Since its inception, the Aadhaar is slowly becoming more and more ubiquitous in fulfilling its purpose of serving as a singular identification. In cases where you don’t have a physical copy of your Aadhaar card with you, the online version of it should suffice as proof.
This article covers ways in which you can download your Aadhaar card.
Visit the online portal of UIDAI - https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/.
Click on the ‘Login’ option on the right-hand side of the webpage.
At this point, you will be redirected to a new webpage. Here, enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number and the captcha code displayed in the box in the relevant fields and then click on the ‘Send OTP’ option.
You will receive an OTP on the mobile number that’s registered with your Aadhaar. Enter the 6-digit OTP that you received in the respective field and click on the ‘Login’ button.
Once you’re logged in, you should see a list of options in front of you. Click on the ‘Download Aadhaar’, which should be the first option in the list.
The UIDAI website will now show you your personal data such as your name, date of birth, gender, and address associated with your Aadhaar number. Review this data to ensure that they’re correct and without any errors.
If you’re satisfied with the accuracy of the data, proceed to click on the ‘Download’ option at the bottom. You also have the option to download a ‘Masked Aadhaar’, where all the digits of your Aadhaar number except the last four would be masked.
The website should now begin to download Aadhaar to your computer. The downloaded Aadhaar will be in the form of a PDF.
The PDF is password protected and can only be opened by entering a password. The password you have to enter to open the e-Aadhaar PDF should contain 8 characters and is a combination of the first four letters of your name as per your Aadhaar in capitals and your birth year.
So, for instance, if your name is Akshay Kumar and your date of birth is October 30, 1970, the password that you would have to use to open the Aadhaar card downloaded online would be - AKSH1970.
The Government of India launched the DigiLocker in 2015 which is essentially a secure cloud storage for all your confidential documents such as Aahaar, PAN, Driver’s License, etc.
Here’s how you can use the DigiLocker website to access your virtual Aadhaar card:
Go to the DigiLocker website and choose the ‘Sign up’ option. Create an account using your Aadhaar-linked mobile number and OTP.
Fill out the fields such as Name, Date of Birth, Mobile number, Aadhaar number, and so on.
Once your account has been created and verified, go ahead and hit the button that says ‘Get issued documents’. You should be presented with a search bar and a bunch of options to choose from. Choose ‘Aadhaar’.
Your virtual Aadhaar is now ready to access on the DigiLocker website.
The short answer: yes.
According to Section 4(3) of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, a downloaded Aadhaar, also known as e-Aadhaar, is akin to a printed physical version of it and is a perfectly valid proof of identity of an individual.
The UIDAI has even let out a detailed circular dated April 28, 2017, explaining the fact that an Aadhaar card downloaded from its website is legal and valid.
Now that it has been established that you can carry an Aadhaar card downloaded online from UIDAI’s website and use it as valid proof of your identity and address. Here are a few of the benefits that you stand to enjoy by doing so.
Having an e-Aadhaar is far more convenient than carrying around a physical copy. If you have a smartphone, you can store the downloaded Aadhaar card on it and use it whenever you need it.
If you’re ever in a position where you might have to share a copy of your Aadhaar such as with banks and financial institutions, having an e-Aadhaar can come in very handy since it can be quickly and easily shared.
With physical Aadhaar cards, there’s always the risk of them getting damaged or lost. However, that’s not the case with e-Aadhaar. Even if you manage to lose it somehow, you can always get the Aadhaar card downloaded from the UIDAI website within just a few minutes.
Now that you’re aware of how to download Aadhaar from the website of UIDAI, go ahead and download yours now. As you’ve already seen from the previous sections, not only is e-Aadhaar valid, but there are also many other benefits that you stand to enjoy.
If you have updated any of the details on your Aadhaar card such as your name, date of birth, gender, or address, you will receive a physical Aadhaar card containing the updated information at the address mentioned by you.
No. Once you’ve updated your Aadhaar card, you can only download the new version from UIDAI’s self-service portal. The old Aadhaar card with outdated information will cease to exist and cannot be downloaded.
