Get your Aadhaar

How to download your Aadhaar safely, and why not from Telegram

Your e-Aadhaar is free from UIDAI, and only UIDAI can send you one. Here are the official ways to get it, how to open the file, and the signs of a lookalike.

Published 13 October 2026 · Aadhaar News desk

The short version. Download e-Aadhaar only from uidai.gov.in or myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in, the mAadhaar app, or DigiLocker. It is free. The one-time password goes to the mobile number registered with your Aadhaar, and nobody else should ever see it. UIDAI's helpline is 1947.

The official ways

1. myAadhaar portal. Go to myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in and choose Download Aadhaar. Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number, enrolment ID or Virtual ID, fill in the captcha, and enter the one-time password (OTP) sent to your registered mobile. A password-protected PDF downloads.
2. mAadhaar app. UIDAI's own app for Android and iPhone. Check the publisher is the Unique Identification Authority of India before you install it.
3. DigiLocker. The government's document wallet can fetch your Aadhaar once you link it.
4. An enrolment or update centre. If your mobile number is not registered, you must visit a centre to add it. A printout or download cannot be issued to an unregistered number by any website or channel.

Opening the PDF

The e-Aadhaar PDF is locked with an eight-character password: the first four letters of your name as printed on the Aadhaar, in capitals, followed by your year of birth. Someone named Rahul Kumar born in 1991 would type RAHU1991. If the name is shorter than four letters, the whole name is used before the year.

Masked Aadhaar

When downloading, you can choose a masked copy. It hides the first eight digits of the number and shows only the last four. Use the masked copy whenever a hotel, landlord or office only needs to see that you hold an Aadhaar. A verifier can still check it by scanning its QR code.

The PVC card

UIDAI sells a wallet-sized plastic Aadhaar card for Rs 50, including taxes and delivery by Speed Post. You order it on the UIDAI website with your Aadhaar number, Virtual ID or enrolment ID, and receive a 28-digit service request number to track it. A downloaded e-Aadhaar is equally valid; the PVC card is a convenience.

Lookalike sites and Telegram channels

Search for "Aadhar card download" and you will find many pages and channels that are not UIDAI. One Telegram channel we saved in October 2026 is called "Aadhar Card Download", has 45 subscribers, and describes itself as "Your guide to Aadhar informations". Its posts from July 2025 link, in Malayalam and Marathi, to a .org website, not a government address.

Pages like these may only repeat UIDAI's instructions to earn ad clicks, or they may ask for your number and OTP. You cannot tell which from the outside. The rule that protects you is simple:

• Look at the address. UIDAI's sites end in uidai.gov.in. Not .org, not .com, not .in on its own.
• Never share an OTP. No genuine service asks you to read out or forward an Aadhaar OTP in a chat.
• Never pay for a download. e-Aadhaar is free. Only the PVC card and in-person updates cost money.
• Use a Virtual ID. The 16-digit VID, generated on myAadhaar, can stand in for your Aadhaar number and can be replaced at any time.
• Lock your biometrics. myAadhaar and mAadhaar let you lock fingerprint and iris authentication when you are not using it, and unlock it for a few minutes when you are.