What is the Permanent Education Number (PEN), APAAR, APAAR ID, How to get, Benefits

Edited By Dinesh Goyal | Updated on Jan 16, 2025 03:43 PM IST

The Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) launched by the Ministry of Education launched the aims for ‘One Nation, One Student ID’. The APAAR ID or (Permanent Education Number) PEN is a specialised identification number designed for all students in India. APAAR ID is a unique 12-digit code that is used to digitally record, manage, and access all of a student's academic credits, degrees, diplomas, certificates, training details, and co-curricular certificates. All students in India can benefit from APAAR ID by registering themselves online through the official website, apaar.education.gov.in or abc.gov.in.

What is the Permanent Education Number (PEN), APAAR, APAAR ID, How to get, Benefits

According to the Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) portal, 1,855 academic institutions have joined the APAAR ID platform by March 2024, leading over 4 crore students to register and create an account. Students are not required to provide documents physically, they just need to provide PEN or APAAR ID at the time of admission. The PEN number of students streamlines and smoothens storing and providing documents.

Even, the National Test Agency (NTA) will use APAAR IDs which are linked to Aadhaar to enhance the security and simplify the verification and registration process for students. It will help improve the overall integrity and efficiency of the NEET UG exam. Read the entire article to know how to get PEN number/ APAAR ID CSC.

What is APAAR or What is Permanent Education Number?

APAAR stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry, a portal launched through the Common Service Centres (CSCs). It will provide a 12-digit unique code to students as their Permanent Education Number or APAAR ID. As per this, all students must register on the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC). The ABC ID is linked to the APAAR ID and, hence, receives academic credits from institutions through the National Academic Depository.

The Academic Bank of Credits was established on the concept of the National Academic Depository (NAD). ABC is a digital repository or store where students can register or transfer credits, the final outcomes of credit redemption and issuance of certificates as well as the compilation of award records are managed by the academic institutions. This helps to make the authentication and verification process easier at the admission.

How to Get APAAR ID?

To create the APAAR ID or PEN number, students need to have the provisional APAAR ID. They can get the provisional APAAR number from their respective schools. If there is any issue in getting the provisional number of APAAR, then students can use the following steps:

Go to APAAR ID official website, apaar.education.gov.in.
On the homepage, click on the ‘Create your APAAR’ link.
On the next window, click on ‘Don't have provisional APAAR number? Create new’ link.
Now, enter the Aadhaar number and click on the ‘Next’ button.
Enter the OTP received on the registered mobile number.
Click the ‘Allow’ button to give consent.

Now, the DigiLocker will open and here students can download the APPAR/ ABC ID card shown on the homepage. The pen number for students or ABC ID number or APAAR ID number is written on the card for students' reference.

Also, read:

How to Download ABC ID/APAAR ID Card Through Academic Bank of Credits?

Students/ Colleges can download the ABC ID card through the official website of Academic Bank of Credits. Follow the below steps to know how to get ABC ID online:

Go to the Academic Bank of Credits official website, abc.gov.in.
On the homepage, click on ‘My Account’ drop down menu, and select ‘Student’
On the next window, students can login using their DigiLocker credentials or mobile number.
After submitting the login details, click on ‘Sign in’
On the next window, enter the email address and verify via OTP.
After that, click on the ‘Allow’ button.
Fill in the asked details, ‘university name, admission year, identity type, etc., and click on the ‘Submit’ button.
On the next screen, the ABC ID will be displayed.

Benefits of APAAR/ ABC ID

The APAAR ID works on the concept of "one nation, one student ID". Below, we have listed some prominent benefits of having an APAAR number or ABC ID.

All the educational accomplishments can be found in one place, this streamlines the academic record.
APAAR will provide a unique identification to students making them transfer their academic reports across institutions easily.
Students will not be required to carry all physical documents at the time of admission.
APAAR make sures the transparency in tracking the student's progress.
ABC ID/ APAAR reduces the chances of document fraud and supports data-driven decision-making.
The APAAR ID works as a lifelong resource to access educational documents anytime and anywhere.

Beneficiaries of APAAR

There are several beneficiaries of APAAR, from students to parents and from schools to colleges. As per the ABC portal, 31.55 crore students have registered and joined the platform. Check out the list of beneficiaries of APAAR below:

Students, teachers and parents
Individual School (UDISE/CBSE/ICSE/IB/State Education Boards)
Individual HEI (Universities/INIs, Autonomous Colleges, Stand-alone Institutes etc)
Public Skilling Entities (Skill India Digital/MoSDE/State Skilling Corporations or Councils)
Private Skilling Entities (EduTech Companies)
Regulatory Authorities (UGC, AICTE, ICMR, BCI etc., and the Ministry of Education)

Useful Links:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How APPAR/ ABC ID is useful?

ABC ID is a 12-digit unique identification number used to identify the students academic reports. Using this, students/institutions will not required to go through physical verification of documents. The transfer of information will be smooth and authentic.

2. How can students get an ABC ID/ APAARD ID or PEN?

Students and Institutions can get the ABC ID from the official website, apaar.education.gov.in or abc.gov.in.

3. Who is eligible for an APAARD ID or PEN?

All students of India are eligible to get the ABC ID/ APAAR ID.