Marriage Assistance to Differently Abled Persons Marrying Differently Abled Persons

What is marriage assistance when both spouses are differently abled?

Marriage Assistance to Differently Abled Persons Marrying Differently Abled Persons is the widest form of a scheme run by the Department for the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons, Government of Tamil Nadu, and administered through the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled and the District Differently Abled Welfare Offices.

The scheme did not start this way. The department's Policy Note for 2025-26 sets out the sequence: the scheme was introduced to encourage a normal person to marry a visually impaired person; it was subsequently extended to the normal persons marrying other categories of disabilities like hearing impaired and the locomotor affected persons; and now it covers all differently abled persons marrying all categories of differently abled. That last extension is what this page is about. A couple in which both the bride and the groom have a disability; of any category, and in any combination: is squarely covered.

The department describes the current scheme in general terms: financial assistance is provided to a differently abled person or a normal person who is willing to marry a differently abled person.

What is given. Under the scheme, an 8 gram gold coin is given to make the Thirumangalyam, and Rs 25,000 is given as cash assistance to the couple. If any one of the couple is a graduate or a diploma holder, then Rs 50,000 is given as cash assistance. The gold coin is unchanged in either case.

The scale. During 2024-25, a sum of Rs 683.17 lakh was utilised and 588 beneficiaries were given assistance under the scheme. Rs 717.73 lakh is provided in the Budget Estimate for 2025-26.

Who is eligible for this assistance, and who is not eligible?

You can claim the assistance if:

• Both spouses are differently abled persons, across any categories of disability. The scheme's current form places no restriction on which disability either spouse has, or on the two being the same.
• Each differently abled spouse holds a disability certificate issued by the appropriate certifying authority. Tamil Nadu issues its National Identity Disability Card to persons with 40 per cent and above disability on that basis.
• Both spouses are of legal marriageable age and the marriage is valid.
• You are residents of Tamil Nadu and apply through your own district office.

The department's Policy Note states no income ceiling for this assistance, and the department's stated practice on the allied maintenance allowance is to give the benefit without considering income.

You cannot claim the assistance if:

• Neither spouse is differently abled. A couple with no disability is not eligible under this scheme and should approach the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department's four marriage assistance schemes instead, under which 7,963 beneficiaries were assisted with Rs 98.16 crore in 2024-25.
• The disability certificate is missing or has lapsed. A temporary certificate past its validity date has to be renewed before the claim will move.
• You expect two payments because both spouses are differently abled. Assistance is given once for the marriage, and a second claim on the same marriage is not eligible.
• You claim Rs 50,000 without a degree or diploma certificate for either spouse. The claim is then settled at Rs 25,000.
• You have already received marriage assistance for the same marriage from this or another department.

How to apply for marriage assistance for a differently abled couple

1. Get disability certificates for both spouses. Certificates are issued by the appropriate certifying authority for the particular disability; medical boards at Government Medical College Hospitals, District Headquarters Hospitals, and Taluk and non-Taluk hospitals, and at special camps. The State Resource cum Training Centres at Chennai and Tiruchirappalli also issue disability certificates and the National Identity Disability Card.
2. Obtain the NIDC or UDID card for each. The District Differently Abled Welfare Office issues the National Identity Disability Card to persons with 40 per cent and above disability, and the Unique Disability Identification card is generated through swavlambancard.gov.in. 8,94,220 UDID cards had been generated and delivered to residences as on 31 March 2025.
3. Collect the application form from the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer of your district. Differently Abled Welfare Offices function in every district, each headed by a District Differently Abled Welfare Officer.
4. Attach the documents: disability certificates of both spouses, NIDC or UDID cards, marriage invitation or marriage certificate, age proof of both, Aadhaar of both, a bank passbook copy, and the degree or diploma certificate if the Rs 50,000 amount is claimed.
5. Submit the application to the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer and keep the dated acknowledgement. Departmental applications in Tamil Nadu are also received through e-Sevai centres.
6. Follow the scrutiny. The District Differently Abled Welfare Officer scrutinises the application, and the cash component is credited to the beneficiary's bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer.
7. Collect the 8 gram gold coin as arranged by the district office.

What documents are required?

