• 17-07-2025

Schools in India has to function as a “NOT FOR PROFIT” in the form of Society / Trust or a Section 8 company. Any school which is affiliated to the state board can apply for CBSE Affiliation. Let us go through this post and understand how can you start a CBSE School in India. The minimum land requirement by CBSE is 1.5 Acres but there is a host of factors which can play a part in this requirement such as Type of City, Population, Location of the land, Type of Property etc

LAND REQUIREMENT FOR A CBSE SCHOOL IN INDIA

Location is Urban or Rural, the area will be determined by the above. 

The number of sections a school can run is also tied to the land parcel shool shows, though later on an application for section increase can also be made if school gets to occupy more land. The formula for section per acre is as follows;

Total Land to Sections Ratio: 12 sections for every 2000 square meter additional land.

Cost of building a School

A school normally requires construction in phases (Here I am talking about a Budget CBSE School meant for a 1000 students)

• Phase 1: 20,000  sq ft to 25,000  sq ft construction – Year 1
• Phase 2: 12,000  sqft- 15,000 sq ft – year 3
• Phase 3: 6,000  sqft – 10,000 sq ft – Year 4

You multiply these numbers with Rs 1000 – 1,400 per sq feet and this will give you a ballpark costing of construction plus furniture. Over and above this you can spend on Marketing, Landscaping, Sports Facilities etc. That is completely dependent on the promoter’s vision.

I get queries with regards to what all do we have to build, here is the list though this is only suggestive but I believe a good school should certainly have these;

Classrooms*: Classroom dimension for CBSE School: The size is 500 sq feet for 40 students. For class rooms of size less than 500 sq feet the enrolment (maximum number of students) shall be 0.08 X size of class rooms in sq feet.

Regular Toilets for students and staff*, Toilets for Children with Special Needs* – Boys & Girls Staff Area, Staff Room, Counsellors Room, Head of Department Cabins, Infirmary, Couple of Big Store Rooms, Hatch for LIFT hatch or the Ramp on stairs, Music / Dance / Art / Craft studio, Cafeteria, Auditorium, Library* (minimum 1,160 sq feet), Computer Lab*, Maths Lab*, Biology Lab, Physics Lab, Chemistry Lab, Composite Science Lab*, Robotics Lab, Administration Area (Reception, Accounts, Managers, Admission Counsellor, Conveyance Manager, Public Relations Office etc, Directors Office), Principal Office, Vice Principal Office, Exam Department, Server, CCTV Room, Security Guard room, Sports Room, Parking, Staff Quarters

The one marked with * are mandatory.

State Board Affiliation

A School has to have the affiliation from the State Board. It doesn’t matter if it is eventually affiliated to CBSE / ICSE or IB Board. Education is a state subject, hence the can have any affiliation but State BoardAffiliation / Permission is MANDATORY.

Franchise

Starting any Brand Franchise: There are a lot of franchise (Brands) to choose from like DPS, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Everonn, Manipal, Shamrock, Mayo College, Kangaroo Kids etc.

All these have a proper corporate office where there are teams involved with the expansion of the chain. Their website is the way one can get in touch with them. Typically they charge a Security Deposit (to be fixed for a stipulated period) a Licence Fee (chargeable every year) and a Revenue share per student. None of this is fixed and may depend from organization to organization. They will help you in setting an elementary process and curriculum right.

Starting the School (Essential Steps)

Form a Trust/Society/ Section 8 Company

As per the government’s norms, the administrative power of the school should be vested in a Not-for-profit society or trust. Every state has an office of Registrar where a society can be registered. This is the address of the few of the offices across different states. 

Madhya Pradesh – http://www.mp.gov.in/registrarfirms/

Similarly one can start a school by forming a Section 8 company. 

Register/ Lease the Plot of Land

The Land on which the school will be built has to be either leased out or should be in the name of the society or the trust. The documents should be certified by the local land registration office. For a CBSE school inside the city limits the minimum area should be One Acre and outside the city limits should be 1.5 Acres. Kindly remember the Land should all be at One Place and in One Piece with Pucca Boundary Wall (minimum 6 feet high) on all the sides.

I get the maximum amount of queries regarding the size of the land, especially from Metros. CBSE has amended the bye-laws regarding the requirement of land. Kindly go through the circular. It specifically states the land required for starting a school in Metros should be greater than 1600 Sq Meter (about 0.4 acres) for Pre Primary to Class X, and about an acre for Classes up to Class XII. For the rest of India, the rule has stayed the same as described above. If the land is leased out to the ‘Not For Profit’ entity the minimum LEASE DURATION should be 15 Years. In case of ownership, the land title documents is a Sale Deed/Conveyance Deed/Gift Deed/Lease Deed/Sub lease/Allotment Letter etc. duly registered before the Registration Authority concerned of the State as per rules.

GET THE STATE BOARD AFFILIATION(Get an approval from the local Education Office ) – Once the building and the staff is ready, open admissions. Simultaneously go to the local education office in most cases DEO (District Education Office) and register by paying the fee. Post inspection of the school premises and after taking the relevant information they will provide the society/trust with required certification. The school will first take-off after the permission from the state board. This is essential, there has been a ruling by the court on this aspect. 

