your community is not listed in Assam for the category you claim, however it may be classified in another state.
• Your family's caste record belongs to another state. Residence in Assam alone does not create eligibility; the parent state normally has to issue the certificate.
• You are claiming a caste acquired by marriage rather than by birth.
• You seek an OBC/MOBC non-creamy-layer certificate while the family income or the parents' service position puts it in the creamy layer.

What does it cost in Assam?

Assam publishes a per-component fee break-up rather than a single headline number. For the Scheduled Caste certificate service, Sewa Setu lists:

Your total therefore depends on how many pages are printed and scanned, and on whether you apply yourself or through an assisted centre. Read the payment screen for your own application before you pay, and take a receipt at a PFC or CSC.

Nothing beyond these notified charges is payable. A middleman offering to "get it done fast" for a few thousand rupees is not buying you anything the portal does not give you for the notified fee, and no officer of the Deputy Commissioner's office will call you asking for an OTP or a payment to release a certificate.

How to apply for a caste certificate in Assam online

1. Open sewasetu.assam.gov.in and register with your mobile number and email, then log in. Sewa Setu uses one citizen account across every state service, so an account you already made for another certificate works here.
2. Search for "Caste Certificate" in the services list and pick the exact service that matches your category: Issuance of Scheduled Caste (SC) Certificate, the Scheduled Tribe service, or the general caste certificate service — then click Apply Online.
3. Fill the application form with your name exactly as in your HSLC or school record, your father's name, date of birth, the caste as it appears in the Assam list, and the full address with village, revenue circle and district.
4. Upload the documents: your photograph, which is mandatory, your father's caste certificate, which is also mandatory, proof of date of birth and proof of residence. Where the father's certificate does not exist, upload the recommendation from a recognised community organisation instead. Scan each page fully and legibly.
5. Pay the notified charges on the payment screen and save the receipt.
6. Submit and keep the acknowledgement with the application reference number. Every status check and every appeal needs it.
7. Attend the Circle Office verification if you are called. The Circle Officer or the Lat Mandal verifies the family record locally.
8. Download the certificate from your Sewa Setu account when it is issued. Sewa Setu notifies the applicant by SMS and email when the certificate is ready.

How to apply through a PFC or CSC

1. Visit a Public Facilitation Centre at the Deputy Commissioner's office, or a Common Service Centre in your area.
2. Carry the filled application form, your photograph, your father's caste certificate, date-of-birth proof and residence proof. Sewa Setu lists a scanned application form as a document for the PFC/CSC route.
3. The operator files the application on Sewa Setu on your behalf, collects the notified service, printing and scanning charges, and hands you the acknowledgement.
4. Track and download from the portal yourself using the reference number, or return to the centre for a printout.

How do I check my application status?

Log in to sewasetu.assam.gov.in and open the status or track-application section with your application reference number. The portal shows the stage the file has reached and makes the certificate available for download once it is issued, with SMS and email notification.

If the 30 working day limit passes without a decision, do not simply reapply. Use the Appeals section on Sewa Setu, which exists precisely because the Assam Right to Public Services Act, 2012 provides a formal appellate process for non-compliance. File the appeal against your application number, attaching the acknowledgement.

Validity and renewal

An SC or ST certificate in Assam does not expire. Caste status does not change, and the certificate needs no renewal. Save the issued PDF and reprint it whenever a form asks for a copy.

An OBC/MOBC certificate recording non-creamy-layer status is treated differently by recruiters, because the income and service position it records can change. Most central and state recruitments ask for a non-creamy-layer certificate issued within the current or immediately preceding financial year. Read the recruitment notice, then apply early enough to clear the 30 working day window before the closing date.

Why Assam caste certificate applications get rejected

• Father's caste certificate not uploaded, and no community organisation recommendation supplied in its place. This is the single commonest failure, because the portal marks the document mandatory.
• Photograph missing, which Sewa Setu also lists as mandatory.
• Community not on the Assam list for the claimed category, or claimed under ST (Plains) when it is listed as ST (Hills) or the reverse.
• Name or date-of-birth mismatch between the HSLC record, the Aadhaar and the application form.
• Address outside the revenue circle where the application was filed.
• Illegible or cropped scans that the verifying officer cannot read.
• Creamy-layer position disclosed in the income documents for an OBC/MOBC non-creamy-layer certificate.

Where do I complain?

• Statutory route: an appeal under the Assam Right to Public Services Act, 2012, filed through the Appeals section on Sewa Setu against your application number, where the 30 working day limit is missed.
• Office route: the Circle Office holding the file, and above it the Deputy Commissioner's office of your district.
• Department route: the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, which owns the service on Sewa Setu.
• Portal route: the grievance and contact links on sewasetu.assam.gov.in.

Quote the application reference number every time. Without it, no office can locate your file.