Student email guide · India

What can a student email
help you access?

An official address on a recognized institution domain can support student verification, professional communication and access to eligible education programmes.

Explore student programmes ↓Email for your college →

Offers, countries and verification rules change. A .edu, .ac.in or .edu.in address does not guarantee approval.

VERIFIED IDENTITYIssued by your institution

Student address[email protected]

.edu.ac.in.edu.inOther verified school domains

Official academic identityStudent-status verificationEducation software accessProfessional communication

First, the important distinction

The email helps verify you.
The suffix is not a universal pass.

Providers verify students in different ways. Some recognize an institution email immediately; others check the institution, request documents or use a separate verification service.

.edu: Primarily intended for eligible, accredited US postsecondary institutions. It is familiar to many international student programmes.
.ac.in: A reserved Indian academic domain for qualified institutions, registered through ERNET India.
.edu.in: A reserved domain for qualified Indian colleges, universities and educational institutions, also registered through ERNET India.

Benefits beyond the inbox

One address can support
learning, work and identity.

The strongest benefit is a trustworthy connection between a student and the institution that issued the account.

01 / ACADEMIC IDENTITY

Communicate with clear affiliation

Use an institution-issued address for faculty communication, research, journals, conferences, projects, internships and placement applications.

02 / VERIFICATION

Prove current student status

A recognized school domain can make verification quicker for eligible education plans, although additional checks may still be required.

03 / CAMPUS ACCESS

Connect services to one identity

Institutions can use the same account naming system across email, LMS, ERP, library, Wi-Fi and other campus systems where integration is configured.

Selected official programmes

Useful places for students
to check eligibility.

These are examples, not guaranteed entitlements. Open the provider page and review its current country, institution, age and verification requirements.

Development

GitHub Student Developer Pack

Verified students can apply for GitHub tools and a changing collection of partner offers.

Professional IDEs

JetBrains Student Pack

Free educational licences for eligible students and teachers, for non-commercial educational use.

Cloud

Azure for Students

Eligible students can sign up with a school email for cloud credits and selected services without a credit card.

Productivity

Notion for Education

Eligible college and university students can verify a recognized institution email for the individual Education Plan.

Design

Figma for Education

Students and educators in qualifying classrooms can apply using a school-issued address and complete verification.

CAD & engineering

Autodesk Education

Eligible students can verify their status for renewable educational access to selected Autodesk software.

What students may find

Common categories of
education benefits.

Availability varies by provider and can change after graduation, when the institution email is deactivated or when a programme ends.

Developer tools and professional IDEs

Cloud credits and hosting resources

Design, CAD and prototyping software

Productivity and collaboration plans

Learning platforms and course access

Research and academic services

Student pricing on selected products

Portfolio, domain and project tools

How to use a student email responsibly

Use the official address issued directly by your institution.
Read the provider’s current eligibility and regional requirements before applying.
Keep enrolment documents ready if email verification alone is not enough.
Use education licences only for the purposes allowed by their terms.
Move personal files and projects before graduation or account deactivation.
Never buy, sell, borrow or create a misleading “student” identity.

Why colleges should issue institution email

Student email is useful even when no third-party offer is involved. It gives the institution a consistent communication channel, makes student affiliation clearer and lets administrators manage account creation, password resets, suspension and deactivation.

A college-owned domain also keeps departmental identities such as admissions, examinations, research and placements under institutional control.

What colleges in India should know about the domain

The .IN Registry reserves .ac.in and .edu.in for qualified organizations in India. ERNET India is the exclusive registrar for these academic domains and requires eligibility documents. Email hosting is a separate service that is configured after the institution controls its domain and DNS.

For Indian institutions

How to apply for a .ac.in or .edu.in domain

These academic domains are reserved for eligible Indian educational and research institutions. ERNET India is the exclusive registrar and decides whether an application is approved. The steps below are a practical preparation checklist; always follow the current ERNET registration guidelines.

Confirm that your institution is eligible. Keep its affiliation, approval or recognition evidence ready. A coaching centre, personal project or commercial business cannot use these academic domains just because it provides training.
Choose a domain name that matches the institution. Check availability through the ERNET portal. The requested name should reflect the college, university or school’s full name or recognised abbreviation, not a generic term or the name of another institution.
Nominate the right institutional contacts. ERNET asks for head-of-institution, administrative, technical and billing contacts. The administrative contact must represent the applying institution. Arrange at least two valid nameservers before registration, or use the DNS option permitted by ERNET.
Prepare the supporting documents. Typical requirements include an application letter on institutional letterhead, the prescribed undertaking, the admin contact’s appointment letter, affiliation/approval/recognition proof and the institution’s legal registration certificate. ERNET’s current guidelines also cover GST details where applicable.
Apply through ERNET and upload the documents. Complete the online declaration and application at the ERNET portal, upload the attested PDFs in its required format and size, and make payment through the portal’s accepted online methods.
Complete any remaining ERNET requirement. Follow the portal and ERNET instructions for the original undertaking and any requested clarification. Do not publish or promise accounts until the domain is approved and under the institution’s control.
Set up institutional email after approval. Once the domain and DNS are ready, create student, faculty, department and administrator addresses under the institution-owned domain, with a clear process for onboarding and offboarding users.

Common questions

Student email benefits,
domains and eligibility.

Clear answers without promising access that only a third-party provider can approve.

What are the benefits of a student email address?

A student email provides an official institutional identity for academic communication and can help a provider verify student status for eligible education programmes, software, cloud credits or discounts.

Do .ac.in and .edu.in emails receive the same benefits as .edu emails?

Not automatically. Many providers recognize school-issued email domains internationally, but each provider decides which institutions, countries, users and verification methods qualify.

Does an educational email guarantee free software or discounts?

No. An institutional email is one form of evidence. Providers may also require an approved institution, current enrolment, age eligibility, documents or periodic re-verification.

Who can register .ac.in or .edu.in domains?

These domains are reserved for qualified organizations in India. ERNET India is the exclusive registrar and requires institutional eligibility and supporting documents.

How does an institution apply for a .ac.in or .edu.in domain?

A qualified institution checks name availability, prepares ERNET's required documents and contacts, applies through the ERNET portal, uploads the documents, completes online payment and follows ERNET's current instructions. After approval, the institution can configure its DNS and student email service.

Can a college create student email accounts on its own domain?

Yes. A college can provide individual student, faculty and departmental accounts under its institution-owned domain using a managed email service.

Student email for institutions

Get ready for your academic domain, then give every student an official email identity.

SaraBiT can help your institution prepare for the domain process and set up managed student email after ERNET approval.

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