The above mentioned steps simplistically captures, how you start school in India, now moving to ‘How to get CBSE Affiliation for your school’?

HOW TO GET CBSE AFFILIATION

For a NEW School applying to CBSE for the first time, there are five options to choose while applying for affiliation;

1. Approval for Middle School Syllabus
2. Fresh Affiliation Up to Secondary Level
3. Fresh Affiliation up to Senior Secondary Level
4. Switch Over Category (school which has been churning out Class X or XII with the state board and now wish to get converted to CBSE)
   • Secondary Level Switch-over from other boards
   • Senior Secondary Level Switch-over from other boards

Which one should you choose – This depends on the

• How ready is your infrastructure – Senior Secondary Level requires Labs and it will require classrooms for all the classes from Class I to Class XII
• How ready is the market in terms of demand – It is very unlikely in a competitive market that a school opens and students will shift in large numbers in higher classes. So choose wisely.
• How much can you spend on the staff  – To employ PGT i.e senior teachers one has to pay good money, as partly explained in point 2, to get affiliation you have to show the entire Staff as well up-till Class XII, hence most of the schools grow slowly.

The best option: The best option is to choose the Option number 2, Fresh Affiliation Up to Secondary Level. This will secure school affiliation till Class X and later after a year, school can re-apply for Senior Secondary Affiliation.

This entire process of affiliation is a very transparent process and in case one is ready to do the paperwork, you really don’t require any touts or middleman. With effect from 07.01.2021, the dates for application are as follows;

From 18th March 2021, CBSE transformed its Affiliation process and renamed the process as SARAS (School Affiliation Re-Engineered Automation System). SARAS 6.0  looks to do the following;

• Timeline for affiliation reduced to 4 months time
• Automatic Approvals based on Data Analytics for Extension/ Upgradation/ Section increase etc
• Use of Machine Learning / AI to read documents
• Relies on self certification and public disclosures
• Provision of Virtual inspection
•  Instant flow of information to applicants

CBSE provides the school with a list of bye-laws to be kept in mind while applying for CBSE Affiliation. The entire manual can be downloaded from the CBSE’s official website. Here is the website – CBSE e-Affiliation Website and choose SARAS, link to download the  Bye-Laws – Affiliation Bye-Laws

Step 1 – The School before getting into the online form filling, should be ready with the following;

1. Digital Signatures – to authorise your final submission. The Chairman/ Member/ Trustee/ Director or any representative can use its digital signatures.  

1. School Recognition Certificate from concerned State Education Department as per extant rules and provisions contained in RTE Act 2009. This is also called Affiliation Certificate by the State Board.
2. Land Certificate as per the Appendix X of the Affiliation Bye-laws : The Competent Authority t o issue the land certificate is DM/ ADM/ SDM / Tehsildar/Naib Tehsildar/ Registrar/ Sub Registrar or any other equivalent authority competent to issue such certificate. 
3. Fire Safety Certificate to be issued by the Fire Safety Department of the State Govt./ Competent Govt. Authority such as Municipal Corporation etc. as per prescribed norms with validity (validity as on date of final submission of application).
4. Building Safety Certificate To be issued by competent government authority or the empanelled engineers authorised to issue such certificates by the appropriate Government. For e.g. Empanelled engineer by Municipal Corporations /Development Authorities (PWD)/ Roads/ Building Department etc.
5. Certificate of Registration of Society/ Trust/ Section 8 Company running the school.
6. Get your School Website Ready with the information as per the CBSE requirement. Check the requirements here. The website should have the curriculum details, TC Sample, Norms for fixing Fee, Affiliation Status, Students details, Address, List of books prescribed along with undertaking by the Principal, Annual Report, School Circulars, Fee Details, Details of Teachers Training, Academic Achievements, Self Affidavit of the School (This usually is getting made on 100 Rs Stamp Paper. 
7. Information about UDISE Code
8. Scanned copies of Audited Balance Sheet
9. Video Clips & Geo Tagged Photos
10. Transport Safety Certificate
11. Soft copy / Scanned copy of Academic Calendar.

Step No. 2: Start filling the Online form 

1. KYC Form 
2. Initial Part Payment of Rs 10,000
3. Part A – input the information of the 6 forms listed above
4. After submitting all the information as per Part A of the application, school will have an option to generate System generated Self-certification or System generated DEO certificate on the basis of data filled in Part A. In case the school opts for Self-certification, the school is required to upload the same with digital signature of the school. However, in case school opts for DEO certificate, the school is required to get the DEO certificate duly signed by DEO/DIOS/Any other officer authorized by State/UT Education Department and upload the signed copy of DEO certificate with digital signature of the school. The registration of the school once completed after filling part A shall be valid till last date of submission of application for the respective session.(i.e. for the session 2022-23, registration of the school shall be valid till 31st October, 2021). If the school fails to submit part B by the last date of submission of application for the respective session, then the registration shall automatically be termed as invalid and the registration fee, if any, shall be forfeited.
5. Part B – Upload the 6 documents and input all the other basic details and other information
6. Make the Part and the Final payment

Step 3 – Within 15 Days of Submission of Online Application Inspection Committee will be formed

The Physical Inspection of the school has to happen Within 22 days of the constitution of Inspection Committee.

