FAQs

Protection of the individual and the safeguarding their information is inherent in the design of the UID project. From having a random number which does not reveal anything about the individual to other features listed below, the UID project keeps the interest of the individual at the core of its purpose and objectives.

• Collecting limited information
  The UIDAI is collecting only basic data fields - Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Address, Parent/ Guardian’s (name essential for children but not for others) photo, 10 finger prints and iris scan.
• No profiling and tracking information collected
  The UIDAI policy bars it from collecting sensitive personal information such as religion, caste, community, class, ethnicity, income and health. The profiling of individuals is therefore not possible through the UID system.
• Release of information – yes or no response
  The UIDAI will not reveal personal information in the Aadhaar database – the only response will be a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to requests to verify an identity
• Convergence and linking of UIDAI information to other databases
  The UID database is not linked to any other databases, or to information held in other databases. Its only purpose will be to verify a person’s identity at the point of receiving a service, and that too with the consent of the aadhaar number holder
  The UID database will be guarded both physically and electronically by a few select individuals with high clearance. The data will be secured with the best encryption, and in a highly secure data vault. All access details will be properly logged.

UIDAI does not purge the data of the Aadhaar number holder from the database once he/she has obtained his/her Aadhaar card. The data is used for de-duplication of every new entrant in the database against all the existing records to determine the unique identity of the Aadhaar number holder.

The individual has the option in the first instance not to enrol for Aadhaar at all. Aadhaar is a service delivery tool, and not designed for any other purpose. Aadhaar being unique to every individual is non-transferable. If the individual does not wish to use the Aadhaar, it will remain dormant, as the use is based on the physical presence and biometric authentication of the person. However, children, within 6 months of attaining majority, may make an application for cancellation of their Aadhaar as per the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 (as amended) and regulations framed there under.

The UIDAI will set up a Contact Centre to manage all queries and grievances and serve as a single point of contact for the organization. The details of the Contact Centre will be published on the website as and when enrolment begins. The users of this system are expected to be individuals, registrars and enrolment agencies. Any individual seeking enrolment is given a printed acknowledgement form with an Enrolment Number, that enables the individual to make queries about her/his enrolment status through any communication channel of the contact centre. Each enrolment agency will be given a unique code that will also enable faster and pointed access to the Contact Centre that includes a technical helpdesk.

Nobody has access to UID database except the CIDR administrators which is periodically reviewed by UIDAI.
• Aadhaar card holder is entitled to access their own Aadhaar card information.
•CIDR operations follows strict access protocols to limit access to the database by the administrators.
• The data stored in CIDR is encrypted and the database is secured against hacking and other forms of cyberattacks.

Protection of the individual, and the safeguarding their information is inherent in the design of the UID project. From having a random number which does not reveal anything about the individual to other features listed below, the UID project keeps the interest of the individual at the core of its purpose and objectives.

• Collecting limited information
  Data collected by the UIDAI is purely to issue Aadhaar numbers, and confirm the identity of Aadhaar number holders. The UIDAI is collecting basic data fields in order to be able to establish identity– this includes Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Address, Parent/ Guardian’s name essential for children but not for others, mobile number and email id is optional as well . The UIDAI is collecting biometric information to establish uniqueness – therefore collecting photo, 10 finger prints and iris.
• No profiling and tracking information collected
  The UIDAI policy bars it from collecting sensitive personal information such as religion, caste, community, class, ethnicity, income and health. The profiling of individuals is therefore not possible through the UID system, since the data collected is limited to that required for identification and identity confirmation. The UIDAI had in fact, dropped the ‘place of birth’ data field – part of the initial list of information it planned to collect – based on feedback from CSOs that it could lead to profiling. The UIDAI also does not collect any transaction records of the individual. The records of an individual confirming their identity through Aadhaar will only reflect that such a confirmation happened. This limited information will be retained for a short period time in the interest of the individual, to resolve any disputes.
• Release of information – yes or no response
  The UIDAI is barred from revealing personal information in the Aadhaar database – the only response permitted are a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to requests to verify an identity. The only exceptions are the order of a court, or the order of a joint secretary, in case of national security. This is a reasonable exception and is clear and precise. This approach is also in line with security norms followed in US and Europe on access to data in case of a security threat.
• Data protection and privacy
  The UIDAI has the obligation to ensure the security and confidentiality of the data collected. The data will be collected on software provided by the UIDAI and encrypted to prevent leaks in transit. Trained and certified enrollers will collect the information, which will not have access to the data being collected.
  The UIDAI has a comprehensive security policy to ensure the safety and integrity of its data. It will publish more details on this, including the Information Security Plan and Policies for the CIDR and mechanisms for auditing the compliance of the UIDAI and its contracting agencies. In addition, there will be strict security and storage protocols in place. Penalties for any security violation will be severe, and include penalties for disclosing identity information. There will also be penal consequences for unauthorised access to CIDR – including hacking, and penalties for tampering with data in the CIDR.
• Convergence and linking of UIDAI information to other databases
  The UID database is not linked to any other databases, or to information held in other databases. Its only purpose will be to verify a person’s identity at the point of receiving a service, and that too with the consent of the aadhaar number holder. The UID database will be guarded both physically and electronically by a few select individuals with high clearance. It will not be available even for many members of the UID staff and will be secured with the best encryption, and in a highly secure data vault. All access details will be properly logged.

