The UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) has reaffirmed that the Aadhaar number may not be considered as a form of proof for either date of birth or age verification, despite being considered valid as evidence for both identity and address verification. This announcement is one of the ongoing educational activities the UIDAI is providing to the Authentication/KYC user agency throughout India.
Currently, UIDAI is continuing to stress that, due to its role as an identity verification, the Aadhaar number provides no means of verifying certain information about an individual, such as their date of birth.
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The date of birth indicated on the Aadhaar card is derived from information provided by the individual when he/she enrolled or updated his/her Aadhaar number. As such, the date of birth reflected in the Aadhaar card could be accurate, but could also be incorrectly declared, provided on a best effort basis or without any support from valid birth record documents.
The UIDAI adds that confirming an individual is the same person who registered their Aadhaar number through biometric (fingerprint, photo) and demographic (name, address, gender, etc.) data is the sole purpose of using an Aadhaar number to verify identity for purposes of authentication only. It does not independently validate supporting attributes such as age or birth date.
The authority reiterated that while Aadhaar could be used as an auxiliary document from different agencies, it will be up to the relevant user agencies, ministries or state governments to determine whether or not to accept Aadhaar.
UIDAI has also confirmed that all forms of Aadhaar (eg, physical Aadhaar, e-Aadhaar) are valid because they fulfil the requirements for identity as an address; however, none of these forms constitutes independent proof of an individual’s date of birth.
Updating Date of Birth in Aadhaar
To correct or update the date of birth in Aadhaar, individuals are required to submit valid supporting documents, such as:
- Birth Certificate
- Valid Indian Passport
- Service Photo Identity Card
- Pensioner Photo Identity Card
- Mark-sheet/Certificate issued by a recognised Board of Education
UIDAI allows DOB updates only after verification of such documents. In the absence of proof, only limited or approximate entries may be recorded.
The update comes as the US tech giant Google on Tuesday announced that Indian users will now be able to securely save their Aadhaar-verified credentials directly in Google Wallet. This feature will give users a secure, digital-first option for identity and age verification in everyday tasks.