APAAR ID must for CBSE board exams 2026, hike in exam fee, new digital experience centre

From the board exams 2026, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has decided to mandate the linking of APAAR ID of students with their records and revise the examination fee. The board is also going to have an AI-powered digital experience centre.

During a governing body meeting held on June 25, the finance committee approved the construction of a digital experience centre at the Integrated Office Complex at Sector 23. Dwarka, New Delhi. “This initiative will offer students a unique opportunity to engage with educational content in a dynamic and technology-driven environment, encouraging curiosity, innovation, and a deeper understanding of the learning process,” the board said.

CBSE fee structure 2025-26

CBSE has made a ‘nominal’ revision in the registration and exam fee for students of Classes 9 to 12. The board cited an increase in expenditure for conduct of examinations as the reason behind increasing the fee.

“The revenue collected by CBSE in the form of registration and examination fee is utilized for both conduct of examination and for all other expenses incurred by the board. The only source of income being this fee has not been revised since 2020 whereas the expenditure of the board has increased manifold on various grounds. The receipts on account of issue of migration certificates have also considerably reduced as it is now not mandatory since 2024-25,” it said.

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The board exam fee 2026 has been increased by Rs 20 per subject per candidate, about 6.66% hike in India. For Nepal and foreign countries, the rate of exam fee per subject has been hiked by 10%. The practical fee has also gone up by Rs 10 per subject per student in India and Rs 25 per subject per student in Nepal and other foreign countries.

Moreover, the registration fee in Class 9, 11 is now Rs 20 higher in India and 10% abroad including Nepal.

CBSE board exam fee 2026 is given below.

Mandatory APAAR ID

During the meeting, the board proposed linking APAAR ID with registration in Class 9 and 11 and in the List of Candidates (LoC) for Class 10, 12. Schools have been asked to obtain APAAR IDs of the students of Classes 9 to 12 so that it is available with them before the process of registration and submission of LOC.

In future, APAAR ID will be mentioned on various documents of the students and also be used in the various requests students make for proper identification of identity or case of the student.

Emphasizing the mandatory use of APAAR ID, the CBSE chairman explained that the compulsory attachment of each student's APAAR ID will improve data accuracy and eliminate duplication.

Also read MP Board makes APAAR ID optional for Classes 9 to 12 exam forms in 2025–26 academic session

As of now, the student data is entered without linking it to any standardized identity system, leading to inconsistencies and lack of verifiability across databases, the board explained while introducing the mandate.

The Ministry of Education has now mandated the adoption of the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) IDs for all school students as part of the digital public infrastructure for education. The initiative aims to provide every student with a lifelong, universally accessible digital academic record, thereby streamlining data management and enhancing transparency in the education system.