The Rehabilitation Council of India is the statutory body that regulates the training of rehabilitation professionals and special educators in India, and that decides who may legally practise in the field of disability.
- New RCI norms effective 14 October 2025 make Central Rehabilitation Register registration valid for seven years instead of five, with automatic renewal once 100 Continuing Rehabilitation Education points are held
- There is now no fee for a fresh CRR number, for renewal or for an add-on qualification
- RCI listed 1,088 approved institutions as of 20 August 2026 and 94 approved regular mode courses across 14 fields.
What Is the Rehabilitation Council of India?
The Rehabilitation Council of India is the statutory body that regulates training of rehabilitation professionals across India. Set up as a registered society in 1986, it became a statutory body on 22 June 1993 under the RCI Act, 1992, and maintains the Central Rehabilitation Register of qualified practitioners nationwide.
RCI works under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Its mandate is to regulate and monitor services given to persons with disability, to standardise syllabi, and to maintain a Central Rehabilitation Register of all qualified professionals and personnel working in rehabilitation and special education.
The Act also prescribes punitive action against unqualified persons who deliver services to persons with disability. The Council's head office is at B-22, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi, and its official website is rehabcouncil.nic.in.
What Does the RCI Act 1992 Say?
The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992 is Act No. 34 of 1992, dated 1 September 1992. It constitutes the Council, empowers it to recognise qualifications and prescribe minimum standards, and requires a Central Rehabilitation Register. Parliament amended the Act in 2000 to make the Council more broad based.
Section 13 of the Act sets out the rights of persons possessing recognised qualifications to be enrolled. Anyone who acts in contravention of that provision is liable, under Section 13(3), to imprisonment which may extend to one year, or a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or both.
The main functions the Act assigns to the Council are:
- Recognition of qualifications granted by universities and other institutions in India for rehabilitation professionals
- Recognition of qualifications granted by institutions outside India
- Power to require information about courses of study and examinations
- Appointment of inspectors and visitors at examinations
- Withdrawal of recognition where standards are not met
- Prescribing minimum standards of education
- Registration in the Central Rehabilitation Register and the privileges of registered persons
- Action on professional conduct and removal of names from the Register
Why Was the Rehabilitation Council of India Set Up?
RCI exists to regulate training policy in disability rehabilitation, standardise course curricula, prescribe minimum education standards, and apply them uniformly nationwide. It recognises universities and institutions offering degree, diploma and certificate programmes, recognises foreign qualifications on a reciprocal basis, promotes research, and maintains the Central Rehabilitation Register of registered professionals and personnel.
The objectives published by the Council are:
- To regulate the training policies and programmes in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities
- To bring about standardisation of training courses for professionals dealing with persons with disabilities
- To prescribe minimum standards of education and training of various categories of professionals and personnel dealing with people with disabilities
- To regulate these standards in all training institutions uniformly throughout the country
- To recognise institutions, organisations and universities running master's degree, bachelor's degree, P.G. Diploma, Diploma and Certificate courses in rehabilitation
- To recognise degrees, diplomas and certificates awarded by foreign universities and institutions on a reciprocal basis
- To promote research in rehabilitation and special education
- To maintain the Central Rehabilitation Register for registration of professionals and personnel
- To encourage continuing education in rehabilitation and special education
- To recognise vocational rehabilitation centres and national institutes as manpower development centres
Who Must Register on the Central Rehabilitation Register?
Section 13 of the RCI Act bars anyone without a recognised rehabilitation qualification and CRR enrolment from practising as a rehabilitation professional in India. Sixteen categories are listed under Section 19, including clinical psychologists, audiologists and speech therapists, special teachers, prosthetists and orthotists, and rehabilitation social workers.
Only professionals with a valid and active registration may hold office as a rehabilitation professional in a government or aided institution, practise anywhere in India, sign or authenticate certificates that require a rehabilitation professional's signature, or give expert evidence in court on matters relating to disability.
