Home › Bihar › Guides

Bihar Income Certificate — Which Level to Apply At, and What It Cannot Do

Sarkari Naukri Khabar  •  Bihar

Bihar issues the income certificate through the General Administration Department at serviceonline.bihar.gov.in, and it can be issued at three different levels, Circle, Sub-division or District. The mistake that costs candidates a post is not the application: it is assuming the income certificate is the document the notification asked for. Three separate certificates in Bihar are built on income and none of them substitutes for another, the plain income certificate, the EWS certificate and the Non-Creamy Layer certificate. Bringing the wrong one to document verification loses the claim, and by then the correct one cannot be produced in time. This guide covers which level to apply at, what counts as income, the financial-year trap that catches everyone once, and exactly when an income certificate is and is not enough.

The short answer

An income certificate states your family’s total annual income. In Bihar it is issued by the General Administration Department and applied for online at serviceonline.bihar.gov.in, under आय प्रमाण-पत्र का निर्गमन.

The portal offers it at three levels: अंचल स्तर पर (Circle), अनुमंडल स्तर पर (Sub-division) and जिला स्तर पर (District). You pick one when you apply. It is also one of the three certificates the Tatkal service covers, along with caste and residence.

What it is not: it is not an EWS certificate, and it is not a Non-Creamy Layer certificate. Both of those are separate documents with their own forms and their own tests, and an income certificate will not be accepted in place of either.

The three income-based certificates, and why they are not interchangeable

This is the part worth reading twice, because all three are about money and candidates assume one covers the others.

An income certificate is a statement of fact: this family earned this much. Nothing more. It is what a scholarship, a hostel fee waiver or a legal-aid application asks for, and it is what you attach when some other office needs to see your income.

An EWS certificate is a claim to a reserved category, the 10% Economically Weaker Sections quota, available to candidates not covered by SC, ST or OBC reservation. Income is only half of its test: four separate property tests disqualify a family regardless of what it earns.

A Non-Creamy Layer certificate is what makes an OBC/BC/EBC reservation claim usable. It says your family falls below the creamy-layer ceiling. Bihar issues two versions of it, one for Government of India purposes and one for Bihar Government purposes, and they are not interchangeable either.

The practical consequence: if a notification asks for an EWS certificate and you arrive with an income certificate, the EWS claim is rejected. You are not given time to go and get the right one.

• Income certificate: a statement of income. Not a reservation claim.
• EWS certificate: a reservation claim. Income plus four property tests.
• Non-Creamy Layer certificate: a reservation claim for OBC/BC/EBC. Two Bihar versions.

Which of the three levels to apply at

The portal lists the same service three times, and the only difference is which officer issues it. Circle level is the local one and the one most people use. Sub-division and District level exist because some authorities specify the level they will accept.

The rule to follow is not “pick the fastest”. It is: read what the notification or the office asked for. If it names a level, apply at that level. If it does not name one, Circle level is the ordinary choice.

Apply in the circle, sub-division or district of your permanent residence, not where you currently live or study. This is the same rule as the residence certificate, and the address should match the permanent address you write on the recruitment form.

Getting this wrong is recoverable, unlike most of the traps on this page: you simply apply again at the right level. But it costs you the processing time twice, which is why it is worth reading the requirement before applying rather than after.

What counts as income

Family income, not your income. It is the total of everything the family unit earns in the financial year, from every source, salary, pension, agriculture, rent, business, interest.

Two things follow from that which surprise people. A candidate who earns nothing still has a family income, and it is that figure which goes on the certificate. And a family with modest salaries but agricultural land or a let property is adding all of it together, not choosing the largest.

Understating it is not a shortcut. The figure on the certificate is what the verifying officer checks against, and an income certificate obtained on a false declaration is grounds for cancelling the certificate and the selection built on it.

The financial-year trap

An income certificate is tied to a financial year. That is the single most common reason a valid-looking certificate is refused: it is genuine, it is signed, and it is for the wrong year.

Recruiters do not agree on which year they want, and they do not have to. We have seen this within a single application season. One recruiting body asking for a certificate covering one financial year while another asked for a different one. Both were entitled to.

So there is no certificate you can obtain once and rely on. Before you attach it, check the notification for the financial year named, and check the year printed on the certificate you are holding. If they do not match, apply again.

Practical habit: when a recruitment season starts, get the certificate for the year the notifications are naming, and keep the receipt. Do not reuse last year’s because it “is still valid”, validity is not the test, the named year is.

How long it takes, and what to keep

When you submit the application the portal issues an acknowledgement receipt with an application number, and that receipt carries the due date for your application. Read the date off your own receipt rather than trusting a figure from anywhere else, different sources quote different day counts, and the receipt is the one that is about your application.

Keep the application number. It is what you use to track the status and to download the certificate, and it is what an appeal would reference if the due date passes without an outcome.

The Tatkal service covers the income certificate and turns it around in two working days. It is worth knowing this in advance rather than discovering it during a deadline, and worth knowing what Tatkal does not cover: neither Non-Creamy Layer certificate is included, so an NCL application has to go in first and early.

A working order for a recruitment season

If you are assembling documents for a Bihar recruitment and starting from nothing, the order matters, because two of these certificates need a third one first.

• Residence certificate first: the caste and Non-Creamy Layer applications rest on it, and Tatkal covers it.
• Caste certificate next, if you are claiming SC/ST/OBC/BC/EBC.
• Non-Creamy Layer certificate straight after, if you are BC or EBC. This is the slow one, and Tatkal does not cover it.
• Income certificate or EWS certificate as the notification specifies, not both by default, and never one in place of the other.
• Check the financial year named in the notification against every income-based document before you upload anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an income certificate the same as an EWS certificate?

No, and this is the mistake that costs candidates a post. An income certificate states your family’s income. An EWS certificate is a claim to the 10% Economically Weaker Sections quota, and income is only half its test, four property tests disqualify a family regardless of income. If a notification asks for EWS, an income certificate will not be accepted in its place.

Which level should I apply at: Circle, Sub-division or District?

Whichever the notification or office names. If it names none, Circle level is the ordinary choice and the local one. Apply in the circle, sub-division or district of your permanent residence, not where you currently live or study.

How long does a Bihar income certificate take?

Read the due date off the acknowledgement receipt the portal issues when you apply. That receipt is about your application, and published figures disagree with each other. The Tatkal service covers the income certificate and turns it around in two working days.

Whose income goes on the certificate?

The whole family’s, from every source (salary, pension, agriculture, rent, business, interest) added together for the financial year. A candidate who earns nothing still has a family income, and that is the figure that appears.

Can I reuse last year’s income certificate?

Only if the financial year printed on it is the year the notification names. Recruiters ask for different financial years and are entitled to; a genuine certificate for the wrong year is refused. Check both before you upload.

Where do I apply?

serviceonline.bihar.gov.in, under आय प्रमाण-पत्र का निर्गमन, issued by the General Administration Department. Keep the application number from the receipt। it is what you use to track the status and download the certificate.

ℹ️ Government rules, fees and processing times can change. Always confirm the current position on the official portal or at your block office before acting.

Last updated: 23 Aug 2026