Aadhaar (Aadhaar Card) a 12 digit unique identification number issued by the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) on behalf of the Government of India. This unique number serves as a proof of Identity and address, anywhere in India.
Both Aadhaar letter received via India Post and e-Aadhaar downloaded from the UIDAI website are equally valid.
Any Resident individual can obtain Aadhaar card irrespective of their age, gender, caste, or religion. Each individual can enroll only once which is free of cost. The Aadhaar number allotted to the individual will be unique and will remain valid for life.
Aadhaar Card Enrollment Process
- At present enrollment of Aadhaar is limited to the designated enrollment centers only. Every individual who wishes to obtain Aadhaar will have to personally visit any of these enrolment centers.
- You can go to any authorized Aadhaar enrollment center anywhere in India with your identity and address proof. You can check out the list of enrollment centers here
- Please note that UIDAI has does not currently offer online enrollment.
- Appointment for Aadhaar enrolment can be obtained online. However, for the actual enrollment process, the physical presence of the individual is a must at the enrollment center.
- UIDAI process accepts 18 PoI (Proof of Identity) and 33 PoA (Proof of Address) documents. Here is a nationally valid list of documents. Common proofs of identity and address are election photo ID card, Ration card, passport, and driving license.
- Photo ID cards like PAN card and Govt ID cards are permissible for identity proof. Address proof documents also include water – electricity – telephone bills from the last three months.
- In case you do not have the above common proofs, Certificate of Identify having photo issued by Gazetted Officer/Tehsildar on letterhead is also accepted as proof of identity. Certificate of Address having photo issued by MP or MLA /Gazetted Officer/Tehsildar on letterhead or by Village Panchayat head or its equivalent authority (for rural areas) is accepted as valid proof of address.
- At the enrollment center, please fill your personal details within the form. Your photo, finger-prints, and iris scan are also taken as a part of the enrollment. You can review the details you have provided and make corrections during enrolment itself. You will get an acknowledgment slip with a temporary enrolment number and other details captured during enrolment
- There is no due date for the enrollment process. Resident Individuals can enroll anytime as per their convenience at the designated enrollment centers.
Advantages of Aadhaar
- Over time, Aadhaar will be widely recognized and accepted across the country and across service providers.
- Aadhaar will result in a universal identity infrastructure over which governments and other service providers can build applications to facilitate different processes.
- Aadhaar will work as a bridge between the individuals and the service agencies, using which, they can perform customer identification. This will essentially eliminate the requirement of performing repeated KYC ( Know Your Customer ) checks before providing services.
- Service providers would no longer have to deny services to residents without identification documents. Residents would also be spared the trouble of repeatedly proving identity through documents each time they wish to access services such as obtaining a bank account, passport, or driving license, etc.
- Aadhaar empowers the poor and the underprivileged residents in accessing services such as the formal banking system and also some of the services provided by the Government and the private sectors.
FAQs
You can open the pdf file of your e Aadhaar card by inputting a combination of the first four letters of your name written in CAPITALS (Name as mentioned in the Aadhaar card) and your Year of Birth (in YYYY format) as your e-Aadhaar card password or e Aadhaar card PDF password.
Yes, you are required to carry originals of all documents whose details you are updating at an Enrolment Centre.
Usually an Aadhaar application is rejected due to technical/quality reasons. You are permitted to reapply for your Aadhaar.
Hey @Sofiyah_Valiante,
You can download your Aadhaar paperless offline KYC from UDAI website.
UDAI is government’s official website for all aadhaar related assistance. It is definitely reliable and you can quickly download your xml file from there.
Hope this helped!