Post-Matric Scholarship for SC Students Documents Required: Complete Checklist

The Post-Matric Scholarship for SC Students requires six mandatory documents, a Scheduled Caste certificate, an income certificate, Aadhaar, an Aadhaar-seeded bank passbook, the previous-year marksheet, and the institution admission and fee receipt, plus two conditional ones. This checklist for the Post-Matric Scholarship for SC Students, run by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, explains what each document proves, the common mistakes that get it rejected, and how to prepare the scanned copies for the National Scholarship Portal. The scheme's eligibility and benefit figures are in the parent guide.

Mandatory documents

1. Scheduled Caste certificate. Proves you belong to a caste notified as Scheduled for your state. It must be issued by a competent authority of your state of domicile and be in the student's own name.

• Common mistake: certificate in a parent's name, or for a caste not notified in your domicile state.

2. Income certificate. Proves family annual income is within the prescribed ceiling of Rs 2.5 lakh. Issued by the competent state authority, usually the Tehsildar or SDM.

• Common mistake: an expired certificate, or one from an authority the state does not accept (a self-declaration or Panchayat slip is often not enough).

3. Aadhaar card. Required for NSP registration, e-KYC and Aadhaar-seeded DBT.

• Common mistake: Aadhaar not linked to an active mobile number, which blocks OTP-based e-KYC.

4. Aadhaar-seeded bank account passbook. The scholarship is credited directly to the student's own account.

• Common mistake: an account in a parent's name, a joint account, or an account that is Aadhaar-linked but not NPCI-mapped for DBT.

5. Previous-year marksheet. Proves you passed the preceding examination and shows your current enrolment level.

• Common mistake: uploading a provisional result instead of the final marksheet, or a marksheet showing a fail (repeat awards are generally not made).

6. Institution admission and fee receipt. Establishes the course, the non-refundable fees charged, and whether you are a hosteller or day scholar.

• Common mistake: a receipt that does not itemise the compulsory non-refundable fees.

Conditional documents

7. Domicile certificate (if asked). Applications are processed by the state of domicile, which may require proof of domicile.

8. Hostel certificate (if claiming the hosteller rate). Required to claim the higher hosteller academic allowance rather than the day-scholar rate.

Document checklist at a glance

#	Document	Mandatory	Proves
1	SC caste certificate	Yes	Scheduled Caste status
2	Income certificate	Yes	Family income within ceiling
3	Aadhaar card	Yes	Identity, e-KYC, DBT seeding
4	Aadhaar-seeded bank passbook	Yes	Student's own DBT account
5	Previous-year marksheet	Yes	Passed preceding exam
6	Admission and fee receipt	Yes	Course, fees, hosteller status
7	Domicile certificate	If asked	Domicile state processing
8	Hostel certificate	If hosteller	Higher allowance rate

Format and scanning rules

The National Scholarship Portal accepts uploads within specified file-type and size limits, and rejects illegible or oversized scans. To avoid a defect at verification:

1. Scan each document as a clear, upright PDF or JPEG within the size limit shown on the upload screen.
2. Ensure text and the issuing authority's seal are legible — do not photograph at an angle or in poor light.
3. Name files clearly so you can match each to its upload field.
4. Keep the file size within the portal's stated maximum; compress rather than crop out the seal or signature.

Common preparation mistakes to avoid

• Names that differ across Aadhaar, the caste certificate, the bank account and college records, make them identical before applying.
• An income or caste certificate that will expire before verification is complete.
• A bank account not correctly Aadhaar-seeded, confirm with the bank it is NPCI-mapped for DBT.
• Skipping the hostel certificate and then being paid at the lower day-scholar rate.

FAQ

Do I need all documents at the first submission? Yes for the mandatory set; the conditional documents are needed only if your state asks or if you claim the hosteller rate.

Is a fresh income certificate needed every year at renewal? Requirements vary by state; check your state's renewal notification, and keep a current certificate ready in case it is required.

Where do I get the caste and income certificates? From your state's e-district service or the office of the competent authority (Tehsildar/SDM) in your domicile state. Applying for the scholarship itself is free.