Caste Certificate in Uttarakhand

What is a caste certificate in Uttarakhand?

A caste certificate in Uttarakhand is the Revenue Department's written proof that a named person belongs to a caste recognised as Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Class in Uttarakhand. District Haridwar states that the certificate is issued by the District Magistrate or the Tehsildar of the respective area, and District Dehradun names the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, the tehsil office and the Revenue Department as the issuing offices.

The certificate is what opens reserved-category access in the state: reserved seats in Uttarakhand's universities, polytechnics and professional colleges, reserved posts in state recruitment through the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission and the Subordinate Services Selection Commission, scholarships and fee concessions from the Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare Departments, hostel admissions, and loan and subsidy schemes for backward classes.

Uttarakhand routes the application through Apuni Sarkar, the state e-District services portal at eservices.uk.gov.in. Both the Haridwar and Dehradun district administrations direct citizens to that portal, and note that applications can also be made at a tehsil e-District centre, a Common Service Centre or the SDM's office.

Who can and who cannot apply?

District Haridwar puts the eligibility in one line: any Indian citizen who is a permanent resident of the particular state can apply for the caste certificate. In Uttarakhand that means two things must both be true, you must be a permanent resident of Uttarakhand, and your caste must be on a list notified for Uttarakhand as SC, ST or OBC.

You cannot apply in Uttarakhand if your family's caste record belongs to another state. A family recorded as Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Haryana that has since settled in Dehradun or Haldwani is not eligible for an Uttarakhand caste certificate on the strength of that record alone; the certificate must come from the state the family is recorded in, and it does not carry Uttarakhand's reservation. You are also not eligible if the caste claimed appears on no Uttarakhand notification, or if no record of any kind links your family to it.

There is no income test on a plain SC or ST caste certificate. OBC candidates in Uttarakhand generally need a separate creamy-layer or income-and-asset certificate in addition, because most reserved OBC seats and posts test family income as well as caste.

What documents are required?

District Dehradun lists the core requirements as a completed application form available online or at local offices, a certificate of residence in your own state for a minimum period, a statutory declaration confirming backward caste status, and court stamp charges.

In practice the Tehsildar's enquiry turns on the paternal record, so prepare:

• Residence proof; permanent resident or domicile certificate, ration card, voter ID or a utility bill for the Uttarakhand address.
• Caste proof. The father's or grandfather's caste certificate, or an old school register entry showing the caste.
• Identity, Aadhaar card, which also supplies the mobile number used for the portal OTP.
• Self-declaration or affidavit of the caste claimed.
• Court stamp charges as the district requires.
• Passport-size photograph, and the applicant's school leaving certificate where available.

How to apply for an Uttarakhand caste certificate online

1. Register on Apuni Sarkar. Open eservices.uk.gov.in, create a citizen account with your mobile number, and verify the OTP. One account covers every e-District service in the state.
2. Open the caste certificate service. From the citizen services list, select the Revenue Department's caste certificate service. The portal displays the guidelines and the list of documents to be attached before you begin filling the form.
3. Fill the application form. Enter the applicant's name as it appears on Aadhaar, the father's name, the caste and sub-caste claimed, the category, the tehsil and district, and the purpose for which the certificate is needed.
4. Upload the documents — residence proof, caste proof, self-declaration, identity and photograph, within the size limits the upload screen states.
5. Pay the charges shown on the payment screen, including the court stamp charge the district requires, and submit the application.
6. Note the application number on the acknowledgement. It is what you use to track the file and to download the signed certificate.

How to apply offline at the tehsil

1. Visit the concerned Tehsildar office on a working day and obtain the prescribed caste certificate application form, as District Haridwar directs. In Haridwar district the tehsils are Haridwar, Roorkee, Bhagwanpur and Laksar.
2. Attach the residence proof, the paternal caste record, the statutory declaration, identity proof, photograph and the court stamp charges.
3. Submit the form at the tehsil counter, the tehsil e-District centre or a Common Service Centre, which files it into the same Apuni Sarkar queue.
4. Keep the receipt with the application number until the certificate is delivered.

What happens after you apply?

The authority conducts a local enquiry before issuing the certificate. In Uttarakhand that enquiry is carried out by the patwari or revenue inspector for your area, who checks the family's residence and the caste record, and reports to the tehsil. The Tehsildar or SDM signs the certificate on that report.

Two practical consequences follow. First, keep the mobile number on the application reachable, an unanswered verification call is the commonest cause of a stalled file. Second, if the family's caste record is thin, the enquiry is where the file will stall, so attach the oldest paternal record you can find at the start rather than waiting to be asked.

How do you check the application status?

Log in to Apuni Sarkar and open the application status against the number on your acknowledgement. The file moves through submission, patwari or revenue-inspector verification, tehsil scrutiny and approval by the Tehsildar or SDM, after which the digitally signed certificate is available for download from the same login. If you filed through a CSC or tehsil e-District centre, the operator can print the certificate for you from the same record.

Why are Uttarakhand caste certificate applications rejected?

• The applicant is not a permanent resident of Uttarakhand, or the residence proof does not cover the minimum period.
• The caste claimed is notified for another state rather than for Uttarakhand.
• No paternal caste record or old school entry supports the claim, and the declaration alone does not satisfy the enquiring officer.
• Names or caste spellings differ between Aadhaar, the school record and the relative's certificate.
• The patwari's enquiry could not locate or contact the applicant.
• Uploaded scans are unreadable or the court stamp charge was not paid.

What does it cost, and what about agents?

An Uttarakhand caste certificate is issued at the government charges shown on the Apuni Sarkar payment screen, together with the court stamp charge the district lists: nothing more. A CSC or tehsil e-District operator may take only the notified operator charge for filing on your behalf. No patwari, clerk or agent is entitled to a cash payment for moving the file, and no middleman can shorten the local enquiry that the Tehsildar relies on. If someone demands money beyond the portal charges, raise it with the Tehsildar or the District Magistrate's grievance cell, and keep the online payment receipt as evidence.

Validity and later use

A caste certificate records descent, so the caste entry itself does not expire. Departments and colleges in Uttarakhand nevertheless often ask for a recently issued copy, and OBC candidates are almost always asked for a current creamy-layer or income-and-asset certificate alongside it, because that one genuinely does depend on the family's present income. Keep the digitally signed PDF from Apuni Sarkar; most Uttarakhand admission and recruitment portals accept it directly, which saves a trip to the tehsil for every new form.