Yes, NRIs having recorded address out-side India in their passport can enroll for Aadhaar with the foreign address using form number 2 or 4 or 6 as the case may be.

NRI enrolled with address out-side India will receive password protected e-Aadhaar along with password to open the attachment to their registered email id provided at the time of enrolment.

The process is:
An NRI seeking enrolment to visit an Aadhaar enrolment center and submit a requisite form along with valid supporting documents. Enrolment and Update form can also be downloaded from (Enrolment & Update Forms) 

The enrolment operator shall capture the following information during the course of enrolment:

Mandatory Demographic information (Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Address and email)
Optional demographic information (mobile number)
And
Biometric Information (Photo, 10 finger prints, both Iris)
Type of documents presented [valid Indian passport is mandatory as Proof of Identity (PoI)]
Residential Status ( Resided in India for at least 182 days is not applicable for NRI)

After completing the enrolment the operator shall return all the documents along with an acknowledgement slip containing the applicable charges.
List of valid supporting documents is available at (List Of Supporting Documents)  
You can locate the nearest enrolment centre at : (Bhuvan Aadhaar Portal)

Yes. An NRI (whether minor or adult) with a valid Indian Passport can apply for Aadhaar from any Aadhaar Enrolment Centre. In case of NRIs the residential condition of 182 days is not mandatory.

If your passport has the name of your spouse, then it can be used as Proof of Address for them.

NRI can act as HOF in the capacity of mother/father/legal guardian for Aadhaar enrolment, by submitting valid proof of relation (POR) document. List valid supporting documents is available at List of Supporting Document

An NRI child seeking enrolment to visit an Aadhar enrolment centre along with Mother and/or Father or Legal guardian and submit a request in requisite enrolment form alongwith valid supporting documents. Enrolment and Update form can also be downloaded from https://uidai.gov.in/en/my-aadhaar/downloads/enrolment-and-update-forms.html

The enrolment operator shall capture the following informations during the course of enrolment:
Mandatory Demographic information (Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Address and email)
Optional demographic information (mobile number )
Details (Aadhaar number) of Mother and/or Father or Legal Guardian (in case of HOF based enrolment) is captured . Both or One of the parents/ guardian has to authenticate on behalf of the child and also give consent for enrolment of the minor by signing the enrolment form.
And
Biometric Information (Photo of child)
Type of documents presented [valid Indian passport of the child is mandatory as Proof of Identity (PoI)]
Residential Status ( Resided in India for at least 182 days is not applicable for NRI)
After completing the enrolment the operator shall return all the documents alongwith an acknowledgement slip containing the applicable charges (New Enrolment is Free of charge).
List of valid supporting documents is available at List of Supporting Document

You can locate the nearest enrolment centre at : Bhuvan Aadhaar Portal

Yes, however messages shall not be delivered on international/ non-Indian mobile numbers.

Yes. A valid Indian Passport is mandatory as a Proof of Identity (PoI) for NRI applicants. You may choose to give any other Indian Address with a valid supporting Proof of Address (PoA) as per the list of documents acceptable by UIDAI:List of Supporting Document

NRI seeking enrolment need to visit an Aadhar enrolment centre and submit a request in requisite enrolment form alongwith valid supporting documents. Enrolment and Update form can also be downloaded from https://uidai.gov.in/en/my-aadhaar/downloads/enrolment-and-update-forms.html
The enrolment operator shall capture the following informations during the course of enrolment:

Mandatory Demographic information (Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Address and email)
Optional demographic information (mobile number)
And
Biometric Information (Photo, 10 finger prints, both Iris)
Type of documents presented [valid Indian passport is mandatory as Proof of Identity (PoI)]
Residential Status ( Resided in India for at least 182 days is not applicable for NRI)
In case the NRI requires an address other than that mentioned in passport, he has option to submit any valid proof of address document available to resident Indian.

After completing the enrolment the operator shall return all the documents alongwith an achnowledgement slip containing the applicable charges.
List of valid supporting documents is available at List of Supporting Document
You can locate the nearest enrolment centre at : Bhuvan Aadhaar Portal

At the time of enrolment, an individual seeking enrolment has option to record DOB In Aadhaar as 'declared' or 'approximate' if no valid proof of birth is available. However to update DOB in Aadhaar,  the  Aadhaar number holder to submit a valid proof of birth document. 

You will have to correct your date of birth, either with Aadhaar or with PAN to link both. In-case linking problem still persists, we request you to please get in touch with Income Tax department.

In order to Link Aadhaar with PAN, ideally your demographic details (i.e. Name, Gender and Date of Birth) should match in both the documents.

In case of any minor mismatch in Aadhaar Name provided by taxpayer when compared to the actual data in Aadhaar, One Time Password (Aadhaar OTP) will be sent to the mobile registered with Aadhaar. Taxpayers should ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and Aadhaar are exactly same.

In a rare case where Aadhaar name is completely different from name in PAN, then the linking will fail and taxpayer will be prompted to change the name in either Aadhaar or in PAN database.

Note:

For PAN data update related queries you may visit: https://www.utiitsl.com.

For Aadhaar update related information you may visit UIDAI official website: www.uidai.gov.in

In-case linking problem still persists you are requested to visit Income Tax official website or call IT department helpline.

Aadhaar details like address can be updated online via the UIDAI Self-Service Update Portal (SSUP) or by visiting an Aadhaar Seva Kendra with valid documents.