Why claims get delayed or rejected

• One spouse's certificate missing. Where both spouses are differently abled, both certificates are expected. A file with only one is held for the other.
• Certificate lapsed. Temporary disability certificates carry validity dates, and an expired certificate is the single commonest cause of delay.
• Disability assessed below 40 per cent, which falls short of the benchmark threshold the department's benefits are built on.
• Degree or diploma certificate not attached, so a claim intended at Rs 50,000 is settled at Rs 25,000.
• Bank account not seeded with Aadhaar, which stalls the DBT credit after sanction.
• Application filed long after the marriage, which makes verification harder.

What else can a differently abled couple claim in Tamil Nadu?

Two differently abled spouses can each draw the individual benefits of the department in their own right, which is a point couples frequently miss:

• Maintenance allowance of Rs 2,000 per month, given on a medical certificate without considering income, to persons with intellectual disability at 40 per cent and above, severely affected persons at 75 per cent and above, and persons with Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, autism spectrum disorder, muscular dystrophy or leprosy at 40 per cent and above. 2,50,987 beneficiaries received it in 2024-25.
• Financial assistance for high support need — Rs 1,000 per month to the caregiver.
• Differently Abled Pension Scheme at Rs 1,500 per month, the rate fixed with effect from 1 January 2023, for unemployed persons aged 18 and above with 40 per cent and above disability, or annual income up to Rs 3 lakh if self-employed.
• Unemployment allowance by qualification; Rs 600 a month after the 10th standard, Rs 750 after the 12th and Rs 1,000 after a degree, for those registered with the employment exchange and unemployed for over a year, paid for 10 years or until employment.
• Interest-free bank loan up to Rs 1.50 lakh for the beneficiary's contribution towards a house allotted by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board or built under the Kalaignarin Kanavu Illam scheme, repayable over 5 years, with Rs 120 lakh provided annually to benefit 1,000 persons.
• Free travel concession on government buses.

Where to ask and where to complain

• Toll-free helpline: 1800-425-0111, set up exclusively for differently abled persons at the State Resource cum Training Centre, Chennai.
• For hearing impaired persons: video call on WhatsApp 9499933703.
• District level: the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer.
• State level: the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled, Chennai; scd.tn.gov.in.

There is no application fee, and no agent is needed to obtain a disability certificate or to have marriage assistance sanctioned.

How to check your application status

This scheme is processed entirely offline through the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer, and there is no separate online tracking portal for the marriage assistance application itself. An applicant has to follow up through the same offline channel the application was filed in.

1. Keep the dated acknowledgement. When the application is submitted to the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer, or handed in at an e-Sevai centre, ask for a receipt or acknowledgement number with the date of submission. This is the reference you will quote at every later follow-up; without it, office staff have nothing to search against.
2. Visit or call the District Differently Abled Welfare Office. The office that received the application is the first and most reliable point of contact for a status update, since the file physically sits there while it is being scrutinised. Quote the acknowledgement number and the names of both spouses.
3. Ask specifically which stage the file is at. The likely stages are: scrutiny of documents by the District Differently Abled Welfare Officer, sanction, and then credit of the cash component by Direct Benefit Transfer to the bank account, followed by handover of the 8 gram gold coin. Knowing the stage tells you what, if anything, is pending from your side.
4. Check the bank account for the DBT credit. Because the cash assistance is paid by Direct Benefit Transfer, a straightforward way to confirm sanction is to watch the bank account (the one linked with Aadhaar) that was submitted with the application, rather than waiting only on a verbal update from the office.
5. Call the toll-free helpline if the district office is unresponsive. The department's toll-free number, 1800-425-0111, is run from the State Resource cum Training Centre in Chennai for differently abled persons and can be used to ask about a stuck file or to get the correct contact at your district. Hearing impaired applicants can use the WhatsApp video call line, 9499933703, instead of a voice call.
6. Escalate to the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled if the district office gives no answer. The Commissionerate in Chennai is the state-level authority over all District Differently Abled Welfare Offices, and its website, scd.tn.gov.in, lists the current contact details for this escalation.

Because there is no unique application ID generated by an online system for this particular scheme, the acknowledgement given at the district office at the time of filing is the only reference number that exists, so applicants should treat it as the equivalent of a tracking number and keep it safe until the gold coin and cash assistance are both received.