Can minors have a DigiLocker account? APAAR, school consent and what parents should know
Reviewed by Confidential Dispatch Editorial Team · Updated 29 Oct 2026 · 5 min read
Yes. DigiLocker publishes no minimum age, and a child can open an account with an Aadhaar number and a mobile OTP, the same way you did. Most children get one when their school registers them for an APAAR ID. That registration is voluntary, and after a Supreme Court order in July 2026 the school’s consent form must give you a real option to refuse. Separately, DigiLocker is also one way you, as a parent, can prove you’re an adult when an app asks for your consent for your child.
Educational resource only. This explains how a child’s DigiLocker account works, what the APAAR consent form means for you as a parent, and how it differs from DigiLocker’s role in parental consent under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act); it is not formal legal advice.
The situation
Your child’s school has sent home an APAAR consent form, or your child already has a DigiLocker account with their marksheet in it. Separately, an app your child wants to use is asking you to verify yourself through DigiLocker. These sound like one system, but they are two different things, and what you’re agreeing to in each is different.
Can my child have their own DigiLocker account?
Yes. There is no published minimum age, and a child’s account works the same way an adult’s does
Signing up runs on an Aadhaar number and the mobile number linked to it, verified by a one-time password, and nothing in that flow checks age. Once created, the account belongs to your child: it is tied to their own Aadhaar and mobile number, and DigiLocker doesn’t currently offer a parent-managed or family account. Most children don’t open one on their own, though. It usually happens through school.
What is the APAAR form my child’s school sent?
It asks for your consent to register your child for an APAAR ID, an academic identity number that is issued into DigiLocker
APAAR (Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry) links your child’s academic records under one ID. Because it uses your child’s Aadhaar details and shares them for that purpose, schools collect a parent’s consent for students under 18. Once registered, your child typically logs into their own DigiLocker account to see the ID, and their marksheets and certificates can follow it there.
Can I refuse APAAR registration?
Yes. Registration is voluntary, and the consent form must now give you a clear way to say no
The original form offered only a box to agree. In December 2025, in Rohit Anand Das v. State of Odisha, the Orissa High Court held that consent without a way to refuse isn’t voluntary, and asked the authorities to add an opt-out. In July 2026, in Abhishek Baxi v. Union of India, the Supreme Court applied that across India. It directed the Union Government and CBSE to add a refusal option to the model consent form, and held that APAAR data is governed by the DPDP Act and cannot be shared with private companies or other third parties.
Why an app might ask me to use DigiLocker
This is a separate use of DigiLocker: it proves that you, the parent, are an adult, so an app can rely on your consent for your child
Under the DPDP Act, an app needs a parent’s verifiable consent before it processes data of anyone under 18 (Section 9). Rule 10 of the DPDP Rules, 2025 lets the app confirm that consent using your identity and age details, including a token from a Digital Locker service such as DigiLocker. What gets checked is your identity, not your child’s account. Your child doesn’t need a DigiLocker account at all for this to work.
What you can do now
Read what you’re signing, and keep the two uses of DigiLocker separate in your decisions
- Read the APAAR form before you sign itCheck that it shows a refusal option next to the consent option. If it doesn’t, ask the school for the revised form; the Supreme Court’s order requires one.
- Decide on APAAR as its own questionSaying no to APAAR does not stop your child from having a DigiLocker account for other documents, and saying yes doesn’t commit you to anything an app later asks.
- Use your own DigiLocker when an app asks for parental consentNot your child’s account. Before you confirm, check what the app says it will collect, as you would with any app your child uses.
- Set up your child’s account with themIf they have one, and make sure the mobile number on it is one your family controls.
FAQ
Is there a minimum age to open a DigiLocker account?
DigiLocker doesn’t publish one. Registration runs on Aadhaar and mobile OTP verification, whatever the age of the person signing up.
Is APAAR registration mandatory for school?
No. It is voluntary, and since the Supreme Court’s July 2026 order the consent form must include an option to refuse.
Does my child need a DigiLocker account for me to give parental consent to an app?
No. Parental consent under Rule 10 of the DPDP Rules, 2025 runs on your identity as the parent, verified through your own DigiLocker or another accepted route, not through your child’s account.
Can I manage my child’s DigiLocker account myself?
Not as a linked parent account. DigiLocker doesn’t currently offer one, so a child’s account works as an individual account tied to their own Aadhaar and mobile number.
Can APAAR data be shared with private companies?
No. The Supreme Court held in July 2026 that personal information collected under APAAR cannot be shared with private entities or other third parties, and must be handled under the DPDP Act.
Every article is checked against the current law and the judgments it cites before it is published.
Updated 29 October 2026 · Not legal advice.