The categories registered under Section 19 are:
- Audiologists and Speech Therapists
- Clinical Psychologists
- Hearing Aid and Ear Mould Technicians
- Rehabilitation Engineers and Technicians
- Special Teachers for Education and Training the handicapped
- Vocational Counsellors, Employment Officers and Placement Officers dealing with the handicapped
- Multipurpose Rehabilitation Therapists and Technicians
- Speech and Hearing Technicians
- Rehabilitation Psychologists
- Rehabilitation Social Workers
- Rehabilitation Practitioners in Mental Retardation
- Orientation and Mobility Specialists
- Community Based Rehabilitation Professionals
- Rehabilitation Counsellors and Administrators
- Prosthetists and Orthotists
- Rehabilitation Workshop Managers
How Do You Register with the RCI in 2026?
Registration is entirely online through the RCI e-registration portal. Under the norms effective 14 October 2025 there is no fee for a fresh CRR number, renewal or add-on qualification. Pre-CRR registration during the course costs one hundred rupees, and applicants must apply within six months of qualifying.
The application is filed on rciregistration.nic.in. Only original documents are to be scanned and uploaded, in JPG or PDF format under 200 KB each. No self attested copies are required. The documents asked for are a recent passport size colour photograph, a certificate of authentication, the final year mark sheet of the rehabilitation qualification, the passing certificate, and a Class 10 or Class 12 certificate as proof of age and name.
- Create login credentials on the RCI e-registration portal
- Complete the online application with details exactly as they appear on your certificates
- Upload colour scans of the original documents
- Note the provisional online application ID generated for reference
- Track the application status on your dashboard
- Download the e-certificate once the registration is approved
| RCI Registration Item 2026 | Requirement or Fee |
|---|---|
| Fresh CRR number, renewal or add-on qualification | No fee |
| Pre-CRR registration during the course | Rs 100 |
| CRR application where Pre-CRR was not done in the first 3 months of the course | Rs 500 |
| Deadline to register after completing an approved course | Within 6 months |
| Validity of registration or renewal | 7 years |
| CRE points needed for automatic renewal | 100 points |
| Penalty for a gap in registration or renewal | Rs 100 per month, maximum Rs 5,000 |
| Good Standing Certificate | Rs 1,500 |
| Renewal at age 65 and above | No fee, no CRE points, valid 10 years |
How Many CRE Points Are Needed to Renew Registration?
A CRR registration is now valid for seven years, up from five. Renewal happens automatically in the ninety days before expiry provided the professional holds one hundred Continuing Rehabilitation Education points. Points do not carry forward, so a fresh hundred must be earned for every renewal cycle.
Professionals who already held a five year CRR on the date of the 14 October 2025 circular received an automatic extension of two years, with accumulated CRE points staying intact. CRE programmes run in online, offline and experiential modes, and participants must score at least 60 per cent in the evaluation to qualify for points.
| CRE Programme Level 2026 | Level of Participation | CRE Points | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| National level, 1 to 3 days | Resource person or keynote speaker | 15 | Per session of 2 hours, maximum 15 points per conference |
| National level, 1 to 3 days | Participant | 1 per hour | Maximum 6 points per day |
| International conference, 1 to 3 days | Participant | 1.5 per hour | Maximum 8 points per day |
| Local, zonal or state level, 1 to 18 hours | Resource person | 10 | Not more than 20 points per workshop |
| Local, zonal or state level, 1 to 18 hours | Coordinator | 5 | Per day |
| Local, zonal or state level, 1 to 18 hours | Participant | 6 | Per day for six hours |
| Any level | Paper or poster presentation | 10 | Maximum 10 points |
| Experiential learning or field visit | Participant | 1 per hour | Maximum 6 points per day |
An institute offering an RCI approved course may conduct a maximum of six CRE programmes in a financial year, three online and three offline. Centres of Excellence are exempt from that cap but need prior RCI approval beyond 12 online or 12 offline programmes.
NCTE: Teacher Education Regulation in IndiaRead →Which Courses Does the Rehabilitation Council of India Approve?
RCI lists ninety four approved regular mode courses across fourteen fields, from clinical psychology and prosthetics and orthotics to special education for hearing, visual, intellectual and learning disabilities. Eight more B.Ed and M.Ed special education programmes run in distance mode, each lasting two and a half years.
