Aadhaar, APAAR no longer mandatory for CET 2026 registration after candidate complaints

The facility to register without an APAAR ID has been activated from Friday. The notice further said the CET Cell had been informed that some candidates were facing difficulties during the authentication process. “In view of this, and to ensure that no eligible candidate is inconvenienced or deprived of filling the CET registration form, necessary facilitation measures are being provided for such candidates,” it added.

In December last year, the CET Cell had announced that Aadhaar and APAAR ID would be mandatory for candidates registering for any CET in 2026. Under the earlier directive, candidates were required to possess an Aadhaar card issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, which is necessary for generating an Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) ID. The APAAR ID has been made mandatory for higher education courses to enable the digital storage of academic credits.

However, after the registration process began, candidates raised concerns about hurdles such as name changes, outdated Aadhaar details, old mobile numbers and mismatched photographs, which prevented successful authentication. While officials had initially maintained that these issues would not affect registration, the CET Cell later decided to ease the requirement after receiving representations from a large number of applicants.

Officials clarified that candidates who register without Aadhaar and APAAR authentication will not be required to submit these documents at the time of admission.