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Apprentices Act, 1961

Section 19: Records and returns

Section 19 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 explained with current 2025-26 amendments, employer controls, evidence and connected Rules.

Law Hub L8Data reviewed on 17 July 2026India-first compliance

What section 19 does

Requires prescribed records and returns and supports portal-based supervision.

Connected instrument: Rules 10 and 14; Schedule III

Finin2min practical reading

  • Identify the apprentice category, trade, establishment jurisdiction and applicable portal before applying the provision.
  • Separate statutory apprenticeship from internships, probation, traineeships and ordinary employment.
  • Do not treat scheme reimbursement as a substitute for the employer’s underlying statutory obligations.
  • Preserve the contract, approvals, portal trail and training evidence as one auditable file.

Employer control and evidence pack

  • Executed/registered contract and portal acknowledgement
  • Training plan, attendance/work diary and supervisor records
  • Stipend bank/DBT evidence where relevant
  • Adviser approval, correspondence or order where the section requires it

Statutory text extract

Extracted from the bundled official/consolidated source. For sections amended in 2026, the current overlay above controls over older consolidated wording.

19. Records and returns.—(1) Every employer shall maintain records of the progress of training of
each apprentice undergoing apprenticeship training in his establishment in such form as may be
prescribed.
    2
      [(2) Until a portal-site is developed by the Central Government, every employer shall furnish such
information and return in such form as may be prescribed, to such authorities at such intervals as may be
prescribed.
    (3) Every employer shall also give trade-wise requirement and engagement of apprentices in respect
of apprenticeship training on portal-site developed by the Central Government in this regard.]

Compliance consequence

Failure should be tested against sections 30, 31 and 31A as in force from 22 June 2026, alongside contract termination/compensation consequences and any portal or scheme action.

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