With Aadhaar initiative by the Government of India picking up its momentum, the govt. has enrolled nearly 92% of the total Indian residents for the same. Despite the fact that managing the whole task was a humongous task, the UIDAI has come up with a number of Aadhaar card services that people can use to check, verify or manage various facilities that will increase the acceptance and portability of the 12-digit biometric identity proof. All these services are free of cost and available for everyone irrespective of region, religion, caste, or creed. These services can be availed online 24×7 and 365 days of the year.
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Following Aadhaar card services are provided by UIDAI to all Indian residents:
Aadhaar Number Verification:
- Aadhaar number can be verified whether it is an authentic document or a forged one
- Visit the Aadhaar Verification option in the Aadhaar Services section
- Enter the Aadhaar number and the security code
- Click on the verify button to check the authenticity of Aadhaar
- Verification results show whether Aadhaar number exists or not
- If the Aadhaar number is valid, other details are also displayed such as age band, gender, state and the last 3 digits of the registered mobile number
- It is not necessary to have mobile number linked with Aadhaar to avail this facility
- This feature allows common man to verify anyone’s Aadhaar details
- This facility can be used by landlords while renting houses, hotel owners for verifying guest details, various educational institutions, etc.
- There is no limit on the number of Aadhaar details that a user can verify
Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-KYC:
You can also get your Aadhaar verification done offline by sharing a UIDAI generated digitally signed document with the service provider/ Offline Verification Seeking Entity (OVSE). The Aadhaar paperless offline e-KYC process involves the following steps:
- Go to the official UIDAI website i.e. https://uidai.gov.in/
- Under the “My Aadhaar” section, select “Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-kyc (Beta)” listed under “Aadhaar Services”
- Create a Share Code of 4-characters and fill in the “Security Code” that you see on your screen
- Verify using OTP or TOTP
- A ZIP file (protected with Share Code as the password) containing the Paperless Offline eKYC will be downloaded into your desktop/device. You need to share the ZIP file, the Share Code and registered mobile number with the service provider who can then simply verify the information with the central database.
Email/Mobile Number Verification:
- This facility allows you to check whether your mobile number or email address is mentioned in Aadhaar or not
- Your mobile number should be registered with UIDAI to avail this facility
- Nobody else can run this verification on your behalf
- You can either verify your mobile or email id at a time
- Select the “Verify Email/Mobile Number” option from the Aadhaar Services menu
- Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number in the box provided
- Now enter either your mobile number or your email ID
- Enter the security code and click on “Get OTP”
- An OTP will be sent to your mobile number registered with Aadhaar
- Enter this OTP in the space provided and click on verify
- The result will be displayed whether your mobile number is linked with Aadhaar or not
- Also, if the number is registered, the last 3 digits of the number will be displayed
Biometric Locking/Unlocking:
- Aadhaar biometric locking/unlocking is one of the most effective security feature of this identity
- This facility allows you to lock your biometrics and prevent it from being misused
- Your fingerprints and iris scan are disabled from being used once you lock your biometrics
- When you wish to use your biometrics, you can unlock it temporarily
- When unlocked, the biometric authentication remains active for 10 minutes for you to carry out your task
- After 10 minutes, the biometric data is locked automatically
- In case you do not want to add this layer of security, you can simply disable the biometric lock
- Click on “Lock/Unlock Biometrics” option in the Aadhaar Services section
- Login to the UIDAI portal using your Aadhaar number
- Enter your Aadhaar and security code and click on Get OTP
- An OTP will be sent to your mobile number
- Enter this OTP and click on Login
- Now enter the security code to authenticate and click on the “Lock” button to lock your biometrics
- In case you want to unlock your biometrics, you will have to login again
- This time, you get two options – Unlock and Disable
- In case you want to temporarily unlock your biometrics for a single verification, you can unlock the biometrics
