The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will require students to have an Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) ID to register for board exams starting with the 2026-27 academic session . This change impacts the List of Candidates (LOC) registration process.
The board also announced that Class 10 students will face two levels of examinations for Mathematics, Science, and Social Science beginning in the 2028 academic session .
APAAR ID Mandate for Exam Registration
Starting in the 2026-27 school year, all students in Classes 9 to 12 must have an APAAR ID to complete their board exam registration and LOC forms. This digital identifier aims to create a unified and verifiable record for each student.
CBSE integrated APAAR ID linking into its registration modules after discovering low adoption rates. As of the 2025-26 academic year, fewer than 50% of students in affiliated schools had obtained an APAAR ID.
Several states reported difficulties in creating APAAR IDs. For example, West Bengal had low enrollment: 9.01% for Class 9 and 17.83% for Class 11. Haryana reported 54.42% for Class 9 and 54.80% for Class 11. Gujarat showed 27.59% for Class 9 and 19.94% for Class 11. Bihar registered 23.59% for Class 9 and 26.01% for Class 11.
CBSE plans to provide communication and support to schools in these states to facilitate APAAR ID creation. The board expects improved results in the upcoming year.
Two-Tier Board Exams for Class 10
The decision to introduce a two-level examination system for certain Class 10 subjects follows a proposal cleared in 2024 for Class 9. Currently, only Mathematics offers basic and standard levels.
The new system will feature “standard” and “advanced” levels. These will be implemented at the curriculum level from the 2026-27 academic session. The board examinations for these two levels will commence in 2028.
This timeline allows the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) time to develop new textbooks aligned with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023. Current NCERT books will be used for the 2026-27 academic year.
CBSE will conduct capacity-building and orientation sessions for educators regarding these changes.