Caste Certificate in Delhi (SC / ST / OBC)

What is a caste certificate in Delhi and who issues it?

A caste certificate in Delhi is the official document that records that you belong to a caste notified as a Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) or Other Backward Class (OBC) for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Without it, no reservation in a Delhi government college seat, a Delhi government job, a Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board recruitment, a scholarship or a welfare scheme can actually be claimed, because the selecting authority needs a document from a competent revenue officer, not a declaration.

The Revenue Department, Government of NCT of Delhi issues the certificate. The competent authority in practice is the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of the sub-division in which the applicant lives, working under the District Magistrate. Delhi has eleven revenue districts; including East, New Delhi, South West, North, Central, Shahdara and the rest, and each district website publishes downloadable guidelines and performa for the OBC certificate and for the SC/ST certificate separately.

The delivery channel is the Delhi e-District portal at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in, described in the portal's own FAQ as a facility provided by the Delhi e-Governance Society, Information Technology Department, Government of NCT of Delhi for online delivery of services in a time bound and hassle free manner. The Revenue Department alone runs 48 services on that portal, and the caste certificate is one of them.

Delhi issues three distinct certificates through the same portal. An SC certificate, an ST certificate and an OBC certificate. They are not interchangeable and each has its own performa.

Who can and who cannot apply for a Delhi caste certificate?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Delhi, applying to the SDM of your own sub-division.
• Your caste is notified for Delhi. For SC and ST, the e-District FAQ states the applicant should belong to a caste mentioned in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes) (States/Union Territories) Orders as amended from time to time. For OBC, the FAQ states the caste applied for must be notified in the Government of NCT of Delhi.
• You can produce caste evidence from the paternal line. A certificate already issued to your father, grandfather, brother or paternal uncle is the strongest document.
• For OBC, your family is outside the creamy layer as specified by the Government of India from time to time.
• You are under 18: in which case you still qualify, but a parent or legal guardian must add your profile to their registered e-District account and apply through it. The FAQ is explicit on this.

You cannot apply if:

• You are claiming SC, ST or OBC status because of marriage. The FAQ answers this for both cases: an individual who does not belong to the SC or ST category cannot claim it on the virtue of marriage, and neither can someone outside the OBC category. Marrying into a community does not transfer caste status in Delhi.
• Your caste is notified in another state but not in Delhi. Delhi's OBC list is its own, and a central or other-state listing does not by itself make you eligible here.
• You are an OBC applicant inside the creamy layer. The FAQ states the applicant must not be covered under the creamy layer category.

One point applicants are often not told: the FAQ records that the details of all persons to whom an SC or ST certificate has been issued will be put in the public domain. This is a transparency measure against forged certificates.

What documents are required?

Two technical rules from the portal FAQ matter here. First, an uploaded file size must not be more than 100 KB and the document must be clearly legible. Second, once a document is uploaded it cannot be removed, so check the scan before you submit.

Where a document can be verified from an online government database, the FAQ states no supporting hard copy needs to be submitted at the counter. Everything else, including the original affidavit, does.

How to apply for a caste certificate in Delhi online

1. Open edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in and click New User to register. Enter your details as prompted. If citizen details cannot be verified online against the department database, the FAQ warns the profile is automatically deleted within 72 hours and you must raise a fresh request with correct details.
2. Log in and select "Apply for Services", then choose the correct service: Issuance of SC certificate, ST certificate or OBC certificate. Picking the wrong one means a rejection, not a correction.
3. Fill the form with your name, father's name, address, sub-division and the exact caste name as it appears in the notified Delhi list. Select your locality from the dropdown; if it is missing, the FAQ tells you to use the link beside the dropdown or contact the portal to have it added.
4. Upload the scanned documents, each under 100 KB and legible, the relative's caste certificate, residence proof, identity proof and photograph.
5. Submit finally. The FAQ confirms you cannot edit an application after final submission. Note the application number the portal returns.
6. Deliver the originals. Take the original affidavit and self-attested copies of the supporting documents to the SDM counter of your sub-division during working hours, or post them to the SDM office with the application number written on top of the envelope. Skipping this step gets the application rejected within SLA timelines.
7. Respond to any objection. If the competent authority raises an objection, the reason appears on the portal; you can also call the sub-division number or visit the counter to learn what more is needed.
8. Download the digitally signed certificate from the portal once approved.

How to apply offline in Delhi

1. Visit the nearest Common Service Centre (CSC) or the counter at your Sub-Division / Tehsil office. The FAQ specifically notes that if you have difficulty applying online, for example, without an Aadhaar number — you can apply at the Sub Division or Tehsil counter.
2. Ask for the SC/ST performa or the OBC performa. Each Delhi district website, such as dmeast.delhi.gov.in and dmnewdelhi.delhi.gov.in, publishes the guidelines and performa as downloadable PDFs you can print in advance.
3. Attach the relative's caste certificate, residence proof, identity proof, photograph and the sworn affidavit.
4. Submit at the counter and collect the acknowledgement carrying the application number. Track it online using the same number.

How do I check the status of my application?

• Track Your Application on the e-District home page, edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in/Public/TrackApplication: using the application number.
• SMS the keyword EDISTDL to 7738299899, as listed in the portal FAQ.
• If the application has been pending longer than the specified number of days, the FAQ directs you to contact the concerned authority on the phone number or email address given under "Contact Us" on the portal for your district.

Is a Delhi caste certificate valid for life?

A caste certificate records a fact of birth, so unlike an income certificate, which the Delhi FAQ states is valid for 6 months. The caste certificate is not routinely re-issued on a clock. In practice, an OBC non-creamy-layer certificate is the one recruiters and admission bodies commonly require to be recent, because creamy layer status depends on current family income and can change. Read the individual recruitment or admission notice: it will state how recently the OBC certificate must have been issued.

Delhi's digitally signed certificate needs no attestation, and can be checked by anyone through the Verify Certificate link on the e-District portal.

Why do Delhi caste certificate applications get rejected?

• Originals never reached the SDM office. The single commonest failure, the FAQ states the application is rejected if attachments are not received within SLA timelines.
• Caste not notified for Delhi, or spelled differently from the notified entry in the Delhi list.
• No paternal-line caste evidence. A claim with no certificate for any blood relative is hard for the SDM office to verify.
• Creamy layer for an OBC applicant.
• Claim based on marriage, which the Revenue Department rejects as a matter of stated policy.
• Illegible or oversized uploads, anything above 100 KB will not attach, and a blurred scan reads as no document at all.
• Profile auto-deleted because the registration details could not be verified online within 72 hours.

Where do I complain or get help?

• e-District portal: edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in. The "Contact Us" page lists the phone number and email address of each district and sub-division.
• Your District Magistrate's office, for example the DM East office at LM Bund, Shastri Nagar, Delhi 110031, or the DM New Delhi office at Jam Nagar House, New Delhi 110011.
• The Sub-Divisional Magistrate who is the deciding authority; objections and delays are resolved fastest at the sub-division counter.

A final warning worth repeating. The Delhi caste certificate is free at the government's own listed charge, the Revenue Department's FAQ confirms fees apply only to marriage registration among its e-District services. Every step, from registration to the digitally signed download, can be done by the applicant. Agents outside SDM offices who quote a few thousand rupees to "arrange" the certificate are selling you nothing the portal does not give you for nothing, and a forged caste certificate is a criminal offence that also cancels whatever seat or job it was used to obtain.