- In case you do not want to shield your biometrics, you can simply click on the disable button to remove the lock from your Aadhaar biometrics permanently
- You can lock your biometrics again whenever you want
- Biometric locking/unlocking is also available through the mAadhaar app which is the official app of the UIDAI
- When you lock your biometrics for the first time, it may take up to 6 hours for the lock to be implemented fully
Aadhaar-Bank Account Linking Status:
- This facility allows you check the latest bank account linked with your Aadhaar
- In case you have not linked any bank account with Aadhaar, a message will be displayed stating the fact
- You have to link your mobile number with Aadhaar before availing this facility
- The Aadhaar linking information is fetched from the NPCI server
- However, no information accessed from servers of NPCI is stored by UIDAI
- Click on the “Check Aadhaar & Bank Account Linking Status” to check the linking status online
- Enter your Aadhaar number and the security code
- Click on Send OTP to send an OTP to your registered mobile number
- Enter this OTP and click on the submit button
- The bank account linked with Aadhaar will be displayed on the screen
Aadhaar Authentication History:
- You can check the Aadhaar authentication history through this feature
- The results displayed contain the transactions for which Aadhaar has been invoked for authentication
- Click on the “Aadhaar Authentication History” to view all authentication details
- Enter your Aadhaar number and the security code and click on the “Generate OTP” button
- Select the “Authentication Type”, date range, number of results (maximum 50) and the OTP sent on your phone
- Click on the Submit button
- All results will be displayed on the screen clearly mentioning the transaction ID, date, authentication type and other details
- This feature helps you to keep a track of all authentications for which your Aadhaar data had been invoked
Virtual ID Generation:
- Virtual ID is a 16 digit temporary code generated against an Aadhaar number
- This number will be issued and used in place of Aadhaar
- An applicant will not have to share his Aadhaar card if he provides the VID
- All agencies have to make provisions to accept VIDs in place of Aadhaar by June 1st, 2018
- VIDs can be generated by visiting the UIDAI’s portal
- Click on the “Virtual ID (VID) Generator” option in the Aadhaar Services section
- Enter the Aadhaar number and security code and click on the Send OTP option
- Enter the OTP received on your mobile and select whether you want to generate or retrieve your VID
- Click on the Submit button
- A virtual ID will be generated and sent to your mobile number registered with Aadhaar.
FAQs on Aadhaar Card Services
Q. What is Aadhaar SMS Service?
Ans. Aadhaar SMS Service is provided by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for those who do not have access to the internet, online Aadhaar portal, m-Aadhaar, etc. Through Aadhaar SMS service you can avail of various services such as the generation of Virtual ID, locking/unlocking of Aadhaar Number and more. All you need to do is send an SMS to 1947 from your registered mobile number.
Q. Do I need to generate OTP for all Aadhaar SMS services?
Ans. No, you don’t generate OTP for all the Aadhaar SMS services such as for the VID Generation and retrieval function OTP is not required.
Q. How to Lock/Unlock Aadhaar Number with SMS service?
Ans. For locking Aadhar Number with SMS service you need to send an OTP request i.e. ‘Get OTP Last 4 or 8 Digit’’ of Aadhaar Number and later send a request to lock your Aadhaar i.e. ‘Lock UID Last 4 or 8 Digit of Aadhaar Number 6 Digit OTP’.
For unlocking Aadhar Number with SMS service you need to have your latest virtual ID (latest) and send an OTP request with ‘last 6 or 10 Digit of Virtual ID number as i.e. Get OTP Last 6 or 10 Digit Virtual ID’ and later send a request to unlock your Aadhaar i.e. ‘Unlock Last 6 or 10 Digit Virtual ID 6 Digit OTP’
Q. What is Virtual ID?
Ans. Virtual ID refers to a temporary, revocable 16-digit random number which is mapped with your Aadhaar number. You can use this number in lieu of your Aadhaar number whenever you need to do authentication or e-KYC services.
Q. What does Lock/Unlock Aadhaar mean?
Ans. The lock/unlock Aadhaar is a feature introduced by the UIDAI as once you lock your Aadhaar number you cannot do any authentication using your Aadhaar number and you can use the VIrtual ID to do the same. Whereas, once you unlock your Aadhaar number it means that your Aadhaar Number is again active and you can do the authentication.
Q. My SMS is not being sent. What should I do?
Ans. In this case, you need to check if your SMS is working properly not and if not to get in touch with your telecom service provider.