The Chief Minister's Office of Karnataka announced on Monday, 20 July 2026 that the state government has launched a free door-to-door service to deliver caste and permanent residence certificates directly to citizens' homes, eliminating the need for repeated visits to government offices. The initiative was formally inaugurated at the Conference Hall of Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru, with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara presiding over the launch.

Context

The post, shared in Kannada, announces: 'ಕಚೇರಿ ಅಲೆದಾಟ ತಪ್ಪಿತು; ಜಾತಿ, ನಿವಾಸಿ ಪ್ರಮಾಣಪತ್ರ ಮನೆ ಬಾಗಿಲಿಗೆ ಬಂತು!' ('No more running to offices; caste and residence certificates have come to your doorstep!'). Under the new service, government personnel will visit homes across the state and distribute caste certificates and permanent resident certificates free of charge. The launch event saw both senior leaders address attendees at Vidhana Soudha, Karnataka's seat of legislative and executive power in Bengaluru.

Policy Backdrop

Karnataka has a long record of reforming citizen-service delivery. The state enacted the Sakala Services Act in 2011, which mandates time-bound delivery of government certificates and services. Online portals for caste, income, and domicile certificates were introduced in the mid-2010s to reduce dependence on physical revenue offices.

The new doorstep programme extends this trajectory by removing even the digital barrier — citizens who lack internet access or familiarity with online systems no longer need to navigate portals or travel to tehsil offices. The move mirrors doorstep-delivery pilots previously trialled in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which linked revenue records with Aadhaar for on-the-spot verification.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are households from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Other Backward Class communities, for whom caste certificates are essential to access reservation benefits in education, employment, and welfare schemes. Permanent residence certificates are equally critical for eligibility in state-specific quotas, scholarships, and government jobs.

Rural and semi-urban households — where travel to district headquarters or taluk offices involves significant time and cost — stand to gain the most. Reducing office visits also limits opportunities for informal payments that have historically plagued certificate issuance at lower administrative levels.

What's Next

The government's ability to scale the programme will depend on roll-out metrics across all taluks of Karnataka, seamless integration with existing Sakala timelines, and robust verification mechanisms to ensure accuracy of certificates issued in the field. Legislative and audit bodies are expected to monitor the programme as it expands. If successful, the initiative could serve as a model for other states looking to take citizen-service delivery beyond the digital window and into the last mile.