Vaccination Certificate for School Admission India: What You Need and How to Get It

Indian schools — private and government — most commonly ask for proof of the following vaccines at admission:

• BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin): Given at birth to protect against tuberculosis. The BCG scar on the left upper arm is visible evidence, but a documentary record is preferred.
• Polio (OPV/IPV): Multiple doses given from birth to 5 years under both the national immunisation schedule and the IAP schedule. This is among the most consistently verified vaccines at school admission.
• DPT / Pentavalent (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus): A series of doses from 6 weeks onwards, with booster doses at 18 months and 4–6 years. Schools may ask for the primary series and the boosters.
• MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella): Two doses — typically at 9 months and 15 months. Some schools verify MMR specifically because of its role in preventing school outbreaks.
• Hepatitis B: Three doses completed in the first 6 months of life. The birth dose is given in hospital.
• Typhoid and Hepatitis A: Not universally required but increasingly asked for by private schools, particularly in urban areas. Check with the school in advance.

There is no single national mandate requiring all of these for school admission, but individual schools and state education departments set their own requirements. Private schools in metro cities tend to have the most detailed checklists.

Schools in India typically accept any of the following as a vaccination certificate:

• Original immunisation card: The booklet or card issued by the hospital at birth, updated with each vaccine visit. This is the most commonly accepted format.
• Mother and Child Protection (MCP) card: Issued by government healthcare centres, the MCP card contains the complete immunisation record alongside growth charts. Government schools routinely accept this.
• Paediatrician certificate: A signed letter on the doctor's letterhead listing all vaccines received with dates. Most private schools treat this as equivalent to an immunisation card.
• Printed PDF health summary: A printed and signed vaccination history from a digital health platform, endorsed by a paediatrician, is increasingly accepted — especially where the original card has been lost.
• Hospital records: Discharge summaries from the hospital of birth typically list birth-dose vaccines (BCG, Hepatitis B, OPV-0). These can supplement the immunisation card if early doses need verification.

Losing a child's immunisation card is more common than schools expect — and there are practical ways to recover the information:

• Return to the vaccination clinic or hospital: Most hospitals and paediatric clinics maintain records of every vaccine administered. Visit with the child's name, date of birth, and approximate date of first vaccination — they can usually issue a duplicate card or a signed summary.
• Government PHC or ANM records: If some or all vaccines were given at a Primary Health Centre, the ANM (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) maintains a register. Visit the PHC and request a duplicate vaccination record or a copy of the entry in the immunisation register.
• Ask your paediatrician: Paediatricians who have followed your child from birth maintain records of every visit, including which vaccines were given and when. A certificate from them on their letterhead is accepted by most schools.
• If records cannot be traced: Your paediatrician can advise on catch-up vaccination — re-administering vaccines whose records cannot be found. Some vaccines can be verified through serological tests (blood tests showing immunity levels), though this is rarely required for school admission.

The practical solution to the lost-card problem is to store vaccination records digitally from the first dose — before a card can be lost, damaged, or faded.

HealthAYF's vaccination schedule tracker lets you log every vaccine as it is given, along with the date and the clinic where it was administered. Over time, this builds a complete, searchable vaccination history for each child in your family account.

At admission time, this means:

• Download a PDF health summary that includes the full vaccination history — formatted clearly with vaccine name, date, and child's age at time of vaccination. Print it and have your paediatrician sign it for school submission.
• No scrambling for a lost card — the record is on your phone, accessible from anywhere, and cannot be misplaced.
• Reminders for upcoming vaccines — HealthAYF notifies you 7 days and 1 day before each vaccine is due, so your child's record stays up to date automatically.
• Multiple children, one account — manage vaccination records for all your children and family members under a single login, with separate profiles and records for each person.

Start logging from the very first hospital visit — by the time your child reaches school admission age, you will have a complete 5-year vaccination record ready to produce on demand.