Centre revises SOP for disability verification to curb fake certificates in jobs, admissions

The Centre has tightened procedures for verifying disability certificates used in government recruitment and admissions, directing relevant authorities to validate every certificate and Unique Disability ID (UDID) card through the UDID national portal.

As per the revised Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) on October 15, institutions are also encouraged to integrate their systems with the UDID database using an API to ensure real-time updates on applicants’ disability status.

The department will share this API with interested organisations — educational institutes or those hiring for jobs — through a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The move comes amid a rise in complaints of fake or exaggerated claims to get disability certificates to unfairly obtain benefits under the reserved quota for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBDs).

Benchmark disability is defined as having at least 40 per cent disability, which has to be verified by a certifying disability.

The revised advisory replaces the previous SOP issued in September 2024 and outlines a stricter mechanism with the aim to ensure that only genuine PwBD candidates — meeting both the legal and functional requirements — benefit from the four per cent reservation in government jobs and five per cent reservation in higher education, as mandated under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016.

Under the updated norms, institutions have been asked to ensure the digitisation of manual disability certificates issued under the repealed 1995 Act on the UDID portal. In cases where an old certificate is presented, it must be validated by the issuing state authority.

The new SOP also empowers empanelled medical boards or hospitals to conduct additional medical evaluations of PwBD candidates to determine their suitability for a particular job or course, using updated diagnostic tools and technologies.

However, the DEPwD clarified that disability assessment establishes only the extent of disability, not a person’s fitness for specific employment or academic requirements.

To make the verification process accessible, the ministry has directed that sufficient hospitals be empanelled nationwide so that candidates do not have to travel long distances for assessments.

In a significant inclusion, the revised SOP also makes it mandatory for every government employer and educational institution to set up an appellate mechanism, allowing PwBD candidates to appeal against the findings of empanelled hospitals if they are dissatisfied with their assessment or suitability evaluation.