Categories of Students in CBSE Class 12 – Streams, Specializations & Options

Categories of Students in CBSE

Candidates have to check out the following points to understand the categories of students in the CBSE board.

Regular Candidates

Students who are bonafide and will be appearing for the first time in the CBSE Board examination are classified as regular candidates. These students have to properly follow the CBSE board guidelines and prepare for the board examinations accordingly.

Private Candidates

The CBSE private candidates are the ones who are not appearing as regular students. These are the students considered as fail, compartment, and essential repeat categories. Students who seek to improve their performance or add a subject also fall under the private category. Candidates have to fill out the CBSE private candidate form 2026 and check out the eligibility criteria before applying for the exam.

Improvement of Performance

Only students who have appeared in the CBSE board exam the previous year and have been declared as pass, but still wish to improve their performance, can apply for the CBSE 10th board examination 2026 and CBSE class 12th exam 2026. Students in the improvement category can appear as regular candidates through school or as private students. These students can apply for improvement in their performance in one or more subjects, provided they have to appear in all the subjects they appeared in the previous year. Students are also required to complete their attendance requirements as per the CBSE. Their previous year’s project/practical assessment marks will be carried over in the present year’s exam. Students who have appeared as regular candidates and have passed can also appear for the supplementary exam to improve their performance.

Compartment

Students who appeared in previous main CBSE board exams or supplementary exams but are unsuccessful in the subjects are categorised as Compartment students. They can appear as CBSE private candidates and apply for the exam. Alternatively, they can also choose to appear as regular students through school, but they will have to appear for all subjects. Students will also have to complete attendance requirements prescribed by the CBSE board.

Essential Repeat

These are the candidates who have appeared for the CBSE board examination in the previous year but were declared as “essential repeat” or students whose result has been declared as "fail/essential repeat" in the last 6 years (i.e., 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025). Other than that, the students who were allotted a roll number for appearing in the board examination but could not appear in the exam due to reasons like medical issues, except for attendance shortage, fall into this category. These candidates can reappear for the examination through the following ways -

• As a regular candidate through school (schools have to get permission from the CBSE board for the direct admission of such candidates, as the case may be, and the CBSE LOC will be submitted along with the regular candidates)

Or

Candidates studying in the school as regular candidates to pass the board exam can appear in all subjects as per their study scheme. They have to complete the attendance requirement.

• As a private candidate (to apply at the start of the separate LOC)

• Students who appeared in the exam the previous year and declared as “COMPARTMENT” can re-appear for the exam of the concerned subject as private candidates. These students can also appear as regular candidates through school, but in all subjects in which they appeared in the previous year. Students who are studying in the school as regular students to pass the board examination will have to complete their respective attendance requirements prescribed by the CBSE board.

Transfer

Students in these categories are the ones who have been transferred from one school to another. These candidates should be from the schools affiliated with the CBSE board. No student is allowed to be in this category if he or she is from a board other than the CBSE.

Direct

Students who have been transferred from schools that are not affiliated with the CBSE are categorised as direct students. In this case, schools have to properly maintain the student records to avoid inconvenience. They have to accurately enter the students’ data and submit it to the CBSE board as per the guidelines.

Important Instructions to Students from all Categories

• Candidates will have to properly read all the instructions of the CBSE board while taking admission in schools.

• They have to select the category in which they are applying.

• Students have to check out the eligibility criteria of schools under the CBSE board guidelines.

• Students from classes 10 and 12 have to check their respective class notices and instructions to avoid repetition and confusion.

• Candidates have to follow all the instructions properly during the registration process and apply accordingly.

• They have to pay the requisite fee while registering as per the guidelines.

• Students have to mention the correct postal address.

• During the registration process, applicants have to upload their IDs and photographs as per the mentioned dimensions.

• They have to choose the subject in the CBSE board wisely.

• Candidates have to follow the CBSE syllabus 2026 prescribed by the board and have to go through the marking scheme.