CBSE School Attendance Rules 2026 — The 75% Rule Explained

What is the CBSE 75% attendance rule?

Under CBSE's Examination Bye-Laws, a student must attend a minimum of 75% of classes held in each subject to be eligible to appear in the Class 10 or Class 12 board examinations. This rule has been in effect for many years and remains unchanged in 2026.

It is not a guideline — it is a hard eligibility threshold. A student who fails to meet it is marked “Not Eligible” (NE) by the school and cannot be sent up for board exams without a formal condonation process.

How is attendance percentage calculated?

The formula is straightforward:

Total working days means every day the school is officially open — from the first working day of the academic session right up to the last teaching day before board examinations begin.

A few things that catch families off guard:

• Every absence counts, regardless of reason — illness, family function, travel, or local holiday not declared by the school. The only exceptions are absences formally covered by the condonation process.
• Half-days count as half. If a student attends only morning or only afternoon sessions, many schools record these as 0.5 days present.
• Attendance is tracked per subject in some configurations, not just overall. A student present in school but consistently absent from a specific period can fall short in that subject alone.
• The denominator keeps growing. A student who recovers after illness in November still has those October absences counted in the final tally.

The three attendance bands and what each means

What is attendance condonation — and how does it work?

Condonation is CBSE's provision that allows schools to grant eligibility to students who fall between 65% and 74% attendance, only on medical grounds.

The process works like this:

1. The student or parent submits a formal application to the school principal with original medical certificates from a registered medical practitioner.
2. The principal reviews whether the absence was genuinely due to illness or hospitalization (not travel, events, or general non-attendance).
3. If approved, the school records the condonation and marks the student eligible. The school retains all documentation for CBSE audit purposes.
4. The school submits the condonation list to CBSE as part of the candidature process.

What CBSE-affiliated schools are required to do

Schools affiliated with CBSE carry specific obligations around attendance — not just to students, but to the board itself. These apply throughout the year, not only at exam time.

1. Maintain accurate daily attendance records

Schools must maintain a Daily Attendance Register for every class, recording each student's presence or absence for every period or session. This register is a CBSE inspection document — schools have faced affiliation issues over poor record-keeping.

2. Display monthly attendance on the notice board

CBSE expects schools to display monthly attendance figures publicly — typically on the school notice board — so students and parents can track standing throughout the year. This is a transparency requirement, not an optional practice.

3. Notify parents when attendance drops below 75%

Schools must proactively communicate with parents when a student's attendance falls below the threshold — not wait for parents to enquire. Written notice (letter or SMS) is expected, and schools should maintain records of this communication in case of disputes.

4. Generate eligibility lists accurately

Before submitting candidature data to CBSE for board examinations, schools must generate a verified eligibility list — marking each student in Class 10 and 12 as Eligible, Condoned, or Not Eligible. Errors in this list directly impact board exam registration.

Attendance in 2026: what's new

The 75% rule itself has not changed in 2026, but two developments are shaping how schools manage attendance in practice:

APAAR ID and attendance linkage

Under NEP 2020, every student's academic record — including attendance data — is increasingly tied to their APAAR ID (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry). As UDISE+ data collection becomes more granular, schools that cannot produce clean, exportable attendance records will find UDISE+ data certification more difficult. Schools using spreadsheets or paper registers are already running into this problem at the UDISE+ freeze deadline.

Push toward digital attendance systems

CBSE has been encouraging — and in some inspection criteria, expecting — schools to maintain digital attendance records rather than paper registers alone. Digital systems make monthly reporting, parent notifications, and eligibility list generation significantly faster and less error-prone. They also create an audit trail that paper registers cannot match.

Attendance compliance checklist for CBSE schools

• Record attendance every day, for every class, for every student
• Calculate running attendance percentages monthly — not just at year-end
• Display monthly attendance on the school notice board
• Send written notice to parents the moment a student drops below 75%
• Counsel students and families on the consequences of sustained absence
• Collect medical certificates promptly when illness causes absence (don't wait for March)
• Generate eligibility lists for Classes 10 and 12 at least 6 weeks before board exam registration
• Retain all condonation documentation for CBSE audit
• Ensure attendance data maps cleanly to UDISE+ and APAAR records