CBSE Class 10, 12 Exam 2026: Board tightens LOC submission rules; no correction allowed, APAAR ID mandatory

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has today announced major changes for submission of List of Candidate (LOC) for Class 10 and 12 board exam 2026. The board has also urged the principals of the affiliated schools to fill the LOC ‘carefully’ as no corrections will be permitted after submission.

The board has also made APAAR ID mandatory for registering. School will only be able to fill the LOC for candidates who have obtained their APAAR IDs. This will help in improving data accuracy and elimination duplication, the board said.

In June this year, the board announced that it will conduct the class 10 board exams twice , while class 12 board exams will only be held once. The first phase of board exams will be conducted from February 17 to March 6, adn the second will be held from May 5 to 20.

As per the CBSE data, around 20.26 lakh students are expected to appear in Class 10 board exams 2026, whereas 20 lakh are calculated to take Class 12 board exams 2026.

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APAAR Linking Mandatory

“CBSE has decided to link the APAAR id of candidates for both Class X and XII LOC data. Schools affiliated to CBSE in India will be able to fill the LOC for candidates who have the APPAR id. The APAAR Id filled will be validated by the Board at the time of submission of LOC,” as per the official notification.

For schools, situated abroad are exempted from APAAR linking because of several administrative reasons and country laws, it added.

The LOC should include details of students participating in the board exams. The details comprise of candidate's name, father’s, mother’s, guardian's name, date of birth, subject code, and subject combination.

Notably, only those students, whose names will be submitted through the online process of submission of LOC, will be allowed to appear for Class 10, 12 board examinations, the CBSE said. Moreover, all schools need to complete the registration process before proceeding with online submission.

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LOC for Second Class 10 Board Exam

According to the notice issued by the CBSE, the LOC for the second board exam for class 10 can be filled at any time after the first exam for class 10 is over.

“Schools should conduct a detailed orientation of students of Class X and their parents wherein they are informed about the Second Board examination to be conducted by the Board in the month of May 2026,” the notification reads.

Further, students should be informed that they can opt for the same subject filled by the school in the first LOC during the second board examination.

The board has also urged the educational institutions to conduct meeting with the Class 10, 12 students to inform them about the importance of submission of correct date in LOC, correct subject names, code, the responsibility of students, parents in submission of correct data, subject, and consequences of wrong submission of data in LOC.

It also reiterated that the class 10 main exams, which will be held in mid-February 2026, will be mandatory for all students and the LOC should be filled for all appearing students. The second board exam will be held in May, it said.