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: Data collected by the UIDAI is purely to issue Aadhaar, and confirm the identity of Aadhaar 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 Aadhaar database the only response permitted is yes or no to requests to verify an identity The only exceptions are the order of a High court , or the order of a 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, who 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 are penal consequences for unauthorised access to CIDR including hacking , and penalties for tampering with data in the CIDR under the Aadhaar Act, 2016 .
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 Aadhaar 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, Aadhaar can be used for eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) to open bank accounts, get SIM cards, and access financial services without submitting physical documents.

Aadhaar can be used to identity beneficiaries for delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services offered by the scheme implementing agencies. Beside this, Aadhaar authentication is allowed in the interest of good governance preventing leakage of public funds, promoting ease of living of Aadhaar number holders and enabling better access to services for them.

Aadhaar is a unique 12 digit random number assigned to a individual which is apart from offline or physical  verification, verifiable online anywhere anytime using the Aadhaar authentication platform. This number, when authenticated successfully, would serve as proof of identity and could be used for identification of beneficiaries for transfer of benefits, subsidies, services and other purposes.

Following are the criminal offences and penalties provided in the Aadhaar Act, 2016 (as amended):

1. Impersonation by providing false demographic or biometric information, at the time of enrolment, is an offence – imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine of upto Rs. 10,000/- or with both.

2. Appropriating the identity of an Aadhaar number holder by changing or attempting to change the demographic and biometric information of an Aadhaar number holder is an offence - imprisonment upto 3 years and a fine of upto Rs. 10,000/-.

3. Pretending to be an agency authorized to collect Identity information of a individual is an offence – imprisonment up to 3 years or with a fine of upto Rs. 10,000 for a person, or up to Rs. 1 lakh for a company, or with both.

4. Intentionally transmitting/ disclosing information collected during enrolment/ authentication to an unauthorized person or in contravention of any agreement or arrangement under this Act is an offence – imprisonment upto 3 years or with a fine of            up to Rs. 10,000/- for a person, or of up to Rs. 1 lakh for a company, or with both.

5. Unauthorized access to the central identities data repository (CIDR) and hacking is an offence – imprisonment upto 10 years and a fine of minimum Rs. 10 Lakhs.

6. Tampering with data in the central identities data repository is an offence – imprisonment upto 10 years and a fine up to Rs. 10,000/-.

7. Unauthorized use of identity information of an individual by an requesting entity or Offline Verification Seeking Entity – imprisonment up to 3 years or fine up to Rs.10,000/- in case of a individual, or of upto Rs.1 Lakh in case of a company or with            both.

8. Penalty for an offence, for which no specific penalty is provided elsewhere - imprisonment upto 3 years or fine up to Rs.25,000/- in case of a individual, or of up to Rs.1 Lakh in case of a company or with both.

The UIDAI ensures the security and confidentiality of the data collected. The enrolment data is collected on client application  provided by the UIDAI, which is encrypted at source and the packet is transmitted in a secure manner. UIDAI has published guidelines in this regard which is available on its website. UIDAI has security policy in place for data security in motion and at rest.

Penalty for unauthorized access to Central Identities Data Repository have been detailed in Aadhaar (Targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies , benefits and services) Act, 2016  - Chapter VII under Offences and Penalties, Section 38.

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.