Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes and Others Documents Required: Complete Checklist

Documents required for the Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes and Others

The Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Castes and Others, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment scheme applied for on the National Scholarship Portal, needs a document set that changes with which of its two components you claim. This checklist lists every document, says what each one proves, and flags the format and naming mistakes that cause valid applications to fail. For the benefit rates and eligibility, see the parent guide; this article is only about the paperwork.

Component 1 (SC students, Classes 9-10) vs Component 2 (unclean occupations, Classes 1-10)

The document list is not identical for the two components. Component 1 needs a caste certificate and an income certificate. Component 2 needs an occupation certificate from the District Social Welfare Officer and has no income ceiling, so the income certificate is not required. Fixing which component you are claiming before you gather documents prevents the most common wasted effort.

The core checklist

What each document must show

• Scheduled Caste certificate, issued in the student's own name by the competent revenue authority of the domicile state. An SC recognised in one state is not automatically SC in another.
• Income certificate, the parents' or guardians' annual income from all sources, at or below Rs 2.5 lakh, from the authority notified under state rules. Many states require a current-financial-year certificate; an expired one is rejected.
• Occupation certificate: certifies that a parent is engaged in manual scavenging, tanning, flaying, waste picking or hazardous cleaning, and must be signed by the District Social Welfare Officer or equivalent. This replaces both the caste and income certificate for Component 2.
• Aadhaar card. The number is used for OTR and for the DBT payment. The name on Aadhaar becomes the reference for every other document.
• Bank passbook, the student's own account (a parent's account is accepted for younger Component 2 children in some states), and it must be Aadhaar-seeded in the NPCI DBT mapper, not merely Aadhaar-linked.
• Bonafide certificate, from the head of the institution, confirming full-time enrolment in the current class; a part-time or correspondence enrolment does not qualify.
• Previous year marksheet, proof of the last class passed, essential for renewal claims.
• Domicile certificate, some states ask for it because the scholarship is disbursed by the state of domicile.

Format and size rules

Upload scanned copies within the file-size and file-type limits shown on the National Scholarship Portal for the current cycle (documents are typically small PDF or JPEG files). Scan in colour, keep every seal and signature legible, and make sure the whole page is captured, a cropped certificate that hides the issuing authority's stamp is a common reason for a "defective" mark.

The mistake that fails a sanctioned claim: name mismatch

Keep the name spelling identical on the Aadhaar card, the bank passbook and the school register. A scholarship can clear verification and still bounce at the Direct Benefit Transfer stage because the three names do not match. Reconcile them before you apply, not after a rejection.

Common document mistakes to avoid

• Caste or occupation certificate in a parent's name instead of the student's (Component 1 requires the student's name).
• Expired income certificate, or one from an authority the state does not recognise.
• Bank account not seeded for DBT, so the transfer fails after sanction.
• Wrong component's documents, submitting a caste and income certificate for a Class 4 child who should be under Component 2 with an occupation certificate.
• Illegible or cropped scans that hide seals or signatures.

Before you upload: quick checklist

• Confirmed which component you are claiming and gathered that component's documents.
• Certificate(s) in the student's name from the competent authority, current and unexpired.
• Aadhaar, bank passbook and school register carry the same name spelling.
• Bank account Aadhaar-seeded for DBT.
• Bonafide certificate and previous marksheet ready; domicile certificate if your state asks.
• All scans clear, complete and within the portal's size limits.

Every document listed here is collected free of charge from the issuing authority. No school, cyber cafe or agent may charge to prepare, scan or upload them for this scholarship.