The regular mode fields are clinical psychology, rehabilitation psychology, prosthetics and orthotics, speech and hearing, hearing impairment, visual impairment, intellectual and developmental disability, locomotor and cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder, learning disability, rehabilitation therapy and technician courses, vocational counselling and rehabilitation social work, community based rehabilitation and inclusive education, with a separate care giving group covering the certificate courses.
| RCI Approved Regular Mode Course 2026 | Abbreviation | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Master in Clinical Psychology | M.Clin.Psy. | 2 years |
| Bachelor in Clinical Psychology | B.Clin.Psy. | 4 years |
| Professional Diploma in Clinical Psychology | P.D.(Cl.Psy) | 1 year |
| Master in Rehabilitation Psychology | M.Rehab.Psy. | 2 years |
| Bachelor in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology | B.A.S.L.P. | 4 years |
| M.Sc. in Audiology | M.Sc.(Aud.) | 2 years |
| Bachelor in Prosthetics and Orthotics | B.P.O. | 4.5 years |
| B.Ed. Special Education, Hearing Impairment | B.Ed.Spl.Ed.(HI) | 2 years |
| D.Ed. Special Education, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities | D.Ed.Spl.Ed.(IDD) | 2 years |
| Diploma in Indian Sign Language Interpretation | D.I.S.L.I. | 2 years |
| Diploma in Rehabilitation Therapy | D.R.T. | 2.5 years |
| Certificate Course in Care Giving | C.C.C.G. | 10 months |
| Community Based Inclusive Development Programme | CBID | 6 months |
The Council has also introduced four year integrated special education teacher preparation programmes under ISITEP, covering the foundational, preparatory, middle and secondary stages for hearing impairment, visual impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and learning disability.
| RCI Distance Mode Course 2026 | Abbreviation | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor Degree in Special Education, Intellectual Disability | B.Ed.Spl.Ed.(ID) | 2.5 years |
| Bachelor Degree in Special Education, Visual Impairment | B.Ed.Spl.Ed.(VI) | 2.5 years |
| Bachelor Degree in Special Education, Hearing Impairment | B.Ed.Spl.Ed.(HI) | 2.5 years |
| Bachelor Degree in Special Education, Learning Disability | B.Ed.Spl.Ed.(LD) | 2.5 years |
| Master Degree in Special Education, Intellectual Disability | M.Ed.Spl.Ed.(ID) | 2.5 years |
| Master Degree in Special Education, Visual Impairment | M.Ed.Spl.Ed.(VI) | 2.5 years |
| Master Degree in Special Education, Hearing Impairment | M.Ed.Spl.Ed.(HI) | 2.5 years |
| Master Degree in Special Education, Learning Disability | M.Ed.Spl.Ed.(LD) | 2.5 years |
Which Institutions Are RCI Approved?
The approved institutions list published on 20 August 2026 runs to 1,088 entries covering universities, colleges and special schools across every Indian state. Each entry shows the institute code, approved training programme, approval period and sanctioned intake. Students should check this list, and the debarred and blacklisted lists, before paying any fees.
RCI publishes a list of approved institutions along with the courses they offer every year in March or April in the newspapers, and keeps the current list on its website. It also publishes separate lists of blacklisted institutions and debarred institutions. A qualification from an institution that is not RCI approved will not get you a CRR number, which means you cannot practise legally.
Guidelines for online application for admission in academic session 2026-27 are published on the RCI website, alongside notifications for admission through the National Board of Examination for Rehabilitation.
How Does the RPwD Act 2016 Affect RCI Professionals?
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 lists 21 specified disabilities in its Schedule and repeals the 1995 Act. It reserves not less than five per cent of seats in government and government aided higher education institutions, and not less than four per cent of government vacancies, for persons with benchmark disabilities.
The Act is Act No. 49 of 2016, dated 27 December 2016. The Schedule covers physical disability including locomotor disability, leprosy cured persons, cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy and acid attack victims, visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech and language disability, intellectual disability including specific learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, mental illness, chronic neurological conditions, blood disorders and multiple disabilities including deafblindness.
Under Section 34, the four per cent reservation in government establishments is split as one per cent each for blindness and low vision, deaf and hard of hearing, and locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, and one per cent for autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disabilities and mental illness. This is the legal backdrop against which RCI registered special educators, clinical psychologists and rehabilitation counsellors work.