Along with the inspection committee letter, the Board shall give three dates of inspection. Inspection can be conducted on any of these three dates as mutually decided by the Inspection Committee and the School. Without wasting any time, get in touch with them and arrange for them to come. Mostly one of them would be a Central School (Kendriya Vidyalay) Principal and the other one an experienced hand from any aided or un-aided school.

In case, the inspection committee is ready and the school intentionally fails ls to get the Inspection done on the stipulated dates and timespan (except for the reasons beyond control), the school will be penalized with a monetary penalty of Rs 25000 and fresh schedule shall be communicated . The school shall get another opportunity, however the application shall be rejected if the school fails to get the inspection done after three opportunities.

STEP 4 – Prepare a file

Following is the list of documents one should have for CBSE affiliation File –

Details of Annexure

1. Society Details
2. Constitution of the Society & Society Bye-Laws
3. Registration Certificate of the society
4. School Management Committee List 
5. Statement of Income & Expenditure Audited Account –
6. Balance Sheet of last two to three years
7. Bank Certificate – Mentioning this – in case you have to take some project loan from a certain bank.
8. Staff Particulars
9. Service Agreement with Employees
10. Principal Particulars – Professional Resume
11. Staff Salary Statement – Salary should be paid through Electronic Clearing Service (ECS)
12. Letter to the bank regarding Staff Salary remittance
13. Copy of the A/C payee cheque meant for staff salary
14. Reserve Fund (This is a draft which one has to make as laid down in the bye-laws)
15. Infrastructure Details
16. Land Records Certificate of Land 
17. Supporting Documents by Tehsildar & Patwari – This in case the school is out of Municipality bounds
18. Approved Map and Building Layout – from the relevant Town and Country Planning Authority.
19. School Building Room Particulars School Building – List of all the rooms along with the size and details.
20. School Building and Facilities Photographs
21. Physical Health Education & Recreation Facility Details
22. Laboratory Details
23. Library Facilities & Details
24. Librarian Details – CV / Resume of the Librarian
25. State Govt Related Documents
26. State Board Affiliation Certificate 
27. Student’s Details Record of Internal Assessment (Class Wise)
28. Fees Structure (Kindly refer to this circular from CBSE while finalizing the FEE structure )
29. School Time Table
30. School Prospectus
31. Certificate of Fire Safety & Sanitary Conditions
32. Provision of Medical Check Up
33. Undertaking by Manager regarding the admissions only up till Class VIII – This basically says the school is not admitting students in classes for which they do not have permission.
34. Details of Training Modules conducted for teachers
35. Building Safety Certificate
36. Transport Fitness Certificate
37. School Conveyance facility Details – If School is providing conveyance to students
38. Optional – This is in case you want to make a stronger case
    1. CBSE Online Submitted Application
    2. Copy of the submitted bank draft
    3. Letter of inspection from CBSE
    4. Financial Projections
    5. Land Documents – Photocopy
    6. Admission Announcements
39. Annexure II

The School has to arrange for a Videographer on the date of inspection. Here is a guideline issued by the CBSE for Videography;

For Boundary , Main Gate , Parking and other Open Area The person with videography skills should ensure wide angle coverage of video.

For Laboratory/ies The videographer should ensure wide angle coverage of video while entering the lab. Thereafter the person with videography skills should cover all equipments and other facilities in the lab. During this the concerned subject teacher should also be available in the lab to response to the queries of IC members and show the stock register.

For Library The videographer should ensure wide angle coverage of video while entering the library. Thereafter the videographer should cover all bookshelves, magazines & periodicals, reading area, and other facilities such as computers with internet connectivity in the library. During this the librarian should also be available in the library to respond to the queries of IC members and show the catalogue, accession and issue register.

For Toilets Wide angle coverage of video including WCs and Basins.

Class Rooms : Occupied and Vacant The videographer should ensure wide angle coverage of video while entering the rooms. Thereafter, the videographer should cover all fixtures, furniture and other facilities in the rooms.

Other Rooms such as Staff Room, Music Room etc. The videographer should ensure wide angle coverage of video while entering the rooms. Thereafter the videographer should cover all fixtures, furniture and other facilities in the rooms.

The Duration of the Videography should be as follows;

Videography details during CBSE inspection

Grant of Affiliation

Once the inspection is done and the inspection report is submitted during the inspection, the Board will grant the affiliation within 30 days of submission of Inspection report. If there are any deficiency pointed out, the school has to replay within 15 days of the letter.

I keep getting a lot of queries on this particular post. Here are some answers I am posting for everyone’s benefit; I also have a consultancy arm which helps entrepreneurs and schools start up to establish and run schools of high quality.