Kisan Credit Card: Apply Online, Documents and Limit

Who can get a Kisan Credit Card

According to RBI's KCC Master Circular (4 July 2018) and the new KCC Directions of 2026, these farmers are eligible:

• Owner cultivators, individual or joint
• Tenant farmers, oral lessees and sharecroppers
• Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) of farmers
• Farmers in animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, for working capital for those activities

So you do not have to own land to be considered. Tenant farmers and sharecroppers are clearly included. If you are a PM Kisan labharthi (beneficiary), the bank already has much of your data, which makes the process faster.

How your KCC limit is worked out

Your limit is not a fixed amount. Under RBI's current Master Circular, the bank builds it up like this:

The Scale of Finance is the per-acre or per-hectare amount fixed for each crop in your district. Marginal farmers can get a flexible limit of ₹10,000 to ₹50,000 (Flexi KCC). The term-loan part is normally repayable within 5 years. Validity and review are set by the bank.

Collateral: how much you can get without mortgage

From 1 January 2025, the collateral-free limit was raised from ₹1.6 lakh to ₹2 lakh per borrower. Where there is a recovery tie-up (hypothecation of crop or stock), up to ₹3 lakh can be collateral-free (PIB, 11 March 2026; RBI KCC Directions 2026).

Above these amounts the bank may ask for security as per its own policy. Ask your branch to explain this before you sign.

How to apply for a Kisan Credit Card

Many people search "kisan credit card apply online". The honest answer: the application goes to a bank. There is no KCC application on the Kisan Rin Portal, which is a bank-facing system. PM Kisan farmers can download a short form and a CSC can fill and forward it, which is the closest to an online route.

1. Choose a bank branch near your land or village. Commercial banks, regional rural banks, small finance banks and cooperative banks all issue KCC.
2. Get the form. PM Kisan beneficiaries can use the one-page KCC form, available on the official PM Kisan portal (pmkisan.gov.in), at bank branches and on Agriculture Department websites.
3. Fill it yourself or at a CSC. Common Service Centres can fill and forward the form to the bank.
4. Attach the land record and crop details. Write the crops you sow and sign the declaration that you do not hold a KCC from any other bank.
5. Submit and keep the receipt. Under the 2020 saturation drive, banks were asked to issue a new KCC, raise a limit or revive an inoperative KCC within the shortest possible time, not more than 14 days from the application.
6. Collect your card. New KCCs are to be smart-cum-debit cards; banks may issue RuPay chip cards with magnetic stripe and PIN (RBI Master Circular 2018).

Documents to carry

For PM Kisan beneficiaries, the official one-page form needs only:

• A copy of your land record (ownership or lease)
• Details of crops sown
• A declaration that you have no KCC from another bank

For other applicants, banks commonly ask for Aadhaar as ID and address proof and a passport-size photograph along with the form and land record. This wider list is commonly reported but is not an official RBI list, and banks vary, so confirm with your branch.

RBI's Master Circular calls for one-time documentation at the start. From the second year, a simple crop declaration is enough. In states building the Farmer Registry, keeping your Farmer ID ready helps, because the government lists credit delivery among its uses (PIB, 24 March 2026). No source says Farmer ID replaces land papers for KCC nationally.

Interest, insurance and charges

Interest: short-term KCC loans up to ₹3 lakh are at 7% a year, and timely repayment brings it to 4% (RBI circular, 13 January 2026). The Budget 2025-26 announced a ₹5 lakh limit, but RBI's operating circular still applies the benefit up to ₹3 lakh. Details and worked examples are on our KCC interest rate page.

Insurance: under the 2018 Master Circular, crop insurance was mandatory, and farmers could opt for asset, accident (including PAIS) and health insurance. Under the new 2026 Directions, farmers "may opt" for crop, asset, accident or health insurance with explicit consent, and the premium is debited to the KCC.

Charges: on 4 February 2019 the Indian Banks' Association advised member banks to waive processing, documentation, inspection, ledger folio and all other service charges for KCC and crop loans up to ₹3 lakh. This was advisory only. Banks follow their Board-approved charges policy, and the government did not make the waiver mandatory (Lok Sabha reply, 18 August 2025). Ask your bank for its charges in writing.

New RBI KCC rules from 1 January 2027

RBI issued the final Kisan Credit Card (KCC) Scheme Directions, 2026 on 19 June 2026. They apply to loans sanctioned from 1 January 2027. Existing KCCs continue under the old rules until maturity or the next renewal.

• Composite KCC tenure of 6 years; the short-term part is a revolving cash credit
• Drawing limit: Scale of Finance x area, plus 10% post-harvest and consumption, plus 20% farm-related services, plus insurance
• If the Scale of Finance is not notified, a 10% notional increase over the previous season
• Limits rounded to the nearest ₹1,000; Flexi KCC stays ₹10,000 to ₹50,000
• Collateral-free limit stays ₹2 lakh (₹3 lakh with recovery tie-up)
• Processing and inspection charges as per each bank's policy

KNN India reported (June 2026) that start was moved from the proposed 1 July 2026 to 1 January 2027, and that a higher collateral-free limit was not accepted.

KCC in numbers

As on 31 March 2026 there were 7,28,27,884 operative KCC accounts (about 7.28 crore) with ₹10.08 lakh crore outstanding, according to a Lok Sabha reply on 3 August 2026 (reported by Kashmir Life, August 2026). For comparison, PIB reported ₹10.05 lakh crore to 7.72 crore farmers as of 31 December 2024.

Need help with PM Kisan first? See PM Kisan registration and the official numbers on our helplines page. Never pay an agent for a KCC and never share an OTP.